Summary

• After being tied up with adamantium coils, Wolverine removes his hands and feet to fight Sabretooth.
• Sabretooth's new army have killed several of Wolverine's children, and now he's fighting to save his daughter Laura.
• Wolverine's gory move confirms some major facts about his biology, while also setting up huge consequences like having his adamantium stolen.

Warning: contains spoilers for Wolverine #42!As Wolverine fights the most lethal threat he's ever faced, he's pushing his healing factor to the absolute limit - including popping his adamantium claws in a gut-churning new way. Marvel's Sabretooth War promised a bloodbath as Logan's longtime nemesis finally returned, but no-one was ready for how dark and gory the story would actually get, with several major hero deaths already.

In Wolverine #42, Sabretooth's army of multiversal variants attack Wolverine's X-Force. Thanks to his new lackeys, Sabretooth easily overpowers Wolverine in the first moments of the attack. However, rather than killing him immediately, Sabretooth wants Logan to witness the execution of his allies and family. Stringing Wolverine up with adamantium, Sabretooth's group attack the rest of the team, leaving Wolverine only one option to get back in the fight - to remove his own hands and feet.

Unable to cut through his adamantium bindings, Logan notes "my bones might be adamantium, but my ts are made of meat." With a horrific effort, he's able to remove one hand, then pop his claws to cut himself to freedom. Wolverine then crawls to the rescue, his claws jutting directly from his forearms as a stomach-churning last resort.

The Sabretooth army have already killed two of Wolverine's children, and now they've set their sights on his beloved daughter Laura.

Wolverine Removes His Hands & Feet to Fight Sabretooth

Sabretooth's New Group Are the Most Brutal Threat of Wolverine's Life

Wolverine's ongoing Sabretooth war is the third entry in Marvel's Sabretooth trilogy, which has so far encomed the miniseries Sabretooth: The Adversary and Sabretooth and the Exiles (both from Victor LaValle and Leonard Kirk.) At the beginning of X-Men's 'Krakoan Era' relaunch, Sabretooth was convicted of one of the few remaining mutant crimes: killing humans. He was then locked away in the Pit - a prison deep underneath the island, where prisoners are plunged into a hallucinatory state. Sabretooth's evil was enough to free him, while also earning the reluctant loyalty of the Pit's other prisoners.

In Sabretooth and the Exiles, Sabretooth discovered he was being hunted by his son Graydon Creed, who had been using advanced technology to slay versions of Victor Creed across the multiverse. Sabretooth beat Graydon and then used his technology to assemble his own army. Sabretooth is working with a core group of his multiversal variants, while also using the reanimated (and headless) bodies of the dead Victors as muscle. More powerful than ever, Sabretooth decided to revisit his longheld tradition of finding and brutalizing Wolverine on his birthday. Sabretooth's new group includes:

The Sabretooth army have already eaten Wolverine's surrogate son Quentin Quire alive and torn his long-lost biological son Akihiro to pieces. Now, they're hoping to finish the job by murdering Laura Kinney and then Logan himself, while also targeting as many of his friends as possible.

Wolverine's Gory Move Confirms 2 Key Facts About His Biology

Logan's Claws Are in His Forearms, Not His Knuckles

Wolverine's horrific amputation shows that he's having to push himself to the limit to fight back against Sabretooth, however it also confirms two major facts about his powers. First, that his claws are housed in his forearms rather than sitting between his knuckles. This is consistent with the majority of his depictions in Marvel comics, however the R-rated art makes it far, far more plain than ever before. Interestingly, Wolverine's claws aren't technically a superpower, but rather part of his permanent biology caused by his X-gene mutation. That may seem like a minor distinction, but it matters a lot, as it means that Logan can pop his claws even if his powers are being suppressed - his healing can be turned off by SHIELD's power-negating tech or mutants like Leech, but nothing can stop his claws.

Wolverine leaving his extremities behind could end up being a major plot point in future, and may end up costing him more adamantium...

Second, Wolverine's body can be torn to pieces. This has been a quality that Marvel has flirted with in the past, but only recently seems to have committed to. Hulk famously tore Wolverine in two when they fought in Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk (Damon Lindelof and Leinil Francis Yu), but while the image itself is famous, that story took place in a different universe where Wolverine's healing worked slightly differently. Recently, Wolverine #37 (Benjamin Percy and Juan José Ryp) committed to the same logic in Marvel's main reality when Logan was savaged by the Wendigo, with #42 explaining exactly why it's possible - Logan's skeleton is unbreakable, but his ts can be torn. That's a big deal, because it makes it far more possible for Logan to lose his adamantium.

Wolverine's Extreme Measures Give Him a New Weakness

Every Time Wolverine Leaves Behind Adamantium, He Creates a Huge Threat

Wolverine is only so vulnerable to Sabretooth this issue because Creed has some adamantium coils stolen from another reality. This shows just how dangerous even a small amount of adamantium can be, and emphasizes how dangerous it is for Wolverine to leave any lying around. Currently, the X-Men have a huge problem based on Logan's past losses - the Sentinel Nimrod was able to kill Wolverine multiple times, with Logan being brought back by the X-Men's Resurrection Protocols. That left Nimrod with several adamantium-coated skeletons which he then turned into X-Sentinel robots - mutant-killing machines with Wolverine's unbreakable bones and claws.

It's possible that Wolverine may not make it out of this horrific final battle...

Only recently, Wolverine fought to retrieve his severed hand which was being auctioned by the villainous Legacy House, while in alternate realities like Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher (Goran Parlov and Jonathan Maberry), even a single claw can be fashioned into a weapon capable of killing the Hulk. Adamantium is essentially unbreakable in any amount, so Wolverine leaving his extremities behind could end up being a major plot point in future, depending on who picks them up. It also creates a weakness that may be crucial as Logan continues to battle Creed.

Wolverine's adamantium isn't natural - it's a substance that can be grafted to his bones due to his healing factor, but it doesn't heal back with his actual biological body. That means that even when Wolverine regrows his hands and feet, it will be far easier to break his bones and rend his flesh - the type of vulnerability Sabretooth lives to exploit. Marvel committing to this weakness may also open the door to Logan losing more adamantium in future, with no clear way to replace it.

Wolverine Is More Desperate Than Ever Before - And He Should Be

This Really Is "The Most Violent Wolverine Story Ever Told"

Marvel solicited the Sabretooth War as "the most violent Wolverine story ever told," and it's living up to its name more than anyone expected. The imagery of Quentin Quire being eaten alive, Akihiro being torn to pieces, and Wolverine's gut-churning sacrifice have turned the violence and gore up to 11. Currently, X-Men is in the endgame of its 2019-2024 Krakoan Era, which will come to an end over the next few months. What comes next is shrouded in secrecy, and it's possible that Wolverine may not make it out of this horrific final battle.

The last few issues have seen Wolverine conscious of his legacy, making it clear to his daughter Laura that - as she has before - she needs to take on the Wolverine mantle and replace him if he doesn't make it. With Laura's fate left up in the air at the end of the issue, it's possible that Wolverine is about to lose all his children, but it may also be the case that Marvel is paring down the 'Snikt Family' so that only Laura is left when the franchise begins its new 'From the Ashes' era in July.

Wolverine's horrific new way of using his claws is a result of his desperate fight to save what's left of his family, as the Sabretooth War takes more from him than he's ever lost before. Wolverine is giving his all to keep some semblance of his family alive, but despite his best efforts, it's clear that Marvel intends the blood-soaked story to be a major turning point that spells the end for several major characters - perhaps including Wolverine himself.

Wolverine #42 is available now from Marvel Comics.