Hydra got its turn controlling Wolverine. Now Logan is with SHIELD. I know Mark Millar has his detractors, but they’re usually people who don’t like their comics to be nonstop brawling and fun. I like him. Especially in these early 2000s scripts.
Continuing from last issue, Gorgon is now the leader of both Hydra and The Hand. We start the tale by showing what a badass he is.
Gorgon decides to make his army stronger by involuntarily conscripting villains like Spot and Slyde. He does this by having Elektra kill them and then resurrecting them under the control of The Hand.
Lots of them are lame Spider-Man villains. Slyde (above). Spot. S.H.O.C. Leap-Frog. Not sure why Spidey’s rogues get singled out. Here’s the full army:
I doubt I can name all of them in the character listing below, but I’ll try. I will note that Knick Knack of the Death Throws is one of them, so apparently Gorgon and Elsbeth Strucker are willing to recruit WAY below their weight class.
While under Hand/Hydra control, Wolverine fatally wounded Northstar. We learn that he’s on life support—not quite dead—but he will be if he’s disconnected. And that’s exactly what the supervillain army aim to do, teleporting to his location and fighting the X-Men to retrieve Northstar.
Apparently, only Wolverine can save the world. He’s up in the SHELD helicarrier being “unbrainwashed.” When the villain army (now including Northstar) invade the carrier for a second big battle. And Wolverine goes crazy…
See what I mean about nonstop brawling and fun?
Logan is able to prevent the invaders from capturing Nick Fury, but he is still critically injured and the Carrier goes down.
I swear that Helicarrier does nothing but crash and get invaded.
The villains escape and Wolverine hunts them down. With the help of some decommissioned Sentinels.
The story is simple from here: Each issue has Wolverine taking down one of Gorgon’s affiliated gangs.
When it comes to The Hand, Elektra reveals that she was never under Gorgon’s control but rather was a double agent (and yet she still helped Gorgon kidnap Northstar and take him off life support?!?), so she helps Logan find all the various lairs and hideouts. Lots of fun minifights along the way as some supervillains actually team up with SHIELD (presumably because they don’t want to be captured and brainwashed), as well as some interesting scenes as the X-Men attempt to deprogram Northstar after rescuing him from Gorgon’s clutches, and then it’s the big final battle. Elsbeth Von Strucker is killed. Gorgon spears Wolverine. And then starts killing his way through Nick Fury’s protection detail. There’s a very creative final confrontation—Gorgon tries to use his power to turn Wolverine to stone using his gaze, but Wolverine reflects the power back at Gorgon…
…And then Wolverine busts him into bits.
Don’t cry or mourn, though. He’s resurrected soon after by his Hand buddies.