X-Men Legends (1st series) #9

Issue Date: 
February 2022
Story Title: 
untitled
Staff: 

Larry Hama (writer), Billy Tan (artist), Chris Sotomayor (color), VC’s Joe Caramagna (letterer), Nauck & Rosenberg (cover), Kaare Andrews (variant cover), Lauren Amaro (assistant editor), Mark Basso (editor) Jordan D. White (senior editor), C.B. Cebulski (editor-in-chief), Joe Quesada (chief creative officer), Dan Buckley (publisher), Alan Fine (executive producer)

Brief Description: 

Sabretooth and Birdy joining the fight opens up another front. Birdy momentarily takes out Omega Red with a plasma cannon, while Wolverine and Sabretooth both also get hurt. Jie Jie decides the Hand will sell the two mutant girls to another buyer in Busan and takes a ferry there. Birdy gives both Wolverine and Sabretooth the glow to heal them. They decide to work together and chase the ferry. Unfortunately, so do the Russians. Having less scruples than the others, Omega Red has his pilot ram the ferry. As he confronts the Hand ninjas for the two girls, Wolverine and Sabretooth also join the fight. In the meantime, Hino-Chan has scratched enough silver that blocks her and her sister’s power away from the box she is trapped in to free them both. Yurei teleports Omega Red into the Hindukush, then announces she will take her sister somewhere they are safe – the future. While Sabretooth is somewhat unhappy with the lost sale the heroes and Birdy are satisfied with the solution.

Full Summary: 

A small plane flies over the East China Sea, steered by the telepath Birdy. Jubilee warns Birdy they are both waking up, but the woman retorts she has her hands full. Jubilee has to deal with them, “them” referring to Sabretooth and Wolverine.

Sabretooth angrily demands what he is doing in here and why is the hairy runt not dead. Wolverine orders Jubilee to get out of the way. She shouts at them both to chill out and behave.

Without turning around, Birdy explains they got bushwacked at the Shanghai docks.

Flashback:
Birdy had just knocked out Omega Red with a blast from her plasma cannon. Wolverine lay injured on the ground and Jubilee was tending to him, and she and Sabretooth thought they were on top of the game. Sabretooth instructed her to shoot them if they got rambunctious, while he would take care of the little darlings in the truck.

The mysterious Jie Jie announced that was not going to happen. Did they think she would show up in Shanghai without back-up? And she had them come equipped to deal with mutant powers! Several Hand ninjas train weapons at them.

Wolverine by now is somewhat recovered, so he, Sabretooth and Birdy fight the ninjas. Wolverine gets zapped again. Lady Deathstrike wants to move in for the kill, but Jie Jie calls her back and orders the ninjas to use the smoke grenades. In the fog, Jubilee orders Birdy to fire but her charge is too low and she doesn’t want to risk hitting the kids.

Deathstrike points out that the buyer is no longer in any condition to conclude the sale, but Jie Jie has an alternate buyer in Busan. She arranges for a ferry to take them there.

They leave but Jubilee heard their destination.

Birdy gives both Sabretooth and Wolverine the glow to speed along their healing.

Present:
Birdy explains they all agree on wanting to keep the kids away from the Russian and the Hand. She suggests a truce.

On the ferry, Yurei is tied to a chair. The box with Hino-Chan stands some distance away. Jie Jie, flanked by Lady Deathstrike and Hand ninjas, warns her to mind her manners. If she teleports out or misbehaves otherwise, the consequences will be excruciating for her sister Hino-Chan.

Lady Deathstrike criticizes the security. Jie Jie interrupts that Yurei knows not to take her threats lightly, and the silver lining of the box negates Hino-Chan’s pyrokinetic power, as well as Yurei’s teleportation.

Inside the box, Hino-Chan has a small metal object and uses it to scratch the silver lining of the box. Yurei hears the noise but doesn’t react outwardly.

In the helicopter, Jubilee wonders who the new Korean buyer is. Birdy warns that a Russian MI-17 is coming up behind them. Omega Red had his own air transport standing by. Sabretooth figures, tentacle boy isn’t too happy on the Hand reneging on the deal, while Wolverine seethes, he has more than few scores to settle with Arkady Gregorievitch.

Inside the Russian MI-17, Omega Red orders the pilot to set them down on the ferry’s upper deck. When the pilot refuses, Omega Red throttles him with one of his tentacles.

On the ferry, they notice that the Russians are following them.

The chopper crashes into the upper deck. Omega Red demands his packages. Standing in front of a group of ninjas, Lady Deathstrike informs him his transaction was cancelled. Omega Red is decidedly unimpressed.

The other group is lagging behind and Birdy refuses to try a landing on a speeding and burning ferry. Sabretooth gets rid of the chopper’s roof and announces he doesn’t need her to land - just get them as close as she can! Wolverine announces he is coming with him and Jubilee sensibly decides she is staying right here.

Aboard the ferry, Omega Red is making mincemeat of the ninjas. Jie Jie shouts to Deathstrike that, if she kills the Russian, her lapses at Osaka and Shanghai will be forgiven. Deathstrike attacks him and he warns he is her death.

Yurei asks Hino-chan if she has scratched away enough silver.

In the meantime, Sabretooth and Wolverine join the fray, both attacking Omega Red.

Khorosho! the Russian swears and hurls Sabretooth away. Deathstrike slices him – that’s for calling her an old witch! she shouts. Omega swears to make minced meat of all three of them.

In the corner, Yurei tells her sister to knock twice if she has scraped away enough silver.

The ferry is about to reach Busan. While Wolverine and Sabretooth keep Omega Red busy, Jurei teleports into the box, gets her sister and ‘ports out again.

Sabretooth remarks that, if the pyro-talent gets her hands free, they are in for a world of hurt. Yurei does just that. Omega Red warns the others he is going to collect his property and they better not get in his way. Deathstrike protests that they still belong to the Hand. Yurei shouts that they don’t belong to anybody. She grabs Omega Red’s foot and tells her sister to deal with Deathstrike.

While Hino-chan blasts Deathstrike, Yurei teleports him away to the Hindukush. Yurei announces the village was the scene of an atrocity by the spetznatz. Why doesn’t he explain to the armed men how he has no connection to the perpetrators?

In the meantime, Lady Deathstrike and Jie Jie flee on a small ship from Hino-chan.

The girls turn to Wolverine and Sabretooth. Yurei states they just want to be left alone, so she is going to take her sister to a place where no one can reach them… in the future!

Later, Sabretooth and Birdy leave. Birdy waves at Jubilee. While he grumbles about business loss, she is glad the girls escaped.

Wolverine calls a taxi. Jubilee asks what about Jie Jie and Deathstrike? Logan replies the Hand doesn’t forgive failure. They are facing worse than he is prepared to dish out.

Characters Involved: 

Wolverine
Jubilee

Sabretooth
Birdy
Omega Red

Jie Jie
Lady Deathstrike
Hand ninjas

Yurei
Hino-Chan

Story Notes: 

The story takes place before Wolverine (2nd series) #69.

Russian phrases:
Glupaya devchonka – stupid girl
Smiert baba yaga - old witch

Written By: