Marvel’s Wolverine may well be the most hotly anticipated game release of 2026 that isn’t GTA VI. After three excellent Spider-Man games from Insomniac, we’re finally getting the chance to pop some adamantium claws and slice and dice our way through endless hordes of robots, mercenaries, and ninja warriors.
One thing that’s become clear as more trailers and gameplay footage have been revealed is that Marvel’s Wolverine is taking a somewhat nontraditional approach to the X-Men franchise. For one thing, the game is set in a world where the X-Men themselves don’t yet exist. Even so, there are lots of familiar faces appearing in the game, and plenty of signs that Insomniac is looking closely to the comic book source material for help in crafting their storyline.
With that in mind, we’re taking a closer look at six classic Wolverine and X-Men comics you can read to help prepare you for the game. By the end, you’ll know everything you need to know about the most iconic X-Man of them all.
Understanding the Basics of Wolverine
As seen in: Wolverine Vol. 1 #1-4
Marvel’s Wolverine is very pointedly about exploring Logan’s adventures as a solo hero, one who stalks the streets and seedy back alleys and finds trouble around every turn. There’s one comic that really set the tone for Wolverine as a solo hero and adventurer – the original 1982 Wolverine miniseries from Chris Claremont and Frank Miller.
Many fans would argue this is still the greatest Wolverine story ever published. It’s certainly the most influential, laying out a strong blueprint for Wolverine as a solo hero that many creators still follow to this day. The series brings Logan back to his old stomping grounds of Japan, where he strikes up a romance with the fair Lady Mariko, feuds with her oppressive father, Lord Shingen, and first encounters his ninja ally Yukio.
If you only read one Wolverine comic leading into the game, it should probably be this one. It’s a haunting and visually stunning look at a hardened killer trying to prove there’s more than meets the eye.
The Wolverine/Sabretooth Rivalry
As seen in: Wolverine Vol. 2 #10
One of the interesting quirks of the new game is the fact that Sabretooth plays a supporting role. At this early stage in Wolverine’s costumed career, he and Sabretooth are still allies, though we have serious doubts as to whether that friendship will survive through the end of the story mode. It’s almost a guarantee that Logan and Victor Creed will eventually be at each other’s throats. That’s just how their relationship is.
There have been and continue to be a lot of great comics focused on the never-ending rivalry between these two men. But if we were to pick just one, we have to go with 1989’s Wolverine Vol. 2 #10, by Claremont and John Buscema.
This iconic tale introduces the notion that Sabretooth makes a point of hunting down Wolverine each year on the latter’s birthday to deliver a sadistic “present.” As the story jumps between past and present, readers get a full appreciation for just how deep this rivalry goes, and how much Logan has suffered over the years because of it.
Wolverine’s History With Team X
As seen in: X-Men Vol. 2 #4-7
The X-Men may not exist yet in the world of Marvel’s Wolverine, but that doesn’t mean Logan isn’t a team player. The game focuses instead on his history with the black ops group known as Team X, with Logan finding himself reluctantly drawn back into the fold in response to a new wave of mutant kidnappings.
For a good primer on Team X, it’s best to go back to the story in which they were introduced. X-Men Vol. 2 #4-7 digs deep into Logan’s history with the team even as it marks the debut of Russian mutant super-soldier Omega Red (a villain we know has a part to play in the game). As an added bonus, these issues are illustrated by Jim Lee, so there’s plenty of great ‘90s superhero nostalgia to go around.
Wolverine’s Romance With Jean Grey
As seen in: Weapon X #1-4
Wolverine and Jean Grey have a complicated history, to say the least. There’s an undeniable mutual attraction there, but as Logan himself plainly said once, “It would never work between us.”
That said, there are plenty of Logan/Jean shippers in the X-Men fandom, and they must be thrilled that the game is depicting an actual romance between the two characters. In this pre-X-Men team, presumably pre-Cyclops time period, Logan and Jean appear to be an item.
There have been many comics to explore the tense dynamic between the two (particularly in the wake of X-Men: The Animated Series), but perhaps the best place to look is 1995’s Weapon X miniseries. Part of the larger Age of Apocalypse crossover, Weapon X is set in an alternate timeline where En Sabah Nur rules North America and Wolverine frees Jean Grey from Mister Sinister’s slave pits. It’s a fascinating look at both characters and the bond they share. And while you’re at it, you might as well read the rest of the crossover. It’s still one of the best X-Men storylines of all time.
Wolverine vs. the Sentinels
As seen in: Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #141-142
All signs point to the idea that Marvel’s Wolverine deals heavily with the mutant-hunting robots known as Sentinels. The trailers show Logan dealing with numerous agents of Sentinel creator Bolivar Trask, and the game looks to feature at least one boss battle with a massive robot.
To read up on the Sentinels and the threat they pose, one need look no further than the quintessential Sentinel storyline, “Days of Future Past.” “Days of Future Past” introduces a bleak future where the Sentinels have risen up and killed or enslaved most of mutantkind. Only an aged Wolverine, Kate Pryde, and a handful of other heroes remain to mount a resistance. And the key to that resistance is sending Kate back in time to stop the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly.
Though only two issues long, this story has had a profound effect on the X-Men franchise and has been adapted several times in other media, including the 2014 movie of the same name.
The Threat of Mister Sinister
As seen in: House of X #1-6 & Powers of X #1-6
The trailers for Marvel’s Wolverine also suggest that Mister Sinister has a key role in the game, with allusions to Sinister’s human guise of Nathaniel Essex. In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if this twisted mad scientist winds up being the game’s main villain. It’s definitely worth reading up on Sinister before diving into Insomniac’s latest.
Here, again, there’s no shortage of options for good source material. That said, we’d lean towards the twin miniseries House of X and Powers of X from 2019. Sinister is a key figure in these tales, particularly the latter, as it explores the possible futures of the Marvel Universe 10, 100, and 1000 years down the line. House of X and Powers of X profoundly reshaped the direction of the X-Men line for years to come.
One of the things we love about these two books is that they crystallized the modern characterization of Sinister. No longer the straightforwardly evil mastermind of the X-Men franchise, House of X and Powers of X give him a much campier and more demented personality that helps him stand out all the more. We can only hope Insomniac was looking to these comics when it came to depicting Sinister in the game.
For mroe on Marvel’s Wolverine, find out how to preorder the limited-edition PS5 gear and see what we learned in our big interview with Insomniac.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
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