Marvel Editor Reveals the Awesome Wolverine Story We'll Never Get (X-Men Fans Were Robbed)

Summary Fans missed out on an epic X Deaths Of Wolverine storyline that would have profoundly impacted the character's role in the X-Men franchise.

Jonathan Hickman's original pitch involved Wolverine being killed and resurrected on 10 secret missions with geopolitical implications.

Despite changes to the X Deaths Of Wolverine story, the Krakoan Era still set a high standard for Wolverine narratives, with Benjamin Percy delivering iconic stories.

The X Deaths Of Wolverine was one of many exciting stories X-Men fans were privy to during the half-decade of the franchise known as the Krakoan Era – but as Marvel's outgoing X-Office editor revealed, the original pitch for the book, along with several of the era's other stories, were even more exciting than what eventually made it to the page.

Speaking with AIPT for X-Men Monday, Editor Jordan D. White went into great detail about some of the "missed opportunities" of the Krakoan Era, including the original pitch from Jonathan Hickman – the original driving force behind X-Men's Krakoan relaunch – for a story called "X Deaths of Wolverine."

During the creative process, the idea morphed into what became the X Lives and X Deaths of Wolverine miniseries, but it was initially very different. As a result, this has led members of the Marvel fan community to wish more of Hickman's initial concept had been retained.

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Jonathan Hickman's Original Pitch For "X Deaths Of Wolverine" Sounds Incredible

X Lives Of Wolverine – Written By Benjamin Percy; Art By Joshua Cassara; Color By Frank Martin

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Hickman's idea...was bare bones, but astute readers immediately recognized how radically different it would have been from the version of X Deaths of Wolverine that was ultimately released.

Jordan D. White's latest X-Men Monday appearance has proven to be slightly "controversial" among the fandom, given the extent to which the editor pulled back the curtain on the way plans for the Krakoan Era continually shifted. Most of this can be attributed to creative evolution, given the intensely collaborative nature of working in Marvel's X-Office – yet fans can help but single out the ideas they wish had come to fruition. One prominent example is living legend Jonathan Hickman's idea for X Deaths of Wolverine.

Readers will recognize this as the name of a Krakoan-Era Wolverine story, but as described by White, that was apparently the only element of the original pitch that was retained. White explained:

X Deaths of Wolverine — that name came from a pitch that I think was from Jonathan, going, “Hey, we should do a story like this.” But again, it morphed into something completely different. That initial story was the 10 deaths of Wolverine being the 10 secret kill missions that he was sent on that he doesn’t know about because he was killed and resurrected every time.

Hickman's idea, at least as White described it, was bare bones, but astute readers immediately recognized how radically different it would have been from the version of X Deaths of Wolverine that was ultimately released. Crucially, it would have had significantly different implications for Wolverine's character, and his role in the X-franchise.

X-Men Fans "Missed Out" On An Even More Intense Epic

X Deaths Of Wolverine – Written By Benjamin Percy; Art By Federico Vincentini; Color By Dijjo Lima

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Though X Lives and X Deaths was a grand spectacle, with ambitions to be a lore-defining story, Hickman's version may have been more resonant as a piece of the overall Krakoan Era.

"That would’ve been a really fun story," Jordan D. White admitted, before adding, "but again, it never fit with what we were doing at the time." White elaborated that Jonathan Hickman pitched the story as one that author Benjamin Percy would helm – which he did, with the alternative story that X Deaths of Wolverine eventually developed into. As it turned 2022's X Lives and X Deaths became a time travel odyssey, thrusting the character back to pivotal moments in his personal history, and the history of the X-franchise.

Hickman's plot would have instead leaned into the geopolitical thread central to the Krakoan Era, especially early in the era's tenure. The mention of Wolverine being repeatedly killed and resurrected signals that the story would have been set in the present-day of the series, rather than evoking time travel to send the character into the past. It also makes it clear that the extent to which Krakoa's ruling body, the Quiet Council, used Wolverine as a weapon would have been far greater than proved to be the case.

In all, it sounds as though Jonathan Hickman's idea would have been a more grounded exploration of Wolverine's relationship with the Krakoan nation-state. This is in line with the work Benjamin Percy has done over the past several years in books like X-Force, and his ongoing Wolverine solo title. Largely, this is why fans have expressed disappointment that the idea changed so dramatically; though X Lives and X Deaths was a grand spectacle, with ambitions to be a lore-defining story, Hickman's version may have been more resonant as a piece of the overall Krakoan Era.

The Krakoan Era Still Set The Bar High For Wolverine Stories

Benjamin Percy's Omega-Level Output

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"What If...?" scenarios must always take into account the ripple effect; had Jonathan Hickman's X Deaths gone into production, it could have changed the character's trajectory to the extent that fans didn't get Benjamin Percy's final X-Force arcs, or the monumental Sabretooth War storyline.

Though it is understandable for X-fans to wish that Jonathan Hickman's version of X Deaths had moved forward, that should not diminish the level to which the Krakoan Era stories that were published elevated Wolverine. For a character who had become ubiquitous to the point of over-saturation, the Krakoan Era was a much-needed recalibration. In particular, writer Benjamin Percy delivered some of the defining narratives of Wolverine's iconic history – no small accomplishment for a character who is about to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of his first appearance.

Taken on their own, X Deaths and X Lives of Wolverine are exciting stories, operating at the high level that readers have come to expect of Percy's take on the character. If anything, fans are less enthusiastic about how they fit into the overall tapestry of Krakoan's grand narrative. That said, "What If...?" scenarios must always take into account the ripple effect; had Jonathan Hickman's X Deaths gone into production, it could have changed the character's trajectory to the extent that fans didn't get Benjamin Percy's final X-Force arcs, or the monumental "Sabretooth War" storyline.

Now, after five years, the end of the Krakoan Era is imminent – and among its last, greatest plotlines is the culmination of Benjamin Percy's Wolverine, with the series' fiftieth and final issue, the conclusion to the stunning "Sabretooth War." In a way, this epic ten-part storyline has delivered everything fans could have hoped for from Jonathan Hickman's X Deaths pitch, and perhaps more, as it has also served as a satisfying endgame for the character's long journey through the Krakoan Era, a time in which Wolverine flourished as much as any point in X-Men history.

Wolverine #50 will be available May 29, 2024 from Marvel Comics.

Source: AIPT for X-Men Monday