Logan, aka the X-Men‘s Wolverine, is one of the most popular characters in the franchise and the Marvel Universe. He’s best known for his gruff exterior and even gruffer way of dealing with foes. However, many are completely oblivious that the man of adamantium has a softer side.
Logan has lived for a long time, and over that course, he has had many romantic relationships that shaped a lot of who he is. Given that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, this is a perfect time to take a closer look at each of Logan’s romantic relationships.
Jean Grey
Jean Grey and Logan have had a complex relationship over the years, characterized by love, loss, and tragedy. It’s unclear when the two officially met, but most comic book connoisseurs cite Giant-Size X-Men #1, published in 1975. While this is mere comic hearsay, the inked pages do show a definitive meeting of Jean Gray and Logan in 1989’s Uncanny X-Men #242. Though Logan was much older than Jean, their relationship gradually developed over time.
However, their romantic relationship was often complicated by Jean’s immense powers, such as telekinesis and telepathy, as well as her numerous deaths over the course of the comic books series. Though currently married to Cyclops, Jean and Logan still share an unbreakable bond; it would seem that their relationship has advanced to the next level—something we’ll discuss later.
Mariko Yashida
The story of Wolverine and Mariko Yashida is probably the most tragic story in Logan’s life. Though their relationship started before she was appointed as the Japanese crime lord—the head of Clan Yashida—Mariko and Logan were supposed to marry.
Unfortunately, their happiness was short-lived; Mariko was poisoned, and instead of waiting for a terrible, agonized death, she begged Wolverine to kill her. He ended her life and vowed to avenge her, which he still does in the most gruesome way.
Silver Fox
Unlike her depiction in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where she’s portrayed as a traitor and part of Weapon X that had created and sought to control Wolverine, Silver Fox and Wolverine actually led a quiet life, with a passionate relationship and mutual respect.
Unfortunately, she was killed by Sabretooth, which forced Logan to come to terms with the brutal realities of his past and the consequences of Weapon X. Silver Fox eventually comes back to life or hasn’t died at all in some continuities, but then she dies again, so it’s pretty reasonable that Logan is grumpy all the time.
Black Widow
This might come as a surprise to MCU fans, but Black Widow, aka a former KGB agent Natasha Romanoff, and Logan have had a romantic relationship in the comics. Their relationship was depicted as a complicated one, with moments of attraction and flirtation but also conflict and difficulty, given their different personalities and lifestyles.
In some storylines, their relationship was depicted as romantic, with the two sharing moments of intense passion and connection. However, some continuities depicted their relationship as more platonic. Overall, their romance is one of the most well-known and enduring in the X-Men comics, as well as a source of many speculations among the fandom.
Mystique
This is an interesting one, considering that Mystique, a shapeshifting mutant, has a long history with the X-Men team as both a friend and a foe over the years. Hers and Logan’s relationship has been depicted as a complicated one, with moments of intimacy and passion but also a lot of conflict and betrayal, given their vastly different ideologies and goals.
Admittedly, Mystique is a complex character with a duplicitous personality, and many of her relationships are often plagued by complications and betrayals. Still, her relationship with Logan has been a significant one in the X-Men comics, as it has helped the development of both characters.
Storm
In some continuities, Logan and Ororo Munroe, also known as Storm, were involved in a romantic relationship following Storm’s divorce from Black Panther — in fact, they both ran Jean Grey school together.
For example, in Ultimate Marvel Universe, the two mutants entered a romantic relationship years before their main universe counterparts, as Storm was processing the grief due to the apparent death of her boyfriend, Beast.
The relationships were short-lived for the most part, but for a moment, some of them were pretty serious.
Maureen
In the Old Man Logan storyline, an older version of Wolverine is in a romantic relationship with a human woman, Maureen. The storyline is set in an alternate future in which mutants have been defeated, and most of the X-Men were killed.
Wolverine has retired from his superhero life and is living a quiet life as a family man. However, as with most of his love stories, his wife—and, in this case, children as well—were murdered by a gang of mutants, plunging him into a vengeful fury.
A Bonus Romance: Hercules
In an alternate universe depicted in the X-Treme X-Men series, Logan has an unexpected romance with Hercules, an Avenger and a son of Zeus. As with all of Logan’s relationships, this one is also complicated, but it has nudged the character’s development in a new direction.
Namely, in the Dawn of X relaunch, it appears that Logan is involved in a polyamorous relationship with Cyclops and Jean, and they have adjoining rooms in the Summers House.
Final Thoughts
Despite his gruff exterior, Wolverine does have a soft side. Unfortunately, not being able to die implies witnessing and suffering the deaths of those he holds most dear, which only prove that, despite the gruff exterior and adamantium bones and claws, Wolverine still has a pretty human heart.