Since his return, fans have been clamoring for Wolverine to get his own book again. There have been some one-shots and a mini-series, but want his fans really wanted was ongoing. They just got their wish, as writer Benjamin Percy teams with artists Adam Kubert and Victor Bogdanovic for an all-new Wolverine #1.
It's been a long time since readers got Logan in his won book and as such, there are a lot of things that fans have missed about the character. Wolverine stories have always been about more than the hacking and slashing and it's important that Percy includes more than just great fights... although those are definitely appreciated. This list is going to look at some things that the new Wolverine should touch on and some things it should leave alone.
10 We Don't Want: More Daken Drama
The introduction of Logan's son Daken back in the '00s was an interesting development. Wolverine having a son that he abandoned made readers look at the character in a completely new way, even if it wasn't completely his fault that he and Daken were estranged. For a while, the battle between father and son was quite intriguing.
At this point, though, it's time to leave it in the past. Every that can be done with the two has been done and it's best if they are kept on separate paths, at least for a while.
9 We Do Want: Superhero Team-Ups
Of all the X-Men, Wolverine probably has the most relationships outside of the mutant bubble. A lot of this is owed to his time as an Avenger, but even before that, Logan had pasts with characters like Captain America, Black Widow, the Thing, and Spider-Woman. Logan is such a rich character, it's always fun to play with other characters and see what develops.
While Wolverine is a Dawn Of X book and most of those haven't done much crossing over into the greater Marvel Universe, this one needs to. Over the years, Wolverine became a large part of the Marvel Universe and this series needs to touch on that.
8 We Don't Want: Too Much Of The Familiar
Every writer who writes Wolverine wants to do a Wolverine vs Hulk story or they want to put Wolverine against Sabretooth. These are always fun matchups and their iconic status makes them a shoo-in for writers to include.
However, fans have seen this sort of thing way too many times in general and it's time to take a break from them. Most of the mutant villains he would have fought are now allies, so it's a perfect time to branch things out a bit.
7 We Do Want: Non-Mutant Adventures
The Dawn Of X books are keeping to themselves and in a lot of ways, that's a good thing. It's been tough for the X-Men ever since House Of M and Marvel sort of kept the hits coming over the years after that, constantly upending any hope of a consistent status quo for their mighty mutants.
Wolverine appears in two other Dawn Of X books, X-Force and X-Men. There should be where he does all of his adventures with his fellow mutants. Historically, his solo book has always been where he branched out and this one should follow suit. Does he need to go clean up Lowtown in Madripoor? Check on Yukio and Amiko in Japan? Put the character out there.
6 We Don't Want: More Weapon X Shenanigans
The Weapon X program was a big part of Wolverine's life. There's no question about that. Nothing can change that. The program gave him his adamantium skeleton and set him on his path to meeting the Hudsons, joining Alpha Flight and Department H, and becoming an X-Men.
Here's the thing, though- Weapon X has been done to death. So many different writers have touched on it over the years that it's gotten kind of cliche and tiring. It's time to move on from that.
5 We Do Want: Some Classic Interactions
A big part of Wolverine's appeal is his relationship with his fellow X-Men. While he doesn't need to get bogged down by too much mutant stuff in his new book, he does live on Krakoa. It would be great to see him hang out with Jubilee again or Storm or Kate Pryde. A lot of people forget how close he and Armor were. Put them together.
Since his return, the most interaction he's had with anyone was Cyclops in Matthew Rosenberg's Uncanny X-Men run. Those two characters definitely needed to reconcile, but now it's time for fans to see him interact with some of the old stand-bys.
4 We Don't Want: Romulus
Oh, Romulus. Introduced by Jeph Loeb, Romulus was supposed to be the big bad behind Wolverine's problems in life. He was the architect of all Logan's misery. Who was behind Weapon X? Romulus. Who poisoned Daken against his father? Romulus.
Romulus was never a cool villain. Writers tried to play him up as Wolverine's most problematic antagonist, but it just didn't really work. Please don't bring him back.
3 We Do Want: A Reunion With Mariko
After Wolverine's death, fans got their Logan fix from Old Man Logan. The book, written first by Jeff Lemire and then Ed Brisson, showcased the future version of Wolverine from Mark Millar and Steve McNiven's classic storyline. It contained some of the best Wolverine stories of the last twenty years and was a treat for fans of the character.
One of the biggest developments of the book was that it brought back Wolverine's ex-fiance and one of the greatest loves of his life- Mariko Yashida. Now that Wolverine is back, these two need to see each other again. Mariko is a very important character in Logan's life and fans need to see them together again.
2 We Don't Want: Any Of Charles Soule's Stuff
Charles Soule wrote The Death Of Wolverine and The Return Of Wolverine. The former was a competent love letter to the character but wasn't amazing, and the latter was... well... it was certainly a comic that happened. In The Return Of Wolverine, Soule introduced two new things- an organization called Soteira that was behind Wolverine's return and a new power for the character- hot claws.
Neither of these ideas gained much traction with readers and it would be best if they were never touched on again.
1 We Do Want: Inside Logan's Head
There have been a lot of big developments in Logan's life lately. Between the whole Krakoa thing, the second resurrection in House Of X #5, and just coming to terms with being dead in general, there's a lot to explore in his life. As much fun as it is to see Wolverine tackle a thousand ninjas, it's important to remember that fans love Logan as a character.
They want to see the world through his eyes. They want his reactions to things. Lately, Benjamin Percy has been playing with the theme of PTSD in X-Force and it would be perfect if he did something like that in Wolverine. Wolverine has always been about more than the blood and the claws and that's what fans really want from the character- Logan the man dealing with his life and world. If he has to pop his claws and shed some blood, great, but the man is just as important as any of the violence.