So I Read What Wolverine's Life was Like in the 2000s| A Mile in My Moccasins...

If someone brings up the X-men, most  people will probably think, “Oh yeah, Wolverine’s team.” If you are familiar with  Marvel’s Merry Mutants only from the movies, you’re thinking of Hugh Jackman’s version of the  character. And hey, the man did an amazing job, and that is probably why Deadpool 3 is the  only movie I plan to watch next year. Hey, I’m straight, but even I can’t resist  the charms of a man named Hugh. However, if you think the Fox  movies were all about Wolverine, the comics too

k this to a completely  different level. Over the years, Wolverine became so popular that he could  challenge Spiderman for the title of the face of Marvel. This became extremely noticeable  in the 2000s when Wolverine joined the Avengers and began appearing in both Avengers and X-Men  titles. Not to mention the “occasional” team-up. That brings us to “A Mile in My  Moccasins,” written by Jason Aaron with pencils by Adam Kubert, inks by  Mark Farmer, colors by Justin Ponsor, and lettering by Cor

y Petit - a two-parter  that addresses Logan’s omnipresence in the 2000s. So kick back and crack  open a cold one as we discuss the… SUNDAY: Logan fights the Juggernaut MONDAY: Logan fights the Serpent  Society with the New Avengers TUESDAY: Logan teams up with the Punisher and Ghost Rider to fight the  Black Talon and his zombies WEDNESDAY: Logan fights the Purifiers with X-force THURSDAY: Logan fights Mystique with Cyclops FRIDAY: Logan teams up with  Spiderman to fight a HYDRA cell SATURDAY:

Logan drinks SUNDAY: Logan fights bank robbers with Iceman TUESDAY: Logan fights Cyber THURSDAY: Logan teams up with  Deadpool to fight M.O.D.O.K SATURDAY: Logan drinks SUNDAY: Logan fights a troll with Thor MONDAY: Logan fights Red Hulk WEDNESDAY: Logan…plays poker with some heroes SATURDAY: Logan drinks…and hears the  announcement of Norman Osborn’s Avengers, which includes his son Daken as ‘Wolverine’ SATURDAY: Logan takes out his  anger on some poor Hellfire guards SUNDAY: Logan tries to dec

ompress  at a Japanese dry garden MONDAY: Logan gets shot at TUESDAY: Logan gets stabbed with a sword WEDNESDAY: Logan gets caught in an explosion THURSDAY: Logan gets hit in  the head by the Absorbing Man FRIDAY: Logan gets hit by an energy blast SATURDAY: Logan gets electrocuted by a  set of jumper cables hooked to his nipples SUNDAY:... “Listen Logan, I’m no expert  or anything… but I think this might be what a nervous breakdown looks like.” That’s it, isn’t it? That’s the quiet  part of Wolv

erine’s actions said out, no screamed out loud in this story. What makes it  even more striking is that it comes from Yukio, someone known for being carefree to an almost  dangerous extent. Jason Aaron does a good job of contextualizing Wolverine’s multiple cameos in  the Marvel Universe so that it flips the readers’ perspective. Logan’s not doing this because  he has to, he’s doing it because he needs to. However, it appears that Logan chooses to  stay in denial. He does not share Yukio’s post-

coital clarity after the two bumped  uglies and hits the road again as she muses about how she once would’ve loved to live a day  in his life, but the thrills aren’t worth it to even an adrenaline junkie like her. But this is a two-parter, and Yukio isn’t the only one who has noticed  Logan’s attempts to overwhelm himself. MONDAY: Spiderman fights the Wrecking Crew alongside the rest of the New  Avengers, including Wolverine TUESDAY: Peter Parker watches Logan and Cyclops fight Mystique on TV WE

DNESDAY: Peter notices Wolverine's telltale claw marks at a massacre of anti-mutant group FRIDAY: “I’m dead. He is so totally  going to kill me for this.” “Oh God Oh God Oh God Oh God.” “All right, get a grip, Parker. You can do this.” “He’s just a grumpy little  Canadian. You fought Firelord.” “YOU FOUGHT FIRELORD!” “That’s it. I’m dead.” Building up all of his courage, hiding his fear  behind a series of quips in typical Spiderman fashion, Peter asks Logan why he is trying to  kill himself. Lo

gan isn’t in the mood for a debate and eventually pops the claws. As the two  argue, we never find out whether a fight would break out between them, as a gang of extremely  unlucky men break down the door to rob the place. After 30 seconds of off-panel shenanigans, Spidey gets ready to leave. But it seems the  scuffle acted as a mental release for Logan, who tells Peter he was right about him. After  getting his memories back in House of M, Wolverine now has to deal with the crushing guilt  of e

very horrible thing he did in the past. Being alone with his thoughts becomes unbearable for  him. The worst part was finding out he had a son who has grown up as a twisted copy of himself…or,  as Logan fears, an indistinguishable copy. That’s why he works with as many  heroes and super-teams as he can, not only to drown out the thoughts,  but as a form of penance. He feels that he’ll never be able to redeem  himself but a man’s gotta try, right? After a pause, Spidey asks him if they want  to j

ust hang out and reminisce about the good ol’ days…although I’m not sure that Secret Wars  II counts as good memories for anyone. We never find out if Logan would have accepted, as he  gets a call and has to go, thanking Spidey for taking the time. In this two-parter, Jason Aaron turns a running  gag about Wolverine’s ubiquity into pathos. Since it comes from a place that most people will  understand, based on the character’s past, it doesn’t come off as forced. I also  love Spiderman’s presence

in this story, as he is a kindred spirit to Logan in a meta  way. Despite his reputation for being a “loner”, Spidey has interacted with most  of the Marvel Universe regularly, serving the same role in the Silver and  Bronze Ages before essentially passing the torch to Logan in the 90s. There’s  almost no one better to understand what Logan’s going through - which is probably  for the best, as I don’t really see fellow 90s icon Frank Castle having a heart-to-heart  with Wolverine over their per

sonal struggles.