Comic Review: Ultimate Wolverine #9 – When Darkness Stops Being an Idea and Becomes a Problem
Ultimate Wolverine #9 is an issue that, for many readers and unfortunately for me as well becomes a breaking point. The kind where you genuinely start asking: “What are we actually doing with this series?” Not because the comic suddenly becomes irredeemably bad, but because its conceptual burnout, lack of a clear narrative goal, and questionable creative choices are now impossible to ignore. Choices that strongly echo the “classic Ultimate” era of the early 2000s and that is not a compliment.
The Cyclops Sentinel – a Symbol of the Problem
The most controversial (and sadly most representative) element of issue #9 is the Sentinel with Cyclops’ head firing optic blasts. This is the exact moment where the series officially crosses the line from bold reinterpretation into empty edgelord shock value.
The idea itself is easy to understand:
The Maker placed the classic X-Men in Europe, and most of them are dead, dying, or being experimented on. The problem is that using Scott Summers in this role is completely unnecessary, both narratively and thematically. Especially when this same universe already has Natsu a character clearly designed as a Cyclops analogue, right down to her name, symbolism, and even her pose in the previous issue of Ultimate X-Men.
The result? Scott Summers is reduced to a prop, a justification for giving a Sentinel laser beams. It adds no depth, no commentary, and no meaningful development. It exists purely to shock. Classic “Ultimate shock value” that once had a purpose, but now feels like a creative shortcut.
The Monthly Structure Has Fallen Apart
On paper, Ultimate Wolverine launched with a strong formal concept:
each issue represented a different month in the new Ultimate Universe.
At first, this worked really well, especially when compared to Ultimate Spider-Man, which cleverly filled in narrative gaps through flashbacks. But over the last few issues, this structure has lost all significance.
Issues #7–9 feel like disconnected TV anthology episodes:
“Okay, now we’re here. Now we go there. Something happens. On to the next.”
There’s no longer a clear narrative spine. The central goal should be the liberation of mutants, especially now that Logan is back and the Winter Soldier phase is over. Instead, that objective has quietly faded into the background. The series doesn’t seem to know whether it wants to be a road story, a political dystopia, or a grim remix of familiar characters.
The Stretching Is Obvious and It Hurts
It’s becoming increasingly clear that the story has been artificially extended. Ultimate Wolverine was originally planned with a defined endpoint, only to be expanded later likely for publishing or event-related reasons (Ultimate Endgame, The Maker’s return, etc.).
That’s rarely a good sign.
Instead of driving toward a meaningful conclusion, the story begins to stall and improvise, and consequences start to disappear. Issue #9 suffers heavily from this problem.
Edgy Does Not Mean Interesting
There’s plenty of brutality, darkness, and “evil versions” of known characters here. But that’s all there is.
Evil Piotr. Evil Illyana.
Fine but where are the relationships?
How do they function in a world where Mikhail was always present?
Is Piotr still the overprotective brother?
Do they even talk to each other?
We don’t get a single quiet character moment. Everything is functional, rushed, and action-driven. Which is frustrating, because the worldbuilding potential is enormous, yet completely untapped.
Logan Is Still Just… Logan
The biggest irony?
This is a book called Ultimate Wolverine, yet Logan is the least “Ultimate” element in it.
He’s still the same Wolverine: gruff, violent, world-weary
There’s no meaningful evolution, no internal conflict, no confrontation with consequences. Compared to what Peach Momoko is doing in Ultimate X-Men where the reinvention feels genuine rather than cosmetic this series doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it just drives the same old road.
Art That Deserves a Better Story
To be clear: Cappuccio’s artwork is excellent. The action is dynamic, clean, and brutal where needed. The choreography and panel flow are top-tier.
But it increasingly feels like wasted potential. Because no matter how good an action scene looks, it can’t compensate for the lack of emotional or narrative weight behind it.
Final Thoughts
Ultimate Wolverine #9 is the issue that fully exposes the series’ underlying problems.
A lack of direction, reliance on shallow shock value, underused concepts, and narrative decisions that aim to disturb rather than build something lasting.
It remains technically competent and occasionally stylish but hollow. And that hurts the most, because early on it was one of the strongest titles in the new Ultimate Universe.
Pros:
+Consistently strong artwork+Dynamic, well-executed action
+Interesting ideas on paper
+Cohesive dark atmosphere
Cons:
-Cyclops Sentinel as pointless shock value-No clear narrative goal
-Edginess replacing character depth
-Worldbuilding and relationships left unexplored
-Logan lacks meaningful development
Final Score: 6 / 10
Ultimate Wolverine #9 marks the point where the series begins to lose its identity. It’s still readable, but it’s getting harder to believe it’s building toward anything substantial. If future issues don’t regain narrative focus, even the strongest visuals won’t be enough to keep readers invested.
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