WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Dark Ages #6, now on sale from Marvel Comics
Wolverine is typically thought of as an unstoppable physical force. The longtime X-Man’s adamantium skeleton and impressive healing factor make him nigh-impossible to put down for good. But in one dark reality, another major X-Man revealed just how easily they could stop Wolverine once and for all if the situation called for it.
Dark Ages #6 by Tom Taylor, Iban Coello, Brian Reber, and VC’s Joe Sabino included a sequence where Wolverine is confronted by a Purple Man-controlled Cyclops — and it turns out the founding X-Man actually is strong enough to kill Logan all on his own.
Dark Ages has, if nothing else, been an interesting opportunity for Marvel to confirm some unique questions about various characters and their powers. The series has highlighted just how much power it would take to bring down someone like the Thing or how the symbiotes like Venom and Carnage might be actually fairly easy to destroy. The latest of these showcases comes in Dark Ages #6, which revealed that Apocalypse has been holding the captured Wolverine for years. While Laura and Gabby have fully embraced the identity in his absence, Apocayplse has needed Logan’s adamantium skeleton for his work taking over the body of the Unmaker. Upon being informed of this, the ancient mutant ordered the Purple Man to join him in Wolverine’s cell.
He also brought along Cyclops, revealed to be one of the surviving heroes who’s been captured by the villain and his forces. Cyclops pleaded with Logan to kill him before the Purple Man’s powers take control of him. But Logan isn’t fast enough, and Cyclops is forced to unleash a full-strength optic blast against his old teammate. Wolverine’s skin was peeled off piece by piece by the attack, ultimately killing him and reducing him to nothing but his adamantium skeleton. It’s a sudden and heartbreaking turn, especially as Laura and Gabby soon arrive with reinforcements to save the world and liberate the captured heroes. In the end, there is no apparent restoration for Logan, and Cyclops — although freed from captivity — will have to live the rest of his life knowing he killed Wolverine.
It’s a shocking moment, but not one that comes without precedent. There have been other realities in the past where Cyclops’ optic blasts have been suggested to be enough to kill mutants as tough as Wolverine. In the Age of X universe, he was even used as the ultimate execution tool by Arcade, eliminating countless mutants with his powers. In the Age of Apocalypse timeline, Cyclops and Logan eventually fought — resulting in Cyclops taking one of his hands at the cost of one of his eyes. Notably, Logan’s skeleton remained intact, but his arm itself never regenerated — suggesting that Cyclops’ blasts are so powerful they can reduce his flesh (previously shown to be capable of restoring Wolverine even after being caught in a nuclear blast) to nothing.
It’s a major confirmation, considering how dangerous Wolverine is otherwise. While his metal skeleton means he’s always had a weakness against characters like Magneto and Polaris, Cyclops’ impressive showing in Dark Ages seems to confirm that if the pair actually came down to a one-on-one fight to the death Cyclops might have a solid chance to win. If he could maintain his distance, he might even have Wolverine more or less dealt with in case of any major emergency. Considering their somewhat complicated history and relationship (and Wolverine’s habit of being turned into a weapon against his fellow heroes), it’s especially important for someone like Cyclops to know just how dangerous he really is — and how much damage he could really do to the otherwise unstoppable Logan.
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