Fox’s new series, The Gifted, is set in the X-Men universe, but it’s not immune to the weird continuity issues the franchise always deals with. The show follows everyday Mutants rather than heroes, focusing specifically on a suburban family on the run with their two mutant kids, with only a few big name Mutants like Blink and Polaris making appearances. But, X-Men fans can’t help but wonder: Will the most popular Mutant of all, the Best at What He Does, make an appearance in The Gifted?
Was Wolverine in the Tenth Episode of The Gifted?
No.
Was Wolverine Mentioned in the Tenth Episode of The Gifted?
Update: Yes! It’s embarrassing to admit, but your humble The Gifted recapper and Wolverine-watcher initially missed a Wolverine Easter Egg. When Dr. Roderick Campbell is running tests on the Strucker kids and puts them in an indestructible examination room.
“Are you curious about the walls?,” he explains. “They’re lined with Adamantium, an extremely rare metallic alloy. It took a while to acquire. We found some in a defunct military installation in British Columbia. It’s indestructible, so it’s perfect for … exploring powers.”
He’s almost certainly referring to the Weapon X Program, which was responsible for lining Wolverine’s bones with the indestructible metal at their complex at Alkali Lake. So, we didn’t get a Wolverine name-drop, but it’s by far the clearest shout-out to Logan The Gifted has done so far.
I’m so, so sorry missing this Easter egg at first. Please find some kindness in your hearts to forgive me.
Were the X-Men Mentioned in the Tenth Episode of The Gifted?
Nah, and the only other major connection to the X-Men comics was the confirmation that Esme indeed one of the Stepford Cuckoos, a trio of identical telepaths with linked minds and powers. In the comics, there were originally five Cuckoos, Celeste, Mindee, Phoebe, and Sophie, but Esme and Sophie died fairly early on in the fivesome’s tenure. Since Esme is the main Cuckoo in The Gifted instead of being, well, one of the dead ones, it’s clear that the show is making some changes to the characters’ backstory, which is probably for the best, because in the comics they’re all clones of Emma Frost. One thing appears to have remained the same, though. Although the three surviving comics Cuckoos are “good guys,” all of the siblings have flirted with anti-heroics or outright evil at different points in time. They tend to identify more with Magento’s more extremist ways than Professor X’s peaceful means, and while it’s unclear if the show’s Cuckoos have any connections to Emma or other established X-Men characters, they’re pretty dang extreme.
But, we’ll have to wait three weeks for The Gifted to come back and show just how far they’re willing to go. On a related note, it’s going to be three weeks until the next opportunity for Wolverine to appear on The Gifted.
Previously on Inverse’s The Gifted Wolverine Watch:
Tune in three weeks for Inverse’s The Gifted Wolverine Watch.
