Wolverine has had many loves, but his new Marvel series makes the case his biggest love isn't Jean Grey, and it isn't Storm – but in fact, the fellow mutant hero he can always count on is none other than Nightcrawler. Logan has had a bevy of romances in Marvel over the years, but his friendship with Kurt Wagner is perhaps his deepest emotional bond in his history.

Wolverine #1 – written by Saladin Ahmed, with art by Martin Coccolo – makes the case that Nightcrawler and Wolverine's connection runs deeper than any of the romantic entanglements Logan has been part of over the years. As it turns out, Nightcrawler loves Wolverine enough to find Wolverine when he's lost, in more ways than one.

When Wolverine is in need to guidance, it's Nightcrawler who comes to his rescue, as any true love would. Their love is beyond romance and, in many ways, resonates stronger than anything Logan had with Storm or Jean Grey.

Nightcrawler Loves Wolverine Enough To Track Him Down When No One Else Will

Wolverine #1 – Written By Saladin Ahmed; Art By Martin Coccolo, Bryan Valenza, & VC's Cory Petit

Wolverine exited the island of Krakoa shortly before its downfall began via the 2023 Hellfire Gala, or rather the Orchis invasion of it. What was once a paradise for the X-Men and mutant society becomes a personal hell for him, thanks to his feud with Beast. It didn't help that from the outside looking in, he watched Charles Xavier's dream gradually die away during the Orchis rivalry, especially as Professor X aided Orchis by betraying the X-Men. After that, Wolverine was hellbent on killing Xavier, further lowering his morale. It'd lead to him deciding to leave the X-Men altogether.

In Wolverine #1...Mr. Wagner declares his mission statement: "I'm here to rescue [Wolverine] from himself."

Wolverine #1 picks up some time after the events of X-Men #1, where Wolverine told Cyclops he was leaving the team. In search of a new purpose, Wolverine has found a pack of wolves to call his own. That changes when Cyber - Wolverine's former commanding officer - strolls into the woods ready to torment his former pupil. Not only does Cyber murder a group of mounties there in the Canadian Northern Territories, where Wolverine has taken residence, but Cyber kills Wolverine's pack.

This is when Nightcrawler enters the picture, determined to look for his friend, and hopimg convince him to return to the X-Men, just as Kurt's sister Rogue is building her own team in Uncanny X-Men. Nightcrawler monologues about how much he worries for friends like Wolverine, especially in the way that he's isolated himself away from not only the other mutants, but the rest of society. This is the moment in Wolverine #1 that Mr. Wagner declares his mission statement: "I'm here to rescue [Wolverine] from himself."

The Mutual Love Between Nightcrawler & Wolverine Emphasizes Their Decades-Long Bond

Wolverine #1 – Available Now From Marvel Comics

A declaration like that is usually reserved for one lover to another, and that notion isn't exactly incorrect. The love between Nightcrawler and Wolverine isn't romantic, but it's as strong as a romance between Logan and Jean Grey, or his feelings for Storm. Nightcrawler isn't alone in his sentiments, as evident by Wolverine being surprised that he didn't immediately recognize Kurt's scent when they finally do cross paths. Recognizing a smell can be considered an act of intimacy if it was between Logan and one of his partners, but clearly, the love for his best friend resonates just as powerfully.

Speaking of Nightcrawler's scent, it's a testament to their love that Wolverine's unrelenting blind rage can be calmed just by smelling Nightcrawler. He doesn't immediately recognize it because he is so blinded by anger, after finding his slain pack, but when he takes a moment to sniff Nightcrawler's teleportation residue, that's enough to stop him in his tracks. Few, even lovers, have been able to calm Wolverine down when he goes beserk like this, but Kurt can do so based on his mere presence alone without saying much of a word.

The Understated Friendship Between Wolverine and Nightcrawler, Explored In More Detail

Their Dynamic Has Been A Staple Through The Years

This friendship between Wolverine and Nightcrawler isn't a new development, as it is one that has flourished for decades at this point. As Nightcrawler actually mentions in passing in Wolverine #1, both he and Wolverine were introduced to the team at the same time, as both had been acclimated into the roster in Giant-Size X-Men #1. Naturally, it makes sense for their friendship to have blossomed quickly within the team between the newest recruits, and it has endured through triumph and tragedy ever since.

One prime example of their friendship comes in Uncanny X-Men #524, after the death of Kurt Wagner. Logan was among the first to find Kurt's dead body, and he looked visibly shaken at the sight of his "elf." He looks further broken up later in the issue. He fights through his rage to deliver a somber eulogy, in which Logan praises Kurt for never treating him "like a damn animal," but instead, "Kurt was the only guy that ever looked me in the eyes like a man, and spoke to me like one, and treated me like one."

Nightcrawler And Wolverine's Friendship Is Essential To X-Men Because It Resonates With Readers

Name A More Iconic Duo

It's most interesting to think of a monologue like this in the context of his past love affairs. It's undeniable that respectively, Storm and Jean Grey loved him in differing ways, but even they saw him as a monster in ways that Kurt refused to see Logan as. As two men who were accused of being or looking monstrous, Wolverine and Nightcrawler shared an understanding that no other member of the X-Men could relate to, and thus out of that love became a beautiful friendship.

The duo's moment in Wolverine #1 is another testament to the kind of rare empathy and humanity that Nightcrawler is able to pull out of Wolverine.

Furthermore, Wolverine: Weapon X #16 follows up on Nightcrawler's death, and this is where Wolverine's love for Kurt shines the brightest. Archangel delivers Logan his best friend's dying wish: donate a $20,000 grand piano to a mountaintop in Venezuela to give to a church. Because of bad weather, Wolverine goes out of his way to spend eight days dragging this piano up the mountain, refusing to let Kurt's last request go unattended to. Keep in mind that this is the same Wolverine who doesn't share Kurt's religious beliefs, but that doesn't stop him from satisfying this will.

Despite the lengths he needs to go, Wolverine shows little hesitation in going to these lengths for Kurt out of the love they share. It's not likely Wolverine would be so willing to do something like that for any of his lovers, but he would for Nightcrawler, someone willing to dredge through the snowy mountains of Canada to save his friend from himself. The duo's moment in Wolverine #1 is another testament to the kind of rare empathy and humanity that Nightcrawler is able to pull out of Wolverine that others – even Logan's romantic partners – struggle to.

Wolverine #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.