Exclusive X-Men Preview Reveals Marvel's Most Dangerous Wolverine
Five different Wolverines from across the Multiverse have banded together to stop the rise of Onslaught, the incredibly powerful entity created from a combination of Magneto and Professor X's psyches. However, what started as a team-up has morphed into betrayal. In Looper's exclusive preview of "Weapon X-Men" #4, Old Man Logan reveals himself as one of the most dangerous Wolverines in any reality by taking down his teammates under the orders of the dangerous psionic entity.
In "Weapon X-Men" (by Christos Gage, Yildiray Cinar, Nolan Woodard, and VC's Clayton Cowles), a variant of Jean Grey's Phoenix has assembled Wolverines from across space and time — including Old Man Logan, Weapon X, Earth X's Wolverine, Zombie Wolverine, and a newly introduced Wolverine with an extremely tragic origin in Jane Howlett – to stop the rise of Onslaught. Their adventures have taken them across different timelines, including the world of "Marvel Zombies," and now they're heading to another classic Marvel storyline's location: Old Man Logan's home reality.
The team's most recent encounter with Onslaught (who may soon appear in the "X-Men '97" animated series) led the villain to make an offer Old Man Logan couldn't refuse: take out his teammates, and he will be transported back in time and given the chance to undo his biggest mistake: killing his fellow X-Men. For Old Man Logan, the chance to reverse his greatest tragedy is too enticing to reject, and our preview shows the dangerous after he takes out the other clawed heroes and handing them over to Onslaught.
Old Man Logan confronts his dark past
"Weapon X-Men" #4 references one of the darkest moments any hero in the Multiverse has ever faced. In "Wolverine" #70, part of the "Old Man Logan" storyline (by Mark Millar, Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, Mark Morales, Morry Hollowell, Justin Ponsor, and Cory Petit), readers learn what happened to the X-Men in a dystopian universe where many of its greatest mutants are dead.
It's revealed that Wolverine answered a call about the X-Mansion being attacked by a team of villains including Omega Red, Bullseye, Scorpion, Doctor Octopus, Mister Sinister, and other serious threats. Wolverine mowed through the villains in a bloody rage, only to learn after the fact that he had just murdered the X-Men. Longtime Spider-Man villain Mysterio used an illusion to make Logan's family and teammates look and even smell different, tricking the mutant hero into slaughtering everyone he loved. The accidental murder spree sends Wolverine down a dark path, abandoning his heroic name and just going by Logan in the wake of the disaster.
Now, Old Man Logan has been presented with the chance to undo the murders. In "Weapon X-Men" #4, he takes out his current teammates, putting shackles and guards (advanced tech from Onslaught) on the downed Wolverines. Onslaught soon shows up and reveals he's working alongside Old Man Logan, leading Zombie Wolverine to lament both the betrayal and the fact he wasn't chosen to go back in time himself, where he might have been able to prevent the zombification of his world.
Marvel Comics/Yildray Cinar
Marvel Comics/Yildray Cinar
Marvel Comics/Yildray Cinar
Marvel Comics/Yildray Cinar
Marvel Comics/Yildray Cinar
Will Old Man Logan go through on his betrayal?
Old Man Logan getting the opportunity to remake his dark past at the cost of working with Onslaught seems like a major gamble. Will the psionic villain fulfill the promise made to the jaded Wolverine, return him to the past, and give him a chance to live alongside his slaughtered teammates? Or is it possible Old Man Logan will double-cross Onslaught in an effort to take him out for good? Right now, it remains to be seen, but what is certain is that the "Weapon X-Men" finale will feature a lot of action and either redeem Old Man Logan in his past while making him a villain in the future or have him make the difficult choice not to undo his past so he can save the present.
Check out Dike Ruan's cover for "Weapon X-Men" #4 by Marvel Comics, followed by the text teasing the events ahead.
Marvel Comics/Dike Ruan
THE IMMORTAL ONSLAUGHT! The all-powerful Onslaught has decided to become truly all-powerful...by adding the Phoenix Force to its own incalculable might! And one of the Wolverines is about to help him get there by turning against their leader, Phoenix. Old Man Logan, Age of Apocalypse, Zombie, Earth X and Jane Howlett – the Wolverines of five tragic universes – come to the end of their multiversal journey...but will it be their end as well?
"Weapon X-Men" #4 (by Christos Gage, Yildiray Cinar, Nolan Woodard, and VC's Clayton Cowles) arrives in comic book stores and online retailers on May 15, 2024.