New previews of Marvel’s Wolverine have put together a pretty clear view of the game, including deeper dives into its combat and level encounters. However, the story details of the title continue to surprise fans of Wolverine and the larger X-Men, with developer Insomniac Games creating its own world for Logan to live within. There are many deviations from what fans know, especially regarding Wolverine’s relationship to characters and events that will likely drive the plot of this anticipated title.
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The gameplay of this Insomniac superhero project has already shown itself to be far grittier and gorier than Marvel’s Spider-Man, with developers stating that they want to create an adventure that matches the tone of someone like Wolverine. The story of Marvel’s Wolverine is set to go to several places around the world, in explorable, yet restricted environments that are far different from the open regions of New York City. The linear narrative puts a stronger focus on the lore and world building of the story, making changes from classic X-Men lore more noticeable.
4. Wolverine Has Shared History With Characters Besides Sabretooth
The biggest narrative surprise in Marvel’s Wolverine isn’t that Wolverine is connected to other well-known Marvel mutants, but rather how those figures have relationships with him. Although the fierce Sabretooth, who can steal Wolverine’s kills as you play, seems to be relatively the same long-lived rival to Logan, others appear to have a closer bond. For example, both Jean Grey and Mystique are close friends of Wolverine as part of the group Team X, assisting players in gameplay while also sharing a number of story moments.
This is a far cry from traditional X-Men stories, where Mystique is a consistent thorn in Wolverine’s side as a villain, oftentimes alongside Sabretooth. Meanwhile, Jean Grey is a founding X-Men who Wolverine often has an unrequited love for, despite her affection for Scott Summers, aka Cyclops. In Marvel’s Wolverine, Cyclops is nowhere to be seen so far, and in-game hints imply that Wolverine and Jean Grey have a romantic history somehow through their past in Team X.
Fans of the X-Men range from surprised to optimistic on these changes, but many don’t agree with the implications surrounding Jean Grey. Oftentimes, the love triangle between Jean, Logan, and Scott is an exhausting affair in the X-Men comics, so seeing it return in Marvel’s Wolverine with one-third of it removed is somewhat jarring. On the other hand, Mystique acts far differently in Marvel’s Wolverine than her comic counterpart. In both cases, each character could change and evolve as the game’s story develops, but this remains to be seen.
3. There Are No X-Men Or Organized Mutant Groups
Marvel’s Wolverine aims to tell an independent story involving the six-clawed mutant, but many players originally thought this would mean the occasional cameo or mention of the X-Men in the background. This would be similar to the Chris Claremont run of Madripoor Nights, a series where Wolverine stood as a solo hero in the region of Madripoor, an area featured in Marvel’s Wolverine as well. However, according to Insomniac creatives, not only will there be few mentions of popular X-Men characters, but the X-Men are also not formed in the game’s world.
This applies to other mutant groups as well, such as the Brotherhood of Mutants led by characters like Magneto. Charles Xavier, for all we know, doesn’t exist in Marvel’s Wolverine at all, with no mention of him from Jean Grey, who is usually one of the first students he ever recruits to the X-Men. This means that other groups of mutants, such as X-Force, X-Factor, the Hellions, or others don’t have any role in the game either, with only the game-exclusive group Team X created for Marvel’s Wolverine only.
This likely doesn’t mean that other X-Men characters won’t show up within the game, as we’ve already seen villains like Lady Deathstrike and Omega Red through trailers. Yet, this does mean that anyone who shows up likely is a new version of that character, rather than one that shares a connection to the more traditional world of mutants in Marvel Comics. Even if someone like Angel, Cyclops, or Morph were to appear, they likely won’t share ties to any mutants teams or groups.
2. The Weapon X Program Isn’t Important To Wolverine’s Story
Based on comments from Insomniac, “Logan already has adamantium infused to his bones” by the time the game starts, implying that the events granting Wolverine his metal skeleton and claws has already happened. This isn’t anything new for the character, but Insomniac’s other statements highlight just how detached they want Marvel’s Wolverine to be from that side of Logan. Another quote from developers says that “we’re not doing an origin story,” meaning that there will likely be no mention of the Weapon X program that gave Wolverine adamantium, if it even exists at all.
In the comics, the Weapon X program is something that still exists in many forms during Wolverine’s days with the X-Men, usually coming back to haunt him in some way. Whether this is through the creation of his daughter, X-23, or the arrival of other characters tied to the governmental program, these figures tend to be important to Wolverine in many respects. Without Weapon X or some reference to Logan’s adamantium origin, there are many faces that are lost, including some who could help drive Marvel’s Wolverine‘s story in interesting directions.
From what we’ve seen of the game so far, it appears that Team X’s own history is somewhat supplanting the Weapon X program to a degree. Instead of Wolverine knowing many different characters due to their relationship with the program, the strike force seems to be their point of connection instead. While we don’t need to see the events of Weapon X, not acknowledging it in any way is definitely a non-traditional direction for the character of Wolverine.
1. Mister Sinister Isn’t A Villain Yet (As Far As We Know)
Arguably the sharpest left turn Marvel’s Wolverine is taking with its story is the inclusion of the character Nathaniel Essex, an alias often used by the X-Men villain Mister Sinister. Sinister is often a larger villain for all mutants, acting as a long-lived scientist who shares a lengthy past like Wolverine. This could be how the two characters know each other so well in Marvel’s Wolverine, but Essex appears to be a close friend to Logan rather than one of the most loathsome villains to mutant kind.
This could be Insomniac taking a similar approach to Doctor Octopus in Marvel’s Spider-Man, where players got to see and form a bond with Otto Octavius before his tragic fall into villainy. In theory, the game could see Wolverine and Essex have a friendship that devolves into a mutual hatred, with Essex turning into Mister Sinister by the end of the story. For now, Essex is a character that reunites Team X in Marvel’s Wolverine, bringing the team back together for a rescue mission as Essex is captured by the anti-mutant extremist Bolivar Trask, creator of the robotic Sentinels.
Essex is someone important to not just Wolverine, but also Sabretooth, Mystique, and Jean Grey, creating a very different spin on the Sinister character than from what X-Men fans are used to. This may be a fascinating take on the villain, showing a fall from grace rather than an origin as a purely evil scientist who worked with monsters and Nazis throughout his longer lifespan. The story of Marvel’s Wolverine changes much from established X-Men history, but still retains a cohesion to its story elements, aiming to build something familiar yet different from players of all kinds to discover.
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