Wolverine’s Return From The Dead is Finally Explained

Warning: SPOILERS for Return of Wolverine #5

The death of Wolverine wasn’t easy for Marvel Comic fans to watch, but they can officially celebrate his return from the grave, now that Return of Wolverine has confirmed this living Logan to be the one fans lost… and just who brought him back to life.

The casual fan might assume that after years without the clawed X-Man, fans would have rejoiced when Wolverine returned, no matter the circumstances. But from the very beginning, it was clear that the question wasn’t how best to celebrate Wolverine’s resurrection, but how it’s even possible, who is behind it, and whether his return was truly as permanent as it seems. More than a year of comics teased out (delayed?) those questions without any sign of a simple yes or no answer. But in the final issue of Return of Wolverine, the answers are finally here.

Now that Marvel has explained every step of his return from the dead, we’ll let fans decide if it lived up to the suspense. Needless to say, SPOILERS ahead.

• This Page: The Truth About Wolverine’s Death & Return
• Page 2: How Wolverine Was Brought Back To Life

Yes, Wolverine Really Did Die

Since every superhero death is taken with a grain of salt these days, the first question worth answering is: Yes, Wolverine really did die in his Death of Wolverine series (no fake-outs, retcons, or tricks here). As fans witnessed in that series, Wolverine ended a lifetime of villainous attempts to recreate his powers, covering himself in liquid-hot adamantium. The unbreakable liquid metal cooled, encasing him in a solid coffin, presumably smothering his cells to the point of death (a death not even his healing factor could resist).

RELATED: Wolverine Returns to Marvel With an Infinity Stone

When the adamantium ‘Wolverine statue’ was torn open as part of the Hunt For Wolverine mystery, the truth of Logan’s burial was revealed. The X-Men let the world (and their enemies) think that Logan’s statue was also his corpse… but Kitty Pryde used her powers of intangibility to remove Wolverine’s body to be privately buried it. It truly was that body that was restored to life, and that earthly grave that Logan crawled out of to begin his return. But what he woke up to is the real twist of the Return of Wolverine story.

Wolverine’s Return From The Dead

That confirmation that it was Wolverine’s original body and mind returning has now been confirmed, but fans were meant to be at a total loss at what was taking place when Return of Wolverine #1 begins. To be fair, so is Logan himself: regaining consciousness in a laboratory filled with dead soldiers, blood covering his hands, and his adamantium claws glowing white hot. Oh, and without any memories of his life as Logan or the Wolverine whatsoever. Slowly but surely, the details began to trickle in.

Whether or not it was all part of a trap to lure Wolverine off the planet Earth and into space (don’t worry, we’ll get there), the facts were more right than misleading. Logan was part of an experiment led by the mysterious Persephone, leader of a sinister, slippery, and seemingly cult-like group living off the grid. Persephone would turn out to be the one leading Wolverine to her doorstep for revenge, but her powers are far greater than just deception.

As a mutant with power over the dead, it was Persephone who brought Wolverine back to life… although that’s not at all what she intended. From here on out, it’s SPOILERS aplenty.

Page 2 of 2: How Wolverine Returned From The Dead

About The Author

Andrew Dyce
(3247 Articles Published)

Screen Rant Editor Andrew Dyce was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Despite calling the vast nothingness of the Canadian prairies home (or perhaps because of it) film and television have been a passion since birth. As a graduate of the University of Manitoba with a degree in English Literature, Andrew has grown to appreciate the story and writing behind everything from blockbuster comic book movies to schlocky B-movie action.

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