Marvel Just Answered a Pesky Wolverine Plot Hole With Help From the TSA. No, Seriously

Marvel has just solved a Wolverine plot hole many fans might not have ever even considered – that is, how a character with a metal skeleton gets through a metal detector undetected. Now, Wolverine’s daughter, Laura Kinney, has given fans an answer, by claiming she has a pacemaker. Whether she actually does or not remains unclear, but in either case, it explains how she is able to avoid being scanned.

NYX (2024) #6 – written by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing, with art by Michael Shelfer – finds the book's cast taking a group trip to attend a Dazzler concert.

When the young team arrives at the show, they have to go through metal detectors. Of course, the detectors go off when Wolverine walks through, because of her metal claws, but she plays it off by saying she has a pacemaker – leaving Kamala Khan to wonder whether that is true or not, in a brief, memorable scene at the start of the issue.

Marvel Gives A Simple, Elegant Explanation For Why Wolverine Has No Problems With Metal Detectors

NYX (2024) #6 – Written By Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing; Art By Michael Shelfer; Ink By Elisabetta D'amico; Color By Raul Angulo; Lettering By Joe Sabino

The casual way that Laura Kinney walks through the metal detector in NYX is an amusing character beat for her, as she takes on more of a mentorship role among the series' younger cast. It is also reminiscent of earlier moments in which Logan, the original Wolverine, circumvented security in similar ways. As a war veteran, Logan carries a card that claims he has metal implants in his bones, so he can pass through airport security without trouble. He even used that card to enter the Pentagon once, alongside Storm and Captain Marvel.

Laura's "pacemaker" solution is simple, and effective – though NYX #6 slyly leaves open the possibility that she really does have one.

Logan has also demonstrated much less subtle ways to pass through airport security. If there's an emergency, running through the metal detectors and risking getting shot at will cause a scene, but he'll get to where he needs to be. In one memorable moment, he used a distraction, by planting a hand grenade shaped soap bar in another traveler's bag. Laura's "pacemaker" solution is simple, and effective – though NYX #6 slyly leaves open the possibility that she really does have one.

Wolverine Having A Pacemaker Actually Makes More Sense Than Readers Might Realize

But Whether She Does Is TBD

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Laura Kinney, the new Wolverine, having a pacemaker might not make a lot of sense at first thought. Since she shares the same regenerative healing factor as Logan, Laura would presumably never develop the kind of heart problem that requires a pacemaker to be implanted. Yet Marvel fans know that Laura was designed to be a perfect assassin – and a pacemaker could, theoretically, be useful during stealth missions, in order to steady or slow down her heartbeat as needed. That said, most likely, the pacemaker is just an excuse to get Laura through metal detectors and avoid raising her profile.

Related X-Men: Wolverine’s Death Becomes More Devastating as a Familiar Face Returns One of the most tragic stories of X-Men's Krakoan era was the tale of two Laura Kinneys; now, Marvel is writing another chapter in this dark saga.

Considering they not only have metal-coated skeletons, but large blades fixed to each of their hands – and, in Laura's case, feet – both versions of Wolverine benefit from not drawing attention, in those instances when they do encounter a metal detecter. Having these medical excuses, whether true or not, helps avoid all the problems of having adamantium claws in their wrists at the airport, or a Dazzler show, and allows Wolverine, both young nad old, to carry on with their lives without a thorough pat down.

NYX #6 is available now from Marvel Comics.