Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #205

Issue Date: 
May 1986
Story Title: 
Wounded Wolf
Staff: 

Chris Claremont (writer), Barry Windsor-Smith (artist, colorist), Tom Orzechowski (letterer), Ann Nocenti (editor), Jim Shooter (editor in chief)

Brief Description: 

Lady Deathstrike pays Spiral for turning her three former Hellfire Club guards into cyborgs at her Body Shop. They want to kill Wolverine and then have the process reversed. During a snowstorm they attack Logan by surprise, who barely escapes and is injured so much that he forgets who is. Barely more than a wounded animal, he runs into Power Pack’s energizer. The little girl recognizes him and though she is somewhat scared, helps him survive in the snowstorm and keep him ahead of his attackers long enough for his healing factor to kick in. Wolverine then remembers himself and hides the girl in a safe location, while he takes out the cyborgs one by one, until it is only him against Deathstrike. In the battle Logan gets into a berzerker rage and takes the cyborg apart. Shocked by seeing the implants and cables he snaps back to his senses. Deathstrike says the transformation was necessary to become like him, yet Logan states the difference is that he had the adamantium bonded to him against his will, yet she asked to be changed and threw away her humanity for it. Deathstrike begs Logan to show mercy and kill him, but he says that mercy needs to be earned before he leaves to take little Katie home.

Full Summary: 

At the Body Shop, a person is seen in a nutrient bath, metallic parts and wires sticking out of her flesh all over her body. Spiral and three men observe, as she gets out of the tank – it is Lady Deathstrike. Like the three men, Lady Deathstrike has been turned into a cyborg. Spiral adresses her as the “ultimate woman of war“. Deathstrike knows that Spiral is actually mocking her, but she doesn’t care and tests her new abilities. Like her foe Wolverine she now has unbreakable bones and claws. She reminds Spiral on the deal they agreed on, once she and her men have completed their mission, they want the Body Shop to restore their humanity. Spiral replies that she guarantees satisfaction or their money back, yet she thinks to herself that the group of cyborgs are really amusing, how can they expect to get their humanity back through murder.
Somewhat later, at South Street Seaport in New York, Katie Power and her baby sitter Miss Randolph are about to join the evening carols, but first went to a washroom. Katie washes her hands but the drying machine is too high for her to reach, so she disintegrates the water on her hands with her Energizer powers when Miss Randolph is not looking. They get outside only to find themselves in a snowstorm; they can hardly see. Katie hears something howling, and then they are run over by Wade Cole, one of the three cyborgs. He radios to Reese that Macon is down, and then fires his gun somewhere into the snow. Katie gets frightened, she doesn’t know where Miss Randolph is and suddenly the wounded form of Wolverine stand in front of her.
Katie recognizes Mr. Logan from earlier meetings, but as a voice is heard in the snowstorm “Run where you like, Wolverine – I shall follow“, he pops his claws and the girl gets scared. Right then a police car stops, and they order Wolverine to step away from the child. Logan, who still hasn’t said a single word, grabs Katie and runs away with her.She yells at him to let go and as he doesn’t listen or stop, she creates a power ball that explodes right in front of them, knocking them both down. Katie transforms her clothes into her costume and thinks she should run away, but first she disintegrates a garbage can to power up again. She looks at Logan and angrily says that “friends don’t hurt friends“, but then she sees that he is covered in blood. She understands that he must have been beaten up and it’s up to her to get them to safety. Still with so much snow around she doesn’t even recognize which street they are in. Logan snarls, as some flashlights are approaching them. Katie helps him up to his feet and they march onwards. She hopes to find a telephone to call the X-Men or her siblings of Power Pack, but the figures are getting closer.
Suddenly a taxicab passes by. Katie stops it and tells the driver that her “uncle“ has been beaten up by nasty people, and she needs to get him to the next hospital. They enter the cab and the taxi starts, but the cyborgs are still after them. Logan smells his attackers and makes the taxi stop. He throws Katie out of the window, and then pushes the driver clear right as a blast hits the car and sets it on fire. Katie screams, and doesn’t belive her eyes as the X-Man walks away from the fire. He picks her up, and they run away once more. Logan jumps over a fence, but on the other site is a deep hole for a construction site, and they roll down the hill. Katie’s nose bleeds and gets angry, she blames it all on Logan and says that she hates him, however she instantly takes it back. She wants to be a nice little girl and will help him get home. Logan finally answers, asking “ What am I ? “ in japanese. He says he knows the girl, but doesn’t remember himself.
Wolverine howls, and Katie cries for the terrible anguish in his voice. She says that her father had the same sad look in his eyes when he thought their mother was going to die, everything that was important to him was gone. Logan comments that he feels the same. Slowly his healing factor restores both his body and his mind, but the quiet moment is interrupted by the cyborgs breaking through the construction site’s fence. Logan knows they have to find cover and high above Deathstrike stops her men from firing their weapons. She doesn’t want to end the fight like this, she wants a fair battle. Wolverine brings Katie to a small cottage. She offers to use her Energizer power and disintegrate the villains, but Logan says no. She already helped him enough and this is his fight. She should trust him and hide in the cottage.
The cyborgs search the area for Logan and while he is still muttering about Lady Deathstrike being a psycho broad, Cole is hit by Wolverine from beneath the boardwalk he was on. Reese registers that his friend is off-line and radioes to Deathstrike, he suggests that they should retreat as already two of them are out and the odds are shifting. Deathstrike tells him to find the girl and use her as a hostage, but before he can even start he too is taken out of the fight by Logan. It’s now down to a fair battle one against one, excatly like both Deathstrike and Logan prefer it. She shifts her hands into huge claws and they start to fight, while Logan tries to talk some sense into her, her father is dead and whatever dreams or promises bound her to him, they have died as well. However Deathstrike says that as long as her father’s work is violated, she can‘t find peace or freedom, and her own life is not worth living. The battle takes much out of both of them, yet Deathstrike believes to be superior as her gifts are of technology and Logan’s only a mutant power. Yet in his angered state, Logan slashed and slices his opponent, till she is no longer capable of moving.
Logan snaps back to his senses. Seeing the many implants and wires exposed he is shocked. Deathstrike says it was necessary to become like him. Logan replies that there is a major difference. He is a mutant and the adamantium was bonded to him against his will, yet she asked to be changed. She threw away the humanity that Logan would give anything to possess. Deathstrike expects to be killed now, but Logan doesn’t do her this favour. She brought out the animal in Logan, something that he thought he had tamed long ago. Both man and animal have reasons to kill – but none applies here and he walks away. Deathstrike begs to show mercy and let her free, but Logan retracts his claws and says she has to earn it.
As Logan heads to the cottage, the weather clears up. He picks up Katie who, like Logan asked, did not see or hear a thing. Katie wants to know what happened, and he says he won’t lie. There is a part of him that is a wild animal, but he is trying to keep it in check and grow as a person, yet other people can’t or even worse won’t do that. Katie understands that he is talking about Lady Deathstrike and their men. Katie admits that she still is a little scared of Logan and they walk home. Logan says that she will always have a friend to run to, and Katie replies “an‘ so, Mr. Logan, will you“.

Characters Involved: 

Wolverine

Energizer (Power Pack)

Miss Randolph, a baby sitter
Spiral

Lady Deathstrike

Wade Cole, Angelo Macon, Murray Reese (former Hellfire Club guards)

Story Notes: 

Wolverine encountered Lady Deathstrike once before in Alpha Flight (1st series) #33-34. She thinks him responsible for stealing her father’s work, as he was the first person to discover the adamantium bonding process.
Cole, Reese and Macon are former Hellfire Club guards whom Wolverine sliced up pretty good in Uncanny X-Men #133.

Issue Information: 
Written By: