Solem's romantic interest in Wolverine offers an opportunity for the hero to transcend hyper-masculine tropes and reject a gay panic narrative.
Warning: contains spoilers for Wolverine #16!
Even though they only recently met, one of Wolverine’s newest foes has a burning desire to romantically connect with Logan. That Solem wants to jump his opponent’s adamantium-laced bones is an interesting dynamic, and one which sets the stage for fans to see if the age-defying mutant’s reaction matches the century he's from, or the one he's living in.
Wolverine has long been presented as Marvel’s stereotypical alpha male, an aggressive, hairy, cigar-chomping, beer-chugging loner whose gruff personality and razor-sharp claws keep people at a distance. His romantic life has shown his softer side, though Wolverine has a legacy of expressing love in unhealthy ways, gauging it on whether he is willing to fight and die for his partner. Many of his greatest loves have ended in tragedy, returning the mutant to a life of brooding violence. As an example, Jean Grey, Silver Fox, Itsu, and Mariko all die in ways that tie back into Logan. Mariko’s death, in particular, carries a Shakespearean quality, as she begs Wolverine to kill her before an agonizing poison does it instead.
Solem’s desire to be next in line was revealed during his interrogation by Emma Frost. Wolverine left the villain to her upon discovering his concealed location on Krakoa in Wolverine #16 by Benjamin Percy and Adam Kubert. Among her interview notes was the realization that “he really, really wants to &%$# Wolverine.” Thus far, the information has been discovered by Emma and not shared with Wolverine, though it's unlikely Logan won't want to read up on the ultimate conman, who he first met (and was tricked by) during the X of Swords event. Emma goes on to note that her discovery isn't surprising, as Solem, "really, really wants to &%$# everyone and everything." This characterization threatens to veer into a common cliché in which attraction to multiple genders is linked to immoral and even sociopathic behavior. Emma comments, "His primary impulse is one of pleasure... It overrides any sense of morality." However, it's likely Wolverine's response that will dictate how this dynamic plays out.
How Wolverine reacts to romantic interest from a male adversary has the potential to show that even one of Marvel’s most hyper-masculine archetypes does not view this attraction negatively on principle alone. Though some regrettable storylines throughout popular culture have used a male character’s romantic interest in another male character for laughs or to signal a character’s depravity, Wolverine gives Marvel a chance to shred the tired gay panic script entirely. He could be flattered rather than insulted, with the freedom to decline advances based on his own personal orientation, Solem’s personality flaws, or his inability to escape his tragic romantic history. Or he could embrace a gruff, flirty dynamic. Each option has existed in hundreds, if not thousands, of heterosexual rivalries in comics. For example, Batman has flirted with and rejected Poison Ivyand Catwoman more times than fans can count, and Logan has enjoyed a similar dynamic with Mystique in the past.
Though Wolverine has been shown romantically involved with Hercules in an alternate reality, he has not outwardly expressed romantic love or attraction to a male character in Earth-616. Perhaps the nearest thing was the revelation that the Summers House in X-Men #1 (by Jonathan Hickman and Leinil Francis Yu) has Jean Grey's bedroom connected to both Wolverine and Cyclops' - a feature other room clumps lack - accompanied by scenes suggesting a renewed intimacy (though not explicitly a romance) between the three. There is also Esad Ribic’s racy cover for Wolverine #6, with its visual elements intended to suggest Logan’s friendship with Nightcrawler is something more than platonic, proving that while Wolverine's attraction to some of his male teammates may not be stated as canon, it's been on fans' and creators' minds for a while now.
Ultimately, Solem’s romantic interest in Wolverine may provide an opportunity for Logan to explore this relationship, but it's essential that it rejects the notion of gay panic. As a member of the X-Men, Wolverine is a hero who fights for inclusion and equality, and hopefully Marvel will use Solem's interest to show that despite being a masculine archetype, Logan isn't prone to stereotypical prejudices - or perhaps even to depict him grappling with the discomfort some fans might expect and growing past it.
