Inspired by the mythological creature of the same name, the Marvel Wendigo is a human who’s been transformed into a monstrous new form after being cursed for committing cannibalism. The Wendigo has fought plenty of characters over the years, including Spider-Man, the Hulk, Werewolf By Night, and plenty of other heroes, with perhaps his greatest claim to fame being the antagonist of the comic in which Wolverine first appeared.
While some heroes have been briefly transformed into the beast in the core-Marvel Universe, across the multiverse major mutant heroes found themselves fully afflicted by the curse of the Wendigo, leaving them fully converted into a new monstrous form. Here’s how multiversal versions of some major X-Men found themselves transformed into the Wendigo.
How the X-Men’s Wolverine Became The Wendigo
Wolverine’s debut appearance on the final page of Incredible Hulk #180 (by Len Wein, Herb Trimpe, Jack Abel, Christine Scheele, and Artie Simek) pitted the berserker mutant against both the Wendigo and the Hulk. This quickly gave Wolverine an implicit connection to the creature. But in the reality of Earth-28918, featured in the two-part storyline told across What If…? #28 & #29 (by George Caragonne, Ron Wilson, Ralph Carera, Janice Chiang, and Javins & Vincent), that connection became far more pronounced.
In this timeline, Dr. Abraham Erskine survived the attempt on his life, going on to produce more of the Super Soldier Serum that empowered Captain America. Soon, an entire army of enhanced American soldiers overwhelm the Nazi Army. But in the chaos of Captain America being lost at sea, Red Skull (utilizing a cloned copy of Steve Rogers) usurps his place in the American hierarchy and turns the increasingly Super-Soldier United States into a fascist regime under his command (something that’s happened in a lot of timelines).
While many potential icons are killed before their heroic careers could begin, some notable faces survive the chaos. Among them is the Logan of this timeline, who had committed himself to keep the Canadian wilderness free of the Red Skull’s influence. In this world, he’d also been cursed with the Wendigo form but due to his own experience controlling a more bestial side, Logan was able to tame the curse. In essence, Logan became a supernaturally powered version of the Hulk, joining the freed Captain America’s new Avengers and eventually sacrificing himself as part of the effort to free the world of Red Skull’s tyranny.
The X-Men’s Multiple Man Also Became The Wendigo
While the Wolverine of Earth-28918 may have found a way to use his curse for good, his fellow multiverse mutant wasn’t so lucky. Earth-9997 is a grim potential future for the Marvel heroes, where many notable figures have either died or retired from active heroics. Many dark fates befell the mutant heroes, in particular, ranging from the tragic failed romance of Wolverine and Jean Grey to Nightcrawler becoming this world’s Belasco. In this timeline, Jamie Madrox eventually became an assistant to the Beast, working with him in Wakanda. But as his duplicates further traversed the world, one of them found himself lost in the cold wilderness. Running out of options, he created a new duplicate and ate him, committing an act of cannibalism and opening himself up to the Wendigo curse.
Even in his new beastly form, Madrox retained his duplication ability, quickly leading to a massive rampage that cost the lives of much of Alpha Flight. When Black Panther and Cyclops tried to lead an evacuation from Wakanda to the Savage Land, they were set upon by a seemingly endless horde of Wendigo. The heroes eventually survived the onslaught, with the battle only coming to a complete close when Madrox finally died. While Wolverine might have been able to keep the curse at bay, the Wendigo should always be remembered as one of Marvel’s most brutal upgrades — and it comes with some horrifying side effects that can turn a classic hero into a pretty brutal monster.
