X-Men's New Wolverine Is An Unprecedented Fan Favorite, Creator Confirms

Published Nov 15, 2026, 9:30 AM EST

Robert Wood is a writer and editor based out of Cheshire, England. He is the author of 'The False Elephant: and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories' - 100 stories, each told in exactly 100 words.

Rob got into comics via Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man and the UK anthology 'The Mighty World of Marvel,' which was running Frank Miller's Daredevil, Classic Hulk and Contest of Champions II.

Prior to journalism, he worked in copywriting and copyedited for Oxford University Press. He is on X as @PinchTwigs and Instagram as roobwoodjourno.

Sign in to your ScreenRant account

The newest addition to X-Men lore isn't just a breakout fan favorite - they're so popular that their co-creator can't remember any character who has gotten the same reaction right out of the gate.

There have been plenty of breakout characters in X-Men history, indeed the franchise may lay claim to the ultimate example in Wolverine: a hero who became so popular, he's now a franchise in his own right.

The X-Men's newest recruit may not be at that point yet, but he definitely bears a major comparison to Logan. Of course, there are differences too: X-Men's newest recruit is so unique because he isn't just a character fans like, he's one they want to protect.

Reaction To New X-Men Character Is Unprecedented, Says Gail Simone

Introduced in the recent Uncanny X-Men #34, and created by Gail Simone and Luciano Vecchio, Howler is a teenage mutant who was captured and forced to fight other mutants by a group calling themselves the Word of Strength. Eventually escaping, Howler was taken in by Monet St. Croix and Quicksilver's Louisiana X-Men.

Deeply traumatized and characterized by bursts of misdirected violence, Howler has stayed with the X-Men but prefers to sleep in a barn that's part of their Haven House sanctuary, fearing being caged once again. Wolverine has taken a particular interest in mentoring Howler, who speaks in idiosyncratic, limited English, e.g. "I thank. I thank."

In a recent social media post, Simone shared the initial design of Howler and explained that fan reaction has been uniquely positive.

Simone shares that fans have asked her to prevent anything bad happening to the character in future, explaining:

I don't remember a response to a new character ever like the one we keep getting for Howler. ... I don't recall very many characters where people have such a PROTECTIVE emotion immediately as we have gotten from Howler, in Uncanny X-Men. ... Every day, we get emails saying, "You'd better not do anything bad to him!" or "if anyone is mean to him, WE ALL RIDE." And I can't argue with them, because I feel the exact same way!

The writer goes on to praise Luciano Vecchio's character design, crediting her creative partner for bringing together the concept with an "emotional design."

Is Howler The Wolverine Of The 2020s?

One of the big storylines of Uncanny X-Men has been a group called X-Finity trying to turn young, traumatized mutants into "new Wolverines" - something they succeeded in with the new Scavenged team. While Howler wasn't targeted by that specific group, he does feel like a modern take on Logan.

Introduced in 1974 and designed as a rival for the Hulk, Wolverine has come to be defined by trauma and tragedy. While he tends to respond to these pressures with stoicism and self-medication, these are traditionally masculine traits that are under the microscope in modern society and art.

It's easy to see Howler as a character dealing with the same core themes, but with a more contemporary spin. Howler is more given to panic and confusion, and as Simone notes, Luciano Vecchio vastly intensified the character's emotional potential by giving them huge black eyes that shimmer with tears.

That's not in any way to say that Howler is some kind of Wolverine rip-off, but it's interesting to compare the two, especially given their unusual popularity. In both 1974 and 2026, X-Men introduced an animalistic mutant defined by immense trauma. Despite huge differences in characterization, both are notable breakout stars for the franchise. Is that due to what they have in common or what sets them apart?

What Is Howler's Future In X-Men's Comics?

Of course, it's yet to be seen whether Howler will have the staying power that Wolverine boasts, and one factor in that is likely to be expanding his lore. While Howler already killed the Word of Strength's leader, it's possible Marvel could build them out in a similar way to Wolverine's Weapon X, should interest in the character continue.

Given how much X-Men fans seem to care about Howler, it's likely the creative team will have the chance to explore his characterization and expand his lore, giving him a real chance to become the franchise's next breakout character.

Uncanny X-Men #39 is available November 25 from Marvel Comics.