Hugh Jackman will reprise his role as Deadpool 3, but the MCU has been teasing Wolverine for more than a decade now. While it is still not possible to say who the MCU’s main Wolverine will be and when will the Earth-616 X-Men appear, it’s clear that Marvel Studios is now shifting its efforts toward introducing mutants. From established mutants like Namor to surprising reveals like Ms. Marvel being a mutant, the X-gene is now part of the MCU, which means Marvel Studios can double down on its Wolverine teases and easter eggs.
Before Disney bought 20th Century Fox, the chances of the X-Men interacting with other Marvel heroes were close to zero. Marvel had sold the X-Men movie rights to Fox in 1993, and by the time Marvel Studios released Iron Man, Fox already had an established X-Men movie franchise. While that didn’t stop the early Phase 1 movie from sneakily fitting a few deep-cut X-Men easter eggs, it was only after Disney bought Fox that the MCU was able to truly incorporate iconic X-Men characters like Professor X and Wolverine.
Apart from the announcement that Hugh Jackman will return as Wolverine in Deadpool 3, Wolverine’s presence in the MCU has been limited to easter eggs. Marvel still hasn’t made clear how and when the MCU’s actual X-Men team will appear, as Phase 4 is both slowly introducing mutants like Ms. Marvel and bringing legacy X-Men characters like Patrick Stewart’s Xavier through the multiverse. With Jackman’s Wolverine now added into the mix, it is difficult to know what She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, here’s every Wolverine easter egg in the MCU so far.
The Incredible Hulk's Weapon X Tease
The MCU’s second feature film, The Incredible Hulk could obviously not feature Wolverine or anything X-Men related. Still, on top of debuting in a Hulk comic, Wolverine shares a common backstory with Bruce Banner. Both Bruce Banner’s Gama-radiation research and the Weapon X experiment to which Logan was submitted trace back to the Super Soldier program, which the MCU teased in The Incredible Hulk and would later explore in Captain America: The First Avenger.
More than teasing the Marvel can now use Wolverine in the MCU, Logan’s Weapon Plus backstory has already been set up.
WandaVision's Kestrel Easter Egg
Though not as significant as other MCU Wolverine easter eggs, Weapon Plus reference in The Incredible Hulk, this nod to Krestel in WandaVision can be later used as part of Wolverine’s backstory in the MCU.
The Falcon And The Winter Soldier’s "Patch" Tease
Unlike the DC universe, most of the Marvel comic stories take place in real-world locations such as New York. Still, there are a few key fictional locations in the Marvel comics, such as Madripoor. A fictional island from which supervillains cannot be extradited, Madripoor is one of the most dangerous locations in the Marvel universe – and it was finally incorporated into the MCU during Phase 4. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s Madripoor episode featured the “Princess Bar”, which in the comics was a place Wolverine would frequent during his days as “Patch”. To infiltrate Madripoor’s crime world, Logan ditched his yellow Wolverine suit and went for a more discreet, elegant combination of suit, tie, and an eye patch. While many hoped that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s Madripoor episode would lead to an immediate Wolverine reveal, the Princess Bar easter egg was all there was regarding Wolverine on the show.
She-Hulk's Bar Fight Easter Egg
The most recent MCU show to reference Wolverine, She-Hulk had a very noticeable Wolverine easter egg in episode 2. When Jennifer is browsing the internet for a new job, she comes across two curious headlines. One referenced the Celestial Tiamut, while the other read “Man fights with metal claws in a bar brawl”. A man with metal claws fighting in a bar is a way too specific description not to be associated with Wolverine. Compared to previous easter eggs like Weapon Plus and Madripoor, She-Hulk’s metal-clawed man was the closest the MCU had gotten to reference Wolverine – until She-Hulk episode 8.
She-Hulk's SNIKT Gag
When urging Jen to get ready for the gala toward the end of She-Hulk episode 8, Nikki holds six makeup brushes between her fingers, three in each hand, in a way that obviously referenced Wolverine’s claws. While that is the most direct visual reference to Wolverine in the MCU so far, it is also the trickiest one to understand. It is possible that She-Hulk’s “Wolverine Nikki” moment was nothing but a visual gag, which would fit into She-Hulk’s comedic tone. If, however, there is more to Nikki’s Wolverine reference, then it’s probably that pictures from the brawl fight teased in She-Hulk episode 2 surfaced online – thus revealing what that metal-clawed man looked like. That said, if Wolverine already exists in Earth-616 as suggested in She-Hulk, then he must be just now making a name for himself around the world – an explanation that can also be used for when Charles Xavier and the rest of the X-Men officially the MCU.
