Back in September, Wolverine returned in the Marvel Legacy one-shot, a major part of establishing the publisher’s new post-Secret Empire status quo. He’s made scattered appearances since then, but questions have lingered: Exactly how did Logan return from being killed off in 2014’s aptly titled Death of Wolverine miniseries? And when and where will that story be told?
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Those questions will begin to be answered in April’s The Hunt for Wolverine, a 40-page comic by Death of Wolverine writer Charles Soule and Defenders artist David Marquez announced by Marvel on Friday evening. The comic, which appears to be a one-shot, is said to “reveal the timeline of events that leads to Logan’s shocking return to the Marvel Universe.”
In May, The Hunt for Wolverine spins out into four separate stories, each with a different genre bent and furthering the story of the ultra-popular X-Men character’s return: the action-adventure Adamantium Agenda, horror story Claws of the Killer, dark romance Mystery in Madripoor and noir/detective tale Weapon Lost. Format and creative teams for those four stories have not yet been announced.
Hunt for Wolverine #1 cover by Steve McNiven.
In Marvel’s announcement, Soule said that The Hunt for Wolverine is the start of a larger story that will spread across the Marvel Universe. “The Hunt for Wolverine just the opening chapters of a mystery that will reach all sorts of cool hidden corners of the Marvel Universe, and will tell a story that will hopefully have us looking at Logan in an entirely new way.”
“I’m really looking forward to seeing how fans start to put the pieces together,” Soule said in Marvel’s press release. “There’s a big payoff coming down the road, and all the interlocking parts of The Hunt for Wolverine build to it. The more you read, the more clues you get. It’s really fun — especially since I have a bit of a reputation in X-continuity for knocking off beloved mutants. This time, it’s nice to be part of bringing someone back!”
Not only did Wolverine return in the Marvel Legacy one-shot, he’s now in possession of one of the most storied objects in the Marvel Universe: an Infinity Stone, specifically the Space Stone. After that comic, his appearances have been limited to “post-credits scenes” in selected Marvel comics, teasing his actions and whereabouts. The first such story appeared in this month’s Captain America #697.
The Hunt for Wolverine marks confirmation of where he’ll make his full return as a starring character, and when some of the mystery around his resurrection will begin to be solved.
“Hunt for Wolverine #1 has a stunning revelation and the four books that spring from it will each have a mind-bending, status quo changing reveal by amazing talent that I can’t wait to announce,” Marvel editor Mark Paniccia said in the press release.
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Death of Wolverine, by Charles Soule and Steve McNiven (who illustrated the Hunt for Wolverine main cover), was a four-part series showing the death of the Marvel mainstay stemming from the loss of his healing factor. By the end of the story, Wolverine dies of suffocation after being encased in Adamantium. While death in superhero comics in commonplace, it’s still somewhat surprising that a character with the following and mainstream recognition of Wolverine has remained off the board for more than three years.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that Marvel has been completely Wolverine-free. Notably, since Death of Wolverine, the former X-23 has headlined her own series as the All-New Wolverine, and Old Man Logan has become a full-time part of the Marvel Universe proper after Secret Wars, becoming a main member of the X-Men Gold roster and starring in his own book. What the classic Wolverine’s return means for those two characters is yet to be seen.
Keep reading CBR for the latest on The Hunt for Wolverine.
Hunt for Wolverine #1 variant cover by Adam Kubert.