Merriam-Webster Celebrates the X-Men's Wolverine With the Word of the Day

The world of X-Men: The Animated Series has gotten a resurgence of love in recent months, [...]

By Jenna Anderson

The world of X-Men: The Animated Series has gotten a resurgence of love in recent months, especially now that the series is available to stream in its entirety on Disney+. The '90s series has sparked a deluge of memes and Internet attention -- and it looks like one notable institution is joining in on the fun. The official Twitter account for the Merriam-Webster Dictionary recently shared their "word of the day" for April 8th -- which is "berserk". The tweet was accompanied by a gif from X-Men: The Animated Series, of Cyclops patting a rather-angry Wolverine on the back.

Not only is the gif choice adorable, but it pays homage to Wolverine's "berserker rage" powers in the comics. The term is used to refer to a moment when Wolverine's animal side takes control, allowing him to be an even more dangerous threat to his enemies.

Now that X-Men: The Animated Series has found a whole new audience, some have begun to speculate if it could get some sort of continuation. While it doesn't sound like an official sixth season is currently in the cards, story editor Eric Lewhald has expressed what that could have entailed.

"I had honestly never thought about it for all these years, but now that you mention it, an idea for a season just came to me: The five-season series ends with a dying Charles Xavier being whisked away to space by Lilandra, where she can maintain his fragile body, but where it seems he will be gone forever from his beloved X-Men. It's like a death," Lewald explained in a 2017 interview. "Season Six could open, months later, with the X-Men in disarray – a few gone, the ones remaining at each other's throats. They miss their leader. Then somehow they are called to – and transported to – an existential crisis on Lilandra's distant world. The team grudgingly reunites 'for Charles,' heads off to space, solves the crisis, and a somehow-healed Charles Xavier is either able to return to Earth with them or, if he can't, his heroic final sacrifice heals the team's wounds and they return to Earth as the proper X-Men again."

In terms of Wolverine's eventual return to the big screen, that's a whole other beast entirely.

What do you think of Merriam-Webster channeling Wolverine for their "word of the day"? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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