Warning! Spoilers for X-Force #37 ahead!
Marvel Comics’ latest cover art for the X-Men spinoff X-Force places Wolverine‘s legacy within an even darker light that evokes the tragic history of the adamantium-laced mutant. The most iconic and established member of the Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine is perhaps the darkest member of the team of mutant outcasts, having lived a life full of pain, tragedy, and violence. Now, a new threat that X-Force must face calls that traumatic past to mind.
The upcoming X-Force #38 by Benjamin Percy and Robert Gill will see the titular team of mutants up against a frightening chimera created by the anti-mutant organization XENO. Marvel has released Joshua Cassara and Dean White’s cover art for the issue, which shows a patchwork creature made up of pieces from Wolverine, Domino, Omega Red, Beast and Deadpool. The sewn-together nature of this creation and the electric bolts bringing it to life evoke Frankenstein’s monster.
It is also reminiscent of Wolverine’s dark past with the Weapon X program, where he was treated as a guinea pig that could be experimented on. Just like Mary Shelley’s classic monster, Logan was treated as less than human by his creators. He was merely a weapon to be utilized, just like XENO’s newest creation.
The Peacock Man Takes His Revenge
Following a massive betrayal from one of their own members, X-Force has continued its investigation into the mysterious XENO, which is led by the Man with the Peacock Tattoo. It was revealed in X-Force #37 that the Man with the Peacock Tattoo is a spurned clone of Genosha’s Genegineer, David Moreau. Moreau experimented on mutants, manipulating their genetics to turn them into docile mutates, but his goal was to create a perfect specimen that encompassed all mutant powers. The Man with the Peacock Tattoo is intent finishing Moreau’s work, creating crude replicas of key X-Force members such as Colossus and Omega Red. While the Peacock Man had previously suffered a series of setbacks, the villain now has two aces up his sleeve: the potent “Resurrection Egg” and the young telekinetic mutant Max. Moreau reveals his latest attempt at creating new life… which appears to be a disturbing commodity resembling both Wolverine and a creature of ancient myth.
This monstrosity is different from the one that appears on the cover of X-Force #38, and is perhaps the most disturbing version of Wolverine ever depicted in a comic book. In an effort to keep Max on the island of Genosha, David finally unveils his latest creation to help restrain the mutant clone. The creation is a chimera clone resembling Wolverine and an amalgam of X-Force members Beast, Colossus, Omega Red, and Domino. One of the most recent victims of the Peacock Man was Domino, who continues to recuperate from her ordeal with Moreau. Claiming that the chimera represents “the next level” of his experiments, the Peacock Man’s grotesque creation could not have been done without Max by his side.
X-Force #37 acts as a culmination of the Peacock Man’s evil experiments with X-Force and other members of the wider mutant community. While the chimera is not quite the true Wolverine himself, the crude creation is quite representative of David’s vengeful outlook on the mutants who have made his life pure anguish. As an experiment himself, the Man with the Peacock Tattoo is taking back his lost youth by creating versions of Wolverine and other X-Men. If the cover for Percy and Gill’s X-Force #38 and its promotional solicitation teasing a “showdown with XENO” is any indication, Moreau’s experiments with the titular team and their X-Men allies, including Wolverine, are only just beginning to take shape.
Marvel’s X-Force #38 will be available on March 1.