With apologies to Joe Locke’s Wiccan in Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, and maybe even Ryan Reynolds’ Merc with a Mouth as well, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is arguably the most significant superhero joining the MCU in 2024.
Sorry, Wade Wilson, but Logan just has an even bigger impact on the Marvel universe than you. It’s not for nothing that Jackman basically carried Fox’s entire X-Men saga on his back for almost 20 years, with only Reynolds’ DP coming close to him. So naturally the union of these two icons in Deadpool & Wolverine is one for the ages, a Marvel Studios event that promises to alter the fabric of the MCU forever.
That’s why it’s so curious that Marvel seems to be making moves to decrease Wolverine’s importance to the lore, one which feels like it could set up an upcoming plotline that has the potential to unfold across the Multiverse Saga. In short, Wolverine just got a little less unstoppable.
Marvel confirms Wolverine is weaker than Iron Man’s latest armor
In The Invincible Iron Man #15, from Gerry Duggan, Creees Lee, Walden Wong, Bryan Valenza, and VC’s Joe Caramagna, Tony Stark’s new Mark 27 armor faces its toughest challenge yet when the Armored Avengers battles an undead adamantium-plated foe. Controlled by mutant enemy Feilong, the foe is actually a revived, cybernetic Wolverine corpse. However, when the zombie’s adamantium claws strike Iron Man’s torso, they shatter on impact. Thereby confirming adamantium is no longer the strongest metal in the Marvel universe.
Iron Man’s Mark 27 armor is actually made from mysterium, a unique and uber-rare metal that hails from the White Hot Room, the white void that is the Phoenix Force’s realm. As well as being super-strong and durable, mysterium also has anti-magic properties — for example, Doctor Strange temporarily lost his magical powers when he was cut by it — and cannot be detected by a Spider-Person’s spider-sense. Thanks to Invincible Iron Man #15, we can now say it’s officially stronger than adamantium, and therefore vibranium, which was generally agreed to be the second strongest metal in the Marvel world.
Major Marvel Comics developments often happen with one eye on potential future MCU tie-ins — for instance, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver’s mutant origins being retconned in time for Age of Ultron and the Fantastic Four being exiled from canon post-Secret Wars to spite Fox’s Fant4stic. So it’s curious that the long-awaited introduction of adamantium into the MCU is being previewed by mysterium making it look like tissue paper. Is this a hint that Marvel Studios has big plans for mysterium once the X-Men gets here? Could Ironheart or War Machine get their own version of the Mark 27 armor? If so, Jackman’s Wolverine might want to avoid picking a fight with them.