Wolverine (2nd series) #93

Issue Date: 
September 1995
Story Title: 
Tavern in the Town
Staff: 

Larry Hama (writer), Adam Kubert (pencils), Dan Green & Matt Ryan (inks), Joe Rosas & Digital Chameleon (coloring), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Bob Harras (editor) cover by Adam Kubert and Bucce Bros.

Brief Description: 

In Scotland, members of the Dark Riders, Spyne, Harddrive, Lifeforce and Hurricane break Cyber out of his prison and begin to take him to their leader, Genesis. Outside the X-Mansion, Logan and Cannonball participate in a friendly race as they both need to get some air. Inside the X-Mansion, Juggernaut wakes up from his coma and breaks free. As he does, he continues to talk about the being known as Onslaught. At a local bar, Logan and Cannonball are having a drink when Juggernaut busts in. Cannonball goes to attack him but is quickly taken out. Logan proceeds to get in Juggernaut’s face and tells him to back down, which Juggernaut surprisingly does. He tells Logan that he’s already seen his future and it ain’t pretty. When he then heads out the back door, he is approached by Zoe Culloden and her associate, who zaps Juggernaut with dimensional phasing and “no longer a problem.” When Logan, Cannonball, and Storm head out back to see what is happening, they find nothing. However Logan notes that one of the voices they heard sounded very familiar, but he just can’t place it – and has a feeling he won’t like it when he does.

Full Summary: 

In the deepest dungeon of Edinburgh castle located in Scotland, Inspector McCleod tells Colonel Mack that he might hae said this was a barbaric way to treat a prisoner if he nae seen what he done. Mack replies that woman from Muir Island, Doctor Moira McTaggert was nae sad to turn him over to them. He adds that it was a good thing she supplied them with the restraints and barriers for they’d have no way to hold him save buryin’ him in the quarry.

Inside the cell, restrained to the wall and unable to move, Cyber yells out that he’s gonna bury the whole stinkin’ town in the quarry when he busts loose. Nobody does this to Cyber! And when he finishes with all the shortbread-baking, kilt-wearing geeks, he’s going after that runt, Wolverine, and he’s gonna make him a wallet out of his face, just so’s he can keep it in his back pocket and sit on it.

Just then, the entity known as Harddrive shows up and teleports in his associates – Spyne, Lifeforce and Hurricane, the group collectively known as the Dark Riders. As Lifeforce takes out McCleod and Mack, Spyne introduces himself and Lifeforce, the living siphon of vital energies. Lifeforce tells Cyber they are the Dark Riders and they’re there to set him free. Hurricane adds as free as you can be when you owe a big one to Genesis. Slicing the control panel of Cyber’s shackles, Spyne tells him to pay no mind to the mindless mattering of Hurricane – he is a bit of a blow hard.

Once free Cyber tells Spyne to get outta his way, he has to collect some payback from the rollin’-oat-scarfin’, bagpipe blowin’ plaid-mongers! Releasing her hands from the dead bodies of McCleod and Mack, Lifeforce informs Cyber that may be redundant in more ways than one, the extraction process is worse than any retribution he could exact. Cyber tells her that he’ll take her word for it. Just then, Spyne informs Cyber that Harddrive is opening an escape window. As he and Hurricane grab hold of Cyber, they rush towards the escape path. While they do, he tells Cyber that they have plans for him. Cyber yells at them to leggo or he’ll rip their guts out. Lifeforce tells him to just chill out and go with the flow and he just might live a little longer.

In the woods near Salem Center, Logan is patiently stalking a deer when Cannonball flies through the woods, startling the animal and causing it to run away. Logan proceeds to yell at him and tell him that he’s been “stalkin’ that lil’ bambi all mornin’.” Cannonball tells him that he’s right sorry about that but he just had him a bad case of cabin fever and he needed to stretch out and get in the wind. Seeing Cannonball fly off, Logan rushes back to the mansion and says that he could use a dose o’ that himself. ‘Course, he can’t fly but that don’t mean he can’t move out when he’s a mind to.

Over at the X-Mansion Storm is tending to her garden when she hears Logan in the garage. She calls out to him and asks if he’s decided to come in from the woods. Logan tells her not just yet and takes off into the woods on his motorcycle. Storm yells at him that he can’t ride it through the woods but Logan tells her that he could ride it through a tornado in a brick yard. He adds that he’s gotta swat some bugs with his face. With that, he takes off at a high rate of speed through the woods. Eventually he catches up to Cannonball who asks him what he thinks he’s doing. Logan answers that he’s just kickin’ out the jams and asks Cannonball if he’s ready to race the wind or if he’s just blowin’ air. Sam Guthrie looks at him and tells him he’s on and kicks on the afterburners.

In the Xavier Institute’s medi-lab the comatose behemoth known as Juggernaut suddenly awakens explosively. Smashing things around him he calls out that he’s comin’ t’get him, he’s gotta get away. Gotta… He then wonders where he is. The last thing he remembers is he was in New Jersey where he landed after he got slugged up in Canada. Getting up, he puts on his boots and helmet and says that he don’t want to be messin’ with him anytime soon. No way, he’s gotta get outta dodge before Onslaught shows up.

Juggernaut then proceeds to bust through the door at the top of the stairs, much to the surprise of the gathering of Professor Charles Xavier, Beast, Bishop, and Boom Boom. Beast mentions that it seems their patient is well on his way to recovery although his disposition is still as disagreeable as ever. Bishop tells them all to stand aside, he dealt with him before, he can… Juggernaut cuts him off and informs him that he got lucky with that power line and he’s even luckier that he don’t have the time to throw down with them. He then bursts through the wall and takes off.

As they watch him leave, Beast asks who the Onslaught is he was going on about. Bishop says who knows about the ravings of a man freshly awakened from a coma, they have to stop him before… Xavier informs him no, his step-brother is not a foe they deal with lightly. He tells Bishop that he was lucky to have subdued him the last time. At his peak, the Juggernaut is unstoppable. He then asks Tabitha where Storm is as she should be informed. Tabitha replies that she saw Ororo changing to go into town. She said she was going to find Wolverine.

In a bar in town, Logan and Sam Guthrie are having a drink. The bartender proceeds to ask Logan if he is sure his friend is legal, he looks brand new to him. Logan grabs the bartender by the neck and tells him look bub, he’s with me. He beat him flat out, showed him his flaps. Ain’t nothin’ but a grown man can do that and a man deserves to have a few rounds bought for him when he wins. A drunk Sam proceeds to tell Logan that “shure, she’s shupposed t’be his girl but wush she doin’ bringin’ saucers o’ warm milk to Sabretooth like he wuss some gol-durn kitten, huh. An’ he’s so old, too.” Taking a swig of his beer Logan replies that he ain’t that old.

Just then, Juggernaut comes crashing through the wall asking who he has to stomp to get a drink around there. Seeing him, Logan asks who let that creep in here. Sam picks his head up and sees the Juggernaut and asks who does he think he is. Bustin’ in there like he owns the place. Logan tells him not to get his gander up, it’s best to wait for back-up. Sam replies “not hardly” and tells Logan that a guy he respects like him treats him like a man for the first time an’ at the first sign o’ trouble, he turns tail and runs. Logan tells him to let it go, that’s the beer talkin’.

As Juggernaut begins to drink beer straight from the tap, Sam says no, that’s Cannonball talking. With that, he blasts across the bar in the direction of Juggernaut. When he gets there, Juggernaut calmly punches him away. As Sam crashes in a heap, Juggernaut asks if that was a fly. He then notices that it’s the junior mutant and adds that he didn’t recognize him without his earflaps. Juggernaut proceeds to ask Sam if he has any last words before he flattens him into a red smear.

At that moment, Logan stands on the bar, pops his claws, and gets in Juggernaut’s face. He proceeds to tell Marko that if he messes with the kid, he messes with him. In each others faces, Juggernaut tells Logan to back off, he knows he ain’t no match for him. Logan answers that may be but there’s some things ya gotta do. He adds that he can tell by lookin’ in his eye and sniffin’ him that this ain’t something he wants to get into. With the tension high, it is broken when they hear Sam throwing up in the corner or the bar. Juggernaut informs Logan that he’s right, this is pointless. He’s seen his future and, believe him, it ain’t pretty. Juggernaut then runs through the wall and leaves the bar. Once he has left, Logan heads over to Sam and asks him if he’s all right. Sam says yeah and points out that Juggernaut was scared, he couldn’t wait to get outta there. Logan answers that he was scared all right but it wasn’t him that put his tail between his legs.

Walking into the bar, Storm asks Logan and Sam what is going on there. She then tells Logan that he has done a foolish thing there. Logan replies that this is hardly what it looks like. Sam informs her that it was Juggernaut, big as a barn and ugly as sin. Logan adds that he was just tryin’ to treat the boy like a man, instead o’ coddlin’ him like… Ororo Munroe cuts him off and tells Logan that he is the one who has been coddled and that he will be responsible or he shall answer to her. Sam informs her no, Juggernaut just went out the back door.

Out in the back of the bar, Zoe Culloden asks her associate if this is the one they are taking out of play. Her associate tells her affirmative, he already knows too much. He then deactivates their cloaking and cycles up the S.T.T. When Juggernaut sees them, he angrily asks where they came from and tells them to get out of his way before he… Juggernaut is unable to finish his sentence as Zoe’s associates presses a button on his glove and proceeds to suck Juggernaut into a mysterious ray. With the dimensional phasing of Juggernaut complete, he reactivates his and Zoe’s cloaking.

No sooner have they disappeared, Sam, Logan, and Ororo head out of the back of the bar. Surprised to see nobody there, Sam mentions that he could’ve sworn he just heard Juggernaut talking to somebody out there. Logan confirms that he heard it, two other voices and one of ‘em was familiar. He just can’t place it an’ he has a feelin’ he won’t like it when he does. As the X-Men stand there, Zoe and her associate are watching them intently.

Characters Involved: 

Beast, Bishop, Cannonball, Storm, Wolverine (all X-Men)

Professor X

Boom-Boom

Cyber

Harddrive, Spyne, Lifeforce, and Hurricane (all Dark Riders)

Zoe Culloden and an unnamed associate

Inspector McCleod and Colonel Mack

Various patrons at a bar

Story Notes: 

Inspector McCleod and Colonel Mack saw what Cyber could do back in Wolverine (2nd series) #80.

Cyber was locked away in a cell on Muir Island back in Wolverine (2nd series) #81. He was transferred to the prison at the beginning of this issue off-panel.

The Juggernaut was found in New Jersey by the X-Men after his encounter with the mysterious Onslaught in Canada back in Uncanny X-Men #322. In that same issue, Bishop took him down with a power line.

Issue Information: 
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