Wolverine is back in the spotlight in Marvel Studios‘ latest release, and the franchise rewrites the character and his powers in a crucial way. Multiple actors have played Wolverine over the years. That said, there is no denying that Hugh Jackman has become the face of Logan for the majority of Marvel fans. After all, he has been playing Wolverine since 2000.

The actor starred in a Wolverine movie trilogy, many X-Men movies across different timelines, and even managed to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine. Throughout that journey that has taken place over more than two decades, and is still going on, Jackman has been able to show many different sides of Wolverine, all of which come with his signature powers.

Wolverine is an incredibly powerful mutant. Logan’s healing factor and Adamantium claws, as well as his top-notch tracking skills, make him a deadly member of the X-Men. That rings true not only for Jackman’s portrayal of the character, but also for Marvel Comics, as well as the many animated versions of Wolverine, including the Logan of one of Marvel’s best TV shows.

After voicing Wolverine in X-Men: The Animated Series, Cal Dodd returned to play the character in X-Men ’97. The Disney+ animated series continues that standalone X-Men franchise and does so with gorgeous visuals, a throwback 90s atmosphere, and a mature tone. Now, X-Men ’97 season 2 has rewritten Wolverine and his powers in a game-changing way for Logan.

X-Men ’97 Season 2’s Latest Episode Is All About Wolverine

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for X-Men ’97 season 2, episode 5.X-Men ’97 season 2, episode 5, “Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs,” as its title suggests, focuses on Wolverine and the dark program that gave him an Adamantium skeleton. Back in season 1, one of the Marvel animated series’ biggest twists was the fact that Magneto fully removed the Adamantium from Wolverine’s spine after the latter charged at him. That was a game-changer for Wolverine, nearly killing him and forever changing the Marvel hero. That said, Logan is not someone to just take a beating and stay down after it. X-Men ’97 season 2 had the Avengers help him.

Episode 4’s credits scene saw Captain America and Black Widow hand a file on Weapon X to Logan, with episode 5 seeing the character put a team of ex-Weapon X members and Morph and trick them into invading a facility to get his Adamantium back. Logan had been using his natural bone claws this season. However, that time has since ended, with the Marvel hero now back to his Adamantium claws and already having used them to fight a powerful mutant in the form of Omega Red. Wolverine’s power level has been severely increased again.

Marvel Studios Sets Wolverine On A Tragic Path

While Wolverine is now back to his most powerful form, that comes with a dark realization. As Morph talks to Logan about how he tricked everyone into going on a dangerous mission just so he could become a sharper weapon again, Wolverine replied that he felt at his best by being an animal, to which Morph said made them feel sad. By the end of the episode, while Wolverine succeeded in his goal, the character seems to be on a pretty lonely trajectory.

He is still tied up about Jean — only one to calm him down after The Brood took over, even though it was Morph pretending to be Jean — and Morph is now distant after being along for the ride, no matter what Logan did up to this point. This is an interesting shift for Wolverine and one that makes me wonder whether the character’s role will grow this season after he was not one of the main players in X-Men ’97 season 1.

Release Date

March 20, 2024

Network

Disney+

Directors

Jake Castorena, Emi Yonemura, Chase Conley

Writers

Charlie Feldman, Anthony Sellitti, Beau DeMayo, JB Ballard