Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Old Man Logan comes from an alternate future seen in the 1st Old Man Logan mini-series, part of Secret Wars where a fragment of his reality survived in Battleworld as the Wastelands. But when the multiverse was rebuilt at the end of SW Logan woke up in the current day renewed Earth-616. In his future the world was run by (super-)villains. But Logan had retired from being Wolverine and was a farmer, until his family were murdered by the sons of the Hulk and he set out for revenge.
Now in the present he's trying to prevent his future from coming to pass by eliminating 4 men who were most responsible for it, whose names he has written on his wrist. In #1 he killed the Black Butcher. Last issue he went after the Hulk and was confused to discover that Bruce Banner had been replaced by Amadeus Cho, someone he'd never heard of. So he sought help from his old pal Hawkeye (Clint Barton) in his Brooklyn brownstone apartment. There he was greeted by Lucky the dog who recognised him by scent, and Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) who wasn't so sure and was aiming an arrow at his face.
1st of all of course she wants to know if he's Wolverine with the healing factor then how come he's so old and bleeding from his wounds? And more importantly he's supposed to be dead so is he a zombie? Logan recognises her as Barton's protégé and she tells him Clint's away on a mission so she's house-sitting the apartment, and the dog. He tells her he's from the future which she takes in her stride because that's quite common for X-Men. He explains that in his future the bad guys kill most of the heroes, including her, but if he kills the 4 names on his wrist he can prevent it from happening (the last 2 are Mysterio and Red Skull). He also tells her that Clint survives to help him but blinded by Avalanche (as recounted in the previous series). Kate muses that that can't be right, but before she can explain Logan tries to leave but faints from blood loss.
As he sinks into unconsciousness Logan remembers an idyllic day (or as idyllic as it got in the Wastelands) at a beach with his family. Ignoring the nearby giant statue (minus the head and half an arm) he frolics in the surf with his 2 kids Jade and Scotty as his wife Maureen watches from a blanket. Suddenly Jade panics because she's seen a monster underwater. Logan dives down to investigate and spots 3 skeletons in shreds of super-costumes. He returns to the others and says this must be the site of the Battle Of Atlantis. He promises Jade he won't let anything hurt her.
He wakes in the present 33 hours later, and explains to Kate that his healing factor isn't as good as it used to be. He gratefully downs some coffee (which possibly wasn't available in the Wastelands). She tells him she's been looking into his list of targets. She doesn't know where Bruce Banner is but she's accessed the SHIELD database and got the last known address for Mysterio. Kate says she's bored with house-sitting and she's going to help Wolverine catch the bad guy. Logan reluctantly agrees.
As the duo leap across the rooftops to Mysterio's hideout Kate asks Logan if he can tell her some secrets from the future, like who's the new female Thor. But this is something else that surprises him and he says he must have not noticed it. His excuse is that costumed characters are always going through changes, but Kate-eye thinks this was a big thing to miss. She pauses before they enter their destination and tells him that Avalanche is dead so he can't blind Clint in the future. Add that to him not knowing about female Thor (and Amadeus Cho) and she asks him to consider that this may not be *his* past. But he dismisses that by saying someone else may have taken up the Avalanche id. He's not going to let anything deter him from his plan to save his future.
Logan kicks the door in and Kate follows hoping to keep him in check. They see 2 men drinking beer and playing cards. Logan unsheathes his claws and demands to know where Mysterio is but the 2 men don't know what he's talking about. Wolverine doesn't believe them and attacks 1 of them. Hawkeye helps by keeping the other man busy until she's sees angry Logan cut 1 of the 1st man's hands off. She insists Logan stop as the man says he and his pal just found this deserted place to hole up in. Logan won't listen because these men *have* to know where Mysterio is. Kate-eye emphasises her point with an arrow whistling past his ear.
Now it's time for a face-off between the 2 heroes. Kate says this was only the last base SHIELD knew for Mysterio so he could have moved on. She's not going to let him torture or kill these men when they probably don't have any information. Logan says she hasn't got the stomach to do what's necessary and she'd better get out of his way. So she puts the next arrow in his shoulder. But that doesn't stop him and his adamantium claws break her bow. She protests that was her favourite bow as she jabs the heel of her hand to break his nose then backflips out of his reach with a kick to the jaw en route. Logan complains that the 2 men are escaping behind her and she replies that that was her plan. He grabs her by the throat and menaces her with his claws but Kate stares him out and calmly points out that killing her won't help him. He lets go and backs off exclaiming in frustration that he's trying to save them *all*. She says the she and other heroes can help him. But he walks away repeating his mantra that he always works alone.
Outside he sniffs a familiar scent. He tries to get away up a fire-escape but a whirling dustbin lid knocks him off it. A voice tells him to "stand down, soldier, that's an order" as the metal lid rebounds into the newcomer's hand. It's Old Man Steve Rogers.