Little by little, we're seeing announcements for new titles that will be in the "All-New, All-Different Marvel' line of comics. We know there's an INVINCIBLE IRON MAN series by Brian Michael Bendis and Dave Marquez, SPIDER-MAN (featuring Miles Morales from the Ultimate Universe) by Bendis and Sara Pichelli, as well as a DOCTOR STRANGE series by Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo.
When the announcement came for 'All-New, All-Different Marvel' came, we saw a bunch of character designs for what we could expect post-Secret Wars. On of those included the older version of Wolverine from the Old Man Logan story arc. With Miles Morales making his way into the regular Marvel Universe, could it be possible that "Old Man Logan" is as well?
The idea of an older Wolverine from the future being in the present day continuity sounds pretty weird. Almost too weird for it to actually happen. But because his image was included, we have to assume either he's getting an ongoing set in his own timeline or, like Miles, he's going to somehow venture over into the present day continuity.
In the press release for Miles making his way over, it says the following:
A stranger in a strange land, Miles patrols the rooftops of a New York City that is very different from the one he knew...More importantly – how did Miles come to be here in the first place?!
With Secret Wars, we have several alternate versions of characters (from different story arcs and timelines) all on one world (Battleworld) with each reality in its own domain. In the OLD MAN LOGAN tie-in series, Logan has managed to venture out of his domain into another. Here, he runs into other versions of the X-Men even though he has absolutely no idea what's going on.
It's a bit of a shock to the others but these are the X-Men. They've seen stranger things.
If Logan does manage to come to the regular Marvel Universe, again, it wouldn't be something really weird for the present-day team. Cable, Bishop, and Rachel Grey are just some examples of characters that have come from a future timeline into the present. We also had the original X-Men in ALL-NEW X-MEN get pulled from the past into the present. That even resulted in two versions of all of the characters, except Jean. Would having a Wolverine from the future really be any different?
However Secret Wars ends, part of the conclusion could deal with the characters being returned to their own worlds or realities. Some characters, like Miles and Old Man Logan, may somehow get placed in the wrong place (the regular universe) for some reason. Logan has already discovered the existence of different versions of his teammates. Returning to the past wouldn't be too much of a shock, especially considering all the time travel the X-Men and their associates have done in what could possibly be his own past.
What are the advantages or possible story reasons for this?
By having Old Man Logan in the present day, the Death of Wolverine story still holds, in a way. Comic fans can handle the "death" of a character but when they immediately return from the dead, we just roll our eyes and groan. Having the present day Logan dead still allows the characters, like X-23, mourn him. We've know Laura will be wearing a yellow and blue costume similar to what he wore before his death. With Old Man Logan in the past (or possibly his own past), it allows him to further try to redeem himself or get over his role in the death of the X-Men. And how great will it be for a grumpy old Logan to try to deal with all the "young" characters running around?
Even as an "old man," Logan has shown he can still be the tough badass he was in his youth. It could be interesting to see how this would play out. It wouldn't have to be forever. We're all assuming "our" Wolverine will somehow return from the dead one day. If so, the events from Old Man Logan's past could still happen. Expect his being in the present could change things. It could also be possible that perhaps he would only be in the present for a certain amount of time (and issues) and then somehow return to his own time (like we saw Spider-Man 2099 sort of go back and forth in his recent series).
The immediate reaction could result in some outcry from diehard Wolverine fans. Seeing a radical change like this really shouldn't be too surprising at this point. We've seen many crazy changes happen in today's comics. It could be another interesting experiment on Marvel's part. It could be a chance to try something a little different instead of having the regular Wolverine stories we've seen time and time again.
Or maybe this isn't what's going to happen.
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Poll: What should an All-New, All-Different Old Man Logan series be about?
Poll: What should an All-New, All-Different Old Man Logan series be about?
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