This article contains spoilers for X-Men ’97
Wolverine is a character that was conceived to suffer. Throughout his history in comics, films, video games, and TV shows, the character has rarely known respite but carries on anyway. X-Men ’97 is no exception, finally giving the character his inevitable moment of torment in its latest episode.
As a character, Logan has often been described as a ronin, a samurai without a master, who is fiercely loyal to those he loves and is a victim of tragedy more often than fortune. It is perhaps this inevitability of ruin that causes Logan to struggle ever harder against his adversaries, especially when it comes to his family and friends, as we see in Episode 9 of X-Men ’97, Tolerance is Extinction Part 2.
Beau DeMayo believes Wolverine does the dirty work for the X-Men
Beau DeMayo took to X during the episode to live tweet his thoughts about Logan, and what went on in the episode.
This is the beauty and honor of Logan. He does the nasty job so the other X-Men can dream.
— Beau DeMayo (@BeauDemayo) May 8, 2024
Towards the end of Tolerance is Extinction Part 2, Logan saw all the metal from his skeleton ripped out by Magneto, despite Charles begging Magneto to not do it. Logan, just moments prior, had managed to pry the master of Magnetism’s helmet away from him, allowing Charles Xavier to take control of Magneto. However, when Magneto begins to use the helmet to slay Charles Xavier, Logan has no option but to stab Magneto with his claws, which prompts the character to dish a world of pain against the character.
The character does indeed bear the grunt of pain so that his fellow X-Men can be spared of it. Logan is the first choice for a lot of teams that conduct black ops missions of the mutants, and given the history that character has as a soldeir, honor, and sacrifice are some the character is intimately familiar with.
Wolverine’s future with the X-Men might be in question after X-Men ’97 Episode 9
Magneto ripping out the Adamantium from Logan’s skeleton comes straight out of the Uncanny X-Men storyline called Fatal Attractions. While not directly adapted, a lot of plot points, such as Magneto disabling the global power grid, were ripped right out of the comics. Following his brush with death, Logan exits the X-Men, and joins the team after his Adamantium skeleton is restored by Apocalypse, but two years later.
While the show might come up with a creative solution to the dilemma (or not have Logan leave the team at all), it is highly likely that Logan might become a lone wolf again, or at least retire from active fighting for a while. Ever since X-Men: The Animated Series was taken off the air, a slew of amazing stories have been released concerning Logan. The character has had children, such as Laura Kinney, who have headlined their own series. Multiple versions of the character have also made their way into the mainline universe, like James Hudson Jr. (his son from the Ultimate universe) and Old Man Logan (a future/alternate version of the character).
All this is material for the character that could be adapted as a part of X-Men ’97 but would require the character to take a leave of absence from the X-Men or be otherwise removed from the plot to allow him to go on solo missions. X-Men ’97 Season 2 could have Logan explore these parts of his story, and usher the 90’s series into the 21st century with brand new stories about Logan and even the X-Men, that just did not exist when the show’s predecessor seized airing.
X-Men ’97 can be streamed on Disney+
