Ultimate Wolverine has become one of the more interesting Ultimate books, and a big reason is the conversation around it. The Ultimate line was wildly hyped in the beginning, but has since cooled down, and fans have started to point out the flaws. For many of these fans, the flaws of Ultimate Wolverine have been especially glaring. What makes the conversation so fascinating to me, as a fan of the book, is how nitpicky a lot of complaints are. “It’s too much like 616 Wolverine” (it isn’t; like the other books, it uses those ideas in new ways), “there’s too much death” (it’s a dark alternate reality), “why is it a Wolverine book and not an X-Men book” (this one is one of the funniest and yes, it’s been said in this way). Ultimate Wolverine #12 caps off the first year of the book, and it’s another example of a great issue that won’t convince anyone who dislikes it to read it.
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Ultimate Wolverine has been one of the better-selling Ultimate books, easily outpacing the 616 series in sales. This latest issue does everything that the book has been doing throughout its entire run, which is both great and also something that is going to cause the people who don’t like the book to continue not liking it. We just came off a huge moment in the book — the end of Opposition — and this issue is all about revenge. Condon hits just the right notes for this kind of Wolverine story; I especially enjoyed the captions, putting us in Logan’s head as he walks into a situation that could easily mean his murder. The Ultimate characters are often great, and this version of Wolverine has always been better than he gets credit for.
Rating: 4 out of 5
| Pros | Cons |
| Exciting, well-paced plot | The issue’s big fight looks great, but could have lasted longer |
| Excellent art | |
| Pays off a moment that has been teased for months |
From there, Condon does what he’s been doing best the entire series, giving readers a pulse-pounding story as Logan confronts the woman who created him, all in order to get his hands on the “woman who has been talking in my head”: Jean Grey, a prisoner of the Eurasian Republic and yet another method of control over their often living weapons. This is one of those moments that has been presaged since the first story arc and feels right. There’s a cool fight between Wolverine and Colossus, and Magik that ends with a nice little shocking moment, and before that, we get the fate of an X-Men legend. The issue actually has a somewhat happy ending, which has been rare for this book, but it works after the massive losses that the book has suffered since it began.
Ultimate Wolverine Remains the Best-Looking Ultimate Book
Since breaking out on the Moon Knight books, Alessandro Cappuccio has been one of the most beloved artists currently working in the industry. He’s been doing fantastic work on Ultimate Wolverine, and this issue is no different. He gives us a rather common image — a full page spread of Wolverine jumping down to attack from a flying object (in this case, a Sentinel) — but gives it that visual charm that makes his work so exciting. The detail is wonderful, the line work never gets sketchy, and the character acting is fantastic.
The issue’s fight scene has some great panels, with my favorite being the moment that Wolverine is attacked by both of the Rasputins at once. All-in-all, the art is yet another example of why fans love this book so much; Cappuccio does an amazing job of giving readers the kind of imagery that brings the script to life. While there are definitely complaints about this book, the art is never one of them.
Ultimate Wolverine #12 does everything it needs to do, putting the book on the course to Ultimate Endgame, giving readers an exciting and climactic story. However, the people who already hate this book aren’t going to suddenly like it because of this issue. There’s the death of a beloved X-Man (I can already see the posts on the X-Men subreddit), Logan “beating” a character that a minority of fans don’t think he could, and a somewhat predictable ending that will probably anger shippers. This is a great comic, but if you hate this book already, you’re still going to hate it after reading it.
Ultimate Wolverine #12 is on sale now.
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