Wolverine Once Killed EVERY X-Men Hero (By Mistake)

Summary Wolverine's darkest moment came in 'Old Man Logan,' was when he was tricked into killing his own X-Men family by Mysterio.

The tragic event was revealed in Wolverine #70, showing Logan slaughtering his friends thinking they were villains.

The impact of the deception led Logan to give up his superheroics and refuse to use his claws ever again, marking a dark turn in his story.

Wolverine has done some truly terrible things in his life, both as a hero and as a weapon. Logan has seen the X-Men on the brink of extinction, has fought back against impossible odds, and watched many of his friends die while he remained living. But the most tragic event of all was the dark future in which Wolverine is tricked into murdering the X-Men.

The story was first told in Mark Millar and Steve McNiven's Wolverine run from the late 2000s, in which a version of Wolverine (known as "Old Man Logan") survives in a supervillain dystopia on Earth-807128. The famous Wolverine isn't 'Wolverine' anymore, as Logan has given up his superheroics and refuses to even use his claws after an unspoken incident left him emotionally damaged. In Wolverine #70, it's finally revealed that Logan's final act as Wolverine was murdering his closest friends and family: the X-Men.

Related Wolverine's OLD MAN LOGAN Tragedy Just Got Even Darker with Sick New Twist Wolverine's Old Man Logan storyline is easily one of the most tragic the character has ever endured, and now, Marvel Comics just made it even darker.

Wolverine Thought He Was Just Killing Off Supervillains

The attack on the X-Men Mansion is revealed via flashback in Wolverine #70 (2003)

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"You wanna know what happened? You wanna know why I haven't popped my claws in fifty years? Well, it all goes back to the night the villains got their act together. Like all our stupid stories..."

After repeated urging from his traveling companion and fellow former hero Hawkeye, Logan provides the much-desired backstory by campfire. In a flashback sequence, the X-Mansion is suddenly attacked by a large group of supervillains including Shocker, the Silver Samurai, Doctor Octopus, and many more. Aside from being unprepared to see such villains actually unite for one attack, the school is vulnerable since its X-Men guardians are strangely missing.

The heroes and students who are present are quickly surrounded as more villains break-in, with Wolverine ordering everyone to escape, and unleashing his deadliest impulses in a truly fight-to-kill defense of the school. Wolverine is relentless in his slaughter of the villains, stabbing them through the heart, cutting off their heads, and otherwise ripping them to shreds. All of which becomes absolutely horrifying. when his actual actions are revealed.

Wolverine Was Tricked Into KIlling His Own X-Men Family

While rarely a Wolverine villain, the trick was pulled off by Mysterio

As he's finishing off Bullseye as the last man standing, the villain uses his final words to send a chilling message: "You're supposed to be our friend." It's at this exact moment that Mysterio suddenly reveals himself, as well as the true identity of the opponent Wolverine has been relentlessly trying to kill. It is not Bullseye who has died in Wolverine's arms, but his fellow X-Men and daughter-like protege, Jubilee. And her death is just one of dozens now exposed for the horrors they really are.

Ordinarily, Wolverine's most devoted fans might cheer at the idea that he could, if truly unleashed, dispatch any and all supervillains in a matter of seconds. But as Mysterio dispells the rest of his deceptions, he explains that Wolverine's brutal slaughter is only due to his opponents hesitating, since they were actually his mutant friends and family, completely stunned at Logan's mission to kill them without remorse.

While the movie Logan (2017) adapts elements of the Old Man Logan story, the film lays the blame for the X-Men's death on Charles Xavier's telepathic powers losing control with age (though the Westchester Incident is never shown in the movie).

In the present day of the story, Logan tells Hawkeye that Mysterio's illusions and trickery were so sophisticated, he not only fooled Logan into perceiving the other mutants as entirely different, established supervillains, but concealed their smells (which a being of enhanced senses like Logan would immediately notice).

Clearly, it was one of Mysterio's more impressive tricks to date, since Wolverine couldn't detect even the slightest warning. And the impact was everything one would expect, sending Wolverine stumbling through the wilderness for an unknown amount of days or weeks. After finally deciding he had inflicted enough pain and suffering upon himself (considerable, given his gealing factor), Logan decided that the 'Wolverine' died along with the X-Men, and vowed to never become him ever again.

The X-Men accepted Wolverine as their own, and allowed him to experience life-changing personal growth, while developing a family of friends and loved ones. It's hard to fathom how he could have felt after being tricked into killing those closest to him. Clearly, the incident became the most tragic he had ever faced. And it's hard to blame him, since Logan's biggest nightmare became a reality. After that, being Wolverine couldn't have held the same meaning or importance without his allies by his side.

Wolverine #70 (2003) is written by Mark Millar, with art by Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, Mark Morales, Morry Hollowell, and Justin Ponsor.