One of Wolverine’s Deadliest Villains Makes Surprising Return

Wolverine has been building an entirely new Wolverine epic, one that focuses on his most useful attribute — the adamantium bonded to his skeleton and claws. The current series by Saladin Ahmed and Martin Coccolo has introduced the Adamantine, a mysterious living metal that is out to destroy what it calls the “false metal” that is adamantium. In order to do this, it’s taken control of several Marvel villains that use adamantium — Cyber, Lady Deathstrike, and Captain America villain Constrictor — sending them on a rampage wherever the metal is produced. Issue #6 sees that continue, with two surprise Wolverine villains returning, one of whom is Wolverine’s deadliest — and oldest — villain.

Teaming up with his daughter Laura, the two Wolverines find themselves at a data center under attack by Cyber, Lady Deathstrike, Constrictor, and the first surprise return, the cyborg Donald Pierce. After the Wolverine team takes down the bad guys, they smell someone else — the ancient villain known as Romulus, a villain who is the key to Wolverine’s entire existence.

Romulus Is the Monster Who Made Wolverine Who He Is

Romulus was teased in Wolverine Origins #2 before fully appearing in Wolverine (Vol. 3) #53. Wolverine is old and has plenty of foes who have lived for over a century, but Romulus is by far his oldest foe. Romulus claimed to be descended from the Lupine, a group of feral mutants who existed since prehistoric times. While the truth of this statement has been brought into question over the years, Romulus has been around for thousands of years, his powerful healing factor keeping him hearty. Romulus’s claims of existing in Roman times at least seem credible, and his mutant powers — enhanced senses, advanced healing factor, and superhuman physical capabilities — do show that he is somehow related to Logan and his family.

Romulus played a key role in Wolverine’s life almost from the beginning, using cat’s paws like Sabretooth and Cyber over the years to manipulate Wolverine into joining him. It was Romulus who paid the Winter Soldier to kill Wolverine’s Japanese wife Itsu while Wolverine was away and cut the unborn Akihiro — the mutant who would become Daken — out of her corpse, training the boy to be his anti-Wolverine insurance policy. Wolverine eventually started working with Romulus, a woman with similar powers called Remus, and Sabretooth. Wolverine volunteered to join the Weapon X program, in order to become more useful to Romulus’s long-term plans, knowing that his memories would be taken away by the program.

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Romulus’s return to Wolverine’s life started an all-new war for the mutant. Romulus played the same games he had always played in Wolverine’s life, using Wolverine’s enemies to attack him, and constantly manipulating Wolverine. Wolverine thought he had thrown Romulus into the Darkforce Dimension with the help of Cloak, but Romulus returned, using Sabretooth and an army of Sabretooth clones to strike at Wolverine. Wolverine, with the help of Remus, Cloak, and Dagger, was able to defeat Romulus. The villain was imprisoned in the supervillain the Raft and hasn’t been seen since, and his return as the avatar and prophet of the Adamantine is something that no one would have guessed. It also raises some intriguing questions about the truth of the Adamantine.

Romulus’s Appearance Changes Everything

The Adamantine story arc is unique in the history of Wolverine. While there have been plenty of stories dealing with his adamantium, there’s never been a story that questioned exactly what it is. Adding Romulus to the whole thing brings in a whole new wrinkle, as Romulus is known for manipulating Wolverine. He created fossil records of the Lupine that were revealed to have not been real and has been behind many of the lies that have defined Wolverine’s past. If there is any villain who could have found a way to fake the Adamantine and also take control of Wolverine’s villains — while being unable to take control of Logan and Laura who also have adamantium in their bodies — it would be Romulus.

Adamantium is starting to become a big deal; it is a main focus of Captain America: Brave New World. Adamantium looks to play a huge role in the MCU going forward. A Wolverine story focusing on the origins of adamantium, in a Wolverine series that has been selling like hotcakes, is exactly the kind of movie/comic synergy that Marvel loves. Romulus’s entry into the story takes it to another level, calling everything into question.

Wolverine #6 is on sale wherever comic books are sold.