2. Killing An Innocent Teen For The Greater Good (Ultimate X-Men #41)
One thing the X-Men writers have always done right is its depiction of various mutants transformation at puberty. Its a difficult time for the majority of us and, while most people just turn grouchy and grow their hair as opposed to developing laser eyes, the comparison is an effective analogue. Obviously this becomes more of an issue when youre suddenly a legitimate threat to everyone you come in to contact with due to secreting acid clouds from your skin. This is the problem faced by an unlucky teenager and its left up to Wolverine to track him down and stop him from hurting anyone else. This powerful exchange in issue 41 of Ultimate X-Men proves that sometimes its the small, understated moments which have the largest impact. Wolverine listens as the youngster tries to rationalise the damage he has done and finally realises that he isnt going to see daylight again. Its an emotional exchange which is tragically punctuated by the defiant last words from Logans victim, Just do it". Aside from invoking the Nike slogan (which was also allegedly inspired by murderer Gary Gilmore's last words before his execution), it is also shown to have deeply affected Wolverine in the final panel. No matter that what he did was for the greater good, to do so he had to kill a defenceless, crying teen. This would work well on screen, showing that Logan is ready to make difficult decisions and places him firmly in the grey area between hero and hitman.
A pop culture mad writer from the North East who loves films, television and debating them with whoever will listen.
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