Warning: Spoilers for Ultimate Wolverine #2Marvel just reminded readers what Wolverine’s origin is all about, proving it hasn’t been forgotten. As Marvel tells a new version of Wolverine’s classic origin story, the heart of the character is intact. Despite the different twists made to the character’s backstory, it’s very clear that the Ultimate version of the iconic character is no less valid than his original counterpart, and this version of the origin promises to go in a very different direction.

Ultimate Wolverine #2 by Chris Condon and Alessandro Cappuccio creates tension between Directorate X and the Rasputins, as Colossus and Magik cast doubt on Logan’s efficiency and his ability to be controlled, resulting in Colossus demanding to see Wolverine, lifting him up by the neck.

Colossus refers to the Winter Soldier as property, saying that he has to learn that his rightful place is underneath the boot of the Rasputins. Following this scene, the Winter Soldier is tested against the Eurasian Republic’s best soldiers, and he es with flying colors.

Wolverine's Tragic Backstory Will Always Involve Dehumanization

Ultimate Wolverine #1 by Chris Condon, Alessandro Cappuccio, Bryan Valenza, and Cory Petit

The confrontation between Colossus and Logan is chilling, as it brings the dehumanization inherent to Logan’s backstory back into focus. To his captors, Logan is not seen as a living being with free will and the right to autonomy. Rather, he is seen by them as a living weapon, something to be sent to the enemy to decimate their forces. The Rasputins and Directorate X see value in Wolverine not for who he is as a person, but for what he can do for them and how they can turn him into their attack dog.

To his torturers in Weapon X, Logan is an animal that needs to be programmed into being what the program needs him to be, and what they need him to be is their weapon.

This aspect of Wolverine’s origin is far from a new idea, as it is a core aspect of Weapon X by Barry Windsor-Smith. In that storyline, Logan is constantly dehumanized by the titular program, with the characters responsible for giving Logan his adamantium skeleton seeing him in a manner not dissimilar to the way Colossus sees Logan in Ultimate Wolverine. To his torturers in Weapon X, Logan is an animal that needs to be programmed into being what the program needs him to be, and what they need him to be is their weapon.

Across different interpretations of Logan's character, the dehumanization he experiences is an essential aspect of his origin story. The fact that his captors consistently see Wolverine as an animal and a tool plays into the inherent dichotomy of the character, as well as his struggle between being seen as a man and being seen as an animal. That Logan’s captors so thoroughly dehumanize him helps set the stage for this element of Wolverine’s character, giving him cause to continually prove that he’s a man and not an animal, both to everyone around him and to himself.

Wolverine's Dark Past Is Why He Wants His Freedom

Logan Lives to Be His Own Man

Even with this dehumanization, Ultimate Wolverine still sets the stage for Logan to regain his humanity and personhood. While confronting Logan, Colossus states that resistance is in the nature of men like Logan, and that he has resisted before. By stating that a desire for freedom is in Logan’s nature, Colossus foreshadows Logan’s inevitable escape from his captors, which will pave the way for Logan to stand as his own person and make his own choices, free from the control of Directorate X and the Rasputins, much like how his mainstream counterpart broke free of the Weapon X program.

The idea of wanting to be free has also been a major aspect of Logan’s character in mainstream continuity. Even beyond wanting to escape from his torture at the hands of Weapon X, Logan sees the value in his own independence. He finds strength in making his own choices, be they for good or for ill. As the Rasputins and Directorate X tighten their grip on the Winter Soldier, he is also bound to slip through their cracks, regaining his sense of self as well as his autonomy.

Ultimate Wolverine Continues a Long Tradition of Logan Overcoming Hardship

Marvel's Ultimate Universe Keeps on Expanding

While Wolverine’s dehumanization is a dark and tragic part of his backstory, it’s also an aspect that makes his independence all the more meaningful. Being seen as little more than an animal by his captors, be they Weapon X or Directorate X, is the reason why he holds his independence in such high regard. Logan is his own man, and he’s not going to let anyone take that from him. Slowly but surely, Ultimate Wolverine is going to send Logan down that same path.

Marvel has reminded readers what Wolverine’s origin story is all about, bringing his dehumanization at the hands of his captors back to the forefront of his journey as a character. Ultimate Wolverine’s take on the character centers itself on one of the core aspects of Weapon X, retrofitting it for the Ultimate Universe. However, Logan’s freedom and autonomy are just as important as his dehumanization, and even in the Ultimate Universe, Wolverine is sure to claw his way towards freedom from his captors.

Ultimate Wolverine #2 is available now from Marvel Comics.