In this review of Wolverine #11, Logan returns to the Howlett Estate and encounters his long-dead mother Elizabeth, apparently alive and well, (but maybe not for long with Sabretooth in the picture).
WOLVERINE #11
Writer: SALADIN AHMED
Art and Main Cover: MARTÍN CÓCCOLO
Variant Covers: Leonardo Romero, Alexander Lozano
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: July 23, 2025
This review contains spoilers
Wolverine #11 begins at Logan’s old home, the Howlett Estate, where a woman claiming to be his mother, Elizabeth Howlett is exactly how he remembers her. Logan doesn’t have time to catch up with her after his old sparring partner Sabretooth drops by and Logan is forced to go on the offensive.
Logan, overwhelmed by the emotional overload after seeing his mother alive, and the return of his greatest nemesis, channels his frustration into slashing Sabretooth to ribbons. Sabretooth taunts Logan as the brawl grows bloody, spilling out across the dilapidated house. The fight gets up close and personal (no claws), when Elizabeth rams a fireplace poker into Sabretooth’s back to save her son.
Even wounded, Sabretooth chases Elizabeth through the house, Logan catches up, his anger rising, but he is momentarily distracted by a telepathic attack. Logan uses his X-Men training to protect himself and within moments he springs on Sabretooth again.
The pair crash out of a second floor window, Logan lands hard but relatively unharmed, while Sabretooth practically snaps his neck (he’ll heal, but sometimes it pays to have bones laced with unbreakable metal). Despite Sabretooth being unconscious,, Logan pounces on him, claws out until Elizabeth appears and begs him to stop.
Logan catches himself and pulls back in confusion, believing that his mother had just kept him from going over the edge. Remarkably, Sabretooth rises to his feet, neck broken, and bleeding and the pair clash one final time before Logan rips out part of his face with his teeth and pours on the hurt (silhouetted figures and black blood level violence) before Sabretooth, finally, (and mercifully) passes out.
Wolverine #11 ends with a bruised, battered and emotionally devastated Logan collapsing in his mother’s arms, her true identity is revealed to the readers.
Analysis
Now that’s what I’m talking about; Wolverine #11 delivers a solid, compelling story, leagues away from the unfortunately mediocre early issues of this run. The story adds sufficient emotional stakes through a life-or-death struggle, and new insight into Logan’s past (that weird painting analogy not withstanding). The simple knock ’em down plot across the Howlett Estate, Logan’s growing fear and desperation are all expertly manipulated by the two supporting players in this issue.
This isn’t to say that Wolverine #11 is a perfect issue, writer Saladin Ahmed has already attempted to put his own stamp on Wolverine, adding new elements while honoring the character’s legacy, with mostly mixed results. Here the direct point A to point B plotting (mostly) streamlines the focus, allowing the reader to experience Logan’s pain in almost real time (no ad breaks).
Ahmed’s plot and script works best in showcasing the emotional stakes for Logan in protecting “Elizabeth” from his former ally turned mortal enemy, and drops a hint at telepathic manipulation, but some plot points don’t seem to add up, specifically Logan’s supposed “berserker rage” attack. Logan’s thoughts were coherent during this sequence, not the blood red, black-out rage one would expect. Manipulation probably?
Also, how hard did Logan hit Sabretooth when they crashed through the window? Why else would Sabretooth not try to break his fall and land the way he did?
Artist Martin Coccolo does a remarkable job with Ahmed’s emotionally savage script, his (many) fight scenes are intense and on point, with impressive angles and action poses. Unfortunately, some of his figure work seems truncated, or extremely foreshortened which works for Logan, but not for the taller Sabretooth.
Coccolo’s art is reminiscent of Scott McDaniel (especially that cover), with a looser, sketchier style, lending a frenetic sense of urgency that helps the story. Logan’s emotional turmoil shows through on the page, and Sabretooth with that broken neck is freaky, (but still not as jarring as that final page reveal).
Final Thoughts
Despite a few minor flaws, Wolverine #11 is a marked improvement for this series with action, heart, emotional stakes and more action than one might think can fit into a normal sized comic book. If this is the level of quality for the series going forward, Wolverine might find itself back on the “must read” list.
