Marvel’s Ultimate Universe is getting a new but familiar addition this January, as today at the New York Comic Con the publisher announced Ultimate Wolverine by the team of Chris Condon and Alessandro Cappuccio.
Like many of the inhabitants of the Ultimate Universe, Wolverine’s a bit different in this universe than he is in the 616. Sporting the codename “The Winter Soldier,” this Wolverine isn’t in control of himself — he’s an agent of three members of the Maker’s council, Magik, Colossus and Omega Red. To ensure they maintain control of a world that now has superheroes running around and causing a raucous, they unleash him to do all those things that he’s best at.
“When Wil Moss called me and asked me if I wanted to take on this title, I jumped at the chance and immediately had an idea of what to do with it,” said Condon. “I’m bringing my essence of storytelling from That Texas Blood to the Marvel Universe with Wolverine, looking back at what came before and bringing us something new.”
(If you haven’t read That Texas Blood, by the way, it’s one of my first go-to “This is the comic you should be reading” recommendations whenever someone asks.)
Ultimate Wolverine seems to be homaging “Enemy of the State,” the Mark Millar-written story that saw The Hand turn the 616 Wolverine into their puppet:
True to the character’s origin as a government weapon, Ultimate Wolverine is an unwilling agent of the Maker, the secret creator of this corrupt universe. Mindwiped and used as an assassin, he’s still the best there is as at what he does… even if he’s not in control of who he does it to.
“You might notice that there’s a Red Star on his costume and you might wonder why,” Condon said. “If you look at that mask, there’s a muzzle on him, and that’s because he’s wild.”
The character is going to first appear in Ultimate Universe: One Year In, which comes out in December. He’s also on a “secret” variant cover for that one-shot that’s just been revealed:
That variant is by Cappuccio but homages a classic Barry Windsor-Smith cover for Marvel Comics Presents:
The first issue of Ultimate Wolverine will have variant covers of its own, by Steve Skroce and Gleb Melnikov:
And finally, here’s a character design sheet featuring the character:
So who is actually under the mask? Start your guessing. The first issue arrives Jan. 15.