When Your Supposedly Unkillable Hero Hits A Dead End, What Then?

This is a question many people have had cross their mind as I think a lot of people who grew up watching these characters always had this view that Wolverine was somehow immortal. Suddenly we see him slowly dying and it’s confusing a lot of us. Let’s discuss the theory and past of Logan as a whole within the movies as well as the comic books.

First of all, we need to figure out how Wolverine’s regeneration actually works before we can go into what is happening with his body in the past, and what is happening with his regeneration in the movie. James ‘Logan’ Howlett is first and foremost a mutant who possesses canine like capabilities including heightened senses, enhanced physique and of course, his regeneration which is also known as his healing factor. He had adamantium fused to his bones to make him into a soldier as most of us know when he was part of Team X and he was referred to as Weapon X. 

How Does Logan's Regeneration Work?

Logan's scars are clearly visible for all to see

Logan’s regeneration works in a way that his cells heal so quickly that his wounds have nearly no affect on him beside the pain he feels – yes, don’t be fooled, he still feels pain every time those claws make their appearance.

Many also ask where the energy comes from for this healing factor, some saying that he needs to eat more before a fight along with many other speculations, but a study with the University of British Columbia stated that the healing factor is very similar to the fish called axolotl (otherwise known as the Mexican salamander) which has the ability to regenerate lost limbs.

This seems to be where the regeneration originates and thoughts that Wolverine has similar tissue to that of the axolotl fish. There are of course theories that Wolverine can die certain ways including drowning but we’re focussed on his regeneration at the moment. 

How Does His Regeneration Work In The Movie?

Like father like daughter

In the comic books you could shoot Wolverine through his brain but you would need an adamantium bullet. In the movie, as speculations go, all we’re basically seeing in Logan’s regeneration regressing.

Let’s face it, the guy is pretty old; we’re not even sure how old; and because of this, his body is beginning to reject the adamantium implants in his body and it’s poisoning him. Due to his age, his body is just not healing fast enough to combat the adamantium skeleton he has.

What Is Wrong With His Healing Factor?

Logan's regeneration is failing so badly that his claws won't come out on their own

The specific scene shown in the picture above, is possibly one of the saddest moments for all of us fans as we see how his body is truly rejecting the adamantium in his body. In the books, Logan’s healing factor is so powerful that his cells stopped aging completely thus making it impossible to determine his age although it is said that he was born during the late 1880s – so yeah, he’s pretty old.

In the comics, Wolverine dies in the article titled ‘Death of Wolverine’ where a virus from the microverse has slowed down his healing power and enables his enemies to kill him. While the two worlds of movies and comics are not exactly the same, they correspond, they follow a similar path and all meet the fateful ending that broke our hearts at the end of Logan.

Unfortunately, our generation of X-Men that we know and love is gone and we move on to the next, hopefully featuring the calm yet vicious Dafne Keen as Laura. 

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Why Were Mutants Almost Extinct in Logan?

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