Comic Review: Ultimate Wolverine #4 – An Inner Battle That Leaves No Marks

"Ultimate Wolverine #4" is a bold attempt to tell a story from within the inner world of one of Marvel’s most brutal and tragic characters. Unfortunately, despite its intriguing premise and phenomenal visual execution, this issue doesn't fully live up to its potential. It’s more of a visual experiment than a meaningful narrative advancement, and its ambitious structure is weighed down by vagueness and predictability.

The Wolf, the Bear, and the Emptiness Between

The vast majority of this issue takes place inside Logan’s mind, in a metaphorical space where Wolverine portrayed as a wolf battles a powerful polar bear. The fight, while dynamically illustrated and brutally intense, is quite... one-note. The symbolism seems obvious from the start: the bear likely represents Logan’s conditioning by Dr. Prosotvich, or perhaps even Jean Grey herself.

In theory fascinating. In practice the narrative feels stretched thin, and its symbolism so heavy-handed that it loses subtlety. The reader gets the point early on: Logan is fighting for his freedom. The problem is, the comic doesn’t say much beyond that, and the rest of this animalistic dream sequence feels like filler. It’s essentially spinning its wheels.

Jean Grey – The Ultimate Universe’s Prisoner of Plot

Once we return to reality, we’re hit with several shocking but underdeveloped revelations. Jean Grey has been captured by Directorate X alongside Xavier and Magneto and her body is suspended inside Cerebro, her brain literally removed from her skull. She’s being used to psychically suppress Logan’s will.

It’s a dark, disturbing visual and an intriguing twist, but it’s more of a teaser than a story beat. Jean’s fate feels important but is relegated to a “data page” and a single grotesque image. There’s no emotional resonance, no drama just horror with no follow-up.

Gambit and Kitty – The World Is Burning, But At Least They Have Each Other

Fortunately, there is something here that redeems this issue from total stasis – the dynamic between Gambit and Kitty Pryde, now revealed as the leaders of the resistance against the Rasputin-led Eurasian Republic. In a short but solid sequence, we learn that they’ve already lost Nightcrawler and Mystique to Winter Soldier (James Howlett), and now face deadly pursuit themselves.

Gambit reminisces about a man with “bone claws” (a wink to classic Logan), and Kitty, upon realizing the identity of their attacker, tries to reach what’s left of Logan inside. It doesn’t work—until she phases her hand into his head and reactivates his shattered memories. It’s a genuinely intense, emotional moment with great pacing and stakes. It just comes too late.

The Data Pages Are Better Than the Comic? Sadly, Yes.

Here’s the biggest paradox of this series the best writing comes not from the dialogue or narration, but from the “data pages.” These side documents contain the real story: the context, the stakes, the explanations of what Directorate X is doing and why.

But comics should “show, not tell.” And here, we’re told more than we experience. That’s frustrating, because the broader narrative has huge potential a story of mind control, rebellion, and psychological warfare.

Cappuccio’s Art – Visceral Brilliance in Action

One of the saving graces of this issue and the series as a whole is the artwork by Alessandro Cappuccio. It’s savage, expressive, and gorgeous in its brutality. His style perfectly matches Wolverine’s unleashed chaos.

The wolf vs. bear fight is visually mesmerizing, and the Jean Grey scene inside Cerebro is one of the most disturbing and powerful images in the Ultimate Universe so far. Cappuccio brings his A-game, but the script doesn’t give him enough to elevate the visuals into meaningful story.

Is This Really “Ultimate”?

The biggest problem with Ultimate Wolverine is that it feels like something we’ve read before. Logan battling his conditioning, his memories, his animal side it’s been done. Better. Elsewhere. There’s a lack of originality that hurts, especially when compared to other Ultimate titles like Ultimate Spider-Man or Ultimate Black Panther.

This series wants to be experimental. Here, that experiment mostly fails. We spend most of the issue in a metaphor with no payoff, and the real story gets buried under vague symbolism.

Conclusion

"Ultimate Wolverine #4" is an ambitious but uneven issue. It tries to tell a story about identity, trauma, and psychological rebellion. Unfortunately, it does so in a way that’s overly literal, narratively flat, and lacking in fresh perspective.

The outstanding artwork and a few solid emotional moments save this issue from disaster. But as part of Marvel’s bold new Ultimate Universe, it falls short. At this point, it’s easily the weakest series in the Ultimate lineup. And while it’s still worth watching where this story is heading, enthusiasm is fading fast.

Pros:

+ Stunning artwork from Alessandro Cappuccio – bloody, expressive, and intense

+ Intriguing worldbuilding (Jean Grey as Cerebro’s prisoner, Gambit & Kitty leading a rebellion)

+ A few genuinely strong moments (Jean reveal, Kitty vs. Logan, solid data pages)

+ Ambitious storytelling concept with psychological depth

Cons:

− Too much time spent in metaphor with no real story progression

− Lack of emotional weight in Jean Grey’s fate

− Predictable and tired themes – Logan vs. his animal side again

− Important story points hidden in data pages instead of shown through action

− Feels like a retread of older Wolverine stories without adding anything new