Logan's Surprise Villain Explained (2024)

Major spoilers for Logan follow!

Logan took a surprising turn late in its second act, just as things appeared to be going well for the retired X-Men characters. The titular hero and his mentor Charles Xavier were well on their way to North Dakota when they stopped at some country folks' house. While Logan was out of the house with Will Munson, Donald Pierce and his gang of Reavers showed up with an all new weapon.

Charles Xavier thought he was finally opening up to Logan about what happened to the mutants in Westchester but, instead, was talking to Dr. Rice's most horrifying science project: the X-24.

X-24 was a clone of the Wolverine which was developed in parts by Dr. Rice and assembled to be a full grown clone, rather than having to grow into the body from birth.

Naturally, viewers are wondering if X-24 is a pull from the comics or, specifically, the Old Man Logan comics on which Logan was expected to be heavily based. The answer to the former scenario is "kind of" while clones that latter is a hard "no."

Mark Millar's Old Man Logan story did not feature any of the X-clones in the film and X-24 is not a character which existed in any comics. Instead, X-23 is more fully grown mutant clone of the Wolverine and is, in fact, currently filling in for Logan's X-Men role as Wolverine since the Death of Wolverine story, written by Charles Soule in 2014.

However, X-23 was adapted fairly accurately in terms of origins. She is the mutant clone of the Wolverine created by Craig Kyle for the X-Men: Evolution TV series in 2003 ahead of her comics debut in 2004's NYX comic series. The number of 23 was given to Laura as result of 22 failed attempts at cloning the Wolverine before finding success with her.

The closest comparison to X-24 in Marvel Comics is the robot doppelganger of Wolverine created by Donald Pierce. In the books, it is called Albert, having been crafted in the Reavers' secret underground base. It was all created as a ploy by Pierce to kill the Wolverine. However, in the Marvel Comics story of Wolverine comics, Logan manages to defeat Albert in a fight.

It was 2015 when X-23 adopted the name of Wolverine in Marvel Comics before being portrayed by Dafne Keen in Logan.

Another close comparison to evil X-clones can be drawn from the evil Laura which spawned in All New Wolverine and the evil Wolverine from X-Men: Age of Apocalypse comics. In Age of Apocalypse, many of the X-Men were forced to fight and eventually defeat the evil Wolverine, who was a genetically engineered take on the character.

To check out the live action take on X-23, check out Logan is now playing in theaters.

Logan is now playing in theaters, arriving with an impressive 4.29 out of 5 rating in ComicBook.com's Anticipation Rankings! Share you rating for the film below.

In 2029, the mutant population has shrunk significantly and the X-Men have disbanded. Logan, whose power to self-heal is dwindling, has surrendered himself to alcohol and now earns a living as a chauffeur. He takes care of the ailing old Professor X whom he keeps hidden away. One day, a female stranger asks Logan to drive a girl named Laura to the Canadian border. At first he refuses, but the Professor has been waiting for a long time for her to appear. Laura possesses an extraordinary fighting prowess and is in many ways like Wolverine.

She is pursued by sinister figures working for a powerful corporation; this is because her DNA contains the secret that connects her to Logan. A relentless pursuit begins … In this third cinematic outing featuring the Marvel comic book character Wolverine we see the superheroes beset by everyday problems. They are ageing, ailing and struggling to survive financially. A decrepit Logan is forced to ask himself if he can or even wants to put his remaining powers to good use. It would appear that in the near-future, the times in which they were able put the world to rights with razor sharp claws and telepathic powers are now over.

More Logan News:

·New Logan TV Spot Shows Off X-23's Claws·Patrick Stewart Retiring From X-Men Movies After Logan·James Mangold Says Studio Didn't Influence Logan Final Cut