X-Men '97 could be introducing a more violent version of Wolverine

X-Men '97 is on the home stretch of it's first season, with the show dealing with the constant conflict and tension between humans and mutants. Despite trying to follow Charles Xavier's vision, Magneto has turned back to his own ways after the events at Genosha and it has put him in direct conflict with the X-Men.

During the previous episode, "Tolerance is Extinction - Part 2," Magneto was about to end Xavier when Wolverine gave him a seemingly fatal wound. In response, Magneto retaliated by holding the entire X-Men down and using his powers to rip the adamantium from Wolverine's bones in a chilling final scene where fans question whether the powerful mutant will survive this encounter.

This scene is ripped straight from the pages of 1993’sX-Men (Vol. 2) No. 25 — Part 4 of the “Fatal Attractions” storyline, with the scene looking eerily similar to how it appears on the pages of that comic. This scene could also lead to an arc in season 2 where Wolverine becomes more violent and powerful, assuming he survives.

In the comics, Wolverine barely survives with the help of Jean Grey and Xavier using their powers to keep his body and mind intact, as his healing factor struggles to react to such a devastating attack by the Master of Magnetism.

While the Disney Plus show is obviously not always a direct adaptation of the comics, it seems likely that the showrunners may want to tackle the storyline of Wolverine's struggle after losing his adamantium. In the comics, Wolverine discovers how to utilize his bone claws and briefly becomes feral, being dubbed as Berserker Wolverine.

This version of Wolverine would be a deadly character to deal with and a potential threat for both allies and enemies alike. He is more animal like and not afraid to be incredibly violent, including reverting to an animal like state and savagely killing a number of people. Wolverine only began to regain his sanity thanks to the assistance of other heroes, before eventually being captured by Apocalypse and getting his adamantium back (while also becoming a brainwashed Horseman of Apocalypse named Death).

There is a number of routes that the series could take with the character, with it seemingly unlikely that the show will kill off one of its most popular characters. The potential to give the character a storyline of reverting to an animal like state and dealing with the pain of having bone claws would make for an interesting story arc for Wolverine.

He has been seemingly pushed to the side this season in favor of other characters receiving the spotlight and development, with the series now given the opportunity to use this tragic and brutal event to give Wolverine a major piece of development and a massive story arc as he takes a step on the violent side and works his way back to sanity.