Wolverine: Saudade #1

Issue Date: 
September 2008
Story Title: 
Saudade
Staff: 

Jean-David Morvan (writer), Philippe Boucher (artist), Alexandra Hain-Cole (translation), Larry Hama (adaptation), Dave Sharpe (letterer), Cory Levine (editor), John Denning (assistant editor), Jennifer Grunewald & Mark D Beazley (editors, special products), Jeff Youngquist (senior editor, special projects), Dave Gabriel (senior vice president of sales), Joe Quesada (editor-in-chief), Dan Buckley (publisher)

Brief Description: 

Wolverine is on holiday in Brazil when he gets a report from Professor X about a mutant signature that has appeared on Cerebro. Wolverine believes he encounters the mutant almost immediately when a young boy named Mexer holds Logan at knifepoint for his motorcycle. The boy has some form of telekinesis, and Logan is knocked back while Mexer and his friends steal the motorcycle. However, some local thugs are looking for Mexer and chase after him, as does Wolverine. At the same time, a local “healer” performs his mutant ability to remove body parts from the many inflicted who wait to see him, but Mexer’s power somehow interferes with him, and he demands that Mexer be captured. Wolverine tracks the local thugs down, who are beating up Mexer and his friends. Logan takes the thugs out, and escapes with Mexer and his friends. They go to a party on a beach, and Mexer and Logan get to know each other. Logan dances with a woman who gives him a mermaid pendant, before agreeing to go back to the home of Mexer and his friends, who live a shack in town. Logan tells Mexer about the Xavier Institute, but Mexer tells him he can’t go there, because he has to stay here and look after his friends. The next morning, Logan gets a call from Xavier who tells him about the mutant signature he was referring to earlier - a nasty one. Logan goes for a swim in the ocean, but when he returns to the beach where Mexer and his friends bring him some fruit , they are soon set upon by the “healer’s” men - the thugs from the day before. Mexer’s two friends are shot in cold blood, while Mexer is captured. Wolverine attacks the men, but is overwhelmed. He is shot repeatedly, then his body dragged behind a car, until he is dropped off a cliff into the ocean. His body drops to the bottom of the ocean, until a mermaid appears and heals him. The “healer” continues to go about his work, until Mexer is brought to him. The “healer” believes Mexer to be a sinner, and uses his powers to essentially lobotomize him. A naked Wolverine makes his way through the town, after calling Professor X, who gives him the location of his mobile phone which one of the thugs stole from him. Wolverine goes to the thug’s house, takes his phone back, “borrows” some clothes, and attacks the thug, until he learns where the “healer” is. Logan takes car and goes to the “healer”s home in the middle of the night, but the locals who are camping there waiting to be seen, attack Logan. The “healer” confronts Logan and uses his power to start pulling muscle from Logan’s body. Logan is able to heal himself, and eventually skewers the dangerous mutant in front of everyone. Logan tracks down Mexer to a mine where he and others have been sold to. Today, Mexer is a janitor at the Xavier Institute, for his soul still remains. Logan talks to Mexer, before Jean Grey visits him, sensing that he is upset. Logan wonders what life could have been like for Mexer, and tells Jean that Brazilians have a word for it - “Saudade”.

Full Summary: 

A flag with a drawing of a mermaid blows in the wind. Three bullets are fired through the flag, tearing it, while some local youths rush about over a broken down car. Litter is strewn across the ground. One of the youths takes off, ‘C’mon, Mexer! Don’t be going weird on us now!’ one of the others demands. ‘Not with a death squad on our asses!’ the youth calls back. Gang members with balaclavas over their faces run down the beach, dodging boxes and tables that are dotted about. ‘Ha! I love the way they yelp when ya nail them!’ one of the gangsters exclaims. ‘Don’t look back!’ one of the youths tells his friends. ‘Make ‘em dance the “Death Twitch Samba”!’ one of the gangsters decides as they continue in their pursuit.

At that moment, a crane at a construction site lowers a motorcycle towards the ground, where Logan a.k.a. Wolverine of the X-Men is leaning against some scaffolding, taking a phone call from Professor Charles Xavier, who tells him that they knew from Cerebro that he is still in Brazil. ‘So I thought -’ the Professor begins, while Wolverine tells Charles to give him a break, reminding him that he is supposed to be on vacation here in Fort Aleza. Charles tells Logan that he wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, ‘And coming from Cerebro, an anomaly like this -’ Xavier begins, while Wolverine suddenly notices that his motorcycle has touched down - and something is wrong. ‘I gotta go, Xavier -’ he quickly declares, before shouting ‘Hey - HEY!’ and rushing over to his motorcycle, which the three youths are checking it out.

‘Get yer meat hooks off my scoot!’ Logan warns them. One of the youths pulls a small knife towards Logan and says something in his native tongue that translates to calling Logan a crazy American. ‘Ain’t crazy, and ain’t American. Canuck and proud. You boys need a lift, you got it… but I got the keys and I do the driving, see?’ Logan tells the boys, holding the keys.
Suddenly, one of the youths raises his hand, his eyes go wide, and energy swirls around, as Wolverine, a forklift and various other objects at the construction site are lifted into the air. Wolverine is surprised and drops the keys. ‘What the hell -?’ he calls out, while one of the youths grabs the keys.
‘Lil punks are gonna -’ Wolverine begins as he falls to the ground, but he is left disorientated and cannot get up. One of the youths says something in their native tongue, before the three of them climb onto the motorcycle and speed away. ‘Bite - me!’ one of the youths exclaims.

However, the gang from earlier has arrived on seen, and they see Wolverine keeled over and rush over to him. ‘Hell! The little pricks ripped that guy off for his bike!’ one of them exclaims. Another utters an expletive as he looks around, while one of the gang goes over to Wolverine and asks him if he is okay. ‘I’ll live’ Logan mutters. Another of gangster pulls out a gun, ‘Those little dirt-bags are going to be so sorry!’ he snarls. A small pick-up pulls up, ‘Move over, I’m driving!’ the gang member with the gun declares, and they speed off, ’Do you copy? They’re on a motorcycle. South exit gate 3. You know the drill’ one of them radios.
Logan gets to his feet, ’Man-O-man… I’ve felt better after a bender and a bar fight’ he thinks to himself, realizing that kid was a mutant, with a kick like a psionic mule. ‘Guess I gotta go look now…’ Logan decides and runs off.

Meanwhile, on the Sercipe Heights, a large mansion is surrounded by tended gardens, and a long line of locals stand at the doorway. In the foyer, attendants monitor the line, and usher people in, one at a time. A woman enters a large room, where a man with long hair sits at a chair. ‘Welcome. You may leave it in the bowl’ he instructs. The woman approaches a table and places an envelope into a bowl already overflowing with other envelopes. The man, dressed in flowing white clothes, rubs his chin and tells the woman that there is no need to say a word. ‘I am, after all, He Who Knows. His eyes narrow and he begins to say ‘Nothing too serious, I see -’, when suddenly, he goes wide-eyed and convulses, and huddles over, clutching his head.
‘Get her out! It’s happening again!’ one of the attendants declares, rushing over. The attendants help “He Who Knows” up to his feet as he instructs them to get him to his bed. The woman is led out, while “He Who Knows” lays on his bed, ‘It’s him again! He used his power!’ he declares, before ordering his attendants to find him that mutant.

At that moment, Logan trudges through the run-down village, ‘Good thing I do my own oil changes… BP 10W60 has a distinctive bouquet’ Logan remarks to himself, adding that so does the paint on a BSA. Logan sees his motorcycle lying on a sidewalk, the gangsters standing nearby. ‘You guys wanna step away from my scoot… like now?’ Logan suggests. ‘Mind your own business’ one of the gangsters replies, suggesting to Logan that he get lost. ‘Lighten up, Jorge’ one of the other gangsters suggests. ‘He’s not the one who needs to lighten up’ Logan declares, when he sees the other gangsters down a nearby alleyway, beating up the three youths. ‘What kinda creep beats on kids?’ Logan asks. ‘They’re scum. Look, you got your bike back… so get on it and ride, Americano’ one of the thugs suggests, when suddenly, Wolverine punches him in the face. ‘That’s Canuck, to you, loser!’ Logan snarls.

‘You’re dead!’ the other thug warns Logan, raising a gun towards him. Logan swiftly slices the gun into three pieces with his claws. ‘Not yet, bub’ Logan declares as he elbows the thug in his face, leaving two gangsters lying on the sidewalk, Logan gets onto his motorcycle. ‘The little bastard was packing a shank!’ one of the gangsters down the alleyway calls out as he holds one of the thugs by his neck, the other two thugs taking hold of the other two youths. ‘Wanna see it disappear, punk?’ the gangster threatens, holding the knife to the boy, when suddenly, Wolverine’s motorcycle whirls as he enters the alleyway, knocking the first thug down, then the second, and the third. ‘Move!’ Logan orders the youths. ‘Hop on, dammit!’ he tells them. They don’t move, and don’t hop onto the motorcycle. ‘You waiting around to die, or what?’ Logan asks them. They stare back, before getting onto the motorcycle with him.

But as Logan starts to drive out of the alleyway, one of the thugs reaches up - only for Logan to kick him in the face, knocking him backwards. On the main street though, the other two thugs have gathered themselves. ‘Get the pickup, damn!’ one of them calls out, firing his gun after Wolverine, the bullets landing in Logan’s back as he shields the three youngsters. ‘What are you waiting for?’ the gangster called Jorge asks his comrade. ‘Chill’ the other man tells him. ‘No way!’ Jorge exclaims. ‘We gotta run him down and -’ Jorge begins, but his fellow gangster interrupts him, ‘With what?’ he asks, motioning to the pickup, which has claw marks across the now deflated tired.

Shortly, Logan and the three youths are at the beach, where others are playing music, drinking and having fun. ‘Hey, Logan… you sure you’re not hurt?’ one of the youths asks, picking up Logan’s jacket with the bullet holes in it. ‘Healing is one of the things I’m best at’ Logan replies as he puts some money into a candle that is floating on the water. ‘Yes… among other talents, right?’ the youth asks. ‘You wanna talk about yours, kid?’ Logan asks. ‘Not yet’ the boy replies, before telling Logan that he could pass for a descendant of one of the Portuguese colonials. Someone hands Logan a bottle of beer, while Logan asks ‘They the ones with all the dough in this country? He checks out a woman who is dancing nearby. ‘Yeah, you don’t know what it’s like here… you don’t know what it’s like to be an outsider and have nothing’ one of the boys tells Logan.

‘Wanna bet?’ Logan replies, while still looking at the woman. ‘I was the kid who flunked “plays well with others”…’ Logan reveals. The woman goes over to Logan and holds her hands out, wanting him to dance with her. Logan stands up, and announces that he had everything taken away from him more times than he can count. ‘But I know that even if you live in the dumps… the carnival still comes to town.’
Logan smiles as he dances with the woman. She looks into Logan’s eyes, then suddenly places a chain with a mermaid pendant attached to it around Logan’s neck. Logan holds the mermaid and looks at it - but when he looks back up to the woman, she has vanished. Logan smiles, then stretches his arms, ‘Stop and smell the cotton candy, Logan’ he tells himself. ‘Hey, Logan! You look happy, you get lucky?’ one of the boys calls out as Logan walks towards them. Logan takes another beer and replies ‘Good guys don’t tell’.

Wolverine asks the youths if they have a place to crash, explaining that he is beat, and not too picky, either. ‘Come on!’ one of them exclaims. ‘We’ll show you our palace’ the boy calls out as the three of them rush towards an overcrowded old bus that pulls up. Logan climbs onto the bus as it takes off, ‘A palace? All right’ he tells them. The boys and Logan climb onto the roof, as one of them tells Logan that he was found in a dumpster where he was born, that his mom died giving birth, and she might have been twelve, and they just took her away with the trash. ‘So I was screwed from day one, another orphan on the street’. He adds that he got his first gun when he was seven. ‘Didn’t take no more $&%#’ he boasts. ‘A wild one, huh?’ Logan asks, before remarking that he was like that once. The boy tells Logan that he knows. ‘I can smell it on you. You’re just like us’ he tells him. ‘There’s something else we have in common…’ the boy begins. ‘I think I know what you mean’ Logan replies.

‘Mutantes?’ the boy asks. ‘Bingo. Me, I’m harder to kill than most’ Logan replies, while motioning to his jacket filled with bullet holes. Logan tells the boy know he knows a mutant who can shoot lasers from his eyes and another who can teleport. ‘We all need to stick together, you know?’ he explains, before telling the boy that he has something special. ‘I think ya know that’ Logan adds. The boy looks at his hands and reveals that it just started a few months back, and that he doesn’t have a lot of control over it. ‘I know a place where you can learn. Interested?’ Logan asks. The boy replies that he is, before telling Logan that right now, they have to take him to their home.

Soon, they are all inside a small shack, two candles light up the inside, as two of the boys sleep in bunk beds, while Logan lies on a mattress on the floor, across from the young mutant, who asks ‘To Westchester? In the States? How could I go that far away? My place is here with my friends’. He looks at his friends and tells Logan that God gave him this power to protect them from the squads. ‘How can I leave them?’ he asks. Logan smiles and tells the young mutant that he already has the soul of a hero. ‘Irado!’ the boy exclaims.

Some time later, a noise can be heard in between Wolverine’s light snoring. The noise gets louder and louder, startling Logan, who picks up a small communicator. ‘Professor?’ he asks as he sees Charles Xavier on the small screen. ‘You never called me back, Logan’ the Professor points out. Logan rubs his head and replies that things got a little crazy here, before telling Charles that he thinks he has found the mutant Cerebro turned up. ‘You found one, but not the one I meant…the other one has a got a huge aura, a particularly nasty one’ Charles reveals. Logan yawns, then squints as he walks out of the shack and is assaulted by the sunlight streaming down. ‘Oh great. Another evil mutant’ Logan mutters as he walks towards the beach, and asks Charles to text him the mutant’s location and then he will check him out, after he has had a dip and trimmed his bikini line. Charles doesn’t reply. ‘Waste of a good joke’ Logan smiles, removing his clothes, he gets into the water and starts to swim.

Shortly, Logan gets out of the water and puts his clothes back on. ‘That was some swim you just took!’ a voice calls out. Logan looks across and sees the three youths carrying fruit. ‘You must’ve gone a mile out and back!’ one of the boys declares, before asking Logan if he wants some breakfast. ‘We even paid for it’ one of the other boys assures Logan, when suddenly, the noise of roaring motors can be heard as two vehicles speed onto the beach, frightening the boys who drop their fruit and start to run. They are surrounded as many gangsters emerge from the vehicles. ‘Too many of them! We’ve got no chance at all!’ one of the boys calls out. Logan tells him that it is okay. ‘The ol’ Canuckle-head is down to drop a six-pack of kick ass!’ he boasts, unsheathing his claws.

‘It’s the Canadian!’ one of the gangsters shouts out as he hits Logan with the pickup. ‘I think we just kill you now…Chupacabra!’ one of the gangsters declares, as several of them line up and start firing their weapons at Logan, who is riddled with bullets. ‘Logan!’ the young mutant boy exclaims, using his powers he knocks the gangsters backwards by forcing their truck into the air. A furious Logan gets to his feet then leaps into the air, onto the pickup, he starts slashing about with his claws at the gangsters. Down on the beach, however, one of the gangsters kicks the young mutant over. ‘Dumb move, pink! Your new pal sticks out!’ Other gangsters move in towards the truck which has since fallen back to the beach, while Wolverine continues to tear it apart. The gangster stands on the boy’s arm, and the boy cries out in pain. The gangster then kicks him in the head.

‘We gonna kill you a lot, scumbag!’ one of the thugs declares as they continue to fire their guns at Wolverine. ‘We’re taking the kid’ one of the gangsters calls out as he throws the mutant boy over his shoulder. ‘You know what to do’ he tells his comrades, as one of them fires a bullet into one of the other youngsters. ‘The man only wants Mexer - you lose!’ another thug declares, kicking the other boy in his stomach. ‘Hey…’ an old man calls out as he approaches the thugs. ‘You got something to say?’ one of the thugs asks, raising his weapon. ‘No! Nothing! I’m going’ the man replies. ‘I know what this loser needs!’ another of the thugs calls out as they look down at Wolverine bullet-hole covered body. ‘A burst for the road!’ the thug exclaims as he fires another bullet into Wolverine, before telling his comrades to clean the mess up and make it tidy.

‘Here’s a cell for your collection’ one of the gangsters remarks, handing Wolverine’s communicator to his friend. ‘You’re not putting that oozing meat in my car!’ one of the gangsters calls out. Why can’t we just dump him in the pickup?’ another asks. ‘Somebody will strip it down for parts by sundown, anyway’ one of the others remarks, motioning to the pickup which Wolverine has torn to pieces. The thugs tie a rope around Wolverine’s feet, and connect it to the truck, which then takes off, dragging his badly injured body behind it while they continue to shoot at him. ‘Good shot!’ one of them exclaims. ‘Hey, watch this!’ the driver calls out as he starts swerving on the road, causing Logan’s body to bang into the Cliffside. The driver swerves again, and Wolverine’s body swings out over the edge of the lower cliff, over the sea. ‘Sleep with the fishes, gringo!’ one of the thugs declares, as he suddenly cuts the rope with his knife, and Logan’s body falls into the ocean.

Logan’s body sinks in the water. The mermaid pendant around Logan’s neck suddenly starts to glow, and a real mermaid swims towards Logan. She reaches out for the pendant, then wraps herself around Wolverine. She is fixated on the pendant, and her long tongue latches onto it, before she kisses Logan, and they both begin to glow.

Meantime, back in the mansion on Sercipe Heights, a woman screams, ‘Almost there’ “He Who Knows” tells her as he places his fingers on her stomach, stating that he can feel it. ‘It’s really a nexus of negative energy’ he tells her when suddenly, ‘Got it!’ he announces as he holds up a tumor and tells her that it has been excised and she is healed. He puts the tumor into a bowl and declares that his mortal hands were guided by God himself. He turns to the woman’s husband and tells him that he can take her home, that there will be little pain. The man helps his wife up, while “He Who Knows” remarks that it is the advantage of his method - the official medical world does not recognize his way, ‘But they are the ones who mix up medicine with money’ he adds.

“He Who Knows” tells the man that his wife shouldn’t walk, and asks him if he has a car. The man replies that they don’t, that a neighbor dropped them off, and they have to get the train to Sentao. “He Who Knows” turns to one of his attendants, and instructs him to drive the good people to Fortaleza Station. ‘You are too kind. We can’t thank you enough, Sir’ the man replies. ‘You are a true saint sent from Heaven to walk the Earth’ the man adds. “Hw Who Knows” replies that he is just a humble servant doing God’s will. ‘All this that I do, is not work to me…it is pure pleasure’ he assures the man as he and his wife leave the room, while the line of people waiting to see the healer grows. One of the attendants asks if he should send in the next patient, but “He Who Knows” tells him ‘No…go and find me the most corrupt of them’.

At that moment, Wolverine’s naked body washes up on the beach, fully healed from the injuries he sustained earlier. ‘Hurt. But. I’m. Still. Kicking’ he tells himself as he rubs his head, then pops his claws. He gets up, the tattered mermaid flag blowing in front of him.

Back at the mansion, two of “He Who Knows’” associates bring a boy with a sack over his head towards their boss. ‘You should thank me, Mexer’ “He Who Knows” remarks as he removes the sack from Mexer’s head. ‘Through me, your sins are forgiven, and -’ “He Who Knows” begins, before Mexer smack his head against his captor’s. Mexer’s mouth is taped shut, and his hands are tied behind his back - but he starts to run. “He Who Knows” rubs his face, while his associates rush after Mexer - who comes to a stop when a large man steps in front of him, and picks the boy up by his face. ‘You are bathed…in the blood of the lamb. Now, you have more than life, you have a chance’ “He Who Knows” tells Mexer, who struggles to break free. “He Who Knows” places his hands on Mexer’s face, and tells him that he has the chance to serve God by helping him to comfort his penitents. ‘What better future could there be?’ “He Who Knows” enquires, while the boy goes wide-eyed and energy darts around him.

Logan finds a payphone, but he has no change. ‘But I’ve got adamantium’ he declares as he shoves a claw into the money-slot. There is a noise, and Logan quickly retracts his claw. A woman walks past him and smiles, checking Logan out - he is only wearing the remains of the tattered flag around his waist. ‘Logan? How are you doing?’ Charles Xavier asks back in Westchester. ‘Been worse’ Logan replies casually. Charles tells Logan that they feared the worst when he fell of Cerebro’s grid. ‘I was assembling a team to find you -’ Charles begins, before explaining that Logan’s avatar suddenly reappeared. ‘Yeah, some idiots thought they could do to me what even Magneto couldn’t manage’ Logan mutters, before telling the Professor that they are evil scum, kid-killers, and worse - but that he has a line on one of them, as long as Charles can pinpoint his X-phone. ‘To the centimeter, Logan. Why?’ Charles replies. ‘Just a hunch’ Logan replies.

Shortly, Logan is inside a very fancy house and wearing a green suit, ‘Nothing I hate worse than a trophy hunter’ Logan remarks to himself as he looks through a cabinet of mobile phones. ‘Looks like the mooks who stuff the heads of things they don’t eat’ he adds, while deciding that e knows what he would like to cut off this creep, as he takes back his phone. Logan wonders what the big picture is here, how it all fits together. He is relieved to have his phone back, and puts it in his pocket, when suddenly one of the thugs shouts ‘YOU!’ as they enter the house. ‘Yeah, me…’ Logan replies as he rushes after the thug who turns to run. ‘Ain’t it a bitch when you shoot a mook, drag him behind a truck, throw him off a cliff…and he still don’t stay dead? Sucks, don’t it’ Logan remarks as he grabs the thug, and breaks his fingers.

‘I figure…you at least owe me this suit’ Logan tells the thug as he throws him into a table, knocking it and everything on it over. ‘No Harley Logo, but it’s okay’ Logan adds. The thug reaches up for a gun, while Wolverine sniffs the air. ‘Crapped yourself, huh?’ he asks. The thug mutters something in his native tongue, ‘Say what?’ Logan replies, standing on the man’s broken fingers. However, the man gathers himself enough to raise the gun and aim it at Logan. ‘These bad boys are less than one millimeter thick - but they happen to be solid adamantium!’ he declares, before grabbing the thug by the neck and asking him where Mexer is. The thug spits in Logan’s face. Logan releases one claw and shoves it into the man’s stomach, ‘I asked nicely’ he snarls, announcing that now he gets down to being not so nice.

Logan warns the thug that he isn’t fooling around and asks him if he can say “peritonitis”. He assures the thug that nothing too important has been punctured, but points out that that can change. He shoves the man up against a wall, ‘Wait!’ the thug pleads, before assuring Logan that they didn’t do Mexer like they did the others, and reveals that it was on orders from Kuhrra Daizonest. ‘Who’s that? Your boss?’ Logan enquires. ‘No! A miraculous healer! A mystic!’ the thug claims, explaining that sometimes, he asks them to find a particular parasite, and in exchange, he cures all of their loved ones. Logan raises three claws to the thug’s face, ‘You ain’t got a heart to love, bupkis, so… adios!’ Logan calls out as he brings the claws down to the thug, when suddenly, ‘Papa?’ a voice calls out. Two young children stare in horror. Wolverine sees them and utters an expletive. He retracts his claws and lets the thug fall to the floor. He tells the children that their daddy had an accident, and suggests they call an ambulance. ‘And don’t let him drink anything’ Logan adds as he leaves the house.

Soon, Logan leans on the door of a convertible car, steering it, while a brick has been placed on the accelerator as the car speeds towards some iron-bar gates - Logan leaps from the car as the gates are smashed open. Inside, “He Who Knows” sits up in bed, and sees a bright orange light out his window. ‘The light of God’ he utters. ‘He has sent me a new sinner. A most powerful one’ the healer tells himself. Logan lands on the ground, furious, ‘I want Khurra Daizonest!’ he roars as people camped out nearby stare in horror. ‘He’s gotta answer!’ Logan Logan declares as he gets to his feet and pops his claws. ‘It’s a dead man! I saw him die!’ one of the gangsters calls out. ‘No! a demon from hell!’ another exclaims. ‘Satan sends him to kill our saviour!’ a woman declares, pointing at Logan. ‘Stop him!’ another woman calls out as she grabs Logan by the arm. ‘God help us!’ the first woman adds as she leaps onto Logan’s back.

More and more locals grab onto Wolverine, who tells them that he has no beef with any of them except the main man. “He Who Knows” approaches the locals attacking Wolverine, and tells his penitents to let him go. ‘Cough up the kid, bub - ‘ Logan orders as he runs towards his opponent. ‘The deviant sinner child is beyond your reach’ “He Who Knows” replies as he kicks Logan in the face. ‘He is happy…with his God’ “He Who Knows” explains as he reaches into Wolverine’s skin and starts to pull muscle from Logan’s arm. Logan is surprised, and forces the muscle back into his arm, he then lunges at his opponent, ‘Your powers lit up Cerebro’s chips, bub… but I ain’t impressed!’ Logan snarls as he takes a swipe at “He Who Knows”, but he is swift and dodges Logan’s attack.

Logan lunges again, and this time, marks his foe’s face. “He Who Knows” touches his face, ‘It’s not a power, but a gift! A gift from God to save the righteous…and punish the ungodly!’ he declares as he kicks Logan again, keeping him back, but at the same time, reaches into Logan’s leg, and pulls out some more muscle. Logan cries out in agony, while “He Who Knows” tells Wolverine that his little friend now has the honor of serving God. Logan falls to the ground and tries to put his muscle back in his leg, while asking ‘What’s that supposed to mean, dirt-wad?’, and as “He Who Knows” touches Wolverine’s chest and starts to pull his muscle, he tells him that he will find out soon enough. Logan is agony once more.

‘I am going to take away your tortured soul, and -’ “He Who Knows” begins, before Logan raises his claws and shoves them through his enemy’s arm. ‘GAAA!’ the mad healer calls out, clutching his arm. ‘You dare to -?’ he snaps, while Logan gets to his feet, ‘I’m just getting warmed up, bub’ he warns him. ‘I wa prepared to be merciful to the pathetic animal… but now… you are going to suffer like the damned!’ he warns Wolverine, moving towards him once more. Logan tries to get out of his way, but the villain is swift, and digs his hands into Logan’s back, pulling more muscle. ‘You will feel the pain of all your sins…retribution is at hand, and it will be -’ “He Who Knows” calls out, as he reaches for Wolverine’s chest - but a perplexed look falls across his face, as Logan has shoved a set of claws through his enemy’s chest.

Logan lifts “He Who Knows” up, and tells him that the “ripping out the heart trick” doesn’t work so hot with adamantium rib cages. ‘I could take out yours in one stroke though, ‘ Logan explains, adding that “He Who Knows” could heal himself just as he continues to rip, but that would use up all of his power. ‘And you’re already looking kinda ill, bub’ Logan points out, suggesting his opponent is on the express elevator straight to hell. ‘So why don’t you get with the program? Tell me what you did with the kid’ Wolverine declares. ‘You tell me…and I’ll cut you a deal’ he offers, as “He Who Knows” continues to try and heal himself, but Logan’s claws are lodged firmly through his body.

‘I’m putting the answer in your head’ “He Who Knows” utters, before telling Logan ‘Now you know…you must - must -’, but his voice cus out. ‘What?’ Logan asks. ‘You have to -’ the villain begins, wide-eyed, the blood pouring from his chest has increased, and an instant later, his body goes limp. Logan lets “He Who Knows” fall from his claws and onto the ground, while the locals stand around and watch. ‘Asshole’ Logan mutters as he walks away.

Sometime later, a jeep moves through the rain, across muddy makeshift roads, until Logan stops and gets out, staring down over the edge of the ground, to some sort of quarry below, where hundreds of people are going about their business in the rain - carrying sacks, using tools against the rocks. Logan starts to make enquiries with some of them, but they all appear confused - until one of them points Logan towards the person he has come seeking. Logan goes over to Mexer and touches him on the back as he hacks away at some rocks. Mexer turns, he appears dazed and confused.

Later still, Wolverine is back at the Xavier Institute, in the hangar bay, several young mutant students sitting before him, he tells them that the evil mutant burned out Mexer’s brain, but that he didn’t quite kill it, as he couldn’t kill Mexer’s soul. Mexer is standing nearby dressed in janitor overalls, a blank expression on his face as he washes the X-Jet with a sponge and water. ‘And he sold what he thought was an empty husk to bosses of the Serra Pelade Gold Mines’ Logan explains, telling the students that he had to go medieval some of those mooks, and Professor Xavier was happy to offer Mexer a place here. (Actually, the Professor and Logan argued about it). Logan tells the students that any of them could have been in the same fix, but that they were lucky to be born in the right place. ‘So stop messing around and make yer powers count for something’ he warns them. ‘Or else…I’ll have to rain on your parade!’ he adds, raising his arms like a monster, the kids turn and run away from him.

‘Lo-loooohgan. Be nice’ Mexer calls out. ‘Not all the time, Mexer’ Logan smiles, before turning and walking out of the hangar. ‘Not all the time’ he says once again, as he looks around the grounds of the Xavier Institute. Leaves fall from the trees, before a voice calls out ‘I know that look, Logan… it means something’s gnawing at you inside’ Jean Grey tells her dear friend as she flies over to him. Logan tells Jean that there is no keeping anything from her. ‘Nothing in my heart, at least’ he adds, before telling Jean that sometimes he has this feeling - a longing, yearning maybe, for something that was lost - or maybe doesn’t even exist. Images flash through his mind - of training Mexer to use his powers, of spending time with him at a pub, or battling Sabretooth and Omega Red, of telling Mexer off, and throwing him over his shoulder. Jean watches Logan intently, as Logan tells her that the Brazilians have a word for it - saudade.

Characters Involved: 

Phoenix IV, Wolverine, Professor X (all X-Men)

Mexer and other local youths

Gang members

He Who Knows / Kuhrra Daizonest

Attendants

Various civilians

Thug’s children

Mutant students

Story Notes: 

Saudade is a Portugese word for a deep form of melancholic longing fore something that will never return.
This issue is rated with a large MATURE CONTENT warning on the front cover, as it contains some swearing.

This issue was first published in 2006 by Marvel France (Panini Comics France).

The back page of this issue has information about the writer and artist, chronicled by Paul Gravett.

This issue contains two bonus pin-ups, one close up of Wolverine raising his claws, and the other of Wolverine standing beside his motorcycle, with bullet-holes in his back.

Issue Information: 
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