The X-Men are currently enjoying immense popularity across the Marvel Universe. Big screens around the world will welcome the team with open arms when "Avengers: Doomsday" hits theaters in December, pitting them against Doctor Doom, who wages war against the multiverse. There's also the animated series "X-Men '97," whose second season is eagerly awaited.
However, the mutant-related project currently attracting the most attention is Insomniac Games' Wolverine, which gives a much-needed second chance to the X-Men team that struggled to get off to a rocky start nearly 20 years ago.
After years of development, the studio that brought the world three incredible Spider-Man comics is ready to release its next superhero project. This time, Wolverine takes center stage, and his story centers on his attempt to save mutants around the world, who are being hunted by mercenaries known as the Reavers.
As all the X-Men films and TV series have shown, Logan doesn't work well in a team. He prefers to do things his own way and doesn't mind dropping corpses with his adamantium claws. This is precisely the attitude the hero displays at the beginning of his game's State of Play presentation.
Wolverine shows no mercy to a gang of thugs attempting to smuggle a group of terrified mutants. However, Jean Grey soon comes to the rescue, using her telepathic abilities to clear a path for her furry ally.
The teaming up of Wolverine and Jean Grey certainly confirms that the game will feature Insomniac's version of the X-Men. But the studio has already added fuel to the fire. In an interview with Variety, Insomniac's creative director, Marcus Smith, revealed that in the Wolverine universe, there are no X-Men to protect it. Instead, there is another team offering mutants assistance.
«"There are no X-Men in our game, and we start with Logan having been around for quite some time. He was part of a team called Team X. It's a group of mutants who travel the world and rescue other mutants in danger. In our world, mutants aren't very well known, so they mostly go into hiding because they're quite vulnerable.".
Despite the presence letters "X"« Despite the name, Team X isn't exactly a household name. Perhaps that's because this underrated comic book group had a rough time making its film debut back in 2009.
«X-Men Origins: Wolverine didn't do Team X any favors.
Insomniac is far from the first to invest resources in a Wolverine solo project. After the original X-Men trilogy concluded, 20th Century Fox began development on X-Men: Origins of Wolverine, which was intended to tell the story of the protagonist's amnesia and adamantium skeleton.
The production of X-Men: Wolverine was far from traditional, as filming began before the script was completed due to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike of 2007–2008. Through hard work and determination, Hugh Jackman and his team completed the film in time for its May 2009 release. However, in March 2009, an unfinished print of the film leaked online, disrupting all plans and killing the buzz.
By the time the film finally hit theaters, many fans had already heard tales of its lackluster plot and poor CGI. This meant that Team X, which William Stryker assembled at the beginning of the film to obtain adamantium, had no path to success. Wolverine, Sabretooth, Deadpool, Blob, and the rest kicked ass in the first act, but after that, things went south.
In fact, X-Men Origins: Wolverine overreached, attempting to simultaneously establish a new team of mutants and squeeze in cameos from Cyclops, Emma Frost, Professor X, and Gambit. And the icing on the cake was what happened to Deadpool at the film's climax, when he appeared on screen with his mouth sewn shut and laser eyes.
Nearly a decade later, Deadpool 2 corrected this injustice by allowing mercenary Ryan Reynolds to travel back in time and end Weapon XI's suffering. But the same dark cloud has haunted Team X all these years, to the point that many fans are unaware of its existence.
Well, Wolverine sets the stage for Team X's triumphant return. Aside from Wolverine, the rest of the roster remains a mystery. However, Insomniac isn't one to exaggerate or disappoint, so it's fair to expect some familiar faces when Logan assembles his team in the near future.
Maybe even Deadpool will show up to crack a few jokes. That would be the least Insomniac could do, as many fans thought they spotted him during the presentation, only to realize they'd mistaken him for the Hand ninja.