Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Uncanny X-Men #5! Wolverine is an incredibly powerful mutant, not just because he has the ability to heal himself from virtually any injury or because his claws make him a living weapon, but because his heightened senses allow him to survive in any environment. In fact, it’s his heightened senses that give Wolverine his grossest superpower ever, one that’s definitely unique across all superhero universes (not just Marvel).
In a preview for Mysterious X-Men #5 by Gail Simone and David Marquez, the X-Men are preparing to fight a legion of enemies following a new and terrifyingly sinister villain named Sarah Gaunt. Sarah Gaunt was once a woman (and former lover of Charles Xavier) whose son was killed during a devastating hurricane. After the storm nearly took her life as well, Sarah was reborn as a seemingly supernatural entity with sharp claws and near-invulnerability. His followers have a fraction of his power, which also makes them serious threats – and the X-Men are about to fight them.
In the previous issue, Wolverine was attacked by Sarah Gaunt, who removed Logan’s eyes. This means he needs to rely on his other senses to combat these enemies, especially his sense of smell. While trying to get a clear picture of how many enemies were around him, taking advantage of the full extent of his heightened senses to do so, Wolverine notices something more than just their numbers. As he lets the rest of the X-Men know, Wolverine – through his sense of smell alone – knows this: “Three of them caught the same STD”.
Wolverine can smell sexually transmitted diseases, which is as disgusting as it is unique
No other superhero in any universe has displayed this raw power
Wolverine can literally smell STDs on anyone from a fair distance away (as shown in this preview), which in itself is totally gross. What could an STD smell like? Most importantly, what do different STDs smell like? Logan didn’t just say that three of these enemies had STDs, he said that three of them had the same STD, which means he can identify and differentiate STDs just by smell – that’s about as disgusting as anything gets.
There are a large number of sexually transmitted diseases that we can contract, including many that are considered “silent,” meaning that someone who contracts this disease would not show any obvious symptoms. So what exactly is Wolverine smelling here? He doesn’t elaborate beyond simply alerting the X-Men to the fact that three of these villains have the same STD, so it’s impossible to know the full extent of this power. But honestly, what fans know is enough, as the mere fact that Wolverine can smell STDs is absolutely disgusting.
Wolverine has displayed similar raw power in the past
Amazing X-Men Vol. 3 #14 by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday
This may be the first time that Wolverine – or any superhero in any universe, for that matter – has revealed that he can sense when someone around him has an STD, but it certainly isn’t the first time that Logan’s heightened senses have picked up “related” smells. ”. . In Amazing X-Men #14, Wolverine knows immediately that Kate Pryde and Colossus had sex shortly before finding them in the X-Mansion kitchen, and he knows this because of his heightened senses.
In fact, this crude ability coupled with his keen and well-established senses seems more like a curse than a superpower. It’s hard to imagine what Wolverine It actually smells bad when you know someone around you has an STD, but it certainly can’t be anything good, which cements this ability as perhaps the grossest superpower in Marvel Comics (and, indeed, every other superhero universes).
Strange X-Men #5 from Marvel Comics will be available on November 13, 2024.