Twin Peaks is one of the most influential TV shows of all time, but according to one comic, it secretly plays out in the Marvel Universe. The revelation comes most noticably in an issue of X-Factor, but there are references to Dale Cooper's investigation dotted all over Marvel canon.

First airing in 1990, Twin Peaks was the brainchild of David Lynch and Mark Frost, a ground-breaking series that examined a strange Northeastern town in the aftermath of the murder of popular high school student Laura Palmer. An instant sensation, Twin Peaks ran for two seasons, a feature film and a prestige Showtime series continuation in 2017. Yet, as far as sequential art goes, Twin Peaks has never ventured into the medium of comics, although it almost received a third season in comic book form before the Showtime continuation came together.

X-Factor's Valerie Cooper Is Dale Cooper's Sister

marvel twin peaks x-factor link

The world of Twin Peaks may have never officially appeared in comics, but it does share a bizarre connection to the Marvel Universe. That connection was revealed in X-Factor #71, by the creative team of Peter David, Larry Stroman, Al Milgrom, Glynis Oliver and Michael Heisler. The issue acts as a refresh for the long-running X-Men spin-off, which switched focus from the five original X-Men to a new team of government-sponsored mutant heroes. The government liaison to this new team is X-Men ally Valerie Cooper, a former National Security Advisor who specializes in superhuman affairs. At one point during the issue, Val reveals that she has a brother in the government’s employ who also deals with strange cases. “I have a brother who’s an FBI agent,” Val explains, “And I am so tired of him telling me about these exciting cases he gets… Like, for instance, this girl they found. She was dead… wrapped in plastic.”

Wolverine Has Also Visited Twin Peaks

wolverine twin peaks

It's a fun line that echoes actor Jack Nance’s immortal “wrapped in plastic” line from Twin Peaks’ opening scene. However, the links don't stop there. Wolverine vol. 3 #3 sees Logan arrive in the town of 'Westfall' - a location exactly modeled on Twin Peaks, with its distinctive welcome sign and Double R Diner, where the mutant hero orders a piece of pie. Strangely, the Human Torch and Spider-Man have also referenced the existence of a Twin Peaks TV show, while Star-Lord once claimed (or joked) it was a fictionalized biopic of his life

Is Twin Peaks Just a TV Show in Marvel's Reality?

human torch twin peaks

Twin Peaks has been referenced as both fact and fiction in Marvel's reality, making it hard to square what's actually going on. The most satisfying explanation is that while the show Twin Peaks does exist, on Earth-616 it's a semi-fictional account of a real case investigated by Valerie Cooper's brother in the town of Westfall. This would fit perfectly with Marvel lore, where real-world fiction books like Frankenstein, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas and even Marvel's own comics are actually semi-fictionalized accounts of real events.

Of course, the real answer is that many different creators have dropped in subtle references to Twin Peaks in Marvel Comics, but part of the joy of Marvel's shared universe is putting such moments together into an overarching canon, especially when it leads to something as cool as Twin Peaks taking place in the same world as the X-Men. Indeed, with the various paranormal events that make up Twin Peaks' story, it actually makes more sense if it takes place in a world where mutants, aliens, and demons exist in abundance.