Art by Andrea Sorrentino and Marcelo Maiolo

Name : Logan

: Logan Code Names : Wolverine

: Wolverine First Appearance: Fantastic Four #558 (but only on a technicality and has unofficially been retconned out of continuity)

Fantastic Four #558 (but only on a technicality and has unofficially been retconned out of continuity) Powers : Healing factor, enhanced senses, adamantium coated claws in hands and feet

: Healing factor, enhanced senses, adamantium coated claws in hands and feet Teams Affiliation: X-Men

About

The beauty of alternate realities in comic books is their ability to show impossible versions of existing characters. When done poorly it just feels like a different coat of paint on the same old hero. When it’s done well, alternate realities keep the core of the character while putting them in situations one could only dream of. The Age of Apocalypse showed what Magneto would be like if his passion and survivalist streak was targeted at peaceful coexistence, not domination. The Days of Future Past was a window into the fierce leader that the young Kitty Pryde could grow to be. These glimpses into a different world let creators do things that could never happen in the 616. In 2008 the all-star team of Mark Millar and Steve McNiven took a look at what Wolverine would become after he stopped being Wolverine and created one of the most beloved alternate realities of all time.

Portrayed by Hugh Jackman in Logan

The tale of Old Man Logan starts on the day the villains attacked. Marvel’s baddest had come to a realization, they outnumbered the heroes and could take them down if they coordinated their attack. At the X-Mansion, forty villains charged in, but the Wolverine was ready. The fight lasted hours and one by one the dastardly foes fell at the end of Wolverine’s blades. Bullseye was the last. As he stood there, skewered on Wolverine’s claws, he cried out “Logan, stop. Please… Why are you doing this? You’re supposed to be out friend…” Wolverine’s eyes saw clearly for the first time that night. Across the room gloating was the master illusionist Mysterio, in his arms was Jubilee, and all around him were the gash ridden bodies of his fellow X-Men. He spent the next few weeks in a daze until he saw a train rail. He laid down, his neck resting on the cold iron, and waited for the thunderous train to barrel towards him. In that moment, the Wolverine died.

Art by Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, and Morry Hollowell

His vaunted healing factor kept Logan alive, but he wasn’t the man he had been before. Years past and Logan became complacent in a world run by evil. He rambled through the countryside, just surviving. He swore to himself that he would never pop his claws again. He was a man of peace now. In Canada, he found the first glimmer of hope he had seen in decades. Her name was Maureen and she was able to domesticate the beast he had become. They moved to California, a land ruled by the Hulk and his inbreed descendants, started a farm, and raised their two children, Scottie and Jade. The Hulk gang was brutal and money was hard to come by. Logan knew he couldn’t make the next month’s rent, and he knew the Hulk’s would make an example out of his family if he didn’t. He needed a miracle and it came speeding across the horizon in the Spider-Mobile.

Art by Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, and Morry Hollowell

Hawkeye had survived the culling, the villains didn’t think of him as a threat, and he came to Logan’s pig farm with an opportunity. He was going across the country to New Babylon, the former Washington DC, to deliver some secret package, drugs Logan assumed, and Hawkeye needed a navigator. It was a two week round trip but Logan’s cut would be three month’s rent. He couldn’t believe that the two heroes had been reduced to drug runners but here they were. Two old men just trying to survive in a world where they no longer belonged.

Art by Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, and Morry Hollowell

The trip went as well as most road trips do. Logan and Hawkeye traveled the twisted wasteland, passing the Moloid devastated San Francisco, the holy site where Mjölnir rested, and the desecrated Mount Rushmore, clad with the face for President Red Skull. They were chased by a T-Rex who had bonded with the Venom symbiote and were saved by the former Inhuman king, Black Bolt. He took the duo to Emma Frost, who didn’t look a day older. Emma wasn’t at the mansion the night of the massacre and survived by bonding herself to Victor Von Doom in marriage. Logan was disgusted to see the former X-Man stoop so low, but who was he to judge? The world didn’t have room for heroes anymore.

Art by Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, and Morry Hollowell

At long last, they reached New Babylon and Hawkeye came clean. They had been transporting ninety-nine vials of the super-soldier serum for the underground resistance. Hawkeye was going to lead the next Avengers and the heroes were going to return. Horror struck when Logan realized that Hawkeye’s contact was less than altruistic. It was all a sting conducted by the Red Skull and Logan and Clint were gunned down. They took the corpses to President Skull who gloated over his fallen foes. Slower than it used to be, Logan’s healing factor kicked in and he was out for revenge. Logan grabbed the mighty shield of Captain America from Skull’s trophy room and used it to decapitate the man who ordered the fall of the heroes.

Art by Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, and Morry Hollowell

Grabbing the armor of Iron Man, and years’ worth of rent from the Skull’s vault, Logan flew the three thousand miles home. His family wouldn’t want for anything again. He dreamed of the peaceful life they could live. It would be simple, but it would be theirs. He got to his ranch to see a neighbor sitting outside, his face sullen with grief. The Hul’s got bored and came to the farm early to collect their rent. When Maureen couldn’t pay they brutally murdered her, Scottie, and Jade. In that moment, Logan died, and the Wolverine was reborn.

Art by Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, and Morry Hollowell

Wolverine went on a rampage, obliterating every one of Banner’s back woods, inbreed spawn. The Hulks had thought that Logan was just a broken shell of a man, they didn’t realize the beast they had awaken. They paid for that mistake in green flesh. Wolverine made his way to the decrepit, old Banner and they two battled like the old days. While Logan had been peaceful for the last fifty years, Banner had only grown more ruthless and devoured the Wolverine. In his old age, the Hulk forgot just how potent Logan’s healing factor was, and he couldn’t shake the feeling of indigestion. Wolverine ripped his way out of Banner’s stomach, eviscerating the man. Next to Banner’s corpse, sat a crib with a small green baby. Wolverine took the child as his own and got on his horse. The world still needed a hero, and it might as well be him.

Art by Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, and Morry Hollowell

When the multiverse was destroyed by the incursions and recreated on Battleworld, Old Man Logan and his baby Hulk were placed in the Wastelands, but he knew something wasn’t right. This world wasn’t the one he knew, Thor wasn’t an order of police, Thor was his long dead friend. And these walls. He and Hawkeye had traveled across the country; the world was bigger than this wasn’t it? He left the baby Hulk in the care of Dani Cage and scaled the wall between realms on a mission to uncover the truth.

Art by Andrea Sorrentino and Marcelo Maiolo

His journey took him across Battleworld and Logan knew that this world was different than the one he remembered. He met the X-Men of the Age of Apocalypse, the Iron Men of the Technopolis, and battled his way through the zombified villains of the Deadlands. As he cut through the undead horde he realized just how foolish this trip had been, he shouldn’t have left his son, he shouldn’t have questioned his place in the universe, he should have stayed. But soon as he questioned his role he was met by fate. In the Kingdom of Manhattan, he saw faces that he hadn’t seen in years. The X-Men, his X-Men, were staring right at him and he knew he had a chance to redeem himself from his dark past. They explained to him what was going on in Battleworld, how Doom was controlling everything and, hearing that, Logan led the charge against the godking. The battle to end all battles raged on. There was a flash of light, then nothing.

Art by Andrea Sorrentino and Marcelo Maiolo

Logan opened his eyes, sniffed the stale air, and knew where he was. New York City, a city not overrun by villains but heroes. He had a chance to do it all again, to do it right and prevent his future from ever occurring. He went to work tracking down the Black Butcher, a minor villain who once hit Scottie and stole his baseball cap. Logan made sure the Butcher wouldn’t live long enough to torment his son. He crossed his name off the list he was keeping on his arm, a list of everyone he needed to kill to stop his future from ever occurring.

Art by Andrea Sorrentino and Marcelo Maiolo

Logan slowly realized that this world was different than the one he came from. Banner was supposed to be Hulk, not Cho. Steve Rodgers wasn’t supposed to be as old as Logan. He didn’t want to believe it, but try as his might, this wasn’t his past to change. It took him seeing the body of Wolverine encased in adimantium for him to accept that he was powerless in this world. After the realization, Logan rested in his native Canada. He had left his son and was powerless to prevent his future from occurring.

Art by Andrea Sorrentino and Marcelo Maiolo

Months later the X-Men found him but he had no interest being a hero again. The time-displaced Jean Grey, herself struggling with her place in this timeline, reached out to Logan. He confided in her that he was terrified that he was destined to play out his future again and kill the X-Men. She convinced him that he was fated to be an X-Man once more and Logan joined her with the rest of the team. Slowly, Logan accepted his place on the X-Men. He was part of a family again and, even if he was still a fighter, Logan found himself at peace.

Art by Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba, and Edgar Delgado

Must Read

I’ve been reading a lot of Old Man Logan recently, and while what both Jeff Lemire and Brian Bendis did with the character recently has been great, nothing can top how it all began. The Old Man Logan arc is everything you would want from a Wolverine story. It has the introspection and world class art of Claremont and Miller’s original Wolverine mini-series combined with the brutality and fun that Millar was known for. It is a masterclass in restraint, holding back so much until the moment Wolverine pops his claws again and then never slowing down after. It is very much a Mark Millar comic, but it is one that plays to his strengths without falling prey to his greatest weaknesses. It is on sale on Comixology right now, plus you can always find the trade or read it on Marvel Unlimited.

Art by Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, and Morry Hollowell

Ranking

I want this to be very clear, I am only ranking Old Man Logan, not Wolverine as a whole. That doesn’t make it easier because it’s a real challenge to rank an alternate reality character and not be influenced by their 616 counterpart. As I said at the top of this article, Old Man Logan is the template for how alternate reality stories should be done and all of that starts with a Wolverine who has been distilled to his core. Old Man Logan is the essence of Wolverine given a twist, and it works so well. The relatively small amount of appearances, coupled with the high quality of those runs, propel Logan near the top of this list. As I see it, he falls just outside of our top 5 between Psylocke (whose history is doing her a lot of favors here) and Dr. Nemesis (who I love but just isn’t as deep as Logan). For all those reasons and probably a little bit of hype for the movie, Old Man Logan ranks as the new number 6 in the Xavier Files.

Old Man Logan was requested by a good personal friend, Nate Winters. Thanks for the support bro and congratulations again on passing your boards and becoming a real doctor (even if you can’t work above the ankles)! If you have a request just submit it at the bottom of this article and I will add it to the list that currently stretches well into 2018! If you want to cut to the front of the line, we have a Patreon you can support for just $1 to get a line cutting reward.

Check out this awesome Strong Guy video our friends at Sticks & Spoons made for Xaiver Files. Make sure to like and subscribe!

Make sure you check out Legion Quest a new podcast where me and Newsarama reviewer Matt Sibley talk about the FX show Legion. You can follow the show at any of these sources (iTunes | Google Play | Sticher | RSS).

Click here if you want to see the full ranked list, with links to every entry in the Xavier Files so far.

If you liked what you read be sure to follow Xavier Files on twitter, Tumblr, Facebook!

Next week I finally fulfill the promise I made over a month ago and cover Polaris. See you then!

[formidable id=”4″]