Wolverine and the X-Men (1st series) #27AU

Issue Date: 
June 2013
Story Title: 
Age of Ultron: Road Trip
Staff: 

Matt Kindt (writer), Paco Medina (penciler), Juan Vlasco ( Inker), Dave Curiel w/ Rachelle Rosenberg (colorists), VC’s Clayton Cowles (letterer), Mike Deodato & Rain Beredo (cover artists), Idette Winecoor (1967 technical support), Additional art by Jack Kirby & Joe Sinnott, John Buscema & George Bell, Jeanine Schaefer (editor), Nick Lowe (group editor), Axel Alonso (editor-in-chief), Joe Quesada (chief creative officer), Dan Buckley (publisher), Alan Fine (Exec. Publisher)

Brief Description: 

Wolverine and the Invisible Woman have travelled back in time to stop Hank Pym from creating Ultron. Sue is mostly there to stop Wolverine from going too far. On their way from the Savage Land to New York, their flying SHIELD car breaks down and they infiltrate a small SHIELD base to get an energy cell. At the base, Wolverine is confronted by a captured alien whom he inadvertently helps to mutate. Meanwhile, Sue is confronted with her past, with what she gained and lost. When they meet up again, Sue is the one to decide they’ll do whatever it takes.

Full Summary: 

Wolverine and the Invisible Woman have travelled back in time from the apocalyptic Age of Ultron to stop Hank Pym from creating Ultron and destroying the world. They carjacked Nick Fury’s vintage SHIELD flying car to get from the Savage Land to New York.

The Invisible Woman muses that Ultron destroyed everything. Her family… friends. She wonders what to do once they find Pym and warns Logan of the butterfly effect. The less direct action they take here, the better. Logan agrees. Sue worries what he will do if Hank doesn’t cooperate. Logan worries she will be too soft. Sue silently decides she won’t let him kill Hank.

He is sure the car will make it all the way to New York? Sue asks. Of course it breaks down. He tells her not to say anything. They find an old SHIELD substation where they plan to get a replacement energy cell. As it looks older than it should, Logan figures it’s an off the grid SHIELD substation. They always keep a few stations off-line and out of the way.

Sue tells him to get the battery while she tries to find some tracking equipment or record to help them. She reminds him: butterfly effect. Small footprints. He’s got, it he sighs.

He figures Sue sounds broken. He moves past a guard, reminding himself of keeping a small footprint. He wonders what to do if Pym doesn’t cooperate. If you could go back and kill Hitler, sure. But if you could only go back to before he was born. Would you kill Hitler’s father?

Sue takes out some guards and enters a computer room, confronted by old images of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers.

Logan sees a harmless looking small reptilian alien trapped in a tube. “Save me!” it moans. He’s had enough of this *%&! Logan decides. What kind of sick experiment are they putting this poor bastard through? There’s a damn Weapon X under every rock! He unsheathes his claws and frees the creature. Logan tries to help it up. Suddenly it displays a row of sharp teeth and shoves a tongue-like protrusion from its mouth down Logan’s throat.

Sue goes through the files, trying to find the right one. She notes the whole system seems to monitor superheroes. Finally, she finds Pym as Goliath attacking a villain. The Fantastic Four are with the Avengers and Sue recalls that Reed told the Avengers to go to Diablo’s castle, but he wasn’t there for long. Sue remembers that day at the Baxter Building.

Logan wonders how upset Sue will be, not noticing that the tongue-like protrusion is still in his mouth, even though the creature has separated from it. He belatedly feels something moving in his stomach and cuts it out. Another smaller version of the creature. The original creature suddenly reveals its sharp teeth and hisses angrily as Logan realizes they might be connected to the Brood.

Despite herself, Sue looks at the files and remembers they were up against Ronan the Accuser. She wanted to quit. She didn’t have much power then. She wanted out, wanted a family. Reed drew her back, asking why they couldn’t be normal and have a family. She hates remember the fight… the uncertainty.

When Logan removes the embryo, the “mother” attacks. He quickly eviscerates it. Still wondering what just happened, he sees another caged being of the same kind.

Sue remembers the rest of the day. Making up, deciding what she wanted to do. Deciding she could have everything. Could be everything. A heroine, a wife, a mother!

Logan watches the computer screen. Hivemind upload in progress based on infant Brood damage. He sees how the Brood develops an exoskeleton and sharper teeth. He did not just do that, he tells himself.

Sue sees it all play out and knows what she has to do. What they must do. She addresses Reed in his lab and warns him to upgrade his security. He’s being monitored.

Reed swears, realizing it’s SHIELD again.

Seeing her dead husband, Sue decides she has to do whatever it takes. She joins Logan at the car. All set? Sue asks. He agrees. Is that blood on his shirt? Sue asks but doesn’t really want to know the answer.

They drive on in silence. Logan silently decides Pym will listen to reason. He tells her they find Pym but won’t make the situation worse. Coolly, Sue tells him they’ll be doing whatever it takes.

Characters Involved: 

Wolverine
Invisible Woman

Proto-Brood

on screens:
Invisible Girl, Mr. Fantastic

via comm-device:
Mr. Fantastic

Story Notes: 

This issue is part of the “Age of Ultron” crossover and takes place between the pages of Age of Ultron #6.

Sue’s decision at the end stands in stark contrast to her behavior in Age of Ultron #6.

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