| 014
- Secret Agent Man, eh?
Kaare
Andrews and Walden Wong, Ben Grimm and Logan #1.
©
and ™ by Marvel Characters, Inc.
Logan
returns to Canadian Intelligence full-time, as we shift gears
and examine the life of Dr. James Hudson who will soon have
a very big impact on Logan's
life…
Alpha
Flight#-1 (Jul 1997) – “Vows”
Writer:
Steve Seagle; Penciller: Anthony Winn; Inker: Alquiza, Ryan
& Conrad
James Hudson, as journeyman scientist for Am-Can Petroleum,
pitches Mr. Jaxon, a senior Am-Can executive, the concept of
a mechanized suit.
Alpha
Flight#2 (Sep 1983) – “In the Beginning”
Writer/Artist:
John Byrne
After building the mechanized suit for the Research and
Development division of Am-Can Petroleum in Edmonton,
Alberta,
James Hudson argues with Jerry Jaxon and an American General
about the planned military applications of such a suit. Hudson
notes that he
has been working on the project for four years and that the
military will use it in Southeast
Asia, an apparent
reference to Viet
Nam. Frustrated
with the turn of the events, Hudson
uses his mechanized
suit to break into the company's maximum security safe and destroys
his original blueprints. He then ditches the suit after his
successful test flight and removes the cybernetic helmet, disabling
the project.
Alpha
Flight#-1 (Jul 1997) – “Vows”
Writer:
Steve Seagle; Penciller: Anthony Winn; Inker: Alquiza, Ryan
& Conrad
Heather McNeil, Mr. Jaxon's secretary, resigns over the
sale of Hudson
's armored suit
to the U.S.
military.
Fury
#1 (May 1994)
Writer:
Barry Dutter; Penciler: M.C. Wyman; Inker: Chris Ivy & Greg
Adams
As technicians work to figure out Hudson 's mechanized armor
at the Am-Can facility in Canada , agents from Hydra break in
and steal it. The President of the United States and the Prime
Minister of Canada secretly meet in Ottawa and agree to support
a joint U.S.-Canadian mission to retrieve the armor. Logan from
Canadian Special Services and Rick Stoner from CIA are summoned
and given orders to recover the armor. At the U.S.-Canadian
border, Stoner and Logan stop a suspicious-looking truck. As
Stoner checks the driver's paperwork, Logan investigates the
back and discovers a host of armed Hydra agents guarding the
armor. With only a big knife and his fists, Logan overwhelms
the Hydra agents and, with Stoner's help, the armor is recovered
undamaged. It is interesting to watch Logan as he challenges
authority, showcased by his disrespect when meeting the Prime
Minister and the President, and his attitude toward the straight-laced
Stoner. Logan also shows a preference for cigars, big knifes,
and running headlong into trouble.
Alpha
Flight #3/2 (Oct 1983) – “Purpose”
Writer/Artist:
John Byrne
As James Hudson contemplates his future, Heather
McNeil visits him at his apartment. When she sees the cybernetic
helmet on his table, she realizes that he was responsible for
disabling the armored suit. She quickly arranges for him to
meet with government officials to rectify his situation. After
twelve hours of meetings, Hudson
is able to prove
that the cybernetic helmet was his property prior to his work
with Am-Can Petroleum. A Canadian government official, Frank
Hulme, clears up all of the remaining issues and hires him,
effective retroactively. Hudson
is then ushered
in to meet the Canadian Prime Minister who requests that he
lead up Research and Development for the Ministry of Defense,
a project that will lead to the creation of Department H over
the course of the next three years.
…After the recovering of Hudson
's armor, Logan
meets Nick Fury
for the first time…
Wolverine/Nick
Fury: The Scorpio Connection (1989)
Writer:
Archie Goodwin; Artist: Howard Chaykin
Logan
tells Nick Fury they have known each other since his days with
Canadian Intelligence.
Kitty
Pryde, Agent of SHIELD #2 (Jan 1998) – “The Mission
”
Writer:
Larry Hama; Penciller: Jesus Redondo; Inker: Sergio Melia
Logan
tells a young SHIELD agent that he worked with Colonel Nick
Fury for the Puzzle Palace during the Cold War. The Puzzle Palace
was the nickname for the U.S. Department of Defense. However,
in 1982, James Bamford used the phrase for the title of his
book on the National Security Agency (NSA) that was founded
in 1952.
… Logan
also meets Carol Danvers for the first time…
Ms.
Marvel #19 (Aug 1978) – “Mirror, Mirror”
Writer:
Chris Claremont; Penciler: Carmine Infantino; Inker: Bob McCleod
Carol Danvers enlists in the Air Force on her eighteenth
birthday. After basic training, she is assigned to strategic
operations and partners with her first teacher, Colonel Michael
Rossi.
Logan:
Shadow Society (Dec 1996)
Plotter:
Howard Mackie; Scripter: Mark Jason; Artists: Tomm Coker &
Keith Aiken with Octavio Cariello
In conversation taking place in the 1950s, Logan
notes that he has worked extensively in the past with Carol
Danvers, and the two are close friends.
…According to Marvel Comics editor Bobbie Chase and writer Larry
Hama, the events of the Before the Four: Ben Grimm and Logan
miniseries take place later in Logan's life, specifically
after the events of Wolverine #–1 when Logan researches
the origins of his adamantium skeleton. There are, however,
significant problems with that chronology, namely that Logan
does not use nor acknowledge his adamantium claws in this miniseries,
instead using long knives even in extreme life-threatening conditions.
From a visual perspective, this miniseries is “…done as a Cold
War period piece,”[1]
clearly before Logan received his adamantium. I propose shifting
the placement of this adventure to here as it does better fit
Logan's chronology. And even Larry Hama admits when discussing
this miniseries, “…a clinically anal attention to continuity
has been what has driven comics to their present nadir,”[2]
this project not withstanding…
Before
the Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm and Logan #1 (Jul 2000) – “ Mission
to Nowhere”
Writer:
Larry Hama; Penciler: Kaare Andrews; Inker: Walden Wong
As Logan
drives from Canada
to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada
for a top-secret mission,
he is buzzed by an experimental Phantom jet, sending his car
skidding off the road. As he recovers control of his Lotus 7,
Logan
follows the jet back to Nellis, breaks through the security
gate and decks the pilot. The ensuing fight is broken up by
MPs who throw both Logan and the pilot in the brig. Logan
recognizes the pilot as
Ben Grimm, who once flew him from Ottawa
to Washington,
D.C.,
but a jail brawl breaks up their reunion. In the process of
the fight, Logan
shows his prowess by snapping an oversized bully's knee with
one quick punch. The brawl ends when Colonel Fury arrives to
brief both Grimm and Logan on their top-secret “suicide” mission.
Tony Stark (later to become Iron Man) provides technical background
on the mission, specifically that the Soviets have erected 20
ultra-low frequency transmitters near Vladivostok
, aiming them at the United
States . Ben Grimm's mission
is to pilot a YB-49 Northrop Flying Wing close enough to the
transmitters to measure the wave output. Carol Danvers is introduced
as the Department of Defense technical expert for the mission,
but Logan
reminds her of their recent meeting when she operated out of
the Defense Intelligence Agency. Danvers
plays it cool, telling
Logan
to keep that as their secret. Several hours after takeoff, as
Logan reads his ultra-top-secret orders, the plane's incursion
into Soviet airspace is discovered by Special Agent Natalia
Shostakova of the KGB (previously known as Natasha Romanoff
and later as the Black Widow), who orders them to land immediately.
Logan
accuses Ben Grimm of tipping off the Soviets to their mission,
and the two of them get into another fight. Carol Danvers takes
control of the plane and attempts to bluff her way past the
Soviet jets. When the Soviets fire upon the plane, it becomes
obvious that Carol's gambit has failed and that Ben Grimm is
not a traitor.
Note that Logan , while quite violent, is very
much under control in the fights of this miniseries. The Logan
from the post-Experiment X phase is consistently on the edge
of deadly berserker rages and the removal of this series from
that later chronology cleans up the evolutionary flow of his
character quite nicely. The Lotus 7 that Logan is driving was
manufactured from 1957 to 1982 and is best known as the car
driven by Patrick McGoohan in “The Prisoner.” This car is not
seen again until the events of just prior to Experiment X when
Logan 's skeleton is bonded with adamantium. In fact, Logan
has no memory of owning a Lotus 7 until he researches the Experiment
X site as an X-Man. The appearance of the Lotus 7 is another
visual cue that this storyline should take place here and not
after Logan receives his adamantium. In regards to Logan 's
previous meeting with Ben Grimm, it is conceivable that Ben
had flown Logan from Ottawa to Washington, D.C. on a previous
occasion and that it is not a reference to Wolverine
#-1. The YB-49 Northrop Flying Wing shown in this issue was
first flown in 1947, and the project was cancelled in 1948 when
two test pilots were killed. It is possible that this plane
was used solely for this mission some ten years later. As for
Logan 's confrontation with Carol Danvers, this series of events
makes sense. Logan claims to have met Carol as an agent of the
Defense Intelligence Agency which reports up through the U.S.
Air Force. Carol Danvers began her career in Air Force Intelligence
and it is not until later that she moves to the CIA. Logan must
have met her and Nick Fury on a previous undisclosed occasion
in Washington, D.C. with the DIA, possibly through Colonel Michael
Rossi.
Before
the Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm and Logan #2 (Aug 2000)
– “ Midnight Train to Moscow ”
Writer:
Larry Hama; Penciler: Kaare Andrews; Inker: Walden Wong
After Logan and Ben Grimm call a truce in order
to save the plane, they realize that the mounted guns are out
of ammunition and the parachutes removed, presumably an attempt
to prevent an international incident in the event of detection.
With few options remaining, Grimm lands the plane near one of
the Soviet transmitters, while Carol Danvers sets the self-destruct
on the plane and removes the black box that successfully recorded
the ultra-low frequency waves. Logan
locates the two working
machine guns to provide cover Carol who sprints to the nearby
forest line. As Carol makes good her escape, Logan and Ben are
faced with an overwhelming Soviet force and little ammunition
to defend themselves. Before long, Ben and Logan are captured,
and Natalia Shostakova of the KGB overrides the self-destruct
codes on the Flying Wing, securing a prize for the Soviets.
Logan and Ben are transported to a prison train bound for Moscow
and the Lubyanka prison
when Logan
overhears that a strongbox carrying the rare metal used to power
the Soviet Red Storm project will be transported on the same
train. As fate would have it, Logan
's secret orders are to
steal that rare metal, prompting him to start a brawl in the
prison car. When the Soviet guards arrive to investigate, Logan
and Ben drag them into the car and escape through the top of
the train making their way to the engine where the strongbox
is held. Pulling the strongbox to the roof of the train, Logan
notices a small red plane
buzzing the train. It's Carol Danvers in a stolen Yak observation
plane.
It is during Logan's
and Ben's fight with the Soviets that Logan
's non-use of his claws
is most pronounced. He pulls out two knifes to fight for his
life. If he had his adamantium claws, there is no doubt he would
have used them in this instance. And in the prison train, it
would have been much simpler to make their escape with use of
his claws. It is clear that Logan
did not have claws for
this adventure which clearly places these events before those
of Wolverine #-1.
Before
the Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm and Logan #3 (Sep 2000)
– “Connecting Flight”
Writer:
Larry Hama; Penciler: Kaare Andrews; Inker: Walden Wong
As Carol Danvers barrels down on the prison train
in the Yak observation plane, Logan and Ben are able to grab
a hold of the plane's skis, though Logan
's grip is one-handed, due
to the Red Storm strongbox dangling from his other hand. As
Carol pulls up, she finds her small plane in the flight path
of the Flying Wing, now under the control of the Soviets. As
she spins the plane to avoid a collision, Logan
begins to lose his grip
on the ski. With little to lose, Carol performs another roll
that throws Logan
and the strongbox onto the wing of the Northrop YB-49. While
Logan
tries to maintain his precarious position on the outside of
the wing, the Soviet pilots open fire on him. Beginning to lose
control of his temper, Logan slams the Red Storm strongbox through
the cockpit window, decking the pilots and giving himself an
entrance to the inside of the plane. Once inside, Logan
realizes that he cannot
successfully pilot this strange plane by himself. As fate would
have it, Carol is able to deposit Ben onto the Flying Wing mere
moments later, and Logan
drags him inside to pilot
the plane. Before they can celebrate, two Soviet fighter jets
arrive on the scene and begin to pummel the Flying Wing. Carol
is able to destroy one jet in a mid-air collision with her Yak,
but her plane is critically damaged and begins to nosedive.
Ben follows the diving Yak with the Flying Wing, and Logan
manages to grab her through
the shattered cockpit window before her plane hits the ground.
As the remaining Soviet jet moves in for the kill, piloted by
Natalia Shostakova of the KGB, her superior recalls her to base,
not realizing how close she is to victory. With that, Ben pilots
the plane back towards the United
States . Logan
adds cryptically that their
mission is only half-completed, which starts yet another fight
between Logan and Ben. The ending suggests that Larry Hama had
another mini-series planned to follow up on this one, but nothing
ever came of it.
Wolverine/Nick
Fury: The Scorpio Connection (1989)
Writer:
Archie Goodwin; Artist: Howard Chaykin
Logan
remembers a time before the creation of SHIELD when he tracks
a terrorist assassin from Canada
to Australia.
Locating the secret terrorist training camp in the Tanami
Desert,
Logan
destroys the camp. During his escape, Logan
is shot and left
for dead. David Nanjiwarra of the Australian Secret Security
and Intelligence Organization (ASIO), his cover blown by Logan
's actions, finds
him and tends to his wounds. After experiencing the prejudices
against the aboriginal Nanjiwarra first hand while they trek
back to civilization, Logan
suggests that
an international spy organization that is rumored to be in development
(SHIELD) might be a smart move for the Nanjiwara.
Logan:
Shadow Society (Dec 1996)
Plotter:
Howard Mackie; Scripter: Mark Jason; Artists: Tomm Coker &
Keith Aiken with Octavio Cariello
Neil Langram and Logan are partners in a Canadian
Intelligence department “…so secret that not even the [Canadian]
Prime Minister knows of its existence.”
Marvel
Comics Presents #52 (1990) – “The Wilding II: The First Cut
Is the Deepest”
Plotter:
Rob Liefeld; Scripter: Fabien Nicieza; Artist: Rob Liefeld
Logan
notes that Doctor Giloski from the Ottawa
General Hospital
had patched him
up on several occasions. Potentially these visits occurred when
Logan
was unaware of his mutant abilities and lacked official medical
services.
Alpha
Flight #17 (Dec 1984) - “Dreams Die Hard…”
Writer/Artist:
John Byrne
In a conversation between Logan and Eugene Judd
(Puck of Alpha Flight), Logan
mentions that
they were on opposite sides during the mess in Maracaibo,
Venezuela.
This is probably a reference to the revolution in January 1958
when General Marcos Perez Jimenez was overthrown and a civilian
democracy installed.
Tomm
Coker and Keith Aiken, Logan: Shadow Society.
©
and ™ by Marvel Characters, Inc.
As noted previously, Marc Cerasini's Wolverine: Weapon
X (a prose novel from Marvel Press) is an exploration
of the Weapon X storyline by Barry Windsor-Smith. Marc Cerasini
claims in an interview with UnderGroundOnline
that, “Marvel also provided a really amazing timeline/bible
for the character Logan/Wolverine which I used heavily. There
are some real secrets in that document and I revealed a few
of them in the novel.” But there are significant problems with
the novel's chronology that cast doubt on the book's veracity.
The story clearly takes place in present day instead of during
the Cold War as originally intended, referencing the recent
space shuttle disaster, weapons of mass destruction, North Korea's
nuclear program, not to mention the commonplace nature of extremely
modern computer and military technologies. More problematic
is that the novel ends quite differently than the Weapon X storyline
by Barry Windsor-Smith, killing off several characters who survive
Experiment X and significantly impact Wolverine's life at a
later date. For these reasons, I have deemed that Wolverine:
Weapon X by Marc Cerasini does not take place within the
traditional Marvel continuity. However, I include new revelations
about Logan 's past from this novel for the sake of completeness,
presenting that information in red.
Wolverine:
Weapon X (Nov 2004) – “Chapter One: Prophecy”
Novelist:
Marc Cerasini
Logan remembers when he was with the Defense Ministry
working out of the Ottawa branch of the Canadian Intelligence
Service. It is then that he meets and is partnered with Neil
Langram. Their first mission is to infiltrate the Korean Peninsula
, near Sook Reservoir. They are to use HAWKs (High Altitude
Wing Kite) developed by SHIELD, devices that Logan is apparently
familiar with. Logan admits that he knows Hideki Musaki, a Yakuza,
and Langram insinuates that Logan is known as Patch in the Far
East , also referencing Cracklin' Rosa's.
Wolverine:
Weapon X (Nov 2004) – “Chapter Five: The Mission ”
Novelist:
Marc Cerasini
Logan , dropped from a MC-140, freefalls into North
Korean airspace strapped to a SHIELD HAWK (second generation
model). Approaching the North Korean facilities surrounding
a dam, Logan , accompanied by his partner Neil Langram, is on
a mission for Canadian Intelligence to locate Weapons of Mass
Destruction. As he lands, Logan smashes into someone waiting
from him on the ground below.
Wolverine:
Weapon X (Nov 2004) – “Chapter Seven: The Mutant”
Novelist:
Marc Cerasini
Logan rolls across the landscape with the stranger who
he collided with. Finally coming to a halt on the edge of a
cliff, Logan discovers the stranger is an agent of the Japanese
Special Assault Team, Miko Katana. Through a French mole in
Canadian Intelligence, she learned of Logan 's mission and requests
his help to enter the nearby dam facility to rescue a kidnapped
Japanese scientist.
Wolverine:
Weapon X (Nov 2004) – “Chapter Nine: Revelations”
Novelist:
Marc Cerasini
As Logan and Miko reconnoiter, they realize that
the North Korean Special Forces are aware of Logan's and Langram's
mission and are endeavoring to capture the two Canadian spies.
Wolverine:
Weapon X (Nov 2004) – “Chapter Eleven: Prey”
Novelist:
Marc Cerasini
To throw the North Koreans of their tail, Logan
comes up with a dangerous plan. Leaving Miko, he attacks a North
Korean personnel carrier with his Heckler-Koch HK G36 assault
rifle, killing the driver. The truck loses control and plows
into Logan , carrying itself and Logan into the lake. As Logan
goes underwater, he is attacked by a North Korean officer from
the truck. Logan quickly kills the man and swims underwater
to the far side of the lake, successfully faking his own death.
Badly wounded and exhausted, Logan crawls away from the lake
and rendezvouses with Miko, collapsing in a hidden shelter that
she built in the nearby woods. She informs him that the North
Koreans captured Langram, but seem to have been taken in by
his ruse.
Wolverine:
Weapon X (Nov 2004) – “Chapter Twelve: Predator”
Novelist:
Marc Cerasini
Logan reveals to Miko that he is a mutant, mentioning
that he found out a few years before.
Wolverine:
Weapon X (Nov 2004) – “Chapter Thirteen: Golem”
Novelist:
Marc Cerasini
Logan soon realizes that the North Koreans are still
searching for him, a suspicion punctuated by the sound of dogs
tracking his scent.
Wolverine:
Weapon X (Nov 2004) – “Chapter Fourteen: The Hunt”
Novelist:
Marc Cerasini
Logan leads the dogs, soldiers, and helicopters tracking
him away from Miko, giving her time to break into the North
Korean facility to rescue the Japanese scientist and Langram.
Using all of the tricks learned from his youth, Logan finally
makes it to a clearing where he is sighted by a sniper aboard
a pursuing helicopter. Logan fires his M9, killing the sniper,
and lobs a hand grenade into the helicopter. Unfortunately,
two more helicopters follow, forcing Logan into the hands of
the North Korean troops on the ground. Logan kills three of
the soldiers, including an officer, but is soon beaten into
unconsciousness.
Wolverine:
Weapon X (Nov 2004) – “Chapter Seventeen: The Storm”
Novelist:
Marc Cerasini
Logan wakes up in a North Korean jail, cellmates with
Langram who explains that he discovered North Korea 's secret:
they are producing a new strain of deadly nerve gas. Before
long, alarms go off, and the Canadian agents are rescued by
Miko. Logan, Langram and Miko fight their way through an onrush
of North Korean soldiers, finally locating the Japanese scientist,
Dr. Inoshiro Katana, who turns out to be Miko's father. Because
her father is near death due to his savage treatment at the
hands of the North Koreans, Miko, for the sake of family honor,
is forced to kill him.
Wolverine:
Weapon X (Nov 2004) – “Chapter Eighteen: Breaking Point”
Novelist:
Marc Cerasini
Escaping from the facility, Logan , Langram and Miko
silently kill several more guards and steal a North Korean personnel
carrier. Racing towards the extraction point, Langram plows
the truck through an electrified chain link fence and gets them
within a kilometer of their destination when a tank blows up
their APC .
Wolverine:
Weapon X (Nov 2004) – “Chapter Twenty: Redemption”
Novelist:
Marc Cerasini
Logan and Miko are thrown free from the APC , but Langram,
unconscious and injured, is still strapped to the driver's seat.
With Miko's shoulder injured, Logan frees Langram and begins
to carry him to the extraction site. Miko stays behind to slow
down the oncoming North Korean soldiers, but they are all quickly
rounded up. The North Korean officer kills Miko with a shot
to the head, sending Logan into a rage. He kills the officer
with his knife and escapes into the woods. Then with a berserker
rage building, Logan 's bone claws emerge, and Logan gives into
his animal nature. The carnage is staggering as Logan kills
scores of North Korean soldiers. Before long, a MH-60 Pave Hawk
helicopter, with men who will later work at Experiment X, arrives
and picks up Langram and Logan. Logan is barely conscious, a
look of extreme savagery playing across his face.
Logan:
Shadow Society (Dec 1996)
Plotter:
Howard Mackie; Scripter: Mark Jason; Artists: Tomm Coker &
Keith Aiken with Octavio Cariello
In a rundown section of Toronto
, a young undercover
CIA
operative, Carol Danvers, runs a sting operation to catch an
arms dealer, Jacques Preen, who is working the Canadian-American
border. When Danvers
' cover gets blown,
Logan,
acting as backup, quietly disposes of Preen's four hired thugs
and then subdues Preen. Afterwards, Logan and Carol reminisce
about “old times” until they are notified that Logan's
partner, Neil Langram, has just been murdered. One hour later
at the crime scene, Logan
searches for clues,
but is badgered by Sidney Hallorman, an overbearing bureaucrat
from the Defence Ministry. When Hallorman claims Langram was
a traitor, Logan
goes after him,
but Malcolm, an Internal Investigations specialist, orders Logan
to back off and
drop all involvement in the case. Malcolm does seem to carry
some weight with Logan
, as Carol is able
to convince Logan
to leave the crime
scene without further incident. Later that evening at Logan
's apartment, Logan
and Carol try to break into the Defence Ministry's computer
database using Logan
's new experimental
“personal computer.” The computer blows up, signaling to Carol
that it is time for both of them to get some rest. Several hours
later, Logan
is woken up by the barely-audible sounds of an intruder with
a silenced nine-millimeter automatic. As his apartment bursts
into flames from the attack of another assassin, Logan
escapes through
the window and calls in for a safe house. At the designated
pickup point (an empty hockey rink), Logan
again finds himself
under assault by two hostile operatives. Logan
incapacitates
both but fails to learn the identities of his attackers. In
the wee hours of the morning, Logan
arrives at Carol's
hotel room, only to find that she has killed the four attackers
dispatched to kill her.
The scene moves to the dark sub-basement of the Canadian
Ministry of Defence, where the early stages of the top-secret
Department H are underway. Logan and Carol break into the onsite
computer database and discover evidence of the “Mutant Agenda,”
consisting of a list of suspected genetic mutants, and suspicious
individuals who would expose the existence of said mutants.
Logan's
name is on the list as a suspected mutant, and, slated for silencing
is Dr. Perry Edwards, the author of the book, “Shadow Society,”
that documents the emergence of super-powered mutants within
human society. Four hours later, Logan and Carol track down
Dr. Edwards in New
York City and
save him from two assassins who have followed him to Greenwich
Village . As Edwards
explains the details of the mutant hierarchy to Logan and Carol,
he shows them the Hellfire Club, a prestigious club on the verge
of becoming a breeding ground for mutants bent on dominating
humans. Logan
breaks into the club and learns of a Canadian installation that
is imprisoning mutants, before being driven away by Hellfire
Club guards. By the following day, Logan and Carol have located
and broken into the Canadian installation. As they investigate,
Logan
comes face to face with Creed who has strung up the bodies of
his most recent kills: Dr. Edwards, Malcolm, Hallorman and three
unnamed American agents involved in the “Mutant Agenda.” As
the two face off, Creed implies that Logan
is a mutant, and
was to be recruited for the coming battle over mutant supremacy.
He further explains that he personally killed Neil Langram over
his refusal to join up with Creed. Logan
finally loses
his cool and plunges his sizable knife into Creed's chest. But
Creed is able to detonate a bomb, blowing up the entire facility.
Logan and Carol barely escape with their lives, as Logan
ponders the very
real possibility that he is, in fact, a mutant.
This is the second one-shot in 1996 by Howard Mackie
relating to Logan
's past and contains
many interesting tidbits. The Canadian intelligence agency that
Logan and his partner, Neil Langram, work for is so secret that
even the Canadian Prime Minister is unaware of its existence.
When Creed appears, he boasts of his long history with Logan
, specifically
the settling of old scores and the safety of helpless women.
Carol Danvers makes an appearance as an old intelligence friend
of Logan ,
even though she is clearly under the age of 21. The beginnings
of Department H are shown to be closely tied to the “Mutant
Agenda,” and Logan
obviously suspects
that he is mutant. Finally, the appearance of Warren Worthington
as a youngster at the Hellfire Club suggests that his story
takes place in the late 1950s, since he will be a teenager in
1964.
Wolverine
'97 Annual (1997) “Heart of the Beast”
Writers:
John Ostrander & Joe Edkin; Artist: Leonardo Maco
Logan ,
working for Canadian Intelligence, is sent to the Soviet
Union to help
Dimitri Suhkarov, a Soviet nuclear arms designer, and his daughter,
Viktoria, defect. Several days later, Logan has managed to bring
them to a bridge crossing the Yensei River in Siberia, but they
are closely pursued by a top Soviet Intelligence agent, Ilya
Dubromovitch Skorzorski, code-name Volk (Russian for Wolf) and
three young Soviet soldiers. Logan
sends the father
and daughter across the bridge to meet up with a plane waiting
to take them to safety and backtracks to confront his pursuers.
While he is able to kill the three Soviet soldiers, Logan
does suffer several
gunshot wounds to his chest. As Volk closes in on the Suhkarovs,
Logan
tackles him behind and wrestles him to the ground. But Logan
's wounds slow
him down in the ensuing fight, and Volk emerges victorious,
shooting Dimitri Suhkarov dead. Before Logan
can recover, Volk
departs, acknowledging Logan as a worthy adversary and leaving
Logan and Viktoria Suhkarov to escape with their lives. As an
interesting side note, Logan
shows himself
to be fluent in Russian.
Marvel
Comics #73 (1991) – “Weapon X: Chapter One”
Writer/Artist:
Barry Windsor-Smith
As Logan is being prepared for the Experiment X program,
Carol Hines pulls up his Medfax file that notes that Logan had
been shot at least five times prior to his capture, four to
the trunk and once in the leg. Presumably, one of the torso
wounds was inflicted during Logan
's mission to Siberia.
Marvel
Comics #72 (1991) – “Weapon X: Prologue”
Writer/Artist:
Barry Windsor-Smith
According to official records, Logan
was suspended
from Canadian Intelligence for critically wounding a firing
range worker (entry wound near the left temple) during a gun
mishap, despite being an expert marksman. During a subsequent
investigation, it was noted that Logan
suffered from
self-destructive tendencies resulting from chronic alcohol abuse.
It is further noted that he had a morbid occupation with the
current “mutant” hysteria brought on by possible psychosis.
It is further warned that extreme care should be taken with
him due to his violent nature. According to Barry Windsor-Smith,
"It's apparent that in the early '60s, when Logan
worked for some
sort of Secret Service in Canada
, he was also using
drugs and was an alcoholic. His life was absolutely meaningless.
He had been fired for a mistake at a firing range. It's kind
of funny. He blows this guy's head off with a .38 revolver.
And Logan 's
attitude is, 'I winged the guy. So what?' And the only reason
he did that was because he hands were shaking because he had
been drunk the night before.[3]
Wolverine:
Weapon X (Nov 2004) – “Chapter One: Prophecy”
Novelist:
Marc Cerasini
After being let go from Canadian Intelligence,
Logan 's reputation brings “…an unending line of young punks
or fading old-timers always there to challenge him.” But it
allows Logan to get jobs interacting with the underworld, seemingly
working with arms dealers. On one specific deal, Logan is summoned
to meet Rene St. Exeter , a pretentious gunrunner, to collect
his cut of the profits. St. Exeter attempts to double cross
Logan , claiming the air-to-air missiles Logan procured for
use in Latin America were of inferior quality. Logan quickly
retaliates, killing St. Exeter's bodyguards, but St. Exeter
escapes during the bloody mayhem. Disgusted with the situation,
Logan heads for the Yukon in his Lotus 7.
Logan:
Shadow Society (Dec 1996)
Plotter:
Howard Mackie; Scripter: Mark Jason; Artists: Tomm Coker &
Keith Aiken with Octavio Cariello
One month after the events of the “Mutant Agenda” fiasco,
Logan
calls Carol Danvers at a secluded safe house as she recuperates
from her injuries. Carol notes that no trace of Creed was found
at the remains of the Canadian installation. Logan
comments that
his reputation is dirt with Canadian Intelligence ever since
he started talking about the “Mutant Agenda” conspiracy. The
call ends with Logan
mentioning that
he is heading up to the Yukon
for a bit of a
break.
Leonardo
Manco, Wolverine '97.
©
and ™ by Marvel Characters, Inc.
<<<
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X
[1]
Larry Hama Interview, February 5, 2000
, FFPlaza.com.
[2]
Ibid.
[3]
Will Murray, “Secrets of Weapon X,"
Comics Scene #18. |
