Why the X-Men Don't Exist in Marvel's Wolverine

While there are many mutants famous for being members of the X-Men in Marvel’s Wolverine, in the video game’s story the X-Men do not exist. Rather, Logan is a former member of Team X, the mutant black ops unit that includes the likes of Sabretooth and Mystique. Yes, Jean Grey is in the game, but she is not part of any group called the X-Men because it hasn't been formed yet. Put simply, don’t expect Cyclops to turn up in his comic accurate suit, dropping from the Blackbird under orders from Professor X back at the X Mansion.

But why? Why not have the X-Men exist in Marvel’s Wolverine? In an interview with IGN, narrative director Walt Williams said Insomniac was keen for the mutants in the game to not have a safe place to go to, to not benefit from being superheroes, but rather remind players that mutants exist on the outside — and Wolverine himself, who this game is all about, is perhaps the biggest outsider of them all.

“So Team X is canonical,” Williams began. “It is Logan's first team in his history. It was a black ops team from the '70s made up of wetworks mutant workers. So in telling Wolverine's story, we wanted to bring it back to the beginning of where his story really began in that long string of teams. Because as we know, he's been a member of many teams by this point in his 50-plus year history.

“But really what we were looking to do is, because superheroes have become so mainstream at this point in just pop culture and everything through TV shows, comics, movies and everything, that even especially with our own Spider-Man games, these are characters with superpowers that a lot of the world has accepted, that they are celebrated. They have parades, they are honored and stuff. But mutants at the core are outsiders, even within the Marvel universe.

“And we have not really had that aspect of them be brought out a lot lately in the stories that we get in the bigger mainstream. We wanted to bring players back to that mindset of that these are characters who exist on the outside. They are not superheroes. They don't have a safe space. They are people who are living in shadow. They are people who are hiding their powers from the world because they are afraid of what would happen if people would discover them.

"And so if we had started this story with the X-Men in existence, there would already be that aspect of a safe place for them. And we wanted to remind people that existence for a mutant is not safe. It's hard. It's scary. And entering that world through Logan, it really felt like the best POV possible. One, I mean, he's an incredibly complex, layered character that has so much potential to write. But at the same time also, he's an outsider's outsider. Even among mutants, this is a man who does not feel at home. He keeps people at arm's length. He was that perfect POV for us to be able to enter into that mutant world and begin to understand just how much mutants do not feel as if they belong anywhere.”

It’s a detailed answer to a question that fans have been wondering about ever since Marvel’s Wolverine was revealed. And so, while you’ll get co-op gameplay with Jean Grey, she’s not in the story as Marvel Girl or wearing a suit we’ve seen from the X-Men comics. And without the X-Men knocking about, Logan and Jean are free to explore their own romantic relationship — assuming the game itself goes that far — free from Cyclops’ death stare.

Indeed, Williams confirmed to IGN that there is no Logan, Jean, and Scott Summers love triangle at play in Marvel’s Wolverine.

“I don't want to get too much into spoilers because obviously there's a whole story that we want everyone to experience as they play through it,” Williams said. “But I think it's safe to say that we are focusing on just Logan and Jean's relationship in Marvel's Wolverine.”

My take? Having the X-Men in a game that is meant to be about Wolverine would have distracted from the man himself. And if the X-Men were in the game, Insomniac would be faced with having to actually build the X-Men and work them into the game, its story, and whatever else that might come from having a game swollen to bursting point with mutant superheroes. This Wolverine game is a tighter affair, a starting point that may lead to fully fleshed out X-Men games in the future.

We've got plenty more on Marvel's Wolverine from our big interview with Insomniac. And don't forget to check out our hands-on preview ahead of the game's September launch.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.