From Hulk to Ms. Marvel, here are seven dream Wolverine crossovers Marvel must deliver now that Hugh Jackman’s version of Logan is part of the MCU.
Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is coming to the MCU, and there are a few Logan crossovers that would be way too perfect for Avengers: Secret Wars to ignore. After Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opened the door for Marvel characters from previous franchises to return in the MCU, Deadpool 3 will revisit Jackman’s portrayal of Wolverine. Though nothing has been said regarding Wolverine’s MCU future after Deadpool 3, an Avengers: Secret Wars return seems likely.
The most promising thing about a Secret Wars adaptation is that it allows the MCU to fully explore the possibilities of the multiverse. An Avengers movie based on Secret Wars can only work if the scale of the multiverse – and the dangers of Incursions – are truly felt, which can only be done if the movie involves major multiverse cameos. Here are seven Wolverine crossovers that must absolutely happen in the MCU, most likely in Avengers: Secret Wars.
Hulk
Wolverine debuted in Marvel Comics on The Incredible Hulk #181, with the mysterious clawed character in a yellow suit appearing at the very end to tease the Hulk’s next adventure. Wolverine was essentially created as an adversary for the Hulk to fight with, and only a year later, in 1975, the character joined the X-Men. Giant Size X-Men #1 redefined Wolverine and the X-Men as a whole, to the point that it now seems curious that Logan began as a supporting character in another superhero’s book. Almost 50 years later, Wolverine and the Hulk have yet to share the screen in a live-action movie.
Following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, it became possible for Wolverine and the Hulk to interact in movies for the first time since their cinematic debuts in 2000 and 2003, respectively. Though Bruce Banner’s MCU story appeared to be over after Avengers: Endgame, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law reignited the Hulk’s story with the reveal that Hulk has a son, Skaar. It is difficult to imagine, though, that Wolverine and Hulk would fight in the MCU under the same circumstances as they did in The Incredible Hulk #181. Bruce Banner has control of the Hulk, after all.
6Thor
There is not a particular story reason that makes a Wolverine and Thor MCU crossover something that needs to happen. That said, Thor actor Chris Hemsworth once joked about surpassing Hugh Jackman’s record of playing a Marvel character for so many years. When asked if he would continue to play Thor after Thor: Love & Thunder to perhaps surpass Jackman’s record, Hemsworth answered “I wasn’t gonna but now that you’ve put that in front of me, you make a good point.” (via BBC Radio 1). With Jackman back as Wolverine for Deadpool 3, Hemsworth’s mission has become more difficult. Hopefully, Thor and Wolverine can meet in Avengers: Secret Wars.
5Nick Fury
Wolverine’s World War II history, that is, James Howlett’s past, connects the Marvel mutant with Nick Fury Sir, Nick Fury’s father in the current Marvel canon. Aside from the Marvel history lore, Wolverine and Nick Fury have had some great interactions in the comics. Wolverine and SHIELD interactions in general often lead to hilarious moments, especially when Logan has to help or be helped by SHIELD and the Avengers. The same applies to SWORD, which is now part of the MCU. Considering that Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury put the Avengers together back when Marvel Studios couldn’t use the X-Men, Fury somehow recruiting Wolverine would be perfect.
RELATED:Phase 5 Can Finally Answer Age Of Ultron’s Nick Fury Skrull Theories
With the MCU diving into the multiverse after Avengers: Endgame, it can be easy to lose track of how it all started. With terms like “variant” and “alternate universes” now part of the MCU, crossovers like Doctor Strange and Patrick Stewart’s Professor X risk feeling less special, as those two characters are from different universes. For that reason, having Wolverine fight side by side with Nick Fury, a character who help build the MCU’s Avengers during Phase 1, would make Jackman’s Logan return even more special.
4Steve Rogers
Similar to Wolverine’s history with Nick Fury’s father, Logan also fought side by side with Captain America Steve Rogers during World War II in the Marvel Comics lore. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers fought during World War II as shown in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Captain America: The First Avenger, respectively, but obviously without any crossovers. With Jackman’s Wolverine likely coming to the MCU from another universe, the Fox X-Men timeline, Logan and Rogers probably can’t have a shared past like in the comics. Still, if Evans somehow returns in Secret Wars, a Wolverine and Steve Rogers crossover is a must.
3Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man
The MCU changed the superhero movie genre and went on to become the highest-grossing film franchise of all time. That said, Marvel’s movie history began way before Iron Man. The Blade movies, followed by Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, and Fox’s X-Men franchise are all part of that Marvel legacy. With Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man now officially part of the MCU multiverse after Spider-Man: No Way Home, a crossover once deemed impossible could now finally happen – Maguire’s Spider-Man and Jackman’s Wolverine sharing the screen. Two Marvel legends who became synonymous with superheroes in the 2000s, Maguire’s Spider-Man and Jackman’s Wolverine both created a legacy that is difficult to match.
Avengers: Secret Wars gives Marvel the opportunity to celebrate that legacy by having Tobey Maguire and Hugh Jackman play Spider-Man and Wolverine in the same movie. Considering that No Way Home did not feel like a farewell to Maguire’s Spider-Man but rather the beginning of new multiverse adventures involving the first cinematic Peter Parker, a Wolverine-meets-Spider-Man crossover is not too far-fetched. Granted, it would also be interesting to have Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine interacting with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, but a 2000s Marvel crossover in Secret Wars is essential.
RELATED:Tobey Maguire Spider-Man Trilogy Ignored One Major Plot Hole
2Iron Man
Iron Man died in Avengers: Endgame, and bringing back Tony Stark could lessen the impact of the Infinity Saga finale. That said, it is difficult to imagine a Secret Wars adaptation that does not feature Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark in some capacity. With the Multiverse Saga introducing the concept of variants in the MCU, it has never been easier to revisit a character that has already died, although there has to be a strong story-related reason for it to work. If Robert Downey Jr returns as Iron Man in Avengers: Secret Wars, then Marvel will have the chance of pairing the MCU’s biggest character with Jackman’s Wolverine.
Hugh Jackman’s legacy as Wolverine actually surpasses that of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, at least in terms of how long the actors played their characters. By the time Iron Man premiered, Jackman had played Wolverine in three X-Men films and was set to get his first solo spinoff, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, on the other hand, became the face of the biggest, most successful movie franchise of all time. It is not easy to compare such massive legacies, which is why a Wolverine and Iron Man crossover in Secret Wars must happen if the former returns.
1Ms. Marvel
Wolverine is the face of the X-Men franchise, having appeared in nine of the Fox X-Men movies. More than two decades after X-Men (2000) brought Marvel’s mutants to the big screen, Ms. Marvel introduced mutants in the MCU. Though Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s Namor confirms that mutants have been in the MCU for a while, Kamala Khan was the first mutant to appear in the franchise in a significant change from the comics, in which Ms. Marvel is an Inhuman. Still, a Wolverine and Ms. Marvel crossover in Avengers: Secret Wars is the perfect opportunity to combine the previous and the new generation live-action mutants.
