In the January solicitations for Marvel Comics, Wolverine seems to be in a pretty concerning - yet intriguing - predicament. It seems as though he'll come across an underground auction that will be selling his limbs - yes, you read that correctly. Wolverine's rapid mutant healing factor is quite impressive, allowing him to regrow his organs and appendages on the all too frequent occasion they're cut off. However, it looks as though someone may be gathering those discarded limbs and selling them for a profit. Naturally, this is something that Wolverine can't let stand.
Apparently, this secret auction for criminals will be taking place in Madripoor, which isn't surprising at all for fans familiar with the seedy location. Madripoor is a fictional island in the Marvel Universe, somewhere southwest of Singapore, and is a hub of criminal activity. It's essentially Marvel's version of Tatooine's Mos Eisley from Star Wars: a wretched hive of scum and villainy. Wolverine is no stranger to the island and its illicit dealings and characters, and it's the perfect place to stage a black market auction dealing in high-value items such as Logan's limbs.
However, the cover art for the upcoming Wolverine #9 from writer Benjamin Percy with art by Adam Kubert does reveal that Logan's arm won't be the only thing being sold at the auction. Other items are featured as well that would no doubt be of interest to any Marvel criminal with the resources and means to bid on them. Here are the cover art and synopsis from the Marvel Comics January solicitations:
- WOLVERINE #9
- BENJAMIN PERCY (W) • ADAM KUBERT (A/C)
- VARIANT COVER BY RYAN BROWN
- Marvel Vs Alien Variant Cover by R.B.SILVA
- WEAPON X – TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER!
- WOLVERINE’s back in MADRIPOOR for an underworld criminal auction specializing in super hero artifacts that will surface more than just bad memories for the mutant formerly known as WEAPON X!
Some of the other items featured on the cover include a damaged and cracked Captain America shield, a broken Eye of Agamotto talisman, an impaled Magneto helmet, a Cyclops visor, one of Spider-Man's web-shooters, and what may be a partially dismantled Iron Man or Ant-Man helmet as well. The one thing they all have in common is that all of these items were most likely discarded due to damage in battle or were no doubt easily replaced, meaning that it would be very unlikely a hero would be looking for them. That makes these items the perfect merchandise to sell to the highest bidder. While Logan's arm fits this description as well, it also very likely that it carries an added danger above the other items up for purchase.
Logan's arm is the most prominent item on the cover and seems likely it will be sold in the issue, leaving Wolverine to hunt down the buyer and keep his hand out of their hands. The worry on Logan's part, which the synopsis indicates, is probably that criminals could use his old arm for a variety of nefarious purposes, the worst of which could be the potential opportunity to reverse engineer the Weapon X program using the unique DNA, tissue samples, and blood to be gained by purchasing his arm. Hopefully, Wolverine can shut down the auction in time, or at least retrieve his old limb from the buyer before anything dangerous can be done with it.