Marvel’s New Wolverine Design Is Perfect For Dark Souls Fans

FromSoftware’s Soulslike future is unclear at the moment. It’s inevitable that the studio will go back to developing single-player-centric Soulslikes like Dark Souls eventually, as that’s its bread-and-butter, yet FromSoftware has obviously expressed an interest in exploring an old sci-fi IP, Armored Core, and divisive multiplayer-focused endeavors, such as Elden Ring Nightreign and the upcoming Duskbloods.

There are rumors of a pirate-themed FromSoftware Soulslike in the works, but Soulslikes are currently enduring a considerable drought with no Soulslike confirmed to be arriving in the near future from FromSoftware. That said, Soulslikes are no less paramount or influential regarding how profoundly they’ve affected the fantasy genre and its plentiful subgenres, including a surprising and stunning Marvel crossover that is scheduled to be released at the end of summer.

This August, Marvel Comics is releasing a spread of isekai-themed variant covers for a handful of books, including the Mary Jane: Face It, Tiger one-shot and the upcoming run of Miles Morales: Spider-Man. Each has its own distinct isekai flavor; however, the isekai cover for Wolverine #26 is not only an homage to the popular Japanese subgenre, but also to Soulslikes, particularly FromSoftware’s Dark Souls and Elden Ring franchises.

From artist Alessandro Cappuccio, this Marvel Comics Stormbreakers variant depicts Wolverine almost as if he was Elden Ring’s Hoarah Loux, Warrior, or some sort of Nordic berserker character, but the true Dark Souls and Elden Ring resemblance here is the explicit use of UI from those games: Wolverine’s equipped inventory is featured in face-button portraits, representing each of his claw-bearing hands, a sword, and an empty Estus flask, as well as three bars that represent his HP, FP, and stamina.

User Wolvie616 on Twitter/X is ecstatic, writing, “The way I made a Wolverine build for Elden Ring and I HAD THAT WOLF CLOAK AND EVERYTHING.” On Reddit, fans have discussed what they would like to see from a hypothetical Marvel Soulslike, with user KelTekYoungGun1 stating that “you could probably do a Sekiro-like using Daredevil or Wolverine in some Hand base.” Marvel x Dark Souls is certainly a rare crossover to see, and fans adore it, even if it will only exist within the rigid confines of this singular cover.

Seeing FromSoftware’s Soulslikes permeate Marvel Comics is phenomenal, solidifying how immensely beloved they are within the realm of dark fantasy. Marvel has dabbled in fantasy its fair share, and it would be excellent to see a Marvel video game that tackles Soulslike-style gameplay, for instance, even if it wasn’t a fantasy game itself.

Plus, there are already unofficial, in-game Wolverine builds that players can employ via Dark Souls and Elden Ring’s claw weapons, which emulate Wolverine’s own adamantium-laced claws, and thus, this is the perfect Marvel crossover.

Systems

Released

September 22, 2011

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Violence

Developer(s)

From Software

Publisher(s)

Namco Bandai

Engine

Havok