What You Might Have Missed Watching Logan

Frst off, this is not a review of the film, but if you didn't already know, I absolutely love this movie. So there! consider it reviewed!

There is absolutely nothing I hate more than those stupid click bait articles. You know, the ones titled "Every single easter egg you missed in (insert movie) because your'e so stupid!" The titles aren't always that rude, but they definitely come across that way, to me at least. This isn't one of those articles, I promise. This is just a collection of things that I, myself noticed watching Logan. I refuse to call them "easter eggs" because often times they aren't even hidden. They're just there, and we don't notice them because we don't have the context, or we didn't read X-Men #191 from 1983. (I mean, I probably did, but I'm a super nerd. More like an inward nerd, I guess. You won't catch me at ComiCon anytime soon.)  So, here are some things I noticed in Logan, that maybe you noticed to, or maybe you have a different interpretation of, or maybe you noticed something else. If so, I'd be more than happy to discuss them please feel free to drop a comment!

WARNING: This is going to contain some MEGA-spoilers. So if you have not seen Logan please stop reading now, and return when you've seen it. You've been warned.

1. Logan drives all over

At first glance, the beginning of this film all seems to be pretty contained in the El Paso/ Mexican border area. When in fact, evidence suggests that Logan drives quite a ways. All over Texas, in fact. The first evidence of this is in the very first scene of the film when Logan is sleeping in the back of his limo at a rest area just off of a major highway. The next piece of evidence was a bit fun because I actually had to go and look it up. When Gabriela first meets Logan, he is driving someone from a funeral. The sign at the entrance of the cemetery reads "Georgetown Cemetery". The setting is rainy and much more green than anything you would see in West Texas, so I took to google to find out if there was a cemetery in El Paso called Georgetown Cemetery, and did you know the only Georgetown Cemetery in Texas is actually in Georgetown, Texas. A whopping 8 hour drive from El Paso. Fun fact! My aunt Karen lives in Georgetown, Texas!

2. They're waiting for you at the Statue of Liberty

The first time we are introduced to Charles Xavier in "Logan" we learn very quickly that something is not quite right with the once great mind of the X-Men founder. Toward the middle of his conversation with Logan he tries to tell Logan that he's been communicating with a new mutant and that they are waiting for Logan at the statue of liberty. Logan dismisses Charles' claim and replies "The statue of liberty was a long time ago." Fast forward to the second time we see Gabriela in the film she and Laura are staying at the "Liberty hotel" in El Paso.


3. Logan was telling the truth... from a certain point of view

Several times throughout the film Donald Pierce, the leader of the Reavers, refers to mutants as "Mutes" or "Muties" This is meant to be a derogatory word for mutants. Much like the N-word. As he's interrogating Caliban he says "You used to work for my team. You helped us round up all those mutes.", and later demands that he help track down "one more mute" for him. Flash forward to much later in the film when Logan is helping Will Munson get his water working again. Mr. Munson turns to Logan and says "How long has your daughter been like that", confused Logan answers "like what?" Will then says "a mute". Then Logan hesitantly says "Since the beginning" Now, it's very obvious that Will was inquiring about the fact that Laura doesn't speak, but in terms of what "mute" means in this world, and since Laura was born a mutant, Logan wasn't lying! Chalk this one up to clever writing!

4. What happend in Vegas... Never happened in Vegas

This one is pretty simple. I've spoken to a few people and even read a couple of articles that cite Logan, Charles, and Laura staying at a casino-hotel in Las Vegas. Yes, when they pull up the area does very much have a Las Vegas feel, but we soon find out that it's actually in Oklahoma City. For starters, they're traveling from El Paso to North Dakota. Las Vegas, Nevada is 1000% out of the way, and two, the radio broadcast indicates that the incident took place in Okahoma City. More on that radio broadcast in a bit...

5. A subtle nod to "Django Unchained" 

It's no secret that "Logan" is an incredibly violent film that very much has a western feel to it. Remind you of another film? Django Unchained, released in 2012 is also an incredibly violent film that also happens to be a western. In the film when Django and Dr. Schultz are about to start their journey into the mountains of North Dakota the song "I got a name" by Jim Croce plays over a montage of their journey into the snowy terrain. Back to Logan. When our trio stops in at a gas station at the beginning of their journey to the mountains North Dakota "I got a name" by Jim Croce is playing over the store's sound system. Coincidence? I mean, it's possible, but either way it's pretty cool.


6. X-24 and the Dark Wolverine
This one is probably the biggest stretch, but hear me out.

One thing I've been hearing a lot is that X-24 is completely made up and he does not exist in the comic books. That's true... to an extent, but in a way he is Wolverine's son. Wolverine very much does have a son. His name is Daken, the Dark Wolverine. Daken was actually Logan's natural born son. His mother? Yukio Yashida of Japan. Yep! Daken's entire backstory is depicted in the second solo Wolverine film, "The Wolverine", but we never actually get to see Daken come into the world, or exist at all. Daken's mother dies during childbirth and when Daken is a teenager he is introduced to Norman Osborn (yes, that Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin). Osborn convinces him that Wolverine violently murdered his mother and sets him down a path of revenge. He comes to hate his father, so much that he is obsessed with one thing; destroying him. Now, that's completely different from what we see in the film "Logan" as X-24 is a clone of Wolverine, and not a natural born son, but there are similarities. Daken's appearance is nearly identical to Logan's the only real differences being that he has very short hair and a tattoo that runs the entire length of his left arm. The real evidence to my argument comes in Wolverine's first encounter with Dark Wolverine where the first words Logan says to his son are "What the hell are you?", the same words Logan utters to X-24 in the film. While X-24 might not BE Daken, I at the very least think his existence in the film is a nod to the comic book character known as the Dark Wolverine.

7. The New Mutants and Magneto's son? 

When Laura finally makes it to "Eden", she is greeted by her fellow young mutants who have all escaped Transigen and made their own way to North Dakota. Now, none of these characters are recognizable except for their mutant powers. While they are clearly the test tube babies of popular mutants like Ice Man, and Dazzler, the only one with a recognizable name is Rictor who is a character for "The New Mutants" which later became "X-Force" one of many less popular spin-off of the successful X-Men comic book franchise. Not only is his name Rictor, but for a split second we get to see his file while Logan is reading over it in his hotel room. His genetic code was taken from Eric Lehnsherr, or as we know him; Magneto. Making Rictor the test tube baby of the master of magnetism, himself.




8. Charles Xavier killed the X-Men

Earlier today I watched an interview where Patrick Stewart explained that there was a draft of the script where this was very clearly explained and not as ambiguous, but was changed because the story needed to focus more on Logan and not so much on what Charles did. Either way, from the beginning of the film we know something happened. We find our heroes living in exile. Charles sleeps in an overturned water tower in an abandoned smelting plant south of the Mexican border. In the film's first interaction between Charles and Logan, Logan repeatedly tells Charles that there are no more mutants, and breaks Charles' heart when he says the words "You always thought we were part of God's plan, but I think we were God's mistake" to which Charles sternly rebukes him calling him a disappointment. He then explains that when he found Logan he was a cage fighter and an animal, and that he took him in and gave him a family, to which Logan responds "They're all gone now". Then a very concerned Charles begins pleading with Logan "What did you do? Why are we here? Why are we hiding?" At this point it becomes very evident that something happened to X-Men, something tragic." We're lead to believe that Logan may have somehow killed the X-Men. Later, when Donald pays Logan a visit at his home, he begins inquiring about Charles and asks where Logan is keeping him then at a point in the conversation he says "Did you know his brain is classified as a weapon of mass destruction? Damn shame what happened back east." Later  in the film Charles has a seizure leaving everyone within an undisclosed radius to be paralyzed, it's important to note that Logan and Laura are unaffected due to their mutation, their regeneration abilities. Everyone else is rendered motionless, unable to move, unable to breathe. Upon escaping from the Reavers and leaving the hotel, Logan is listening to a radio broadcast that is very significant. The news describes the incident at the Oklahoma City hotel and how it is very similar the Westchester incident over a year ago that "killed over 700 mutants including the X-... "At this point Logan turns the radio off and with a concerned look on his face looks at a sleeping Charles in the back seat. In the final moment before his death Charles tells Logan that "tonight was without a doubt the most perfect night I've had in a long time" then begins to cry saying that he doesn't deserve it because he did something unspeakable, and he never knew because Logan wouldn't tell him. The pieces are all there and when you put them together it's fairly clear what happened. Xavier's school is in Westminister, he had a seizure causing the X-Men to die from the effects of it. Logan survived because he is less effected. Charles then became a wanted man, and Logan ran away with his dearest friend and went into hiding to protect him.

So there you have it! Just a few fun tid bits I noticed in "Logan". As I said, some of them are more obvious than others, some of them may not even be a real thing. What do you think? Did you notice anything else? Think I'm wrong? Let me hear it! I really like this movie, and I would love to open some dialogue. Feel free to leave a comment explaining your findings or your thoughts.