In this review of Wolverine #6, after battling several old enemies in the thrall of a mysterious entity, Logan realizes that they are all connected by the adamantium metal.
WOLVERINE #6
Writer: SALADIN AHMED
Art and Main Cover: MARTÍN CÓCCOLO
Variant Covers: GEOFF SHAW, MARK BROOKS
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: February 5, 2025
This review contains spoilers
Wolverine #6 begins with Logan lying naked in the dark. Unable to see, his other senses quickly compensate and he picks up sounds and smells that tell him he is buried underground. The metallic clanging in his head are the dueling clarion calls of Adamantine (metal of the gods) and adamantium (the false metal). Then he hears someone say his name.
Logan wakes up in costume, standing in the last place he remembered being; a metal refinery under attack by his mind-controlled nemesis, Cyber. Logan’s X-Men teammate Nightcrawler informs him that Cyber escaped while he was rescuing the refinery workers. Logan reveals that an ancient entity is trying to destroy all adamantium on Earth and is using adamantium wielders to do it.
Logan and Nightcrawler race to the Blackbird jet to scan for Cyber only to discover a hole torn in the jet’s housing and Logan’s protégé Leonard missing. Leonard is a Wendigo, a human transformed into a creature of myth that hunts and kills out of insatiable blood lust. Logan had recently encountered the young Wendigo in the Canadian woods and was mostly successful in curbing his violent urges.
Logan and Nightcrawler track Leonard to another part of the refinery and find him grappling with Laura Kinney, the other Wolverine. Logan breaks up the fight and calms Leonard down as Laura updates the team about a group of murdered metallurgists that led her to the refinery.
After Nightcrawler tracks Cyber to a data center in Arizona, Logan puts two and two together and posits that the entity (called “Adamantine”) is not only trying to destroy all adamantium but also the knowledge of how to create it.
Nightcrawler teleports Logan and Laura to Arizona and then returns to the Blackbird to keep an eye on Leonard at Logan’s request. The Wolverines discover the data center workers were violently slaughtered inside the facility and Logan notes that Cyber is no longer working alone.
The pair chase down the killers and are quickly surrounded by Constrictor, Cyber, Lady Deathstrike and Donald Pierce, all adamantium wielders, and all in thrall to the Adamantine.
The Wolverines square off against the killer quartet in a brutal battle, and despite the killers’ greater numbers, Logan and Laura deploy some X-Men battle tactics to take them all down. As Logan and Laura catch their breath and wait for their wounds to heal the man behind the curtain reveals himself to be Logan’s ancient enemy Romulus.
Analysis
Wolverine #6 moves the story along, features a few nice character moments and some nifty fight scenes but it isn’t without its flaws.
For any established character, especially one as popular as Wolverine, carving out a new direction while catering to longtime fans is a tricky but necessary balancing act for any creative team.
Saladin Ahmed’s writing in Wolverine #6 is serviceable, mixing a new, mysterious threat while incorporating some familiar Wolverine tropes and guest stars. The character beats between Logan and Leonard are the series’ strongest moments to date, while most of the expositional dialogue feels regrettably clunky.
Logan’s past comes calling in various ways in this series. Ahmed’s clever mashup of the classic Wendigo trope, (dating back to Logan’s first appearance in Incredible Hulk), and the twist of Logan (with his own history of violent episodes) as the calming mentor brings a new dimension to his ongoing story.
Still Wolverine #6 and the series seem to be missing something. The scripting is solid, but not compelling or ground-breaking enough to stand out, and Logan’s narration often feels cliché.
Nightcrawler’s appearance also feels out of place in the story, more to check a few boxes than as a necessary guest star. Laura Kinney on the other hand is an adamantium wielder and thus has a stake in this emerging threat.
Artist Martin Coccolo (Immortal Thor) provides some solid storytelling and dynamic panel layouts for the action scenes. His artwork is economical but detailed, his characters are blocky but fluid and full of energy.
Overall, Wolverine #6 is solid, but the series still has work to do to make this run stand out from what has come before.
