Old Man Logan

Wolverine: Old Man Logan
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Publication date	June 2008 – September 2009
Main character(s)	Wolverine
Creative team
Written by	Mark Millar
Penciller(s)	Steve McNiven
Collected editions
Wolverine: Old Man Logan	ISBN 0785131590

Wolverine: Old Man Logan is an eight-issue storyline from the Wolverine ongoing series by writer Mark Millar and artist Steve McNiven, published by Marvel Comics. It began in June 2008, ran through Wolverine #66-72 and ended in Wolverine Giant-Size Old Man Logan in September 2009.

Set over fifty years in the future, it uses a similar premise to another Millar book, Wanted, in which the world's supervillains band together to finally destroy all superheroes. The hardcover collected edition was published January 1, 2010.

Plot

At the onset of the story, the entire United States has been overtaken and divided amongst supervillains, with territories belonging to The Abomination (later conquered by the Hulk), Magneto (later conquered by a new Kingpin), Dr. Doom and the Red Skull, who has named himself President. Heroes have been wiped out of existence, with the few survivors in hiding and scattered throughout the country. Logan lives with his wife Maureen and young children Scotty and Jade on a barren plot of land in Sacramento, California, now part of the territory known as "Hulkland." Logan needs money to pay rent to the landlords of this territory: the hillbilly grandchildren of the Hulk, who are products of years of incestuous procreation originating with Banner and his first cousin She-Hulk. In order to pay the rent, Logan accepts a job from a now-blind Hawkeye: help him navigate east across the country, to the capital of New Babylon, and deliver a secret, illegal package.

Logan and Hawkeye encounter several diversions on their journey east. They rescue Hawkeye's daughter (who is the granddaughter of Peter Parker and appears to be an aspiring hero herself), from the clutches of the new Kingpin, before she murders Kingpin and reveals her intention to seize his territory. They escape a cluster of Moloids, who have gone about sinking entire cities from beneath the surface. And they are chased by a Venom symbiote-infused dinosaur (imported from the Savage Land) before being rescued and teleported by the White Queen and Black Bolt, who live in hiding.

Throughout the story it is reiterated that the "Wolverine" personality died the day the villains attacked, and Logan has steadfastly refused to use his claws ever since, even when in danger. Via flashbacks it is revealed that on the night the world's heroes came under attack by an organized coalition of villains, a group consisting of forty supervillains including Mr. Sinister, Sabretooth, Dr. Octopus, Omega Red, Bullseye apparently attacked the X-Mansion. Unable to locate his teammates, Wolverine was forced to slaughter the attackers to ensure the safety of the mutant children. As the last "attacker" was killed, Logan realized that the entire assault was an illusion created by Mysterio, and his perceived enemies were actually his fellow X-Men. This destroyed him emotionally and mentally, and he wandered from the Mansion in shock. Logan notes that while he made a subsequent suicide attempt, he could not actually destroy himself, though in effect "Wolverine" was destroyed for good.

When they finally reach the capital, Hawkeye delivers his package to an underground resistance group hoping to begin a new Avengers-esque team to fight the villains' oppression. The package is revealed to be a case of Super Soldier Serum, enough to form an army. But Hawkeye's clients reveal themselves to be undercover S.H.I.E.L.D agents. They then shoot Logan and Hawkeye multiple times, killing them. However, Logan's body heals from the gunshots and he awakens in Red Skull's trophy room amongst the armaments and costumes of the world's fallen superheroes. Without using his claws, he kills Red Skull's men and engages Red Skull himself, eventually decapitating him with Captain America's Shield. He grabs a briefcase of money (their intended reward for the delivery) and uses pieces of Iron Man's armor to fly back home.

Upon arriving, Logan discovers that in his absence the Hulk's grandchildren murdered his family. Doing so, they leave the bodies unburied, seemingly as a gruesome message. This causes Logan to finally unleash his claws once again. He seeks out and slaughters the entire, massive Banner clan before encountering Banner himself. In his Hulk form, Banner defeats and consumes Logan, but Logan recuperates within Banner's stomach and bursts from within him, killing him. Afterward, he discovers a baby hulk, Bruce Banner Junior.

A month later, Logan and his neighbors hold a small memorial for Logan's family. Logan then says he plans to defeat all the new world villains and thereby bring peace to the land—with he, and Bruce Banner Junior, being the first members of a new group of superheroes. Together they ride into the sunset on horseback.

Reception

The individual issues of the series were highly rated by various IGN critics. The final issue received the highest score, an "Amazing" 9.0 out of 10.

Sequel

On June 29, 2010, Mark Millar posted on his message board that he was working on a sequel to Old Man Logan. "It opens with this insane Spidey flashback which pretty much sets the tone. My God, it’s going to be fun to write.” At the time of the posting, he had yet to pitch the idea to Marvel.