Comics

Marvel Turns an Original Member of the X-Men Into a Ruthless Killing Machine

Wolverine isn’t the only X-Man who has been forced to kill his friends.

Image Credit: Marvel Comics

Wolverine isn’t the only member of the X-Men who’s been turned into a ruthless killing machine. Ultimate Wolverine began with Logan already transformed into a brainwashed assassin for the Eurasian Republic. Now dubbed the Winter Soldier, Wolverine was unleashed on his former friends in the Opposition. Luckily, they were able to free Wolverine from his programming, and he now fights on their side. But not all mutants have been as lucky as Logan. Ultimate Wolverine has already revealed the tragic fate of our favorite X-Men, but one of Charles Xavier’s First Class of X-Men may have gotten an even worse deal than Wolverine.

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WARNING: Spoilers for Ultimate Wolverine #8 below

Ultimate Wolverine #8 is by Chris Condon, Alessandro Cappuccio, Bryan Valenza, and VC’s Cory Petit. Wolverine slips on a new costume to join a Suicide Squad-style group called Strike Team X from the Opposition as they infiltrate a Eurasian Republic facility on Zmiinyi โ€œSnakeโ€ Island to free captured mutants. What they discover inside the facility is enough to leave Kitty Pryde shellshocked and frightened. All of the facility’s workers have been slaughtered, and their dead bodies are filled with sharp razor blades.

As Strike Team X moves deeper into the facility, they come upon a large room filled with more dead bodies. On the other side of the bodies, someone cloaked in darkness is speaking to himself. He repeats the words, “I won’t let you,” over and over again. Kitty recognizes the wings coming from the back of the person’s body. His name is Warren Worthington, one of the original X-Men in the main Marvel Universe. Except this isn’t the majestic Angel fans are used to. This is the Archangel out for blood.

Ultimate Wolverine’s Angel Is More Dangerous Than Apocalypse’s Horseman of Death

image credit: marvel comics

Kitty Pryde wants to help Angel, the same way the Opposition helped to free Wolverine from his brainwashing. As Kitty moves closer, Angel becomes defensive and attacks with his metal wings. Kitty is able to phase through the metal feathers being thrown, and Wolverine has his healing factor to protect him, but the same can’t be said for Beast and Abigail Brand.

Beast is impaled in his right eye, while Abigail Brand is killed by the daggers penetrating her neck. Angel is a terrifying sight to see, with his entire body almost becoming one with the shadows. The only color that can be seen is his red eyes. Angel’s blonde hair on his head is shaved away, leaving exposed wires from being tortured and experimented on. Wolverine, Gambit, Black Widow, and Sabretooth go on the offensive, knocking Angel unconscious.

Wolverine believes Angel is past the point of redemption. Sure, he was saved, but the Opposition has no way of knowing if Angel has been changed so much that he can be redeemed. Logan even calls Angel a “horseman of the apocalypse,” a nod to Warren’s transformation into Archangel by Apocalypse in the main Marvel Universe. Kitty believes Angel deserves a second chance, like Wolverine did. Of course, she has a point. The Opposition could have discarded Wolverine as a lost cause, but they chose not to. And they were able to free Wolverine and set him back on a heroic path. The same thing can happen to Angel. They have to at least try.

It’s depressing to see that no matter the timeline, Warren Worthington always finds himself as a puppet in someone else’s devious games. The Opposition was able to use David Haller/Legion to undo all the bad stuff put in Wolverine’s brain, so he most likely will try the same with Angel. Before Ultimate Wolverine #8 ends, Logan sends a warning shot to Dr. Prostovich, the head of Directorate X. He’s looking for payback for what’s been done to him, Angel, and several other mutants.

What do you think about what’s been done to Angel in Ultimate Wolverine #8? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!