Look! It’s a Deathlok!
This story introduces a new Deathlok known as Deathlok Prime. It also introduces a whole army of Deathloks in an alternate future where Roxxon Corp runs the world.
But before all that, we learn that Wolverine is a huge Hank Williams (Senior) fan, and he’ll punch anyone who doesn’t dig him.
The guy trying to get Logan not to act like an a$$hole and throw a civilian (who admittedly is overly aggressive) out the window is Captain America. He fails, and Logan ends up in a barfight.
But speaking of Steve Rogers….
The Deathloks have been sent back in time to kill Captain America. Oddly, they weren’t sent back in time to kill Wolverine who, we see in the alternate, Roxxon-dominated future, is one of the only superheroes they’ve not been able to wipe out.
He’s not lookin’ good though.
Also, it’s not Steve they’re here to kill. It’s Bucky Cap. So, in our timeline, Wolverine and Bucky fight the Deathlok army. Some of his New Avengers pals show up to help.
In the future, Wolverine leads some rebels with some other surviving heroes (Spider-Man, Iron Fist, etc.) to fight the Deathloks as well. So we see some of the same heroes in present and future fighting the same battle.
One of the Deathloks becomes self-aware (he will later be named Deathlok Prime) just as his childhood self is held at knifepoint by a rebel from the future.
Wolverine convinces her not to kill the child because he believes the Deathlok can be saved.
Which of course it can be. We end with Deathlok Prime on the streets of New York, his “consciousness” at war internally with his kill programming.
So basically we have a schizophrenic Deathlok in our timeline. Very cool. His own self, in the future, is still working for Roxxon–so his character arc appears predetermined…But you never know.
I usually hate time travel stories, but this one rocked.