Despite his years as a member of the X-Men, Wolverine has often been portrayed as the ultimate loner. He would be quick to question authority and had no problem taking matters into his own hands in a deadly manner. Yet, he's been an active team member since Professor X recruited him. Recently not only did he expand his team activities by joining the New Avengers, he also lead the covert X-Men black ops team, X-Force.
Wolverine has two modes to his personality. He can either be a bloodthirsty killer when in berserker mode or a caring father-like figure to young and impressionable mutants. It's this combination that makes him a good candidate for leading a team, especially these days when mutants are constantly being hunted.
From the results of Schism, Wolverine will no longer be wiling to follow Cyclops' lead. The two have butted heads from day one, usually over the affection of Jean Grey, but it was evident Logan respected Scott as a leader. That was the only reason he would follow him so willingly. With the split in the X-Men, Wolverine will be taking his own team of X-Men back to Westchester. What will be the goal of the team. What are the chances this team will become as deadly as his X-Force team?
== TEASER ==
Years ago (in Uncanny X-Men #220), Wolverine made it clear he didn't want to lead a team. In a conversation with a depowered Storm, he stated that it wasn't what he wanted. Storm practically had to force him to even consider it. Leading a team like X-Force suited his strengths.
Wolverine does know a thing or two about stealth and killing. Even though he has taken young mutants like Kitty Pryde, Jubilee, Armor and, to some extent, X-23 under his wing, what will he do with a team of X-Men.
His team roster is a little unusual. From the Regenesis teaser we've seen Kid Omega will be part of it. In Schism #1, Wolverine was ready to do away with the problematic mutant. It's hard to say what Iceman's stance will be on Wolverine's team. Bobby has always been a jokester but we haven't seen too much of him lately. Beast is also an odd addition. Assuming this is the regular Beast (and not Dark Beast), Hank left the X-Men after discovering Cyclops sanctioned X-Force, a team of killer X-Men. Would he be willing to take orders from Wolverine after that? Kitty Pryde is a good fit due to her past with Wolverine. Toad is another odd choice. Wolverine can't stand him. Then again, Toad has always been one willing to please his master. This could be his chance to try to do some good by way of following Wolverine's orders. Idie seems to be the cause of the Schism. She used her powers to kill some members of the Hellfire Club's mercenaries in trying to prevent a bomb from killing innocents. Wolverine has been seen making small advances on taking her under his wing. Now he will get the chance to ensure she can deal with becoming a killer.
To kill or not to kill?
Wolverine is a killer. There's no question about that. Regardless, he would support the idea that the X-Men killing is unacceptable. With X-Force, it was another story. All the members had a dark past and were already walking down the road to Hell. Iceman and Beast will not kill. Kitty Pryde may have been trained to be as deadly as a ninja, but she's not the killing type unless pushed to her limits. After arguing with Scott over allowing Idie to kill, you would think he would try to protect her. Then again, he was pissed that Scott put X-23 on X-Force but didn't really do anything to stop her until the team seemingly disbanded at the end of Second Coming.
If Wolverine is leading this group of X-Men, is his time with X-Force finished? From the teaser, they've also lost Angel. Psylocke is going to be busy being on two X-Men teams so is it possible Wolverine can be on two X-teams as well. But what about his numerous solo adventures and time with the New Avengers?
Regardless of who is on his X-Men team, they should not kill. That's not the way of the X-Men. If he felt killing is an option in some situations, there's no point in calling them X-Men. He could just make them an extended part of X-Force. On their first outing, they will be dealing with the Hellfire Club. There's also mention of a classic villain coming their way. We'll have to wait and see how Wolverine handles leading his new team.
How Wolverine handles leadership of an X-Men team will be interesting to see. Would he be able to lead and protect his team at all costs without resorting to killing? As skilled of a fighter he is, it shouldn't be a problem...in theory. Wolverine isn't exactly known for his patience or restraint. If he wants to try to protect Idie and prevent her from killing again, he's going to have to set a good example and keep Toad and Kid Omega in line.
The X-Men shouldn't kill. If Wolverine is committing himself to upholding everything Xavier set out to accomplish with the team, he is going to have to work to ensure Toad can reform, Kid Omega can accept co-existing with humans and Idie has the chance to regain her innocence. With Kitty, Beast and Iceman at his side, maybe it won't be so hard to accomplish.
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