For several decades,Wolverinehas been one of theX-Men’s most unabashedly vocal opponents against allowing teens and children to join the team. Logan will offer a hand and his own to mutantkind’s wayward youth, but won’t conscript any more kids into what is a para-military force. However, now faced with raising another generation of young mutants, it sounds like Wolverine’s completely called it quits on the X-Men.
InUncanny X-Men #9 (2025) -by Gail Simone and Andrei Bressan - the Louisiana X-Men have taken a rare opportunity to relax following the semi-successful raid on the Graymalkin Prison. With the X-Men still without a centralized leader, the heroes decide that each X-Man will choose their own Outlier to mentor.
Wolverine quietly picks Ransom as his student, empathizing with the young mutant’s hot-headed loner mentality. Wolverine sees the makings of a future leader in Ransom. However, when the teen jokingly asks Logan if the Outliers will get X-Men jackets of their own, he replies“Hopefully never.”
Wolverine Hopes For a World Without the X-Men
Uncanny X-Men #9 (2025) -Written by Gail Simone; Art by Andrei Bressan; Color by Matthew Wilson; Lettering by VC’s Clayton Cowles; Cover by David Marquez & Matthew Wilson
Admittedly, Wolverine’s response may be brief, but it’s telling. Wolverine has always had a wavering relationship with the X-Men. Before joining the team, Logan was little more than a feral animal. His dynamicrelationships with Professor X, Cyclops, and Jean Grey have all previously affected if Logan even likes the team. However, Wolverine’s consistent vocal advocacy to remove teens from the X-Menstarted as early as the 2004Astonishing X-Menseries.Having come to terms with his own traumatically violent past, Wolverine dedicated his life to saving mutantkind so that the next generation wouldn’t have to.
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Following Jason Aaron’sSchismstoryline, and into his subsequent seriesWolverine & the X-Men (2011),Wolverine fully embraces a new life as a teacher. Logan despised how the X-Men casually endangered children’s lives, instead wishing to establish a distinct line between the school for “gifted youngsters” and the X-Men. While running the Jean Grey School, Wolverineprioritized the housing and education of the youthmore than bolstering the X-Men with young recruits. Yet, time and time again, the X-Men continue to justify involving the young, placing their lives in more danger hadthey not joined the X-Meninitially.
The “X” Used to Be a Legendary Symbol of Hope
Wolverine Knows It’s Just a Target For Violence
In the modern era, the X-Men are legendary figures. Across the world, the X-Men are well-known costumed heroes who routinely save the world or endanger it in the process. After everything that the team has done, the X-Men have become a symbol. Many mutants wear the “X” because it represents the fight for mutant rights. Butthe X-Men themselves aren’t symbols, they’re people. They are mutants who put their lives on the line against genocidal mass murderers and the court of public opinion.The X-Men are more than just a teamof costumed heroes, they are paramilitary freedom fighters.
They’re used to seeing flashily dressed heroes with private planes and a live-in mansion.
That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it is an important distinction that Wolverine is only one of few to make.The X-Men fight a good fight, but more people are likely to die doing it. After Krakoa’s collapse, it’s become apparent that the “X” isn’t a beacon of hope, it’s one of violence. Kids like the Outliers have only seen the X-Men through the media. They’re used to seeing flashily dressed heroes with private planes and a live-in mansion. The younger mutants don’t realize thatbeing an X-Man comes with a harrowing burden.
Sadly, the X-Men Aren’t Disbanding Anytime Soon
Logan Will Still Fight to Protect His Students From Having To
Wolverine isn’t calling it quits quite yet, and he’s admittedly not asking the Outliers to quit either. The X-Men aren’t supposed to be an end goal for all mutants; they are freedom fighters. In an ideal world,there would be no need for the X-Men. But right now, that’s not the world that exists and mutantkind will still needsome version of the X-Mento lay their lives on the line so no one else has to. But as much as Wolverine can help it, he doesn’t want the Outliers to become part of that cycle.
Wolverine holds hope that the world may fix itself without the X-Men. However, he’s practical enough to know that, so long as mutants are in danger,the X-Men will be there to fight.Wolverine is willing to do whatever is necessary to win those fights before anyone else volunteers to do it first. As a lifelong solider, Wolverine has seen enough death and doesn’t want to lose anyone else, let alone kids. While theX-Menwon’t realistically be disbanding anytime soon,Wolverinehopes for the day that he and his students can lay down the “X” for good.
Uncanny X-Men #9is now available from Marvel Comics.
X-Men
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.
