Wolverine’s Resurrection Is Much More Complicated Than We Thought

The newest chapter of The Avengers just dropped a major bombshell regarding the resurrection of Wolverine.

Warning: this article contains spoilers for The Avengers #10!

It was writer Jason Aaron who first revealed that Wolverine had returned to life in last year’s Marvel Legacy #1. Since then, other Marvel books have been exploring the fallout of that return, most notably the crossover event Hunt for Wolverine and the current miniseries Return of Wolverine. This issue marks the first time in over a year that Aaron himself has explored the current whereabouts of Wolverine. And in the process, readers learn that there are actually two versions of Wolverine co-existing in the Marvel Universe (and that’s not even counting Old Man Logan).

This unexpected twist comes late in the issue as Wolverine has an encounter with Loki. Loki is perplexed as to why an ordinary mortal like Logan is capable of communing with the giant space gods known as the Celestials. Wolverine reveals that he’s far more than he seems. He’s bonded with the Phoenix Force and become exponentially more powerful.

This reveals makes several things apparent. It connects The Avengers to the events of Thor #6, which took place in the far future and featured Old King Thor teaming up with the Phoenix-possessed Wolverine to battle a resurgent Doctor Doom. That Wolverine has apparently traveled back to the past with dire warnings about what’s coming. This reveal also makes it clear that the Wolverine who’s been appearing in comics like Marvel Legacy and Infinity Countdown is not the same Wolverine who’s been the focus of Hunt for Wolverine and Return of Wolverine.

This seems to explain the discrepancies in how Wolverine has been portrayed in these different books. Whereas Logan has been skulking about the shadows of the Marvel Universe and safeguarding an Infinity Gem in some comics, Return of Wolverine has depicted him as an amnesic prisoner of the villain Persephone, and one who only escaped captivity very recently. We’re assuming that this Phoenix-empowered Wolverine will be the one to star in the recently announced Wolverine: Infinity Watch comic.

This second Wolverine isn’t the only big bombshell to drop in The Avengers #10. This issue also features the return of two fan-favorite Marvel heroes. First, readers learn that Agent Phil Coulson has apparently survived his death at Deadpool’s hands and is now spearheading a new incarnation of the Squadron Supreme.

Elsewhere, Wasp travels to Castle Dracula in order to free a prisoner and recruit him for the Avengers. That prisoner is none other than Blade.

Is the Marvel U. big enough to contain two Wolverines? Let us know what you think of these new Marvel revelations in the comments below. And be sure to check out our review of The Avengers #10.

Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.