X-Men 97 Just Showed How Wolverine Could Already Be in the MCU

[00:02] Wolverine is already in the MCU right now and I'm going to explain how. and we're going to go through the entire history of the MCU and show where Logan along. But first, we should establish exactly how the mutant saga is going to

[00:16] start in the MCU's phase seven. So, for a long time, like in the real world, Marvel Studios was not allowed to include X-Men characters or mutants in their films because the film rights were actually held by Fox Studios. But after

[00:28] Disney bought Fox, Marvel was able to say, "Actually, all of those movies were always a part of the MCU, just in a parallel universe." So, as of now, the only X-Men we have seen in the MCU are like elsewhere in the multiverse. And

[00:42] that includes, of course, the Fox X-Men universe with the branching timelines of Days of Future Past and Logan and the alternate future of Days of Future Past. And there's also X-Men 97, Multiverse of Madness, and presumably all of the other

[00:54] animated X-Men shows are part of this same Marvel multiverse. Now, the multiverse saga, though, is about to end with Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. faithfully, then they will likely show Doctor Doom conquering the multiverse

[01:08] and then compressing it into a single world called Battleworld. After Secret Wars, the universe will be reborn. Kevin Feige has even said that they're going to do a soft reset after Secret Wars, which most fans assume means that the

[01:21] X-Men and Fantastic Four universes will be combined into the MCU. However, this does not mean that there are not already mutants in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. See, for Wolverine to already exist in the MCU, a few things need to

[01:34] be true. One, since Wolverine is very old, we need mutants to have existed for a long time. So, along those lines, we have confirmation that Ms. Marvel is a >> Kamala, there's something different in your genes, like a mutation.

[01:47] unexplained superpowers that manifested in their childhoods, like Simon Williams or Benjamin Poindexter. And WandaVision showed us that Wanda Maximoff's powers manifested at a young age, meaning that she has likely been a mutant all along,

[02:01] like she originally was in the comics. And there is also Namor. He is a mutant in the comics, and as we saw in Wakanda Forever, he has a genetic mutation that allows him to live on the sea and land. Now, Namor is hundreds of years old, so

[02:13] this tells us that mutants have been walking the Earth in secret for a very long time. So, mutants do exist, but they are very rare. And maybe, I don't that Apocalypse was in ancient Egypt, but maybe he was put down by the

[02:26] Eternals or time travelers, who knows. But what is important is that this means that Logan could have been in the background of the cinematic universe, keeping out of the limelight. Now, we have theorized that Thanos's snap could

[02:39] have actually kickstarted mutations worldwide, which is riffing on what X-Men. >> But every few hundred millennia, evolution leaps forward. >> Now, if Sadie Sink is indeed playing

[02:51] Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, this would explain how her powers manifested, assuming that she is a teenager at this time. So, younger already appearing around the planet. But

[03:04] have to come from another universe is the movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where we see that existing characters from the MCU like Doctor Strange already exist alongside mutants like Charles Xavier. So, the

[03:18] same thing could be true in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. X-Men '97 also takes all Marvel heroes, regardless of which studio holds the film rights. So, even

[03:30] if the Multiverse Saga never happened, I think mutants were always going to we're going to go through the proof that they already exist. So, guys, it's doing things, but unfortunately for smokers, this is a dangerous time.

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[05:03] The links are below. Now, back to what I was saying. haven't seen him yet? >> Lots of reasons. He's a mean, cynical old bastard who doesn't want to get involved. Hell, in the Fox movies, we

[05:15] cage fights. He was living in hiding as growing a long beard. He also drinks in bars, where he makes it clear that he >> Go [ __ ] yourself. >> There is even a sly reference to this in

[05:28] this news article from She-Hulk about a man with claws getting into a bar fight. Logan, by his nature, not a joiner. Well, that's actually not 100% true, joiner. Hell, he fought in every single war since the 1860s, but the deep trauma

[05:42] he suffered during combat and from black ops missions led to him cutting himself would have seen the Chitauri invasion on TV and figured, "Oh, I guess you That's stuff." He would have seen the fall of Shield and thought, "Good, those

[05:57] bastards screwed me over." He would spend his decades just kind of existing until he looks for a found family with the X-Men. But, this also means that he in history. In past videos, we've talked about how it would be great to see

[06:09] Wolverine fighting alongside Steve Rogers in World War II. This also happens in the comics and in the animated series. But, this wouldn't just be a fun Easter egg. Wolverine could actually play a key role in the MCU's

[06:22] history. For instance, if Hydra had seen Wolverine in action on the battlefield, then Zola would have taken a keen interest in him. Like, did you ever wonder how Hydra was able to replicate Erskine's super soldier serum? How did

[06:34] the Russians create the Red Guardian decades later if that serum secret supposedly died with Erskine? The answer is Wolverine. Hydra would have captured Logan, or maybe like picked up one of his limbs off the battlefield and then

[06:47] use that to get a sample of his blood and tissue. Then, his healing factor could have provided the extra secret sauce for Bucky to survive the process have held onto this Logan tissue sample for decades, combining it with Steve

[07:00] soldiers that we see in Captain America: Civil War. In fact, I think Logan is the key figure that connects the super soldier programs to Weapon X. What's Weapon X? Well, in the comics, there's all these different, somewhat

[07:13] are turning humans and mutants into super soldiers. And with Wolverine, the program was called Weapon X. Logan was a member of a government task force called program. And this is where they grafted adamantium onto his skeleton. Just like

[07:28] we see in the movies, he escapes, loses his memory, and then becomes less feral over time. The telling's vary according to the issue. Anyways, in the MCU, the success of Captain America kicked off a covert super soldier arms race. For

[07:40] instance, in the US, they created Isaiah Bradley. Bruce Banner was also working serum, which resulted in him turning into the Hulk. And later, it resulted in actually already seen Hydra's attempts to create more Winter Soldiers like

[07:56] know that the Winter Soldier program interconnects with the Weapon X program because of the most recent episode of X-Men 97, Weapon, Lies, and DVDs. There, we see these amber tanks in the adamantium chamber. The same tanks that

[08:11] held the other super soldiers in Civil War. We also see Omega Red held in a very similar tank in the original series and in this show. So, it's very natural to assume that Logan was a part of these same programs. After his experience in

[08:24] program, suffered the trauma of for nearly 100 years until he's reintroduced in the MCU. So, let's talk about how exactly Logan could reappear

[08:36] in the MCU in a way that honors the history of this franchise while setting him up for the future. Now, lately, we've been getting a lot of casting cast actually expected to be announced this month. But with all of these

[08:49] different casting rumors, they have not announced Wolverine. And I don't think this is because Hugh Jackman is locked into the role forever. I really do think his swan song will be in Avengers Secret Wars. I think he signed on so he would

[09:01] all of the Avengers. I actually think the real reason we haven't heard about Logan casting is because Marvel's being smart and taking their time. Wolverine won't be in the first X-Men movie. It's going to focus on a younger generation

[09:14] while Logan is later introduced in a solo film or in another team-up film. Then, maybe in X-Men II, he'll sign up and join the team. All right, does that Well, I have a couple ideas on where we could see Logan appear first in the MCU.

[09:27] And both of these ideas fit nicely with the existing history of this universe. First, I think he could be in his own team-up movie called Wolverine versus the Hulk. See, Wolverine made his first appearance in the Incredible Hulk issue

[09:40] 180, and these two have tangled many times over the years. This was even teased in Deadpool Wolverine when they replicated this famous Todd McFarlane cover from the Hulk. The movie even played up how much fans

[09:53] want to see this fight happen. And Savage Hulk is set to return in Spider-Man Brand New Day, so eventually this match-up will happen. Now, we will in Secret Wars, but if that doesn't

[10:05] team-up film in the MCU. These two characters have a natural connection in this universe. Logan is the product of a super-soldier program, Weapon X, and Bruce Banner was trying to replicate the super-soldier serum when he became the

[10:19] Hulk. So, maybe following him hulking out in Brand New Day, Banner is back to being the traveling loner. He's trying to research his past to find a cure for the old Weapon X facility where he

[10:32] go you one better. What if Logan recognizes Bruce's scent? It turns out that Bruce could have gotten his start as a young man at the Weapon X facility. He was a junior member of the team that grafted the adamantium onto Wolverine's

[10:46] skeleton. So, this would give Logan an added reason to detest Banner and also follow a really fun pattern we've seen in the Spider-Man movies where he is always paired with another hero from the MCU. A team-up with the Hulk would also

[11:00] Universal Studios, which say that that studio has the rights to distribute a Hulk solo film. But, this team-up would also signal that, "Hey, this new Wolverine has actually always been a part of the MCU." And maybe this movie

[11:14] The Incredible Hulk. Maybe the Leader restarted the Weapon X program when he was working for Ross. We already saw Ross use gamma research to create the Abomination, and we know that he wanted to arrest Banner to turn the Hulk into a

[11:27] >> As I'm concerned, that man's whole body is property of the US [music] Army. >> So, it would make total sense if Thaddeus Ross was heading up the Weapon X program for years. This way Ross could have gotten what he always wanted, an

[11:39] control. But, I think the other, much more natural connection would be for Wolverine to appear in the next Captain America film. Now, look, regardless of Brave New World's box office, I do think Sam Wilson will get another film to cap

[11:52] off this unofficial trilogy that started with Falcon and the Winter Soldier. But, Marvel regards Captain America as one of their marquee franchises. They need this title to generate money. So, to juice the box office numbers, I think they

[12:05] would load the movie with at least two guest stars, Steve Rogers and Wolverine. So, those first two stories were about Sam trying to live up to Steve's legacy. But, what if in this final film he has to finish a fight that Steve left

[12:18] Falcon and the Winter Soldier is the Power Broker, the mysterious gangster that controls all of Madripoor. Now, the ending of the series shows us that Sharon Carter rejoins the CIA, but as a double agent.

[12:31] to have full access to government secrets, prototype weapons. >> Now, does this phone call confirm that she is the Power Broker, or does she work for the Power Broker? I think Sam would go to Madripoor to find out. And

[12:44] when he's there, he runs across Wolverine in his disguise as Patch, you Wolverine. Then, Logan, I think, would reluctantly be pulled into a fight be someone from Steve's past. Maybe Zeno, maybe Arnim Zola in a robot body,

[12:59] Earth. So, Patch and Sam then run across some old Hydra tech from the war, and touching it would activate Logan's buried memories. And then, I think, we should see him in the past in World War II, where he meets Steve Rogers.

[13:12] >> So, then the movie could pull a Godfather II and run parallel timelines. Logan with Steve in the past, and Logan with Sam in the present. By working with Sam, he is unlocking his lost memories, and that's why he decides to work with

[13:25] him. And maybe we can also flashback to Logan in his secret agent days during Winter Soldier or Isaiah Bradley. The point is that with Logan's help, Sam is able to solve some problem that Steve left unfinished. And at the end of the

[13:38] old friend, elderly Steve Rogers, and the old war buddies would sit together and the movie ends with Logan asking, "Tell me who I am." And this would finally make Sam more secure in his Captain America identity, while also

[13:51] movie that could lead to him joining the X-Men down the line. What do you guys existing MCU? Where would you like to see him appear? Who should he team up or on our free-to-join Discord server or find me on Substack. And if it's your

[14:05] smash that bell for alerts. For ScreenCrush, I'm Ryan Arey.