Ultimate Wolverine #2: ‘Some say the world will end in fire / Some say in ice’

The difficulty (and boon) of periodical storytelling is the ability to shift and move between genres with the change in installments. A movie or novel rapidly shifting from one convection to another midstream results in works that feel frankensteined or created by committee. When segmented into episodes or installments, the jump from thriller to romance to situational comedy, and back is less jarring. It’s the result of seeing stories as distinct parts instead of a singular whole. Making that pivot in the second entry into a series can be an even more difficult sale, as it tempts the possibility that there is a lack of clarity in the driving theme or idea for the work.  

Ultimate Wolverine #2 – written by Chris Condon with art from Alessandro Cappuccio, colors by Bryan Valenza, and lettering from VC’s Cory Petit – offers another brutal tale within the Eurasian Republic, as Dr. Alonya Prostovich is made to justify the continued existence of the Winter Soldier. The trio of leaders for the country, Colossus, Magik, and Omega Red, have varying levels of support for the Directorate X program. Colossus is interested in Logan as a tool to be bent and broken into shape while Magik is opposed to the weapon due to the vestiges of humanity that remain. The metal-skinned mutant beats on the Winter Soldier, revealing how docile the current brainwashing makes Logan. 

To continue the program, a military excursion is devised, with ten of the best Eurasian Republic commandos set against the Winter Soldier. To have the soldiers take the exercise seriously, they are fed intel making this seem like an actual assassination mission. The Winter Soldier makes quick work of the group, killing them with a ferocity that showcases how the brainwashed mutant was able to kill the Opposition so easily in the last issue. As a result, the program impresses Colossus, seemingly giving Dr. Prostovich, and the program, a stay of execution. 

Condon moves a few steps out of the disorienting espionage tone established in the last issue into more of a paranoid thriller. Opening on a scene from thirty years in the past, with a rare appearance from the Maker, allows for the history of the Directorate X program and machinations for Logan to be laid clear. Condon bridges the past and present through the use of visceral action, as Maker’s manipulations lead directly to the carnage that the Winter Soldier unleashes on the commandos. It’s an effective method of parceling out the high-octane brutality, couching the physical in between the more psychological and existential horrors of this universe. 

The voice that Condon captures for the Maker is a standout element to the writing, utilized to maximum potential in the brief cold open. In his previous works, Condon tapped into stoic serial killers and fanatical cultists, but his interpretation of the Maker might be the most terrifying. There’s a specific cadence of the dialogue in this scene, with just the right hint of detached amusement, that results in a chilling portrait of this sociopath. Condon’s dialogue at this moment sells the twisted clockmaker aspect to the villain, setting up an interesting wrinkle in the character’s desire for a “better” world. 

Cappuccio matches Condon’s intensity in that cold opening, playing up the inhumanity of the Maker in the design and anatomy of the stretchy villain. The Maker’s method of killing in the sequence is a simple application of the Reed Richards superpower, which only serves to make it a gruesome way to die. It’s the paradox of terrible death that Cappuccio renders in a nonchalant manner that matches the energy in Maker’s voice. The moment is nothing to Maker, little more than a stepping stone to the development of this Ultimate Universe, and Cappuccio captures that sense of propelling forward with a distinct lack of care for the collateral damage. 

After the chilling moments with the Maker, the script makes an excellent pivot to the boiling paranoia within Directorate X, highlighting Dr. Prostovich’s unease with the ruling class. Her primary concern is serving her country and utilizing the Winter Soldier to the highest potential. After stomping out multiple Opposition cells, Dr. Prostovich is convinced she should be rewarded, not looked upon with scrutiny. Condon’s centering the issue within her perspective allows for intrusive, paranoid thoughts to creep in, including suspicion of jealousy from Magik. As a result, Condon organically builds the tension within the observation room and Directorate X labs, working as a counterbalance to the straightforward, almost non-existent, stakes with the Winter Soldier’s fight. 

Even as the fight’s outcome is pretty clear from the jump, the sequence is made out to be a horribly captivating event thanks to Cappuccio’s gripping artwork. Operating in a slightly shifted environment, with less overt shadow and much more visibility with the white snow, Cappuccio really cuts loose in the building of suspense. The soldiers are clearly visible in every panel, lacking any sense of blending or camouflage in the harsh environment. Even then, they are much more conspicuous than the Winter Soldier in his bright red costume. Cappuccio knows how to hide the mutant’s figure within the woods or leave him off-panel to create a feeling of pressure defined by absence. It’s a great contrast to the berserker interpretations of Wolverine which operates like a feral animal making itself as big and loud as possible.  

Twice in the issue, Cappuccio manages to convey that sense of patient hunting in the page layouts, utilizing an interesting sense of still pacing. In both sequences, Cappuccio takes what could be a single page splash and dives it with lines to form panels that lack the momentum or urgency of a typical page. In the first instance, only the third panel has any example of implied movement, with the group of soldiers stalking through the woods. Cappuccio overlays the panel shapes, three vertical rectangles, over the image, implying a sense of narrowing into the figures consumed by the natural environment. The Winter Soldier is nowhere to be seen, suffusing tension into the sequence immediately. 

The second instance where Cappuccio deploys this technique is towards the end of the exercise, once Winter Soldier has claimed his targets. Cappuccio varies the structure of the paneling a bit, using diagonal lines to evoke claws slashing the page. The background is a path through the woods, established as an illusion of a continuous image even as the implication is this is the route Winter Soldier takes to gather his spoils of war. Cappuccio frames the camera used by Directorate X to watch the proceedings in the first panel, while the silhouette of the Winter Soldier goes from a small outline to a full body shot filling the panel by the end. It’s the illusion of a montage, having Winter Soldier travel a distance and towards the audience with trophies in hand. Here, even as Winter Soldier moves forward, the pathway created through juxtaposition, there is still an inherent stillness exhibited by the page. 

Much of the shadowy imagery and tighter panels are reserved for the beats back in the lab with Dr. Prostovich and Rasputins, Cappuccio conveys the tight confines of the lab through excellent, concise panels that mirror the feeling of the walls closing in. It matches the pitch of Prostovich’s anxieties that intensify in the one moment that allows the space to open up. The group is transported from the Rasputins’ residence to the Directorate lab via Magik’s teleportation powers. Cappuccio brings an intense artistic interpretation to the ability, evoking the imagery of immolation to Dr. Prostovich, having the scientist fail in shock/pain. It’s a quick, one-panel detail that allows Cappuccio to showcase his ability to render mental anguish in a way that equates to his physical inflictions made by the Winter Soldier. 

That fiery moment is horrifying in part thanks to Valenza’s coloring, which adds a distinct hue to the icier palette of the book. Even when focusing on the lab or the Maker, there is a clear motif in the coloring that points to the cooler aspects of the color wheel. The fire set by Maker at the start and Magik’s flames are the two moments to add a shock of orange warmth that becomes even more chilling in their aftermath, both causing more pain and havoc than the cool colors.