Alternative Versions of Wolverine - What If?

In the second What If? series (1989–1998):

  • Issue #7, Wolverine was an agent of SHIELD? - Wolverine does not join the X-Men but instead ends up working for Nick Fury. There he becomes Nick's third-in-command after Dugan and helps them against Hydra, A.I.M., and other SHIELD enemies.
  • Issue #16, Wolverine had battled Conan the Barbarian? - During the events of the Dark Phoenix fight on the moon, Wolverine is accidentally transported to Hyboria. There he defeats and falls in love with Red Sonja, while also fighting Conan (cutting his sword hand off) and helping both Hyborians against the sorcerer Zukala. In the end, Conan ends up back in the Marvel universe where he prevents Colossus from knocking Phoenix out (thus ending that particular universe), and Wolverine stays in Hyboria with his new girlfriend Sonja. The classic Conan end crawl changes to "Know Ye O prince that in the years following the passage of Conan the cimmerian, There emerged Logan, the wolverine, wild haired, bestial-eyed, magically clawed..."
  • Issue #24, Wolverine becomes lord of the Vampires? - An alternative story to Uncanny X-Men #159: Instead of defeating Dracula, the X-Men are all turned into vampires. The problem is, Dracula's mind-control abilities don't work on Wolverine, so he promptly kills and feasts on Dracula himself. After drinking Dracula's blood, Wolverine becomes the new Lord of Vampires, leading his vampire X-Men on a killing and feeding spree throughout New York. When the Punisher, aided by Doctor Strange's spirit, inadvertently kills Kitty Pryde, Wolverine kills him, but also recovers his human side and, with the aid of Strange, puts an end to all vampires in New York, including himself, by reciting the Montesi Formula.
  • Issue #37, Wolverine had been Lord of the Vampires during Inferno? - A sequel of sorts to issue 24, the story diverges once more, with Logan killing the Punisher before he can stop the vampires. Wolverine and his brood must then deal with the events of Inferno
  • Issue #43, Wolverine had married Mariko? - Instead of falling apart, the wedding of Logan and Mariko goes off without a hitch and the new couple make it their mission to free Mariko's family from the dreaded Yakuza, which has been taken over by the Kingpin. They are assisted in this by her half-brother, the Silver Samurai, and her cousin Sunfire. Unfortunately, the Silver Samurai turns traitor on them and assassinates Mariko, leaving a desolate Wolverine t return to the X-Men.
  • Issue #50, Wolverine is killed by the Hulk? - In a post-X-Men battle between Logan and the Hulk, Hulk manages to get so angry that he breaks Wolverine's adamantium spine, killing him instantly. Later, since Wolverine isn't there at a key moment in the Adversary vs. Roma war, the war turns out differently. And as the Hulk goes on a rampage after, there is no one to stop him. Finally Roma magically turns Hulk back into Banner, but by that time most of the heroes are already dead.
  • Issue #62, Wolverine fights Weapon X? - In this timeline, a drunken and dejected Wolverine was never kidnapped and enhanced in the Weapon X program. Instead, a Canadian Marine was selected but the program left him an insane, uncontrollable killing machine who escapes and kills numerous police and federal agents as well as civilians - pretty much anyone in his path. One of the mounties killed is a friend of Logan's, however, so he offers his services to stop Weapon X. Using an arsenal of weaponry and instinct, Logan disarms and finally kills the rampaging Weapon X before escaping into the woods and later blowing the whole cover on Department H and the Weapon program.
  • Issue #93, What if Wolverine became savage? - After the failed attempt by Genesis to put the adadmantium back into Wolverine, our hero goes completely berserk and slaughters Genesis and all of his lackeys. It also reduced him to an animalistic savagery and intelligence, however, that he slowly had to nurse himself back out of. This issue shows what might have happened if he never regained his humanity, however - remaining a feral and savage creature who posed a danger to any around him.
  • Issue #111, What if Wolverine was a Horseman of War? - After the successful attempt by Genesis to put the adamantium back into Wolverine, our hero becomes Apocalypse's Horseman of War with the mission to cull weakness from the earth. Unfortunately, Wolverine is the best at what he does, so he promptly kills Apocalypse and every other super-villain in the Marvel universe before working his way down to any criminal he can find. When the world's superheroes and law enforcement agencies try to stop the murderous War, he turns his attention to them as well - eventually eradicating all of the heroes too. Hundreds of years later, the planetary infrastructure that was set up to protect people from the Horseman of War has made the planet an idyllic paradise. Wolverine, now free again from Apocalypse's programming, lives as a monk named Brother Xavier and teaches the young the dangers of violence and War.

In a recent What If? issue, Logan was present when Daken was born and was able to save him from the people who would have raised him in the original course of events, taking him to live in seclusion in the mountains in the hope that he could raise Daken away from the kind of life he has lived himself. However, despite his attempts to ensure privacy by turning Professor X away when he came to recruit Logan to join the X-Men, Logan's attempts to suppress Daken's darker instincts failed when Sabretooth found them, revealing the truth about his father's past to Daken. Leaving his father, Daken became a brutal killer, roaming various cities and killing his opponents, proclaiming that Logan made him what he is by denying him his heritage. Concluding that he will never bring anything good into the world, Logan stabs Daken in the heart with the Muramasa Blade, subsequently impaling himself to end his own dark stain on the world.

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