In the closing few moments of Logan, X-23 decides to tip over the Christian cross placed on Wolverine’s grave to resemble the “X” shape of either the X-Men logo or of the Saltire/St. Andrew’s cross. How you choose to interpret that moment is obviously up to you, but it’s now been revealed that director James Mangold was inspired by a very specific X-Men comic book cover.
Of course, we’re talking about Uncanny X-Men #251, which, as you can see below, features Wolverine crucified on an X-shaped cross. It’s also worth noting that this issue used Donald Pierce as its main villain. In fact, the villainous leader of the Reavers actually harpoons Logan here just as he does in the movie, but that’s where the similarities between the comic book and the critically acclaimed threequel end.
Here’s what Mangold said about his decision to turn to the source material for one of Logan‘s most iconic and memorable pieces of imagery:
“There’s a fabulous piece of artwork on the cover of an old ‘X-Men’ comic with Wolverine pinned almost like Christ to an X aboard a mound of green skulls. So I can’t take credit for conflating the crucifix and the cross. I’m a filmmaker, so I want it to not be words. You’re looking for this gesture to exit, and we’ve done enough words at this point, and that’s as much as I can tell you where it came from.”
This movie’s main inspiration was obviously the Old Man Logan comic book, but it’s interesting to see that the director looked elsewhere for some of the imagery he used. For the most part, he was clearly inspired by the Western genre, though the film paying homage to work like this will obviously please fans.
Tell us, did you spot any other comic book nods like this one in Logan? Sound off below and let us know!
