Backstories You Need To Know To Fully Understand Logan

Blockbuster superhero movies can be a bit intimidating. Many fans want to know as much as possible about the characters and background of the movie before they dive in, but the decades and decades of comic history make it seem impossible to truly catch up. Fortunately, there are only a few backstories that you need to know to fully understand Logan, and this will be your handy primer to each and every one of them. The descriptions try to steer clear of significant spoilers for either the comics themselves or Logan, but if you truly want to know nothing at all about the movie before you dive in, this is your chance to bail. Or you can be like Wolverine himself and dive right in!

As the trailers for Logan make abundantly clear, the young girl, X-23, is a female clone of Wolverine, right down to the scary claws and killer instinct. While the movie provides some clues about her life and background before she escaped the program that made her who she is, the comic collection X-23: Innocence Lost really delves into this. This story details how X-23 is created, how she is given a positive role model via her surrogate mother, and how she eventually moves on to the next stage of her life. The comic also notably introduces the character of Dr. Zander Rice, a man who oversees aspects of X-23's creation and has a small role in Logan.

Hugh Jackman has stated in recent interviews that Logan will be his last turn as the character. While the movie is set in the future and leaves the possibility of him appearing in movies that are chronologically earlier in the timeline, Jackman has decided to bow out on this high note of a movie. As such, many people are wondering if the young X-23 will possibly take over as the character in future X-Men and/or Wolverine movies. And while it's impossible to know if that's true, you can already get ready for this possibility by reading All-New Wolverine. These comics take place after the comic Logan has finally died, and X-23 now honors his memory by wearing his costume and using his name to fight bad guys. This comic is also notable for showcasing how amazing X-23 is, and you'll definitely want to see more of her adventures after leaving the theater.

One of the most surprising elements shown in early trailers of Logan was Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier. Xavier, as he reminds Logan with surprising vulgarity, is 90 years old, and his mind and body aren't what they once were. So, even as Logan takes a new mutant under his wing and tries to evade Pierce and the Reavers, he must keep Xavier safe from violence while simultaneously trying to keep a degrading Xavier safe from himself.

There is actually very little comic book precedent for this. Xavier has died before, and he's faked his death quite a bit, but we rarely see characters have to take care of a slowly dying Xavier. The notable exception to this is the X-Cutioner's Song storyline. This story involves a mutant who looks exactly like Cable showing up and shooting Charles Xavier. Instead of using a normal bullet, though, this mutant infects Xavier with a version of the techno-organic virus. This virus is slowly killing Xavier, and his X-Men and other mutants must try to find a cure even as they fight off mysterious forces and take care of their dying mentor. Thus, while the story is very different, this tale serves as a nice comics precursor to the onscreen drama.

Speaking of first appearances in comics, completists are going to want to read NYX #3, which first introduced X-23, Laura Kinney, to the Marvel Comics universe. As X-23 superfans can tell you, her real first appearance was in the X-Men: Evolution cartoon, but like her cartoon predecessor Harley Quinn over on Batman: The Animated Series, she was popular enough to be introduced into her respective "main" comics universe. However, you should note that the NYX comics are not for the faint of heart, as they deal with the darker side of life as a mutant; X-23's story is particularly bleak, though it helps to illustrate how far she eventually grows as a character.

Despite the fact that Logan is allegedly the last movie featuring Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, many fans still don't know that much about his character. This is partially the fault of Marvel Comics, as Wolverine's early stories featured the idea that he had many implanted memories. Thus, even when the comics showed us events from his past, there was always the lingering fear that those events may or may not have really happened. Eventually, though, Marvel put out a series, Origin, that showed the true story of his early life, the manifestation of his abilities, and even his real name: James Howlett. Considering that Logan is going by that name again in Logan as a way of staying under the radar, it's certainly worth examining who the character was back before he was neither a lab rat nor a hero.