Wolverine is a character that’s been around for a long time, creating relationships that have been good and bad. Enemies like Sabretooth and Mystique have tried to kill him, while allies like X-23 have fought by his side. But when Wolverine isn’t around anymore, how are the lives of his family and enemies defined? Death Of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy asks that question through showing how Daken, X-23, Sabretooth, Mystique and Lady Deathstrike cope with Logan being gone. The graphic novel is written by different people, such as Charles Soule and Kyle Higgins. This gives it the feeling of a short story collection, with each character’s perspective captured through a distinct lens.The graphic novel begins with X-23 being thrown into an electrified cell with Daken and Sabretooth. They’re quickly joined by Lady Deathstrike and Mystique. All of them realise they were brought together through their connection to Wolverine. The main plot is broken up into how each character reacted to the news of Wolverine’s death.
When X-23 found out her father was gone, she left the X-Men and went to Canada to clear her mind. While spending time in a club, Laura met Windshear, an ex-member of Alpha Flight. Despite suffering from cancer, Windshear continued to be a hero and protect his home, reminding Laura that costumes act as a symbol. This helped X-23 process the loss, leading to her dying her hair blue and gold to honour Wolverine.
Characters like Sabretooth reacted with anger at the knowledge that he wasn’t the one to kill Logan. To fill the void in his life, Creed took to dressing people up in Logan’s costume and slaughtering them. Every night he was haunted by the fact that no one could measure up to the satisfaction of killing his rival. The Sabretooth story was interesting because it showed an insecure, unfulfilled part of Creed that’s rarely been shown.
Lady Deathstrike’s story, written by Marguerite Bennett, was captivating because she felt that she owed a debt to Logan. In order to repay it, she was honour bound to retrieve the sword of Clan Yashida from Yakuza. Bennett presented Deathstrike as a woman who was moulded into a weapon, trapped inside the legacy of someone else. With Wolverine dead she felt as if she lost her purpose, but she vowed to carry on his name by protecting Japan by any means necessary.
Mystique’s story revolved around her relationship with Irene Adler and Wolverine’s interference in their plans. Mystique’s vulnerability came through in her interactions with Destiny, as she wanted the two of them to have the perfect world together. Over the years, Wolverine stopped them, yet in his absence, Mystique felt the loss of Irene even more.
Daken’s story was my favourite because of how it centred around grief. Daken’s relationship with his father has always been antagonistic, but that didn’t stop him from shutting down an auction designed to sell off Wolverine’s remains. The most powerful sequence in the graphic novel involved Daken performing a traditional Shinto funeral for his father. A Shinto funeral contains around twenty steps, making it a complex ritual. Daken chose to honour Wolverine through an act called kotsusage, placing his father’s claw fragments inside an urn. The funeral demonstrated Daken is capable of love, adding to the complexity of his character.
Death Of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy is a unique graphic novel because of the short story format. Each story is connected to the other, but they exist within their own space. If you’re a fan of any of the characters then I’d recommend picking the graphic novel up on Amazon.
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