Zombie Wolverine's Final Fate Is a Cruel Joke (& That's What Makes It Perfect)

Summary Zombie Wolverine was sent to a world known as the Planet of the Man-Things, where he couldn't eat or infect anyone after helping save the multiverse.

In Weapon X-Men, Zombie Wolverine evolved from a ruthless monster to a comedic character, and his storyline ended with a cruel (and comical) fate.

While it may seem cruel, Zombie Wolverine absolutely deserves his fate, and the tragic irony of it is utterly hilarious.

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Weapon X-Men #4! Zombie Wolverine has recently been cast back into the Marvel Comics spotlight in the now-concluded limited series Weapon X-Men, where he (shockingly) fights valiantly alongside other alternate versions of Wolverine to save the entire multiverse. While this inherently villainous variant did contribute to the multiverse’s ultimate salvation, he didn’t see much of that reward, as Zombie Wolverine’s final fate is an utterly cruel joke (and that’s what makes it perfect).

In Weapon X-Men #4 by Christos Gage and Yildiray Çinar, the multiversal team of Wolverine variants have finally completed their mission of neutralizing the threat of an alternate version of Onslaught. The team consisted of Weapon X from Age of Apocalypse, Logan from Old Man Logan, Wolverine from Earth-X, Zombie Wolverine from Marvel Zombies, and a newcomer, Jane Howlett. After the job was done, each of these Wolverine variants was sent back to their original timelines by an alternate version of the Phoenix (which is who assembled them in the first place) - except Zombie Wolverine.

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Throughout Weapon X-Men, Zombie Wolverine only really cared about consuming flesh and spreading the zombie virus - which he actually succeeded in doing on one Earth the team traveled to. He had his team constantly looking over their shoulders, including the multiversal allies they made along the way to stop Onslaught. So, when it came time to send the Wolverines to their respective corners of the multiverse, the Phoenix felt disinclined to send Zombie Wolverine back home or to another reality that he could infect. Thankfully, Phoenix had the perfect place in mind: ‘the Planet of the Man-Things’.

Related Sorry, But Wolverine Is Actually Cooler Without His Adamantium While his adamantium skeleton and claws are an iconic aspect of his character, Wolverine is actually much cooler WITHOUT adamantium - and here's why.

The Tragic Irony of Zombie Wolverine’s Fate Is Absolutely Hilarious (& Deserved)

Every world Zombie Wolverine traveled to was at risk of a full-on zombie apocalypse, and he didn’t even try to curb the urge to eat or infect anyone he saw. That’s why it’s absolutely perfect that Phoenix sent Zombie Wolverine to a world where he couldn’t eat or infect anyone, as every person in this world was a ‘Man-Thing’. Even Zombie Wolverine’s realization that he was marooned on a planet he couldn’t infect was hysterical. As he’s surrounded by Man-Things, Zombie Wolverine cries out, “No! It can’t be! Everyone here’s a… a vegetable!”.

This ending for Zombie Wolverine isn’t just a deserved punishment for callously craving the taste of innocent flesh on every world he and his team were sent to save, but it’s also the perfect comedic payoff for his entire character arc throughout Weapon X-Men. Zombie Wolverine acted as the team’s comedic relief. His dark humor gave the storyline a more well-rounded narrative, as the tone he brought to the book curved the emotionally heavy nature of the story. The other Wolverines had tragic pasts that they were healing from, all while Zombie Wolverine was just staking out his next meal.

By ending up in a world with ‘no meat on the menu’, Zombie Wolverine’s fate allows him to tell one last joke after being the comedic breath of fresh air throughout the miniseries. Unfortunately, that joke ended up being immensely cruel (though not undeserved), and it was told at his expense.

Zombie Wolverine’s Comedic Evolution is a Shocking Change From His Origin

Marvel Zombies by Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips

While Zombie Wolverine was Weapon X-Men’s comedic relief - all the way up until his cruel end - that’s far from where he started his Marvel Comics career. While the official first appearance of Zombie Wolverine was in Ultimate Fantastic Four #22, readers wouldn’t see him in full-form until Marvel Zombies, which featured Zombie Wolverine as one of the many infected heroes/villains trying to eat an uninfected Magneto. The first line of dialogue uttered by Zombie Wolverine is as decidedly unfunny as his debut itself, as he’s taunting Magneto by telling him that he wants to ‘hear him squeal’.

Zombie Wolverine is a ruthless, bloodthirsty monster upon his debut, which is about as far from his current depiction as one could go. Sure, Zombie Wolverine wanted to eat those around him in Weapon X-Men (and didn’t fight the urge to do so the second he was free to, as shown in Weapon X-Men #1), but he still generally had his team’s best interests at heart, and he was responsible for helping to save the multiverse from Onslaught. Plus, he was funny, which allowed fans to forgive the horrendous atrocities he committed/wanted to commit.

However, the Zombie Wolverine fans meet in Marvel Zombies is a much darker depiction. He’s not funny in the slightest, doesn’t care about anyone or anything aside from his own unending hunger, and - as his first line of dialogue reveals - actively enjoys the suffering of his victims. Zombie Wolverine originated as perhaps the furthest thing from a cosmic hero as one could imagine, which makes his storyline in Weapon X-Men not only hilarious (including and especially its ending), but also much more interesting.

Zombie Wolverine’s Weapon X-Men Fate May Not Be So ‘Final’ After All

One thing that was especially interesting about the original Marvel Zombies storyline was the zombies’ ability to adopt traits and powers from the victims they consume. This was made clear when the zombies ate Galactus, and then gained a fraction of his Power Cosmic, which they used to spread the zombie infection across the universe. So, if that’s true for Galactus, could the same be applied to the Man-Things?

While these Man-Things don’t share the original Man-Thing’s title of the Nexus of Realities (meaning Zombie Wolverine wouldn’t be free to travel the multiverse if he ate one), that doesn’t mean Zombie Wolverine would gain nothing from eating them. As shown in Savage Wolverine, Man-Things have what’s known as ‘lifeblood’, which has the power to bring someone back from the dead. That means, if Zombie Wolverine eats a Man-Thing with that trait, he might actually be cured of his zombie infection, which would be the beginning of an all-new Wolverine story, not the ending of this one.

Of course, Zombie Wolverine will likely never know whether a Man-Thing’s lifeblood could cure his infection due to his audible (and hysterical) aversion to the mere idea of eating a ‘vegetable’. Therefore, more likely than not, this is the final fate of Marvel Comics’ Zombie Wolverine in all its cruel hilarity - and it’s absolutely perfect.

Weapon X-Men #4 by Marvel Comics is available now.