>>92198752A man who used to be a hero trying to make a difference in the world (Theo's activism, Logan's snikting) has descended into alcoholism and apathy following a personal tragedy (Theo's son's death, Westchester), working a meaningless job and refusing to engage in the world, treating the decline (birth rate, mutants' existence) as inevitable and none of his business.
A woman shows up with a girl who is crucial to changing the world (Kee, X-23), begging for help and offering money; the hero reluctantly agrees to help in a limited capacity (getting a travel pass, driving them to the border) but must step up and take over when the woman dies. It's unclear whether or not the mission's goal even exists (Human Project, Eden) but they continue on. Innocent people who give him shelter and allow him to rediscover his humanity (My Cocaine, Black Farmer Guy) die at the hands of his pursuers, but their defiant last moments ("pull my finger," FARM EQUIPMENT OUT OF NOWHERE) give the hero and his charge time to escape.
Both loved ones from the past (Julian, Charles) are killed by their pursuers and buried in the woods, although at least Logan wasn't betrayed by a group he thought he could trust. Both heroes eventually defeat their alcoholism (Theo starts to take a swig of whiskey to calm his nerves while delivering Kee's baby, then uses it to sanitize his hands instead, Logan just...kind of stops drinking eventually), both heroes push themselves past their limits trying to save the girl, both heroes die redeemed after giving the girl fatherly advice (telling Kee how to soothe Dylan to stop the baby from crying, telling Laura not to be the weapon Transigen raised her to be).
Honestly I don't mean to rag on Logan that much, a lot of the emotional notes hit really well (Logan breaking down after burying Charles, Charles weeping as he remembers what happened in Westchester and says now he knows what it feels like to be Logan, etc), but it often felt like Sadness Porn.
