Peace. No matter how Logan tries, it continues to elude him. Seasons and places change, but the world continues to drag him back into its conflicts, bringing trouble of all kinds his way wherever he goes. With nothing else for him to do, he can only do what he does best. You know the rest.
*Mild spoilers ahead for Logan: Black, White, & Blood #2*
Written by Benjamin Percy and illustrated by Robert Gill, the first of our three stories finds us in the Canadian wilderness in 1919. Seeking an escape from the constant fights that seem to always find a way to drag him into the fray, Logan has retreated from society, choosing instead the serenity of isolation amongst nature. But though he may have abandoned the world, it refuses to leave him be. The familiar scents of gun-smoke, blood, and oil alert him that he's no longer alone in the forest, and he soon discovers their source. The smoking wreckage of vehicles and bloody bodies littering the ground tell the story. Bootleggers from the U.S. ran afoul of Canadian Mounties, leading to a vicious battle without any survivors, or so it would appear. Not that Logan is too concerned about that once he finds what the bootleggers were transporting: barrels of Kentucky Bourbon. Of course, his excitement is short-lived as one of the bootleggers managed to survive, as he discovers when he finds their gun pointed at his head.
Following that tale, Mirka Andolfo (who takes on both writer and artist roles here) brings us a story from sea in the 1930s, where Logan has taken up work in the crew of a ship bound for America with a hold full of illegal immigrants. The ship's captain seems nice enough and Logan is appreciative of the labor and transport. However, something feels amiss on the ship. Members of the crew keep dying mysteriously, often in gruesome fashion. One of the passengers claims the deaths are the work of an ancient spirit that protects her. Of course, Logan is no ordinary crew member, as this unseen force will learn to its chagrin when it comes for him next.
Finally, Frank Tieri and Raffaele Ienco bring us to an unknown time and place, where we find Logan embroiled in an intense battle against a masked militia. His partner, Agent Danvers, was knocked unconscious in the battle, leaving him to get both of them out of there alive. Unfortunately, the leader of the militia, Elijah, gravely wounds Logan with a powerful energy weapon the likes of which he's never seen, which blasts through him with ease. Though not enough to kill him thanks to his healing factor, the blast leaves him in rough enough shape that their chances of survival are looking increasingly bleak as Elijah levels the weapon at Logan's head.
Where issue 1 showcased stories that delved into the animalistic side of him, issue 2 focuses on the variety of endless fights Logan relentlessly finds himself dragged into. From bootleggers to specters to militarized cults that might be connected to aliens, he's fought all manner of beings over his extremely long life. Though the battles may change with the seasons, each is met with the same fierce resilience as the last. No matter how he's hurt or the type of foe he finds himself up against, Logan refuses to back down. Granted, being able to heal from just about anything thrown his way certainly helps in this, since few foes are equipped to stop him for long, if at all, but it's clear that his unyielding determination has as much to do with a long life littered with conflict as it does with a healing factor.
At the same time, that determination is laced with a resigned acceptance when conflict finds him once more. Try as he might to find a life of peace, the universe remains defiant of this desire. Perhaps this is simply bad luck, some divine cruelty ensuring that his inherent talents continue to be utilized. Or perhaps it's because he can't bring himself to simply walk away when trouble presents itself. He could have ignored the carnage left behind in the wake of the battle between the bootleggers and the Mounties. He could have ignored the deaths of the crew members on the ship, turning a jaded eye to them and minding his own business. He could have sought out a quiet place far removed from any civilized place rather than taking on an assignment to infiltrate a militarized cult. Yet he continues to find himself drawn to conflict as much as conflict is drawn to him. Perhaps it is because deep down he cannot allow himself to stand idly by when he knows he's uniquely equipped to handle such situations. Or perhaps the universe just hates him. That would certainly explain his perpetual disgruntled attitude and constant air of resignation.
Compared to the previous issue, I felt the stories here were a bit more varied. As I mentioned in my review of that issue, each story, while different in setting, seemed to follow a similar framework. The same cannot be said here. The only similarity between the first two stories was that Logan finds himself pulled into a conflict, but the circumstances and outcomes are different enough that they feel like very different stories in both tone and content. As for the third story, it feels completely different from its predecessors, delivering something more akin to a black ops movie than the other stories of a man just trying to find peace in a world that refuses to leave him be.
Each also presents a different motive for why Logan fights. In the first story he fights simply for survival, something he's been forced to do constantly over his long life. In the second, he initially fights for survival, but then shifts to fight instead against an injustice before him. Finally, the third sees him fight for others on a larger scale, working alongside Agent Danvers to bring down a cruel organization that poses a threat to countless innocents throughout the world. All of these are consistent with his character, and perfect examples of why he will never know peace, no matter how much his heart might ache for it.
Because no matter how much he might hate it, he's simply the best at what he does.
Logan: Black, White, & Blood #2 is available now from Marvel Comics.
