Appearing in "It Fell to Earth"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Hydra
- X-Men (Only in recap)
- Rogue (Only in recap)
- Jean Grey-Summers (Only in recap)
- Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde) (Only in recap)
- Sabretooth (Victor Creed) (Only in recap)
- The Hand (Only in recap)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth
- Asia
- Southeast Asia
- Tibet
- Himalayas
- Shangri-La (Mentioned)
- Himalayas
- Asia
Vehicles:
- Hydra Helicopter
Synopsis for "It Fell to Earth"
The story opens with Wolverine climbing a mountain (which he tells us is in the Himalayas). He falls off the mountain, ejects his claws, and begins climbing again. Then he jumps to catch a piece of ice and misses, plummeting to the ground. He then thinks, "It's not the fall that kills you; it's the landing." Meanwhile, Viper is talking with Khan, who is telling Viper that they lost communication with Wolverine 6 hours ago, and that he could have a search party assembled. She tells him to leave her, and she reflects on using some of the X-Men against Wolverine so that he would marry her. She thinks about Sabretooth's interruption of the ceremony, and how she used this to force Madripoor to allow her to be the head of the criminal underworld. Then she looks at two men in biohazard suits, who tell her the status of H.Y.D.R.A. agents that were infected with an unknown disease.
Meanwhile, back at the mountain, Wolverine begins climbing the mountain again, and thinking about how he needs to push past the cold, and take the mountain step by step. 5 hours later, he reaches the peak, and reflects on a recent meeting with Viper. He remembers her talking about sending 12 men to find the lost city of Shangri-La and having only 3 return. These three men brought back a mysterious disease that affects every internal organ and causes internal bleeding. She told him to go find the virus and bring it back for 2 reasons: 1) his healing factor, and 2)the plague could wipe out the world. Wolverine then snaps back to the present and finds one of the HYDRA agents with ripped clothes, and realizes that it wasn't just a virus that killed them. He enters the cave, and finds one HYDRA agent alive. Back in Madripoor, Viper talks to Akihiko, and finds out that Wolverine is still alive. She tells Akihiro to tell her when the tracker stops.
The HYDRA soldier tells Wolverine he thought he was "the creature." Wolverine tells him to start talking about the virus. The HYDRA boy said they never found it. He told him he wasn't surprised Viper lied to him, then tells him to start talking again. He said that Viper had been visited by a monk, and the next day, they were to set out to find a virus. He said he was glad to be on the mountain compared to the team who made it back and told Viper they failed. We also learned that Viper probably gave the men a virus to get Wolverine involved. Suddenly, the creature appears (it's a spider-like being), and it bites Wolverine in the soldier. Then he throws it off and ejects his claws, preparing to fight. Wolverine thinks about the pain he's enduring because of the (what he suspects is alien) venom. Then he realizes that the alien-thing just might kill him, since it stabs him at any part he leaves exposed, and since he reflexes have been slowed. He then drops to his knees, and feels the healing factor leaving him, but he uses his willpower to get the job done. Then he sees it going for the boy. Wolverine dices up the creature, and it jumps at him. He impales it on his claws, killing it, and thinking about how he won due to the primal urge in his soul to stay alive. He later remarks to the boy that the alien was probably the virus, and he created a "vaccine" and tossed it in the cave. Then we see him in Viper's palace, and he holds out a sample of the germ, and tosses it in acid. He then remarks that he did what he was told, which was finding the virus and bringing it back. Then he leaves, ending the story.
Trivia
- According to writer Todd DeZago, he opted out of writing the script for this comic after plotting Wolverine (Vol. 2) #129–131 due to editorial largely rewriting the previous issue's script, with Brian K. Vaughan being hired as a last-minute replacement.[1]
- Over 1,000 copies of this issue were recalled because of the accidental use of an antisemitic slur. According to DeZago, editor Mark Powers scribbled out the issue's script to change the text in a narration box that said, "the assassin known as Sabretooth," switching "assassin" for "killer." However, the words were cut off and garbled when they were faxed to the letterer, who accidentally wrote the dialogue as "the kike known as Sabretooth." The issue was then reprinted and the line was rectified.[1]
See Also
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wolverine #131 Racial Slur Variant Recalled Comics. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Originally retrieved on September 6, 2024.