Wolverine Puts Batman To Shame Against Marvel's Version of Riddler
Warning: contains spoilers for Wolverine: Black, White, & Blood #2!
Wolverine is often treated like a blunt instrument. Though he might not be the strongest or most powerful member of the X-Men, his ferocity and fighting skills are unmatched. This treatment of the character is so prominent that even Logan often thinks of himself as little more than a killing machine. Wolverine's bloody tactics can make it difficult to tell whether he's even a hero at all. But what happens when he has to suppress his killer instincts? In Wolverine: Black, White, & Blood #2, Marvel's version of Riddler tests if Wolverine can fight his instincts long enough to save an innocent man.
The story "Seeing Red" from writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Kev Walker sees Wolverine being drugged at a local restaurant. He wakes up in an industrial tower with a series of ascending walkways. Logan instantly recognizes the handiwork of longtime X-Men villain Arcade. Much like Jigsaw or DC's Riddler, Arcade is a villain who tests the heroes he faces with lethal games. At the top of the tower is the waiter who was threatened into drugging Logan. Arcade explains that Wolverine has to make it to the waiter before a meter fills up, or else the innocent man will be dipped into molten metal. Without hesitating, the X-Men's greatest anti-hero charges up the tower, laying waste to Arcade's army of robots. Arcade only laughs as the meter fills up faster with each kill. The tower's true challenge isn't getting to the top, it's doing so without killing.
Through fast footwork and quick wits, Logan is able to jump over a handful of robots and shove aside a few more. The meter creeps up and up, bringing the innocent waiter to death's edge as Wolverine ascends. He almost reaches the cage but is stopped by a double dose of electric shocks from a pair of robots. Another kill will spell doom for the captured man, but there seems to be no other choice. With a primal shout, Wolverine eviscerates the pair of robots, causing a torrent of liquid metal to pour out. Logan darts to the man, grabs the cage, pushes it off the tower, then positions himself to cushion the cage's fall as the molten metal burns his lower half. Logan's legs are horribly damaged, and he's barely able to stand, but at last, the waiter is free. The famously indestructible Wolverine tries to kill Arcade but isn't surprised to learn it's just a robot duplicate.
This story is a clear illustration of what makes Wolverine so much fun to read. He might be violent and willing to get his hands dirty, but he has a good heart and is willing to do whatever it takes to protect innocent people. It's telling that Arcade refers to Wolverine as an animal, but Logan himself realizes it's not the animal part of him that broke through the robots' electric attack, it was the man, it was the need to help people.
Aside from themes though, the story is just a fun look at how important restrictions are in Superhero fiction. Wolverine might be able to do a lot more than normal people, but he's not all-powerful. Further restricting him by taking away his ability to kill further ramps up the tension, as Wolverine is unable to use his most prominent skill. Marvel has been keen on showing how his violence makes Wolverine a liability sometimes, so this comic continues that trend. Wolverine might be bestial at his worst, but in Wolverine: Black, White, & Blood #2 he shows that there is still a man underneath that animal.