Warning: This article contains spoilers for Marvel’s Wolverine
Way back during that infamous data breach in 2023, it was leaked that Insomniac was working on an X-Men game to follow this year’s Marvel’s Wolverine. According to the compromised data, Insomniac supposedly has a deal with Marvel to be the sole arbiter of mutant-centric titles for the foreseeable future, and that its big team-up is taking place sometime around 2035. Of course, this is all subject to change, but if there is an Insomniac X-Men game on the horizon, plenty of exciting seeds have already been planted.
I’ll take it that if you’re reading this, you’ve already played through Marvel’s Wolverine. The climax of the game sees thousands of mutants have their dormant powers activated thanks to the machinations of Nathaniel Essex, paving the way for the world that fears and hates them as it did in the many Marvel comics, movies, and shows. At this point, the X-Men have yet to be formed, though Jean Grey presumably sets out to find and protect mutants like herself and the Morlocks. Professor Charles Xavier isn’t shown or mentioned, but plenty of other X-Men have already been hinted at on top of Jean, Logan, and everyone else in Marvel’s Wolverine.
Now, this list isn’t a guarantee that all of the characters mentioned below will appear in a future Insomniac X-Men game, and the studio could very well add someone who isn’t referenced in Marvel’s Wolverine. But going by what has been shown so far, there are already plenty of potential mutant champions on Earth-1048 who could step into a greater role in the future.
Logan/Wolverine
Getting the obvious ones out of the way first, we have Wolverine… who just got done with his own starring game role, so I can’t imagine Insomniac not bringing him back for the big X-Men team-up. The end of Marvel’s Wolverine left plenty of room for Logan’s story to continue, especially when it comes to exploring how he got his Adamantium skeleton. There’s also the small matter of him once being Death (one of Apocalypse’s Horsemen), which will probably come into play once again if the big grey menace is going to be the main villain of Insomniac’s X-Men game like that post-credits scene with Sabretooth seemed to indicate.
Jean Grey/Phoenix
Jean Grey was more or less the supporting protagonist in Marvel’s Wolverine, which ends with her and Logan parting ways after she erased his memories to ensure that Apocalypse couldn’t take control of him again. She also heads out into the world to find the mutants left in Essex’s wake, meaning that she might very well serve as the Professor Xavier figure of Earth-1048.
There are plenty of interesting avenues Insomniac can take with Jean’s character in a hypothetical X-Men follow-up, especially given how she already has her Phoenix powers. I think the game would focus on her newfound role as a leader of mutantkind, as well as her relationship with Logan (which might get even more complicated if a certain visor-wearing hero enters the mix – more on him in bit) and coming to terms with the fact that she’s been reincarnating for centuries – not to mention all that Phoenix power she’s just now learning to harness.
Perhaps that last bit could lead to a Dark Phoenix storyline down the road? In any case, I just hope we actually get to play as her this time, after Marvel’s Wolverine seemingly cut her leaked sections.
Shiro Yoshida/Sunfire
Sunfire was a surprise addition to Marvel’s Wolverine, given how he’s one of the lesser-known characters in the X-Men universe. In the game, Shiro Yoshida was once a member of Team X alongside Wolverine, but he eventually left due to his growing suspicions about Essex’s true motives. That, and Logan kinda killed him (don’t worry, he got better). Since then, he’s been busy collecting Hand artifacts and trying to stay out of the mutant conflict, but Logan and Jean’s misadventures in Japan quickly drag him back into the thick of it.
In the comics, Shiro has been an on-again/off-again member of the X-Men and its offshoots, so there isn’t a 100% guarantee he’ll turn up again in Insomniac’s X-Men game. Then again, he did become the Horseman Famine at one point, and as I’ve noted before, Apocalypse seems to be getting set up as the ultimate villain of that future title. Even if he’s not on the side of good, we might see Shiro join Sabretooth/War as one of the baddies the X-Men will have to face off against – which could lead to some drama after he worked so well with Jean and Logan in Marvel’s Wolverine.
Scott Summers/Cyclops
Now for the mutants who didn’t physically show up in Marvel’s Wolverine, but were referenced all the same. Scott Summers (aka Cyclops) is almost a certainty for any X-Men ensemble, as he’s traditionally the team’s field leader and one of the very first mutants Stan Lee and Jack Kirby dreamed up back in 1963.
While he wasn’t shown or directly named in Marvel’s Wolverine, there were a few references to the guy with the eyebeams sprinkled in throughout. One of the many files in Trask’s pseudo-Cerebro mentions a guy with “optic blasts,” and while looking for Jean on the streets of Madripoor, Logan comes across a vendor selling necklaces made out of Rose-Quartz (a nod to Ruby-Quartz, which Cyclops’s visor is made of). Logan infers that Jean likes the stone, which might be a wink toward her famous romance with Scott.
That romance might have a few new wrinkles in it thanks to Marvel’s Wolverine, which revealed that Jean and Logan have been lovers on and off for the past two hundred or so years. Now that Jean has been forced to break it off with Logan again, it’s possible that she seeks to move on by striking up a new relationship with Scott Summers… only for Logan to suddenly drop back into the picture. Cue messy love triangle, bickering between Logan and Scott, and other soap opera shenanigans.
Dr. Henry McCoy/Beast
Next on our list of original X-Men is Dr. Henry McCoy, better known as the Beast. Again, he doesn’t show up in the flesh in Marvel’s Wolverine, where Walter Langkowski plays a similar role as a mutant scientist trying to discover the mysteries behind his powers – only to become a big, hairy creature for his troubles. Logan and Raven chance across McCoy’s name while searching the data files in Trask’s Sentinel base, with a text file explaining his work in researching the X-Gene.
This research could result in Beast taking on his iconic blue, Wookiee-like form in Insomniac’s X-Men game, leading to him joining the team to serve as the brains of the operation. He’s got plenty of brawn too, which could make for some fun gameplay sections similar to Marvel’s Wolverine‘s claw-slashing combat.
Warren Worthington III/Angel
While investigating a casino in Madripoor, Logan can find a table reservation for a “Mr. Worthington III.” This is no doubt a reference to Warren Worthington III, yet another original X-Men member with the codename Angel. As that name implies, Angel has majestic, bird-like wings he can use to fly, though this has also made him an outcast among the wealthy Worthington family.
Since he’s already confirmed to be appearing in the MCU’s X-Men movie, now might be a great time for Insomniac to introduce its own version of the high-flying hero. Interestingly enough, he also has ties with Apocalypse – namely that he was at one point transformed into his Horseman Death. Since Logan was broken free of Apocalypse’s control at the end of Marvel’s Wolverine, Angel could find himself as an unwitting replacement after spending some time among the X-Men.
Bobby Drake/Iceman
Rounding out the OG X-Men team is Bobby Drake, aka the Iceman. On the surface, his power set is pretty straightforward: he shoots ice from his hands. However, in the comics, he’s an Omega-class mutant with the ability to manipulate all forms of moisture, coat his body in an icy armor, and even transform his own body into a liquid or gas state. When Bobby was first introduced in the original X-Men comics, he was basically the “kid rookie,” but he would later develop himself as the years went on.
While rescuing Essex from Trask’s military base at the very beginning of Marvel’s Wolverine, Logan comes across a fake town that Trask and his army have been using as a testing ground for their mutant-hunting tech. One corner is covered in snow, frozen guards, and the remains of a power-inhibiting collar, which Logan theorizes is the result of a mutant prisoner trying to escape. Although that’s the last we see or hear of it in the game, it’s safe to say that the Iceman could cometh in a future installment of Insomniac’s Marvel franchise to bring the chills as a member of the X-Men.
Ororo Munroe/Storm
This next potential team member needs no introduction, but I’m going to give her one anyway because she’s just that awesome. Ororo Munroe, better known, feared, and respected across the Marvel universe as Storm, is one of the most powerful and popular mutants around, thanks to her ability to control the weather itself. She’s already put this power to good use in games like Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls and the X-Men Legends/Marvel Ultimate Alliance franchise, so it would only make sense for Insomniac to bring her into its own gaming universe.
And sure enough, the seeds have already been planted during the end credits of Marvel’s Wolverine. At one point, we see a hand reaching out from the rubble of a Sentinel attack in Cairo, Egypt with a streak of lightning forming from it. Fun fact: Storm was first discovered by Charles Xavier in Egypt, where she lived as a pickpocket for some time until her powers manifested. Looks like we’ve already reached that point well before Insomniac’s X-Men game is even officially confirmed, and it’s only a matter of time before players can call upon the arctic winds for themselves.
Remy LeBeau/Gambit
Remy LeBeau (but you can call him the Gambit) has seen a lot of love in Marvel adaptations lately, whether its his gripping plotlines in X-Men ’97, his playable turn in Marvel Rivals, or even Channing Tatum’s scene-stealing performance in Deadpool & Wolverine. And honestly, what’s not to like? A smooth-talking street-thief-turned-X-Man from New Orleans, Gambit serves as a valued member of the team thanks to his ability to charge any object he touches with kinetic energy and his impressive staff-fighting skills.
And it looks like he’s already wheeling and dealing in Marvel’s Wolverine, as proven by an “IOU” note Logan can find in Tyger’s bar in Madripoor. Sure enough, the note in question is signed “Remy LeBeau,” and is on one of Gambit’s signature playing cards. While Logan doubts that Remy will ever pay back his bar tab, the odds are good that he might turn up in Insomniac’s X-Men game.
On a related note, Gambit has also served as Death in the comics, as well as the second season of X-Men ’97 – making him another possible replacement for Logan as Apocalypse’s Horseman. Any way this goes down, it looks like ol’ Remy might make a name for himself in the Earth-1048 universe sooner rather than later.
Kitty Pryde And/Or Rogue
I’m putting these next two entries together because their references come from the same scene. As I noted before, Wolverine and Mystique uncover a list of dormant mutants while infiltrating Trask’s Sentinel program, leading to a wealth of Easter Eggs that can be easy to miss on the first playthrough. Two of these profiles mention a young female with the power of intangibility, while another is said to have “attribute and memory absorption” abilities.
These could be references to Kitty Pryde and Rogue respectively, and it wouldn’t be hard to imagine either or both of them appearing in a future X-Men game given how popular they are. Kitty in particular could serve as a newcomer players can discover the world through, and Rogue could follow her comic counterpart and start out as an enemy aligned with Mystique before switching over after a challenging boss fight.
Megan Gwynn/Pixie
Another mutant that is only seen in the end credits, Megan Gwynn is shown flying above a curious crowd that is taking a video of her on their phones. It’s actually one of the nicer things they do during this montage of discovering that mutants exist.
Nonetheless, Pixie can fly with her fairy-like wings, and her “pixie dust” causes hallucinations. This could make for an interesting gameplay segment where the X-Men have to track her down to recruit her, only for her to cast her powers on them and trigger a “nightmare sequence” ala the Hand Telepath from Marvel’s Wolverine. Of course, this would all turn out to be a misunderstanding, as Pixie is actually one of the friendliest X-Men around.
Alison “Ali” Blaire/Dazzler
Marvel’s Wolverine actually isn’t the first Insomniac game to reference the mutant pop star Dazzler, as players can uncover tickets to one of her concerts as a collectible in Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Meanwhile, her posters can be spotted in Madripoor, and Logan himself is apparently a fan of her older work. Ali Blaire has the ability to convert sound vibrations into light and energy beams, which is actually a great way to save up on special effects during a live performance.
Unfortunately, it seems that Dazzler has been outed as a mutant at the end of Marvel’s Wolverine, as the credits reveal that she was forced to cancel her shows due to the growing anti-mutant backlash. She has been a part of the X-Men in the comics from time to time, so maybe she ends up pivoting to superhero work if the next X-Men game finally shows her in the flesh. I mean, Madonna’s always reinventing herself…
Cessily Kincaid/Mercury
This next possible X-Men team member is a relatively recent addition to the comic lore, making their potential inclusion in Insomniac’s universe refreshingly out of left field. While storming Essex’s headquarters in Madripoor at the end of Marvel’s Wolverine, Logan and Jean come across testing equipment and a list of mutant test subjects. Most of the names on this list are either villains or the Morlocks we have already seen in the game, except for one: Cessily Kincaid.
Kincaid goes by the codename Mercury, and has the ability to shape her liquid metal body however she sees fit. This has come in handy during her time as a member of the New X-Men and Hellions in the comics, and now might be the time for her to reach a larger audience. The mutant side of the Marvel universe is big enough to be a franchise in itself after all, and Insomniac can and should shine a spotlight on newer and more obscure characters in its long-rumored X-Men game.
Robert Herman/Glob Herman
Speaking of newer and lesser known characters, one of the dormant mutants who has their powers unwillingly triggered by Essex’s giant Sentinel in Madripoor is Glob Herman, whose body is made of a pink, wax-like substance that makes him completely fireproof while also giving him superhuman strength and durability. Though he’s ultimately a good guy at heart, Glob struggles with anger over his lot in life, and was even a villain at one point.
He has since chosen to use his abilities for good, becoming one of the nicer members of the X-Men despite his unnerving appearance. When we last see him in Marvel’s Wolverine, Jean purges Apocalypse’s influence from his and several other newly-turned mutants, leaving them free to join her cause if they so choose.
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