Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for 'Deadpool & Wolverine'.
The Big Picture
- Wolverine celebrates his 50th anniversary in style with appearances in Deadpool & Wolverine and X-Men '97.
- Adamantium, a key part of Wolverine's abilities, has led to the creation of deadly foes like Omega Red.
- Other Marvel heroes and villains, like Captain America, Lady Deathstrike, and Bullseye have been empowered by Adamantium.
2024 marks Wolverine's 50th anniversary, and the clawed Canadian is celebrating it in style. Hugh Jackman picked up his Adamatium claws for , and it's turning out to be a massive box office success. Wolverine was also a major part of X-Men '97, as fans got to hear Cal Dodd reprise his role as Logan. Part of what makes Wolverine such an endearing character is his desire to be a better person than he is. The rest comes from his mutant abilities, which make him a formidable fighter — in addition to superhuman senses and a healing factor that makes him nigh invulnerable. His entire skeleton is coated with a metal called Adamantium, including razor-sharp claws housed in his forearms. Adamantium has a long history within the Marvel Universe, and is about to show up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Superhero
Action
Comedy
Sci-Fi
Wolverine joins the "merc with a mouth" in the third installment of the Deadpool film franchise.
- Release Date
- July 26, 2024
- Director
- Shawn Levy
- Cast
- Ryan Reynolds , Matthew Macfadyen , Morena Baccarin , Hugh Jackman , Karan Soni , Rob Delaney
- Main Genre
- Superhero
- Writers
- Rob Liefeld , Fabian Nicieza , Paul Wernick , Wendy Molyneux , Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin
- Studio
- Marvel Studios
In Marvel Comics, Wolverine Gained His Adamantium Skeleton as Part of Weapon X
Though readers would meet Wolverine in the pages of The Incredible Hulk #181, it wasn't until years later that the secrets behind his Adamantium skeleton would be revealed. Those secrets came courtesy of Barry Windsor-Smith, who concocted the "Weapon X" saga in Marvel Comics Presents #72-84. The "Weapon X" storyline revealed that Wolverine was forcibly subjected to a process that bonded Adamantium to his bones, with his memories being wiped afterward. His healing factor allowed him to survive, but the constant mind wipes, combined with mental conditioning, left him in a near-feral state. Eventually, Wolverine managed to escape Weapon X, joining up with the Canadian super team Alpha Flight and later the X-Men.
Wolverine would later learn about the full roots of the Weapon X program in Grant Morrison's New X-Men run. In "Assault on Weapon Plus" by Morrison and Chris Bachalo, Wolverine, Cyclops and the mutant thief Fantomex discover that Weapon X is part of a larger organization called Weapon Plus that was dedicated to destroying mutants. Each "Weapon" in the program is given a Roman numeral, meaning that Wolverine is in fact "Weapon 10." Other Marvel heroes would be connected to Weapon Plus: Weapon I was none other than Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, as Project: Rebirth — the experiment that made him a supersoldier — was an offshoot of Weapon Plus, as was Weapon VII, the experiment that gave Luke Cage his bulletproof skin.
Adamantium Led to the Creation of One of Wolverine’s Deadliest Foes
Adamantium is a very rare and sought-after metal, because once it cools it becomes virtually indestructible. To create its indestructible state, the materials for the alloy have to be combined and forged within eight minutes. In addition to his claws, the Adamantium surrounding Wolverine's bones makes them unbreakable, greatly enhancing his strength and durability to the point where he's survived a nuclear explosion. The only person on the planet who can manipulate Adamantium in its indestructible state is Magneto; the Master of Magnetism even infamously ripped the Adamantium from Wolverine's bones during one of their fights, which was brought to life during X-Men '97. Multiple attempts to replicate Adamantium led to the creation of Carbonadium, which is far more malleable. It also led to the creation of one of Wolverine's deadliest enemies: Omega Red.
Omega Red is the alias of serial killer Arkady Gregorivich Rossovich, who was experimented on by the Soviet government. He had Carbonadium tentacles implanted into his body, which served as the conduit for his mutant "death factor": airborne spores that allow him to drain the life force from living beings. Omega Red fought Wolverine on multiple occasions, especially since the clawed X-Man held the secrets to the Carbonadium Synthesizer — a device that would keep his death factor from turning on his own body. While Carbonadium isn't as durable as Adamantium, it's still tough enough to make Omega Red a formidable force. Wolverine has battled Omega Red throughout the years, finally concluding in X Lives/X Deaths of Wolverine by Benjamin Percy & Joshua Cassara where he had to stop Rossovich from assassinating Charles Xavier at various points in time.
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Adamantium Has Empowered Other Heroes and Villains in the Marvel Universe
Throughout the years, other heroes and villains have used Adamantium-forged weapons or bodily enhancements throughout the Marvel Universe. Chief among them is Ultron; the homicidal artificial intelligence crafted bodies out of Adamantium during his battle with the Avengers. It takes the use of artificial Vibranium — the same metal that is found in the Black Panther's home of Wakanda — to disrupt Ultron's body. Daredevil's archnemesis Bullseye had his own skeleton reinforced with Adamantium after the Man without Fear threw him through a window. One of the Punisher's foes, the Russian, died and was resurrected with Adamantium enhancements as well.
Other mutants have taken a page from Weapon X's book and enhanced their bodies with Adamantium. Chief among them is Yuriko Oyama, better known as Lady Deathstrike. Oyama bonded Adamantium to her own skeleton in addition to various cybernetic enhancements, seeking revenge against Wolverine for "perverting" her father Kenji Oyama's Adamantium bonding process. Wolverine's longtime foe Sabretooth also had Adamantium briefly bonded to his bones, though the mutant warlord Apocalypse removed it. The history of Adamantium in 20th Century Fox's X-Men films can be traced back to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where it took the form of a meteor that fell from the sky. William Stryker (Danny Huston) then bonds the metal to Wolverine's bones, turning him into "Weapon X." Stryker repeated the same process on Yuriko Oyama (played by Kelly Hu), who serves as his bodyguard in X2: X-Men United. Logan's clone/daughter Laura (Dafne Keen) also had Adamantium bonded to her claws, but not her whole skeleton.
The hero who's most connected with Adamantium other than Wolverine is Steve Rogers. The star-spangled shield that he uses is a composite of Vibranium and Adamantium; in fact it was experimenting on Vibranium that led to the creation of Adamantium. Fusing the two metals together not only makes Steve's shield indestructible, but also allows it to absorb the impact of anything that hits it (which could explain why his arms are never broken despite being hit with grenades, rockets, and other weapons). When Steve briefly relinquished his identity as Captain America, Tony Stark provided him with a shield made of pure Adamantium.
Deadpool Uses Adamantium in Hilariously Bloody Ways During ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’
Given its title, one would expect Deadpool & Wolverine to feature the use of Adamantium, especially since one of the titular protagonists has his entire skeleton laced with it. No one probably expected Deadpool to exhume Logan's grave and use his skeleton as a weapon, or maybe they did — this is Deadpool after all. The Merc With a Mouth ends up tearing off pieces of Logan's skeleton, using them as weapons against the Time Variance Authority's soldiers (and all of it is set to the sweet, sweet sounds of N*Sync's "Bye Bye Bye," complete with Deadpool's dynamic dance moves). He's even able to strap Wolverine's claws to his forearms and use them! Deadpool also has a pair of Adamantium katanas, courtesy of the TVA; this lets him go toe to toe with Wolverine and cut up an army of his variants during the film's final act.
‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Is Set To Officially Introduce Adamantium to the MCU
Adamantium is finally slated to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thanks to Captain America: Brave New World. In exclusive footage shown at San Diego Comic-Con during Marvel Studios' Hall H panel, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) addresses the Celestial Tiamut, which transformed into a strange substance in Eternals, confirming that the substance is Adamantium. He also mentions that other nations have started to try and mine for Adamantium, which only makes sense: if you knew of an indestructible metal, you'd want to get your hands on it. The timing even lines up perfectly with Jackman reprising his role as Wolverine; while it hasn't been confirmed if he'll be returning for future projects, the door is open for the MCU to introduce a new Wolverine.
Before Wolverine unsheathes his claws in the MCU, there's another character who might benefit from Adamantium. In Season 3 of Daredevil, Bullseye (Wilson Bethel), Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) engage in a brutal three-way battle where Fisk snaps Bullseye's spine. But in the final scene, Bullseye is shown to be alive and receiving surgery from a "Dr. Oyama." With Bethel confirmed to appear in Daredevil: Born Again, it's possible that he's received his Adamantium skeleton from the comics, which poses a real threat to the Man without Fear. Adamantium appearing in Brave New World is another element from the comics that the MCU could use, and inches further to Wolverine getting a new lease on life.
Deadpool & Wolverine is in theaters now. Click below for showtimes near you.
