As Wolverine‘s most brutal series of all time nears its end, there’s still time for some major surprises – including the shock rebirth of one of his most iconic villains.
Marvel Redesigns Wolverine Villain Lady Deathstrike
In today’s Ultimate Wolverine #14 – from Chris Condon, Alessandro Cappuccio, Bryan Valenza and Cory Petit – Logan and Jean Grey go up against Lady Deathstrike. A human cyborg, Deathstrike is the latest creation of the villainous Directorate X – an organization within the Eurasian Republic which experiments on mutants to turn them into living weapons.
The Ultimate Universe’s Lady Deathstrike is a silent assassin, her finger claws extending with a disconcerting crackle. Her black eyes and scarred face make for a fearsome appearance, with Logan greeting her by asking, “Hey lady, whose nightmare did you crawl out from?”
In Marvel’s mainstream lore, Yuriko Oyama is the daughter of the scientist who figured out how to bond adamantium to bone, seeing Wolverine as an insult to her family’s legacy. In the Ultimate Universe, she’s another tragic victim of the Rasputins – a normal human turned into a weapon via traumatic experimentation.
Our Take on Lady Deathstrike’s New Design
One of the fun things about Ultimate Wolverine is that most of the villains were directly created by Directorate X, giving them a unified (albeit nightmarish) design. From Lady Deathstrike to Angel to Wolverine himself (aka the Winter Soldier), the aesthetic of black leather, blades and muzzles gives Directorate X a definitive visual identity.
Thankfully, Lady Deathstrike doesn’t just show up as someone for Wolverine to fight. By searching her memory, Jean Grey learns all the places that Magik – the last ruler of the Eurasian Republic – could be hiding, allowing the pair to continue their effort to free Russia from her control.
Ultimate Wolverine has been a story of epic revenge, twisting iconic features of Logan’s lore into new forms. While Sabretooth has turned heroic and Colossus villainous, Lady Deathstrike remains a tragic victim – but this time of the Maker’s regime, rather than her own senseless hatred for Wolverine.
Ultimate Wolverine #14 is available now from Marvel Comics.
- Created By
-
Roy Thomas, Len Wein, John Romita Sr.
- First Appearance
-
The Incredible Hulk (2023)
- Alias
-
James “Logan” Howlett
- Alliance
-
X-Men, Avengers, Canadian Army, OSS/CIA, Avengers Unity Squad, Alpha Flight, New Avengers, New Fantastic Four, Savage Avengers, Weapon X, X-Force
- Race
-
Human-Mutant