Summary
Deadpool and Wolverine’s latest trailer revealed Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, who had already been seen countless times due to myriad set photos, and one immediate comparison toMarvel’s Wolverinehas been made between the shots they both feature of Logan sitting at a bar with his back turned to the camera. To be fair, there isn’t much in the way of Wolverine iconography nowadays, at least not since James Mangold’sLogan.Insomniac could take inspiration fromX-Men ’97, but even then it doesn’t center around Wolverine individually like theSpider-Versemovies center around Miles Morales.
That’s not to say Insomniac has somehow taken inspiration from thisDeadpoolmovie—the opposite would be more plausible in the timeline of this context—butMarvel’s Spider-Manhas certainly taken inspiration from popularSpider-Manmedia before, even if it was subconscious or inadvertent, meaningMarvel’s Wolverinecould, too. But because the dust will have settled again on Wolverine excitement by the timeMarvel’s Wolverinelaunches, Insomniac may be able to carve out an open window of anticipation for itself where it can hopefully thrive and reinvent the character.
Insomniac Can’t Catch a Break, But Maybe It Doesn’t Want to
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Moralesfocuses on Miles trying to come into his own as a budding Spider-Man, set during the wintertime, with an emphasis on Aaron Davis’ Prowler as a critical figure in Miles’ Spider-Man roots, creatingunmistakable parallels between it andSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Still, assuming thatMarvel’s Wolverineis an original story inMarvel’s Spider-Man’s canon, Insomniac couldn’t have come upon the character at a better time if it wants its iteration of the mutant to be authentic and judged by its own merit rather than as a comparison to the few seminal Wolverine’s out there. Wolverine has been the most popular X-Men character for the last couple of decades, but his prominence has faded with how little X-Men media has come out recently.
EvenX-Men ’97, which has wonderfully embellished many X-Men characters who needed the limelight most, thankfully refuses to make Wolverine its centerpiece. With any luck, Insomniac can now turn Wolverine’s low-profile present in its favor and showcase the character through an unexpected lens.
Insomniac’s Wolverine Should Want to Be a Rarity and Shed Comparison
Insomniac’s Marvel partnership obviously means it gets to have its thumb on a particular pulse and knowing Wolverine and the X-Men would be stepping back into the public in big ways could’ve gone into the decision of developing a Wolverine game specifically. Regardless, Insomniac doesn’t seem to have a Wolverine-centric heavy hitter to contend with whenever it does launch and if it is capable of mitigating as many obvious parallels as possible to other Wolverine stories it will have an excellent chance of excelling as a unique entry in the character’s mythos.
Miles Moraleswas wedged between the twoSpider-Versemovies andInsomniac’s still-unconfirmed Venom game could end up butting heads with Seth Rogen’s Venom movie. That said,Wolverineis in the clear for now and will conceivably be able to enjoy that spotlight itself. There’s a chance Wolverine’s debut in the MCU is a catalyst for a role in future movies and shows, but ifMarvel’s Wolverineis slated for 2025 still it has the potential to be a massive droplet in a considerable draught for definitive Wolverine content.
Either way, it’s inescapably inevitable now thatMarvel’s Wolverinecould feature aDeadpool and Wolverine-inspired MCU skin. Insomniac has had a penchant for unrelated movie-inspired cosmetics sinceMarvel’s Spider-Manand there’s no reason to believe that tendency won’t bleed intoMarvel’s Wolverineas well.
Marvel’s Wolverine
Marvel’s Wolverine is a third-person action game from Insomniac Games that is set in the same universe as the studio’s Spider-Man titles.
