The Ultimate Universe Just Made a Major Connection for Wolverine

Ultimate Wolverine has harnessed the energy of the Ultimate Universe and brought it to another level. Ultimate Wolverine #3 is another bloody good time, as Wolverine is sent on a mission to hunt down some very familiar characters. Marvel teased some big mutant debuts in Ultimate Wolverine, and this issue paid that off in spades. It introduced three characters, all with a big connection to Wolverine in the 616 universe. There’s his X-Men teammate Gambit, who Wolverine has had a contentious relationship that evolved into friendship, the Ultimate version of Black Widow, who Wolverine has known since her childhood decades ago, and Ultimate Kitty Pryde. Wolverine and Kitty Pryde is one of the X-Men’s most important relationships and the two of them have a long history with each other.

Longtime fans of both characters know just how important they are to each other. Wolverine has a reputation for taking young mutants under his wing, and Kitty Pryde was one of the mutants that he started all of that with. The two of them have a bond unlike what they have with anyone else, and Ultimate Wolverine #3 teases that they had some kind of relationship in the Ultimate Universe, one that has the potential to be very different from the one they have in the 616 universe.

Wolverine and Kitty Pryde Are One of the X-Men’s Greatest Duos

Kitty Pryde first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129. This issue is actually one of the most important issues in the history of the X-Men. That’s partly because it’s the first appearance of Kitty, but mostly because it’s the beginning of “The Dark Phoenix Saga”, which also introduced readers to the Hellfire Club and its Inner Circle. It’s a monumental moment in the history of the book, and Kitty would take a backseat for most of the “The Dark Phoenix Saga”. However, after that story, Kitty would get more and spotlight. Every X-Men fan remembers the cover to Uncanny X-Men #139, which asks a question that would become a trope in X-Men comics for years to come — “Welcome to the X-Men, Kitty Pryde, hope you survive the experience” — and she would go on to play a key role in stories like “Days of Future Past”, where the future version of Kitty Pryde would come back to warn the team of the coming darkness, and “Demon”, where Kitty is forced to fight a N’Garai demon on Christmas Eve while the rest of the X-Men are out for the holiday.

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Soon after joining the team, Wolverine would decide to take the young mutant under his wing, teaching her how to fight. This would lead to the classic four issue miniseries Kitty Pryde and Wolverine, which saw Wolverine’s ninjitsu teacher Ogun teach Kitty the fighting arts, all while trying to take over her body in order to use it to kill Wolverine. Since then, Wolverine basically became Kitty’s protective older brother. She saw past his gruff exterior to the heart within, and the two of them share the kind of close platonic relationship that defines the X-Men and its membership. Wolverine watched Kitty Pryde grew up into a woman, and saw what kind of person she became. He respected on a level that he respects very few people, and the two of them are a team that few people would ever want to meet in a dark alley. They were both trained by the same person and spent years fighting side by side, making them the perfect partnership.

Ultimate Wolverine and Kitty Pryde Have a Mysterious Relationship

From the moment that Ultimate Kitty Pryde shows up in Ultimate Wolverine #3, readers knew that Kitty and Wolverine were going to have some kind of amazing meeting. The moment doesn’t disappoint at all. Wolverine tears into the facility Gambit, Kitty, and Black Widow are running their mysterious errand from, and escape in a large truck. Wolverine is able to catch up to it and cut his way into the back, where he finds Kitty guarding a bunch of children. She remembers him, and loudly begins wondering why he doesn’t remember her. She sticks her hands through his head, awakening memories that were suppressed.

There’s some intriguing glimpses, including Wolverine and what could be Kitty hugging. Did Ultimate Logan and Kitty have a much closer relationship than they did in the 616? It’s certainly a possibility, but regardless, the two of them do know each other very well. It’ll be interesting to see how this whole thing develops; Kitty’s powers have been known to short out pieces of technology she phases through and it’s possible that’s how she awakened the memories in Logan. The issue ends with Wolverine in the snow, memories flowing back into him. This is a momentous moment in the character’s short history, one that fits a meeting between these two characters.

Ultimate Wolverine #3 is on sale now.