Wolverine: Origins #48

Issue Date: 
July 2010
Story Title: 
Reckoning: Part Four
Staff: 

Daniel Way (writer), Will Conrad (art), Andy Troy (colors), VC’s Cory Petit (letters & production), Jody LeHeup (assistant editor), Jeanine Schaefer (editor), Axel Alonso (group editor), Joe Quesada (editor in chief), Dan Buckley (publisher), Alan Fine (executive producer), Simone Bianchi with Simone Peruzzi (cover art)

Brief Description: 

At the Howlett estate, located in Alberta Canada, Logan traps Romulus in the Darkforce Dimension inside Cloak’s cloak. After entering the estate and forgiving himself, Logan makes his way to Daken. He finds him in Budapest and, after a hard fought battle, is finally able to defeat his son. He is able to do so thanks to the training he received from the Silver Samurai. In order to stop Daken from becoming another Romulus, Logan rips the claws that were forged from the metal of the Muramasa blade out of Daken’s forearms. Logan then buries the Muramasa blade and the claws in a grave outside the Howlett estate, ending Romulus’ reign.

Full Summary: 

At the Howlett estate, near Alberta, Canada, Logan stands in front of the gates with an injured Romulus behind him and Cloak standing nearby. Holding the broken Muramasa blade in his hand, he thinks to himself that his name is James Howlett and this is where he was born. This is also where he died. His name is Wolverine. Now, it’s Romulus’ turn to die.

Wolverine thinks about chopping Romulus’ head off but decides it’s not gonna be that easy or that quick. When Romulus asks him what he’s waiting for, Logan tells him that he’s waitin’ for him to die. An’ he’s gonna keep waitin’ ‘til he does. Peering at him, Romulus tells him it’ll be a long wait. Logan retorts that it’ll be longer for him. Looking around, Romulus asks where he is. Logan tells him the Darkforce Dimension. This is his kingdom now. This is where he’ll die.

As Romulus attempts to flee, Logan asks him if he’s lookin’ for a place to hide. He can go ahead and try. There’s plenty o’ shadows an’ nothin’ else. Romulus angrily tells Wolverine this will not be the end of him. Daken will… Logan cuts him off and tells him he’ll deal with Daken when he gets back.

Exiting the Darkforce Dimension housed inside Cloak’s cloak, Logan informs Cloak he stays there for as long as it takes and to tell no one, ever. Cloak agrees and asks if they are done there yet. Logan answers not yet.

Entering the estate alone, Logan knows there’s one last thing he has to do. An’ he has to do it alone. Revenge. It’s what he’s been after for over a century. It’s been the only constant in his life, the one thing that he’s held to, to keep him going. His greatest desire. His fondest wish. His biggest lie. The days o’ him lustin’ for vengeance, thirstin’ for the blood o’ those who’ve made him what he is are over. Is there a part o’ him that wishes he coulda seen where that path ended? Yeah, an’ there always will be. But he’s learned somethin’. He learned it from Romulus. That path never ends. It just goes on, and on, into the darkness, into nothingness. Revenge ain’t gonna get him what he wants, what he needs. But there is somethin’ that will.

Out loud, Logan states that he’s a victim. And what happened to him is not his fault. Looking up at the estate before him, he says “I forgive you. I forgive myself.” Exiting the estate, Logan tells Cloak there’s one last thing he’s gonna ask of him. Take him to his son.

Two days later, in Budapest, Logan finds Daken walking through the grounds of a castle. Logan proceeds to tell him that Romulus is gone and that he can stop looking. Daken searches Logan’s face for a lie but he doesn’t find it. Daken remarks and now Logan is there for him. Emerging from the shadows with the Muramasa blade in hand, Logan tells him yes. Peering at him, Daken remarks that it’s about time. As they charge towards each other, Logan thinks to himself that he’s been waitin’ a long time for this. Waitin’ an’ preparin’.

Months earlier, in Japan, Logan trained with the Silver Samurai. Samurai told him that his skill with a blade is nearly flawless but his weakness lies in his head and his heart. When he allows his rage to take over, his balance is destroyed – the balance in his mind, the balance in his heart. He tells Logan to fight for what he loves, not for what he hates.

As Logan begins his battle against Daken, he notices that Silver Samurai’s lessons serve him well. He blocks, he counters, he keeps it down. He wears Daken down but he doesn’t go for the kill. Daken is his son an’ as much as Daken hates him, he Logan loves him. When Daken pops his inside claw made out of adamantium and connects with the Muramasa blade, two equal forces of destruction, born from the same source, collide with apocalyptic force. Logan knew from the day he found out his son lived it would end this way. Both combatants feel the effects of the blast.

Making his way over towards where Daken is laying, Logan recalls that unlike him, Daken’s claws are anchored to bone instead of adamantium. That’s convenient. Picking up the sword, Daken angrily says to Logan that he can’t do it. He’s a coward, afraid of his own shadow. He may have killed Romulus, but he’ll never be able to…

Logan cuts him off and states that he never said he killed him. He said he was gone. Daken exclaims that he’ll find him. He’ll find him and he’ll kill him, just like he’s going to kill him. Leaning down, Logan tells Daken “Son? That just ain’t gonna happen.” With that, Logan jams his claws into Daken’s chest. As Daken lies on the ground, bleeding, Logan tells himself not to lose it. Keep it together for just a little while longer. He knows what he has to do. He has to finish this.

In the woods outside the Howlett estate, Logan sits on the ground in front of an empty gravesite. He says that Romulus’ reign is over. It dies with him; he won’t live on through him. An’ he won’t live on through his son. The Muramasa blade was forged from the hate Romulus planted in his soul. Hate that he’s carried with him for over a century. Tossing it into the empty grave, he states that he truly wishes he could’ve saved Daken, turned him away from the path o’ destruction an’ despair that he’s walked for so long. But in the end, he left him with no choice. Eventually, he would’ve found Romulus an’ he would’ve killed him. An’ him. An’ with nobody standin’ in his way, he would’ve become Romulus. So maybe he did save him by makin’ that impossible when he ripped the claws made out of the Muramasa blade out of Daken’s forearms. Logan then states that Daken will never be Romulus an’ he’ll never be him.

Characters Involved: 

Wolverine

Cloak

Daken

Romulus

In Flashbacks:

Wolverine

Silver Samurai

Story Notes: 

We first learned that James Howlett was raised in Alberta Canada back in Origin #1. He first popped his bone claws back in Origin #2 and promptly left the estate back in Origin #3.

Logan asked the Silver Samurai for his help back in Wolverine Origins #42-43.

Daken had the broken metal from the Muramasa blade forged into claws and implanted into the inside of his forearms back in Wolverine Origins #36.

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