Marvel Is Eyeing a Major Resurrection in 2025 And I Think I Know Who It Is, But I Hope I'm Wrong
Warning! Spoilers for last year's Wolverine #50, and speculation about this year's Wolverine #7 ahead!
The advanced synopsis for an upcoming issue of Marvel's current ongoing Wolverineseries teases "a surprising return you'll have to read to believe" – and, for better or worse, I have a feeling it's going to be the hero's arch-nemesis Sabretooth, less than a full year after he was killed off in a climactic confrontation with Logan at the end of the Sabretooth War arc, which concluded the previous Wolverine series.
Wolverine #7 – written by Saladin Ahmed, with art by Martín Cóccolo – also promises a "shock twist," as Marvel continues its attempt to push its most iconic mutant character in a bold new direction.
That said, Sabretooth War was a genuinely epic culmination of over four years of ambitious storytelling. It set an imposingly high bar, and constituted an incredibly hard act to follow for the relaunched title – something that will be even more acutely apparent if the book brings back Sabretooth too soon.
We All Know Sabretooth Is Wolverine's Greatest Foe – But Marvel Has To Let The Conflict Go (For Now)
Wolverine #7 – Written By Saladin Ahmed; Art By Martín Cóccolo; Color By Bryan Valenza; Available March 5, 2025 From Marvel Comics
Let me start with a disclaimer: I am just speculating here. So far, nothing about Saladin Ahmed's Wolverine run has telegraphed that Sabretooth's comeback is imminent. Currently, Marvel has an in-progress Sabretooth miniseries coming out, entitled The Dead Don't Talk, which circumvents the "problem" of his demise by telling a story set in the early 20th-century – so even post-mortem, the character continues to have a strong presence in the publisher's plans. No, I'm talking about a gut feeling here: I'm honestly concerned that Marvel doesn't have the patience to keep Wolverine's #1 enemy off-limits for too long this time.
It's not that I never want Sabretooth to come back, or never want him to fight Wolverine again – but right now, we're less than six months removed from what felt like a definitive ending to their story.
I hope I'm wrong, and thankfully, I have been wrong with my plot predictions, such as when Marvel faked me out with its big Ultimate Iron Man "death" of 2024, as often as I have been right, like when I guessed that Mark Millar would use time travel to undo the major deaths in his Big Game miniseries. It's not that I never want Sabretooth to come back, or never want him to fight Wolverine again – but right now, we're less than six months removed from what felt like a definitive ending to their story.
This is comics, so it won't be, but I do think Marvel should give Sabretooth War's conclusion some breathing room. I've been trying to consider what the benefit of such a quick resurrection for the character would be. Beyond the fact that he's undoubtedly Wolverine's GOAT villain, and his appearance immediately raises the stakes of any Wolverine story, I'm hesitant to say there is a benefit. The opposite, in fact – I hope Marvel doesn't bring Sabretooth back yet, because the longer he is out of action, the more impactful his return will be.
I Would Say That If Marvel Fans Read Only One Wolverine Vs. Sabretooth Story, They Should Make It "Sabretooth War"
Wolverine #50 – Written By Benjamin Percy & Victor LaValle; Art By Geoff Shaw & Corey Smith; Ink By Oren Junior; Color By Alex Sinclair; Lettering By Corey Petit; Released May 29, 2024
Marvel's Sabretooth War was an extended 10-part arc, but even before that it was years in the making – with seeds planted, and pieces maneuvered into place, over the course of the entire five-year Krakoan Era of X-Men comics, the end of which the release of Wolverine #50 coincided with. I find this important, because it emphasizes how patient Marvel had to be with Sabretooth during this Era, in order to save this monumental storyline for the final act of Wolverine's Krakoan Era journey.
Author Benjamin Percy elaborated on this in a fascinating 2022 interview, in which he explained why Jonathan Hickman's 2019 kickoff to the Krakoan Era – the House of X/Powers of X miniseries – took Sabretooth out of circulation for the franchise's other creators. Namely, Hickman and Percy, and Marvel's X-Office, were playing the long game, "benching" Sabretooth in the first quarter, if I can hazard a sports analogy, so he could be put into the game at the pivotal moment of the fourth.
Sabretooth War also served as an anniversary celebration for Wolverine, who debuted fifty years prior in 1974, and for me, as a reader, it felt like a truly worthy story to commemorate half-a-century of comic book excellence. For me, it instantly shot to number one on my personal list of best Sabretooth vs. Wolverine stories. If new or returning comic readers are looking to watch Marvel's two most vicious enemies tear each other to pieces, I'd say Sabretooth War is an absolute must-read.
I Hope Marvel Pulls Out Something Truly Unexpected With This Upcoming "Surprising Return," As Wolverine Nears Another Milestone
Wolverine #7 – Variant Covers By Alessandro Cappucio, David Baldeón, & More TBD
Though the current Wolverine title is still relatively fresh, Wolverine #8 represents a major distinction of sorts in the canon of the character's publication, as by Marvel's "Legacy" numbering standard, it doubles as Wolverine #400 – meaning all series bearing that name have together released a total of four-hundred issues. So, my feeling that Sabretooth is about to return is predicated, in part, on the logic that Marvel is going to want to do something big for this milestone, something that Wolverine #7/#399 will likely set up in its final pages.
Admittedly, as I've written this, I have realized this is less of a prediction, and more of a worry. My hope is that the "surprise return" teased for Wolverine #7 will turn out to be someone I never saw coming. If it does wind up being Sabretooth, I will take that for what it is, and I'm confident author Saladin Ahmed can deliver another great story with the character, whether it lives up to Sabretooth War's lofty achievement or not. In any case, I'm greatly looking forward to Wolverine#7, and the issues leading up to it.
Wolverine #7 will be available March 5, 2025 from Marvel Comics.
- NAME
- James "Logan" Howlett
- Alias
- James "Logan" Howlett
- Created By
- Roy Thomas, Len Wein, John Romita Sr.
- POWERS
- Retractible claws and Adamantium skeleton. Superhuman senses, stamina, and strength. Healing factor and longevity.
- Franchise
- X-Men, Marvel
- Age
- 197 (in the MCU)
The human mutant Wolverine (a.k.a. Logan) was born James Howlett, blessed with a superhuman healing factor, senses, and physiology. Subjecting himself to experimentation to augment his skeleton and claws with adamantium, Logan is as deadly as he is reckless, impulsive, and short-tempered. Making him the X-Men's wildest and deadliest member, and one of Marvel Comics' biggest stars. He's played in Fox and Marvel's movie franchises by Hugh Jackman.
