X-amining Wolverine #102.5

"Slay-Per-View" / "Costume Re-Partee"

1996

In a Nutshell

Wolverine is taken to Mojoworld in an effort to goose Mojo II's ratings. 

Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Mark Buckingham, Mike Wieringo (2nd Story)
Inks: Dan Green, 
Letters: Arnie Sawyer Studios
Colors: Paul Mounts & Bongotone Studios, Chick Maiden (2nd Story)
Editor: Matthew Mora

Plot
Wolverine is on Mojoworld, battling an assortment of his greatest enemies. The last thing he remembers is training with Elektra when they pair were attacked by the X-Men, shortly before Spiral arrived and teleported him away. Elsewhere, Dazzler & Longshot caught wind of Mojo II's actions, and along with the X-Babies, head to his stadium. There, Wolverine continues to fight against an onslaught of friends and foes alike (all Warwolves in disguise), but the audience begins to tune out, confident Wolverine won't last against such tremendous odds. As Dazzler, Longshot and the X-Babies arrive, they convince Wolverine to give up and throw the fight, at which point the audience tunes out entirely, depriving Mojo II of his power. They then team-up with Wolverine to defeat the Warwolves and shut down Mojo II's transmission, after which, they send Wolverine home. 

Unstacking the Deck: Fleer Ultra X-Men: Wolverine

Fleer 1996

Vital Statistics 

100 cards (including the checklist card), plus a nine card Holoflash foil and three card "mirage" insert sets. 

Categorically Speaking

Weapon X, Department H, Second Genesis, Japan, Allies, Madripoor, Mojoworld, Enemies, X-Men, Age of Apocalypse, Savage Beast 

Firsts and Other Notables

While not Fleer's only offering of X-Men cards this year (they also put out the higher end chromium set, as well as a set of "Onslaught"-specific cards), this is the set which is the most direct sequel to the previous two years' "Fleer Ultra X-Men" sets. It is, however (in perhaps the most 90s thing ever) focused on Wolverine, rather than the full X-Men team/universe. 

As such, aside from the more standard "allies" and "enemies" categories, most of the categories represent a specific time or setting from Wolverine's history, with each nine card subset featuring characters culled from that era/setting alongside the relevant Wolverine card (so the Department H cards feature Wolverine in his first costume along with cards for Alpha Flight characters, the Madripoor subset his Patch outfit and cards for Tyger Tiger, Roughhouse, etc.).