Following the “Age of Revelation” event, the ongoing Wolverine series by Saladin Ahmed resumes with a solo title that puts James “Logan” Howlett, aka Wolverine, front and center in an action-packed adventure fit for this ferocious Canucklehead. In this first issue as part of the “Shadows of Tomorrow” initiative, Wolverine teams up with the mercenary Silver Sable to protect a band of mutants from armed goons who try to raid their encampment.
SPOILERS AHEAD for Wolverine #14!
Prior to the “Age of Revelation” event, Wolverine was confronted with ghosts from his past, as a woman claiming to be his mother, Elizabeth Howlett, seemingly returned from the grave. In Wolverine #12, it is revealed that Elizabeth Howlett was actually a masterful illusion created by the duplicitous Jason Wyngarde aka Mastermind, a recurring villain that the X-Men have frequently tangled with, most notably during the events of Dark Phoenix Saga in which Wyngarde manipulated Jean Grey in an attempt to groom her into joining the ranks of the Hellfire Club as their Black Queen. Once Wolverine was able to sniff out the deception, he was able to defeat Wyngarde and end the illusion.
It is after this encounter with his “mother” that we pick up with Wolverine post-Age of Revelation in Wolverine #14. The issue opens with Wolverine holding a mourning ritual for a pack of wolves that Wolverine joined up with in Wolverine #1. But Wolverine isn’t mourning the loss of his wolf pack alone; he is also mourning the loss of his mother. As Wolverine says in his narration, “What Mastermind did to me…it’s like that b****** took my Ma from me all over again. Guess it made me realize I never really got to mourn her the first time”.
Wolverine has lived for a long time and has experienced a great deal of loss in his lifetime. Throughout his publication history, we’ve seen Wolverine mourn the loss of interests such as Silver Fox and Mariko Yashida, and dueled adversaries such as Sabretooth to the death. Wolverine is well acquainted with death and suffering, and death has followed Wolverine throughout his life like a bloody ghost. No matter where he goes, Wolverine seemingly cannot shake the specter of death that hangs over his head.
Not only was he unable to prevent his mother’s death by her own hand, as told in Wolverine: The Origin #3, but he was also unable to mourn and grieve for her. Mastermind’s manipulations with his illusions reopened those old wounds, forcing Logan to confront those demons once again and bury his mother’s ghost back into the ground where she belongs. The tale is a reminder of the trauma that Logan carries with him, and how heavy that burden is, and the loneliness that comes with being forced to carry that weight on his own.
Wolverine has also inflicted a considerable amount of pain on others as well. Much of Wolverine’s time as an X-Man has been about atoning for the untold amounts of murder and maiming that he has done by protecting those who are unable to defend themselves. Wolverine #14 is a perfect example of Logan’s selflessness on full display as he fights to protect a band of mutants whose encampment is being invaded by armed forces. Among the occupiers of the encampment are a group of outcasts called Morlocks, sewer-dwelling mutants who were forced to live underground because their visible mutations made them an easy target for bigots and anti-mutant extremists. The Morlocks are most well known for being the victims of the “Mutant Massacre” event, in which the Marauders, as ordered by Mister Sinister, were sent into the sewers to eradicate the Morlock population, who made the sewers their home.
The Morlocks have always been an extremely vulnerable population that lacks the privileges that many of the X-Men are afforded. For one, their visible mutations prevent them from being able to “pass” as non-mutants the way that characters such as Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Angel, are able to. Living in the sewers, they also lack the safety and security that comes with living in the X-Mansion, which is why they were such an easy target for Mister Sinister’s band of Marauders during the “Mutant Massacre”, in which the vast majority of victims were Morlocks. Finally, many of the Morlocks lack offensive or defensive capabilities, which is another reason why they were unable to defend themselves from the Marauders’ attack. Additionally, the lack of “useful” abilities explains why none of the Morlocks were invited to join the ranks of the X-Men by Charles Xavier when he was recruiting his students. The outcast Morlocks have frequently clashed with the more mainstream mutants of the X-Men, whom the Morlocks view as “elitist” and do not fully trust, although at times, tenuous alliances have formed between the disparate groups.
Silver Sable takes her job seriously, and does not f*** around. ‘Nuff said. Credit: Marvel Comics
Wolverine stumbles upon the mutant encampment while in search of a service station after his vehicle breaks down on the side of the road. It is there that Wolverine is attacked by two mutants, while he is fending off his attackers, he is shot by a sniper round. The shooter is quickly revealed to be the mercenary Silver Sable, who reveals to Logan that she has been contracted to protect the encampment from intruders. When a recon squad of armed goons arrives to sweep the camp, Wolverine and Silver Sable team up to repel the invaders, with Wolverine choosing to spare their lives instead of executing them. It is a rare moment in which Wolverine opts for a somewhat pacifist approach to resolving a conflict, rather than literally going for the jugular. The issue ends with Wolverine pledging to assist Silver Sable in carrying out her contract. Unbeknownst to Wolverine and Sable, Department H, the organization the goons were working for, orders Alpha Flight to capture and detain Wolverine.
Post-Krakoa, mutants lack sanctuary and a safe haven, and a consistent theme in the “From the Ashes” initiative was mutants attempting to integrate back into baseline mutant society, amongst humans that hate and fear them without the protection that came with having a sovereign mutant nation to call home. As we transition into “Shadows of Tomorrow,” it is clear that from this issue of Wolverine that mutants are in just as vulnerable a position and will continue to be the targets of bigotry and anti-mutant violence. Morlocks in particular are in an especially vulnerable position due to the lack of the privileges and protections that the X-Men enjoy.
Wolverine is the best there is at what he does, and Wolverine is at his best when he is protecting and defending those who cannot fight for themselves. In Wolverine #14, we see Logan teaming up with Silver Sable to defend Morlocks, who are the most vulnerable mutants of all. While Wolverine may want us to believe he is a loner who only watches out for himself, we know that he intentionally or unintentionally seeks out community and companionship, as he is consistently putting others before himself, which makes him an honorable, altruistic, and quintessential heroic character that speaks to his everlasting and constantly enduring appeal to countless decades of fans.
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