Warning: Spoilers for Wolverine #4!Wolverine has had many foes over his long life, but his latest adventure shows that not all "villains" are that bad, as Logan struggles to find the humanity in a foe that he believes can be more than a killer. Logan’s got his own problems to deal with at the moment, but he’s always willing to help someone in need, even if he claims the opposite.

The preview for Wolverine #4 by Saladin Ahmed, Martín Cóccolo, Bryan Valenza, and Cory Petit reveals that Logan is attempting to help the newest incarnation of the Wendigo retain some humanity.

As revealed in Wolverine #2 by the same team, this Wendigo is a teenager called Leonard who was forced to eat a dead friend to survive the wilderness, which, in Marvel’s Canada, turns you into a Wendigo. Logan, understanding what it’s like to struggle with retaining one’s humanity, is now trying to force the issue, trying to teach Leonard, even while the kid is still trapped in a monstrous form.

Wolverine Attempts to Get the Newest Wendigo to Hold on to Their Humanity

Logan Knows What It's Like to Succumb to the Animal Inside

Wolverine is currently off on his own in the Canadian wilderness, having left the X-Men in a depressive slump after the trauma and torture he went through at the end of the Krakoan Era. Only caring for Leonard has given him any recent purpose, which has mostly involved fleeing from the paramilitary soldiers who blamed both of them for the slaughter committed by classic Wolverine villain Cyber. Now that Cyber’s escaped, possessed by a malicious strain of what seems to be conscious metal, it’ll be interesting to see if Logan brings Leonard along with him to help.

There’s an obvious irony in Wolverine deciding to help Leonard, considering that Logan’s in one of his own "loner arcs" right now. Logan only winds up in the wilderness because he’s running from his own humanity and problems. Wolverine has declared that the days of him helping younger mutants are over, but Leonard proves that he’s all talk when the pedal hits the metal. Logan is currently in a rough patch, but when there are (relative) innocents in danger, he still leaps into action - even if he protests all the way.

How Does Wolverine Fit into Logan's Current X-Men Adventure?

Marvel's "From the Ashes" X-Men Era Continues

Another question is when this series takes place in relation to the current Uncanny X-Men title by Gail Simone, David Marquez, and Javier Garron. Uncanny features Logan at his lowest, suffering from PTSD and generally being extremely pessimistic. Nightcrawler’s appearance in Wolverine #1 suggests that Logan's solo series comes first, so hopefully nothing has happened to Leonard to make Logan despondent in Uncanny. Wolverine’s in a bad way, but if he can help his new Wendigo ally, then he might be able to crawl out of the hole he’s currently in.

Wolverine #4 is available December 4th, 2024 from Marvel Comics.