Warning: SPOILERS for House of X #5
The relaunch of Marvel's X-Men has come at an impossible price: the death of the X-Men themselves. Fortunately, the House of X series effectively rebooting Marvel's mutants has already brought the dead X-Men back to life--but in Wolverine's case, without one of his signature gifts.
When readers watched Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, and other X-Men favorites killed on a mission to preserve the future, most knew things weren't as they seemed. Not long after the real twist was revealed: the dead X-Men were regrown as clones back on Earth. And to make sure they would be indistinguishable from their previous selves, they were even implanted with their own minds, recorded shortly before they left. Of course, there's one massive catch. Fans already knew that Marvel's X-Men reboot silently erased millions of mutants... but now it appears that they've also gotten rid of Wolverine's metal skeleton, too.
The scene of the dead X-Men's newborn clones crawling forward from their eggs, and having their minds returned to them via Cerebro before gathering in front of Charles Xavier leaves little to the imagination. But in case there was any confusion about how the dead X-Men were regrown on Krakoa, the issue itself offers a detailed breakdown. But in case anyone has forgotten, Wolverine's mutant gift is his enhanced natural abilities, along with an accelerated healing factor--the latter of which is what allowed him to even survive the process of having his bones coated in adamantium.
His Weapon X history has changed in recent months, but that much remains the same: you can regrow his body from a DNA sample, and possibly even quicker than others. But the adamantium which made him indestructible (and metal-clawed) melted into the sun along with him. It's the same reason why fans now know that Cyclops can't control his power out of fear, and not the theory that it was due to brain damage sustained by his original body (also not passed genetically). Oh, and he got his missing eyeball back, if readers need a more potent demonstration of how experience or experimentation alters the body.
Some fans will be sure to point out that this is a problem easily solved, perhaps with a metal-manipulating mutant re-applying adamantium to Logan's entire skeleton and claws. But comic fans know that if such a process was possible, it would have been shown or at least mentioned in the long history of Marvel Comics. Instead, the mythology surrounding Marvel's miracle metal adamantium makes it clear that it's not only a rare metal, but an incredibly hard one to manipulate. There's a reason Logan is special among Weapon X subjects, after all.
That being said, this reboot has already had several X-Men betray their accepted history already... so we suppose just saying Wolverine 'got his metal back' wouldn't be too much of a surprise. But here's hoping the reboot holds itself to a higher standard.
- HOUSE OF X #5 (OF 6)
- Written by: Jonathan Hickman
- Art by: Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia
- Can Xavier and his students fight to survive against the humans’ plan to eliminate them? Superstar writer Jonathan Hickman (FANTASTIC FOUR, AVENGERS, SECRET WARS) continues his reshaping of the X-Universe alongside Young Gun artist Pepe Larraz (EXTERMINATION, AVENGERS). The Future of the X-Men begins here!
House of X #5 is available now from your local comic book shop, or direct from Marvel Comics.