X-amining Wolverine #111

"Restoration"

March 1997

In a Nutshell

Wolverine returns to the X-Mansion, finds himself out of place, and sets out on his own again. 

Script: Larry Hama
Pencils: Anthony Winn
Inks: Dan Green
Letters: Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Colors: Dana Moreshead
Separations: Graphic Colorworks
Editor: Bob Harras

Plot

Wolverine returns to the X-Mansion. He checks in with Cannonball, who has been maintaining his motorcycle, and learns Iceman is leaving the team following the attack on his father. Wolverine receives a mysterious package in the mail with a message from Zoe Culloden, entrusting it to him for safe keeping. Storm gives Iceman a unique mutant flower as a going-away-present, saying it has a hard time surviving in a standard environment — seemingly like a lot of the X-Men. Later, the team visits Harry's Hideaway, but Wolverine finds himself disconnected from the group. He goes to Auger Inn, and drinks a toast to his dead Madripoorian friends. He then returns home alone and depressed, and goes into the Danger Room. There, he is attacked by a evil spirit which raises Mariko's soul and offers to restore her to life. Wolverine rejects the offer, and drives off the spirit, at which point Stick appears and puts Mariko back to rest. He explains that the evil spirit is the enemy he and Elektra have been preparing Wolverine to fight. The next day, Wolverine gives Cannonball a new motorcycle, then rides off on his own, determined to prove he can survive in the real world on his own. 

Firsts and Other Notables
This issue introduces a mysterious box that will serve as a MacGuffin of sorts for the remainder of Larry Hama's run. As detailed here, the contents of the box will never be revealed, and in true Larry Hama fashion, he introduced it with no idea what it would ultimately contain. He then left the series without ever coming up with an explanation. 

Similarly, Wolverine is attacked in the Danger Room by a "new evil", which claims to have the power to raise the dead (or, at least, Wolverine's former fiancée, Mariko). He manages to fight it off, with the help of Stick, who explains that the reason he and Elektra helped pulled Wolverine back towards humanity was to combat this evil. Eventually, Hama will establish that this evil is Wolverine's former ninja master Ogun (whom he last encountered in issue #89), but it sure seems like he was setting this villain up to be a new character at this point (for one thing, Wolverine has fought — and defeated — Ogun before, so he seems like an odd figure for Stick and Elektra to get worked up enough about to make a point of helping Wolverine to fight him yet never name him as such). 

As a result of finding it hard to fit back in at the X-Mansion following his brief stay in Japan over the previous issues and the changes wrought in the team, Wolverine ends the issue determined to make a life for himself away from the mansion, beginning a brief run in which he will live out of an apartment in New York City (he remains a member of the X-Men, though). 

This issue constitutes Iceman's going away party, following his announcement to leave the team to help his dad recuperate in Uncanny X-Men #340. It's noted that Wolverine and Iceman have never been terribly close. 

The Chronology Corner

Wolverine's appearance in Uncanny X-Men #342 and the Shang-Chi/Hong Kong story which begins in X-Men (vol. 2) #62 both take place after this issue (specifically, after issue #114). 

A Work in Progress
It's noted that the X-Men are using a hologram to make the X-Mansion appear normal while they work to repair the damage caused by Onslaught. 

Iceman has a copy of the Portacio-drawn picture of the original X-Men first seen in Uncanny X-Men #289. 

The story of Storm sharing with Wolverine a similarly-unique flower as the one she gives Iceman in this issue was recounted in Wolverine #96.

Cannonball has been looking after Wolverine's bike while he's been away, and gets his own bike from Wolverine in exchange. 

In her message, Zoe Culloden notes that Landau, Luckman and Lake have shifted their focus from Wolverine elsewhere, a reference to their involvement in the Deadpool series. 

The X-Men head to local watering hole Harry's Hideaway to send Iceman off; Wolverine feels isolated, noting that he misses the absent Kitty, Nightcrawler, and Jubilee. 

He then goes by himself to another bar, where he toasts the memories of the book's Madripoor supporting cast who were killed in issue #98. 

The Best There is at What He Does

Wolverine is still somewhat hunched over in this issue, but otherwise looks "normal", suggesting he's continuing to use the Image Inducer used in the previous story to mask his more animalistic appearance. 

Also, Wolverine goes back to wearing his regular cowl after this (though he'll still pop up wearing the bandana in a few places outside this book after this)

For Sale
This issue features a three page promotion for the new Ka-Zar series by Mark Waid and Andy Kubert. 
Bullpen Bulletins

Austin's Analysis
I tend to think of the waning of Larry Hama's run, from post-#100 to his "Zero Tolerance" swansong, as having little to recommend it (especially once Adam Kubert departs for good). Revisiting this issue, then, was a pleasant surprise. Plot-wise, it's a pretty standard "between stories" check-in issue, allowing the character to acknowledge recent events (in this book and elsewhere), and the writer to setup the next story. Not a lot happens. Anthony Winn's art continues to suffer in comparison to the memory of the more dynamic Kubert, but it gets the job done. But what really sells the issue is the tone of melancholy that permeates it. 

This is a story all about Wolverine coming home and discovering he doesn't really fit in there anymore, both because he's changed and because the home has changed. Wolverine's closest non-X-Men friends are dead, Xavier is gone, steadfast X-Men are moving or have moved on, leaving him behind. Reading it with the benefit of hindsight, knowing Hama is eight months way from his last issue (and four months away from the start of his final story), it almost feels like Hama is saying his goodbyes to the series he's written since issue #31, or at least preparing to say goodbye. Hindsight takes away even as it gives, of course — knowing nothing is really going to come of the big villain setup here, or that the change in status quo will be shortly disrupted by a crossover, takes something away from it. But that aside, I remain surprised at how effective I found this issue at depicting Wolverine struggling to fit in and feeling the loss prompted by recent events. A real diamond in the rough of this era of the series. 

Next Issue
X-Factor goes underground in X-Factor #132! 

Like what you read? Then support us on Patreon & gain access to exclusive reviews of Classic X-Men, X-Men: The Animated Series and more!

Become a Patron!