In Jason Aaron’s Thor issues, we see King Thor and Old Man Phoenix fight in one of the most amazing and visually stunning fight sequences in the history of comic books. The fight ends with Thor being impaled by a Phoenix Force charged Wolverine as the Marvel Universe literally comes to an end. While that was one timeline, in another, Wolverine the Animal has given in to the animal within yet again. In the Old Man Logan series, an aged Wolverine decides he had enough and goes on yet another mad stroll, leaving behind a major Avenger superhero’s corpse on his trail. This guy just does not know when to stop!! Presenting – Marvel Comics Update: After Thor, Wolverine brutally kills the Incredible Hulk!!
In the Old Man Logan series, the readers are introduced to an alternate, bleak future timeline where an organized and coordinated attack by all the Earth’s supervillains coming together takes out almost 99 percent of the superhero community in one sweep.
What is left of the heroes are now either retired or are in hiding? Logan is now an Old Man. His healing factor is starting to give up on him. The adamantium in his bones, the very thing that once made him nigh invincible, is the thing that is killing him.
Turns out, Adamantium is highly poisonous but since Wolverine had a good healing factor, the poison from the metal could be kept at bay them. But with his healing factor coming to a screeching halt, the poison is starting to spread throughout Logan’s body and he is slowly and steadily….dying.
In this world, another superhero exists. But he is no more the good guy. The Hulk is now the Maestro, a dark and corrupted version of the Jade Giant that has absorbed the radiation from the radioactive wastelands he lives and rule over in which has turned him practically insane.
Old Man Logan decides to take the Maestro out before his body gives up on him as a final ode to his legacy. And what happens next is one of the most brutal and bloodiest fights the Marvel universe has ever seen.
To be honest, Wolverine and the Hulk have been fighting for quite some time in the Marvel Comic book pages. Most of the fights are evened out. The Wolverine’s claws are just as deadly as the Hulk’s Brute Strength.
But in this fight. The Wolverine is a shadow of his former self while the Hulk aka Maestro is a massive, hulking figure that is ten times more powerful than the regular, average Joe Hulk used to be.
And the Hulk shows it first hand when he (almost) kills Wolverine during the early phases of the fight.
Maestro vs Wolverine – First Contact
In the Old Man Logan series, Logan and Hulk have been at each other’s throats since years. Maestro was defeated by Wolverine when they met on the battlefield for the first time. Ever since the green goliath decided to stay away. Logan’s healing factor started to fade away and he decided to hide within the very wastelands where Maestro now ruled as a King.
Old Man Logan finally got wind of the Maestro terrorizing the good and innocent residents of Fort Wells, a small town in the North-Western territories of erstwhile Canada. His Canadian blood boiled to see his fellow citizens being used as a footstool by his former ally Avenger, so he set out to wipe Maestro off the face of the Earth.
We said it before and we say it again, the Hulk has gotten ten times stronger and crazier ever since he overloaded himself by all that radiation he absorbed. He is now stupidly more powerful. The Wolverine is a husk. He stands no chance against a guy who can crack open the crust of the planet with one blow. So the fight is heavily biased on one side.
Logan dies at the hands of Maestro
The very first punch Maestro throws at him brings Old Man Logan to a grand epiphany – taking the Maestro head-on was perhaps the stupidest idea Logan had ever had. He neither had the strength nor the durability nor the healing factor to help him keep up with the enemy.
Maestro, on the other hand, had only grown stronger. Banner was now a god-like gladiator who now ruled over his barbarian kingdom with absolute ruthlessness. The radiation overload had changed him. He was now willing to give out levels of punishment that the previous good guy Hulk would not dare to. He was willing to go all out, something the old timer Hulk would have forbidden himself from.
The end result was that Wolverine was dished out like a dead rabbit. There was no way the Old Man could win. But wait – here’s the trump card. Logan had brought along with him an experimental drug that could boost his healing factor and strength to his former levels.
The more he used that drug, the faster his body deteriorated beyond the point of repair. And Wolverine had bought a lot of Regenix with him, which meant that he was willing to sacrifice himself to stop the Maestro. And here’s the catch – when Wolverine entered the town of Fort Wells, his bag of Regenix was stolen from him. This meant that Old Man Logan had to face Maestro without his ace up his sleeve and thus invite the godly wrath of the Jade Giant.
Logan resurrects from the dead
In Old Man Logan #48, Logan does die. The level of inhuman punishment the guy took was beyond imagination. Even for Wolverine, it was too much. His healing factor was not able to revive him back. His corpse was thrown into a pit of dead bodies that were the previous victims of the Maestro’s tyrannous reign.
But Wolverine is not dead. There is still a sliver of life left in him. His healing factor gets to work but it is now as slow as a slug. What once took five seconds for Wolverine to heal out of now takes five days. Wolverine comes out alive but he is too damn late.
After getting back into Fort Wells and getting his hands back on his precious Regenix, Wolverine decides to end the fight once and for all. He claims to the residents of Fort Wells that he has “One last Fight” left in him. And his claws are about to get down and dirty for one last time. His last kill would be none other than the Incredible Hulk.
Second Coming
The Regenix kicks in soon and Wolverine is back to his former, legendary strength. He is now the Wolverine every being in the marvel universe would think twice before daring to cross paths with. Maestro finally realizes that he now has an opponent worthy of him and that now, he can unleash his true strength without having to hold back. The fight is now on Wolverine’s favour.
Maestro, realizing he might lose, offers a deal to Wolverine. He will allow Wolverine to go back in time and space where his family and home is waiting for him to come back. Wolverine, looking at the citizens of Fort Wells who will be left to Maestro’s mercy if he leaves, says nay. Maestro crushes the device and Wolverine is now only left with one choice – a battle to the death.
Final Fight – Maestro dies
The Regenix gives Wolverine the upper hand but Maestro still manages to turn the tables around. Realizing his body has enough juice for only one last strike, Old man Logan channels all his remaining energy to a final slash. The end result – Maestro’s decapitated head now lies lifeless on the snow, his beheaded body no writhing for life as it lashes out for a few times before both the Hulk’s halves go static.
Wolverine has no time to rejoice though. Remember the negative side effects of Regenix on Wolverine’s body that we talked about? Taking even a little amount can have grave consequences for Logan. And he has taken so much of it right now. His body finally gives up on him.
Wolverine crawls into a corner of the snow-covered battle-field as he wishes for his story not to end like this. The long, tragic life of Wolverine finally comes to an end.
Or has it?
