Spoilers for Wolverine #5! Marvel’s adamantium's new golden form coming for him next.

Introduced in 2024’s relaunch of Wolverine’s solo series, this gold adamantium has been affecting Wolverine in odd ways for a few issues, with him constantly talking about how he feels something in his bones “calling out” to him, almost like this golden metal has a mind of its own.

Infecting some of Logan’s worst enemies like Cyber, Constrictor, and Lady Deathstrike — characters who possess various adamantium enhancements — Wolverine #5 reveals that after gold adamantium takes over its “host,” its puppets don't feel pain, allowing them to by any injury to keep fighting, regardless of the severity of the wound.

Marvel’s Newly Introduced Gold Adamantium Makes It So Its Victims Feel No Pain

Wolverine #5 - 2025 (Saladin Ahmed and Martín Cóccolo)

Having spent recent issues helping Leonard, a teenager cursed by the Wendigo, not to act on his inherent bloodlust, Wolverine is attacked by Lady Deathstrike and Constrictor, with the former infecting the latter with gold adamantium. Soon contaminated himself, Wolverine is saved at the last second by Leonard, who targets Constrictor and takes a chunk out of his shoulder with his teeth. Standing unfazed as he bleeds profusely, Constrictor shows the physical cost of being tainted by the gold metal — going numb to all sensations — but judging by his blank face, going numb in a more profound way as well.

It might seem like being infused with gold adamantium and gaining the ability never to feel pain would be a good thing, especially in Wolverine’s case, as it’s been noted before how much of an excruciating endeavor it is whenever he uses his healing factor to patch up a particularly gruesome wound. But as seen in this issue, the trade-off for getting an upgrade from this mysterious metal is becoming an unwilling slave to it, effectively becoming part of a master plan that has yet to be revealed, to say nothing about any unknown side effects yet to be seen.

Wolverine Will Have a Huge Problem When Gold Adamantium Fully Infects His Body

Conversely, if Logan can find a way to overcome the insidious influence of gold adamantium — a problem he’ll soon need to deal with as he’s now infected by it — a Wolverine with a healing factor cranked to eleven, no pain response holding him back, and a head clear of any outside influence would become a sort of in-control version of his savage berserker mode, upping his already considerable abilities even further. It remains to be seen how gold adamantium will play into Wolverine’s destiny, but with the metal claiming that Logan’s version is “false,” it can’t be a good thing.

Wolverine #5 is available from Marvel Comics.