The many lives of Wolverine are teased in the cover art of X Lives of Wolverine and X Deaths of Wolverine, two weekly series touted by Marvel as "the greatest Wolverine story ever told."
Debuting in 2022, X Lives of Wolverine and X Deaths of Wolverine will be written by Benjamin Percy and illustrated by Joshua Cassara and Federico Vicentini. The series, first revealed in September as Marvel celebrated its 82nd birthday, hints at Wolverine possibly traveling through time and exploring the many identities he has assumed throughout his long life. A variety of fan-favorite eras are shown on the Adam Kubert covers for their first issues.
Among the versions of Wolverine teased on the cover include his very first appearance in 1974's The Incredible Hulk #180, written by Len Wein and penciled by Herb Trimpe. At the time, Wolverine was sent by the Canadian government to stop the Wendigo's rampage, and he wore a costume emblazoned in his familiar yellow, blue and black color scheme but with smaller ears. Debuting in the last panel of the issue as Hulk battled the Wendigo to a standstill, Wolverine would play a larger role in The Incredible Hulk #181's lead story, "And Now...the Wolverine!" and was proudly advertised on the cover as "the world's first and greatest Canadian superhero."
Wolverine's grizzled, machinery-encrusted "Weapon X" incarnation also appears on Kubert's cover. Conceived by Barry Windsor-Smith for Issues #72-84 of the 1991 anthology series Marvel Comics Presents, "Weapon X" told the story of Logan's capture by the Canadian government and painful implementation with Adamantium. Wolverine would eventually break free and escape into the Canadian wilderness, slaughtering his captors in an extravagantly bloody fashion.
Other famous costumes and identities that appear on Kubert's cover include Patch -- a not-so-subtle secret identity with an eyepatch that Wolverine used to infiltrate Madripoor's criminal crowds -- Logan's World War I outfit, his Team X yellow straps-over-bodysuit look and his grey and black X-Force costume.
Wolverine currently serves on Krakoa's version of X-Force, and recent issues of his solo series have seen him musing on his new place in the autonomous mutant haven, wielding his claws against Dracula's vampire armies, reuniting with Omega Red and protecting C.I.A. agent Jeff Bannister from threats.
X Lives of Wolverine and X Deaths of Wolverine have been teased as ushering in The Second Krakoan Age, similar to how writer Jonathan Hickman's House of X and Powers of X series kicked off a transformative era in Marvel's X-Men books. The two series go on sale in January 2022.
Source: Marvel