Following the Death of Wolverine story arc, (and the death of Logan), we have several comic book titles that tie into the aftermath of Wolverine’s death.
One of these titles is Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy, in which several mutants with strong connections to Logan, both positive and negative, are thrust together. The first issue of this mini-series is the set-up part of the story. We find Sabretooth, Daken (The Dark Wolverine), X-23, Mystique, Lady Deathstrike and Elixir all confined by a mysterious villain. As these friends and foes of Logan all discuss their problem, and the news of Logan’s death, references are made in editorial asides that refer to future issues of the Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy storyline. This editorial trick is a reverse of the usual sidebars that inform the reader of past happenings in related comics, and here serve as subtle advertisements for the future issues of the series.
Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy-Daken and X-23
The first issue of this series then sets up, in a rather heavy-handed manner, two things: individual stories featuring each of these Wolverine-connected characters, and a mystery as to why they have been gathered together against their will and what the mysterious villain has planned for them.
The second issue of Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy, features Laura Kinney, code-named X-23, who is a young, female clone of Logan, with his same powers, but with only two claws per hand. In this story, which is basically a flashback prior to her incarceration with the others in Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy #1, tracing her reaction to Logan’s death. We see her angrily exiting the X-Men’s mansion, and she is quite explicit in explaining that her anger is toward Logan, who told her that he would always be there for her. Given his healing factor and longevity, that was likely a realistic promise when he made it, but as the long story arc in the various Wolverine comics shows, his loss of his healing factor ended his life. Psychologists would say that a child (and X-23 is, in a sense, Logan’s genetic offspring), whose parent dies abruptly can experience feelings of abandonment and anger at the dead parent. This is what happens to Laura, who goes off on her own to deal with her anger. As she leaves the X-Men, she insults Logan for wearing the yellow and blue Wolverine uniform, and the whole superhero mantle that he had assumed.
Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy # 1
We then find her in a nightclub in Toronto. Of course, being a comic book, the nightclub that happens to be frequented by a mutant with powers, is attacked by a bunch of terrorists calling themselves the Happy Clams (no, really!). In the ensuing fight, a new Canadian superhero calling himself Chinook (as in the wind, not the fish), enters the fight. X-23 hops a ride with this red and white-garbed hero, and in an emotional discussion, he discloses that he was formerly known as Windshear of Alpha Flight, and that he has a terminal illness. In trying to do some good in his remaining lifetime, he fights crime as Chinook. Along the way, he explains to Laura why he wears the spandex and the colors (in his case, the colors of the Canadian flag), as a means of representing what he believes in. This strikes a chord with X-23, and we next see her sporting yellow and blue highlights in her hair as an homage to Logan.
Death of Wolverine-The Logan Legacy #3 with Sabretooth
Whereas Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy #2 is an homage to Logan and his colors, the third issue is a bloody nightmare featuring Logan’s worst and oldest foe, Victor Creed, AKA Sabretooth! While Laura’s method of dealing with Logan’s death was to run away, Sabretooth is angry because someone else managed to kill his old foe. This drives him into a killing frenzy, and he finds his release as a mercenary in Somalia. While being given the opportunity to kill large numbers of government soldiers, our psychotic killer is not content to just spill blood. He still wants to kill Logan. So, at night-time, he kidnaps short Somali rebels (oh, yeah, that is the group he is working with, by the way), dresses them up in a Wolverine costume, and then kills them with great glee. In a way, this is reminiscent of another mutant villain with an unhealthy obsession with a superhero. (In Avengers vol. 3 #71, Whirlwind is seen dressing up prostitutes as the Wasp, and then…er, when he is done with them…he kills them).
Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy -Fake Logan
The leader of the Somali rebels whom Creed works with calls him out, stating that men like them (killers), take their worth from those they kill. In this sense, Sabretooth is working beneath himself killing normal humans. Eventually, the Somali government finds a super-powered Somali to face off against Creed. The Somali, called Labaraa, of course, is killed by Sabretooth, who then starts to feel better about himself and decides to move on from the killing fields of Somalia. Murder as therapy, go figure!
While the first issue of this Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy series is a bit contrived and intro-heavy, the second and third issues show real insight into how X-23 and Sabretooth deal with Logan’s death. If the remaining issues of this series are similar in how they depict how Logan’s death and legacy affect Daken, Lady Deathstrike and Mystique, then this series will be worthwhile. If you like X-23 or Sabretooth (that sick puppy!), then you will want to read these two issues in which they are featured.