An underrated Marvel villain has just proven exactly how much stronger his new brand of Adamantium truly is.

While the titular mutant antihero of Wolverine #3 is busy escaping the sights of Department H alongside the latest Wendigo to grace the Canadian wilderness, one of his worst enemies is embarking upon a brutal crusade halfway around the world. In what would otherwise be a relatively peaceful temple in Kyoto, Japan, the villainous Cyber has laid waste to everyone who crosses his path. Everyone, that is, save for Lady Deathstrike, who he instead claims as the next member of his personal army by taking hold of the Adamantium coursing throughout her body and, subsequently, her mind itself.

• Written by SALADIN AHMED
• Art by MARTÍN CÓCCOLO
• Colors by BRYAN VALENZA
• Letters by VC’s CORY PETIT
• Design by JAY BOWEN
• Main cover art by MARTÍN CÓCCOLO & BRYAN VALENZA
• Variant covers by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI & RICHARD ISANOVE, KEN LASHLEY & JUAN FERNANDEZ, FRANCESCO MOBILI & MORENO DINISIO, PABLO VILLALOBOS, LUCAS WERNECK, and IBAN COELLO & EDGAR DELGADO

First seen in the pages of 1983’s Daredevil #197 by Denny O’Neil, Klaus Janson, Larry Hama, and William Johnson, the woman who would become Lady Deathstrike was introduced as Yuriko Oyama. As the daughter of Marcy Stryker and Kenji Oyama, better known as the merciless Lord Dark Wind, Yuriko spent much of her life subjected to devastating abuse and abject horror. Over the years, Lord Dark Wind developed a means of bonding Adamantium to human bone, ultimately kicking off the various projects that would alter the course of Marvel history forever.

Although Yuriko had spent so many years trying to escape her father’s shadow, the death of her beloved Kira sent her into a genuinely shocking downward spiral. Not only did Yuriko become determined to carry on her father’s legacy, she willingly allowed herself to be remade as an Adamantium-laced cyborg in the hopes of being just as lethal as Wolverine. Over the years, Yuriko, under the name Lady Deathstrike, built a horrifying reputation for herself as a member of teams such as the Reavers. Despite Lady Deathstrike’s overtly villainous past, she has managed to avoid becoming a one-dimensional character, ultimately standing as more of a chaotic antivillain than an outright evil-doer.

Silas Burr, better known as Cyber, made his comic book debut in the pages of 1991’s Marvel Comics Presents #85 in Peter David and Sam Keith’s opening story, “Blood Hungry (Part 1) – First Scent.” Much like Wolverine, Cyber is a man out of time courtesy of his mutant healing factor. During his time in the Canadian Army near the turn of the 20th Century, Burr was ordered to torment Logan as much as possible in order to transform the latter into the perfect killing machine. Unsurprisingly, this fomented a deeply-held hatred between the two, which has only grown worse over the years. Thanks to multiple resurrections and largely Adamantium skin, on top of various psychic abilities and his healing factor, Cyber is a truly formidable foe. Worse still, he recently came into contact with a seemingly sentient form of Gold Adamantium through which he can now infect and control others laced with the same base material.

Wolverine #3 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics

Wolverine

Wolverine first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #180, where he battled the Jade Giant to a standstill, before joining Marvel’s X-Men in 1975. Since then, the short-tempered berserker with unbreakable claws has proven himself as one of Marvel’s most popular characters. The mutant hero was also the backbone of the X-Men film franchise, which ran from 2000 to 2020, and critics consider his solo film, Logan, one of the best superhero movies ever made.

Known as an unstoppable tank who can cut through anything, Wolverine isn’t technically one of Marvel’s most powerful heroes but he’s one of the deadliest characters on their roster. Even villains like Magneto and the Juggernaut have learned to be wary of Wolverine’s claws.