Spoiler warning for anyone who hasn't seen Logan. 

James Mangold's Logan is the best treatment of Wolverine on the big screen, hands down. And now that fans have had a chance to see Hugh Jackman's swan song as the title character, we can dive into the film's merits and argue over whether it's "just" the best Wolverine film, the best X-Men film, or possibly the best superhero movie ever made. Logan concludes a 17-year run for Jackman's Marvel movie mutant in a satisfyingly original way that often makes you forget it's supposed to be a comic book movie at all ...

But "Old Man Logan" it is not. That ongoing comic series, or at least its earliest stories, were cited as inspiration for Logan, which did indeed take elements of the story into account--like the road trip framing story and the fact that all of Logan's fellow mutants are dead--but it's not a direct adaptation. That's probably for the best considering that the Mark Millar-written storyline involved Wolvie taking on a family of inbred Hulks. That's insane. We won't be looking for the most insane Wolverine tales ever to grace the pages of comic books, though there certainly are a few of them. Instead, we'll be looking at somewhat more realistic stories that might just find their way to the big screen.

Some are obvious, like the continuation of Laura / X-23's story now that she has been introduced in Logan's final chapter. Or, since the Canadian wilderness factors into the story quite heavily, perhaps a relatively less obvious choice for a feature film would focus on a Canadian superhero team. With the inevitable recasting of Logan, perhaps by someone who's closer to the character's 5'3", 195lbs stature familiar to comic book fans, a whole new world of Wolverine stories opens up, and there are plenty more comic book arcs to choose from. Let's get into it!

X-23

Let's get the obvious out of the way. Dafne Keen did an amazing job in her introduction as Laura, a.k.a. X-23. While her origin story in Logan differs slightly from those seen in both Marvel's animated series X-Men: Evolution and the comic book appearances that resulted from the show's success, it did cover the bases. Mangold has already commented that his future plans include an X-23 movie, but we're not quite sure what that will look like, or just who might show up.

Much like Wolverine, X-23's origins are cruel and unusual, turning her into a savage killing machine against her will. As the human side of Laura begins to emerge throughout her story, she eventually finds her way to the X-Men. Over the years, however, she's been an assassin, a prisoner of S.H.I.E.L.D., a prostitute in New York City (yikes), and a waitress, to name just a few professions, but it's her time with various X-teams that's ripe fodder for future feature films.

And perhaps the new Wolverine won't be a 5'3", 195lb man at all, but X-23 herself, taking on the mutant's mantle just as she has in the comic series "All-New Wolverine." But even if she does become Wolverine in earnest, that doesn't mean X-23 has to go it alone. In the comics, she's been a member of the X-Men, but also the darker, more lethal branch group, X-Force. (She's also had adventures with the Avengers--don't get your hopes up--and the Fantastic Four, but I don't think we'll see these play out cinematically.) Maybe we'll even get to see her take Wolverine's place with her newfound mutant friends on the Canadian superhero team, Alpha Flight.

Alpha Flight

Unless you're a diehard comic book fan or have a steel-trap for a memory when it comes to the 90s animated X-Men series, you'd be forgiven for not knowing Alpha Flight. Created by John Byrne and first appearing in the "X-Men" comics in 1979, Alpha Flight began as part of Wolverine's backstory--they were supposed to retrieve him from the X-Men--before getting their own comic series from 1983 to 1994.

This team is comprised of very "Canadian" characters working for the government's Department H, some possessing Inuit / First Nations heritage, and are led by the maple leaf flag-emblazoned, battle-armor wearing scientist Guardian, with speedster/light-generating siblings Northstar and Aurora; the transforming, fur-covered scientist, Sasquatch; a First Nations medicine man named (creatively) Shaman; and the shape-shifting Inuit demi-goddess, Snowbird. After Alpha Flight got its own series, the team added the amphibious alien Marrina and the super-strong dwarf bouncer, Puck, both promoted from Department H's Beta Flight before it was shut down. More heroes and villains came and went over the series' 130 issues, as well as during relaunches in 1997, 2004, and 2011.

That most recent reboot of the title team, a limited series, provided some interesting storylines, most of which focused on a political movement that saw fascists taking control in both the Canadian government and superhero organizations. (Curiously enough, it's Wolverine who reaches out to Alpha Flight on behalf of concerned American citizens at this point ...) With Wolvie's help, Alpha Flight is able to defeat the machinations of Alpha Strike and the Master of the World (comic books!), abolishing the Unity Party and making Canada great again! While I don't see a team-movie that focuses solely on Alpha Flight happening, it would be a great way for X-23 and her mutant friends / illegal Canadian immigrants to return to the big screen. Imagine the social commentary possible when a band of young, illegal, immigrant mutants take on a powerful fascist government organization; this thing's got claws.

Manifest Destiny

Now, just because Jackman has (likely) sheathed his claws for the last time, that doesn't mean the character of Wolverine will never be seen again on the big screen. Far from it. And once the Marvel mutant is inevitably recast for his next feature film role, there are a variety of stories we might find him in. For instance, "Wolverine: Manifest Destiny", a limited, four-issue series written by Jason Aaron back in 2008. This story saw Wolverine regaining his memory and returning to San Francisco's Chinatown to settle a score from half a century earlier. Why, you ask?

Apparently Wolverine had a run-in with the city's criminal underworld 50 years back, killing the previous Black Dragon, Lo Shang Cho. Now the Black Dragon death squad is out to put things right. He's hunted down by a city full of martial artists, including mystical Triad enforcers and Wolverine's former flame, the new leader of the Black Dragon Tong. Logan has to unite the clans if he has any hope to take down the Black Dragons. (Wolverine is assisted in his fight, in part, by the 70s comic book creations, Sons of the Tiger.)

Rather than sit back and wait for the clans to come after him, Logan basically walked into Chinatown and announced that he, the "Fist of Legend", had returned. Heavily influenced and inspired by Eastern mythology and kung fu films, "Wolverine: Manifest Destiny" is certainly a unique take on Logan's backstory, but it's one that's still unexplored on the big screen. Heck, the rest of the X-Men moved to San Francisco around this time in the comics, so maybe the change of scenery could act as a catalyst for all sorts of new storylines. But if you're not up for Logan in San Francisco, how about a thriller of sorts that sees the skilled tracker hunting a shape-changer around the world and through time?

Get Mystique!

Another Wolverine story from Jason Aaron around this same time was the "Get Mystique!" arc, one that ran over four issues in the "Wolverine" comic series in 2008. This story followed up on the "Messiah CompleX" crossover, which picked up after the events of the "House of M" storyline left Marvel's mutant population decimated. Without getting into the dense backstory involved here, it suffices to say that Mystique betrayed the X-Men, and Cyclops wants her to pay with her life ... and he wants Logan to collect the bounty.

"Get Mystique!" is an interesting departure from the usual big-scale battles from the X-Men stories. It not only portrays Logan in his role of a tracker and Mystique as an expert manipulator and master of disguise, the story also rolls back the duo's surprising shared history. They go back as far as 1921 where they were both nearly executed in Mexico, but that's just their meet-cute. "Get Mystique!" also covers their history in the still-Wild West of the 1920s and covers much of the Middle East during Wolverine's hunt for the shape-changer.

We've already seen a road trip movie of sorts with Logan, but this is more of a deadly game of cat-and-mouse globe-trotting with a bit of time travel thrown in. It'd be a fun two-hander to see on the big screen, especially with the feral Logan on the hunt and the charismatic Mystique always staying one step ahead of him. And a visionary director could have a field day splitting the story between the characters' troubled past and their violent present, even without needing to explain all the baggage that comes with the complex comic book mythology. This one's a standalone movie in the making.

Guts and Glory

We know that Cable will be joining the big-screen family of Marvel mutants thanks to plans to include the time-traveling fighter in Deadpool 2. But with Cable's arrival, and the path now clear for more Wolverine stories in the future, there's no reason 20th Century Fox can't get these two together on the same screen. I mean, it's happened in the comics a handful of times, so why not translate that to the script?

In 1990, "The New Mutants" issue #93 closed out with Cable and Wolverine engaging in a vicious fight, one that was made all the stranger because the two mutants seemed to know each other already despite this being their first comic book battle. The very next issue continues that fight, but the two heroes put their differences aside and work together for the common good. It wasn't until the 1999 one-shot "Marvel vs Cable: Guts and Glory" that the supposed first meeting between these two would explain their sudden animosity in "The New Mutants."

Though this standalone issues takes place in the same time period, it follows a newly arrived Cable through New York City as he attempts to acclimate himself with the 20th century, while Wolverine is on a mission from Canada's Department H to take down a mysterious creature. The two heroes are independently tracking down the same entity, a cyborg known as D'Von Kray. Thanks to the complications of time travel and some pretty extensive government intervention, Kray becomes a wild and dangerous individual. Then again, so are Cable and Wolverine, which serves to explain why they have some mutual animosity for each other.

Honestly, this storyline is a little thin, but much like how Logan took the best ideas from the character's mythology and folded them into an expertly told original story, any one of these comic book tales can be crafted into the next great adventure for the man, the myth, the mutant known as Wolverine. I'm sure you have your favorite story arcs we've yet to see on the big screen, so feel free to let us know your favorites in the comments!

Need More Logan?

If you just can't get enough of Logan, be sure to check out some of our recent write-ups exploring the latest installment in the Marvel mutant's mythology:

• ‘Logan’ Outperforms Initial Box Office Report; Sets March R-Rated Opening Record
• ‘Logan’ Spoiler Interview: James Mangold on the Original Idea, That Ending, X-23’s Future and More
• ‘Logan': Who Is X-23 and How Does Her Onscreen Portrayal Differ from the Comics?
• ‘Logan’ Spoiler Review: The Movie Talk Crew Breaks Down Hugh Jackman’s Last Ride
• ‘Deadpool 2’ Teaser Reveals Ryan Reynolds Getting Back Into the Skin-Tight Suit