Finding Yourself In Times Of Strife — Reviewing ‘Ultimate Wolverine’ #7

The Winter Soldier is no more. Unfortunately, Logan, the man formerly and currently known as Wolverine, can’t catch a break. There is more work to be done. Those who abused and warped his mind, body, and soul are not so easily thwarted.

Ultimate Wolverine #7 examines sin, guilt and survival alongside more from Chris Condon, Alessandro Cappuccio, Bryan Valenza, and Cory Petit.

Even as more lore and information are dropped, the dark tenseness of this series continues to grow. Condon bounces between two storylines easily, as more about the Opposition and the leadership they oppose is revealed.

One of the things that often gets lost in these types of stories, where a hero returns from mind-control, is the aftermath. Many times, they struggle a bit with it before returning to their usual selves. We get that often with Logan in the 616 because he gets mind-controlled every other Tuesday. The mining of the Weapon X years is often surface level and doesn’t add much to the narrative.

Here, though, Condon has an air of authenticity. Logan is struggling, not even knowing who he really is anymore. The blood of friends stains his mind as the claws he was given to do it are a forever internal reminder of trauma and guilt. Friends are almost strangers as the mind tries to reconcile the two different lives that have now been lived.

How long Condon will explore this is uncertain, but right now it’s working. This series still remains the best exploration of Logan as a character that we’ve had in some time. And it’s not even starring the most familiar version of the character.

Feels good to have Cappuccio back. I say that after very much enjoying the work that Alex Lins brought to the page of the previous two issues. It’s just always nice to have the artist who kicked off and created the atmosphere of a series back to bringing life to that world.

A dark roughness is always there in what Cappuccio does. Each issue that we’ve seen the artwork has perfectly fit the tone that this book is looking to deliver. Even more so right now as the dark battle happening within and without Logan must be felt.

It’s very sharp and angular, with a slight muddy feeling to really drive home the rougher aspects, showcasing emotion to a high degree at all times. Great paneling choices ratchet up the tension, anticipation, and toughness of the story. Each choice made characters like Omega Red and Magik feel more and more ominous, compared to how we might normally already feel about them in the main universe.

Darker tones are paramount to the color palette of this series. The aspects following the Rasputin side of things keep the heavier darker tones. The spaces with Logan are feeling slightly lighter under Valenza’s hands, alluding to the fact that he’s no longer just a murder weapon of the enemy. There is a familiarity and possibility of having a more hopeful present, but darkness still encroaches as he battles the past at every turn.

It all maintains the more natural level toned-down colorscape of the previous books. This plays into the more familiar feeling one gets when looking at these spaces. Sure, they are fictional and altered but they have a genuine feeling built into their appearance, playing well against the fantastical nature of all the people that walk through those spaces on the page.

Naturally, Logan is more verbose (for him) in this space now, no longer the silent killer as others take up the talking space. The voice feels very powerful yet emotionally wrought, and on point for the character in any format. Condon really nails the writing of the voice and Petit nails delivering it to the page.

There are fewer varying colorful boxes and bubbles of the previous visual heavy issues. Here things are more standard but still have uniqueness to them. This ensures that every bit of emotional and tonal energy is felt as we replay the words in our minds.

Ultimate Wolverine #7 is now available from Marvel Comics.