X‑Men, Superheroes, and Rebuilding After Sentinels:
Alan Zuckerman and Wolverine
The idea for this essay began on a phone call with a business contact in London. Somewhere between strategy and small talk, we discovered a shared admiration for the X‑Men and for Wolverine in particular. No explanation was required. The symbolism was already understood. That shared language gave Alan Zuckerman the motivation to work with his AI assistant to create something meaningful, a story about special talents, diverse abilities, leadership under pressure, and why Wolverine has always felt less like fiction and more like a mirror.
For Alan Zuckerman, the X‑Men were never just comics. Growing up in Buffalo Grove, he escaped bullying the same way many kids of his generation did, by stepping into Dreamland Comics. A voracious reader, Alan moved quickly through material, searching for something that felt honest. His first encounter with The X‑Men left him unimpressed. The original lineup felt distant, privileged white kids in a private school, disconnected from the lived reality of someone who already felt different.
Everything changed in 1975 with Giant‑Size X‑Men Issue #1.
The privileged predominantly white original x-men team was trapped on an island and Professor X needed to summon new diverse talents throughout the globe which he connected to via cerebro (much like the internet & social media today). Suddenly the team reflected the real world. Wolverine from Canada. Storm from Africa. Nightcrawler from Germany. Colossus from Russia. Thunderbird, a Native American warrior. Banshee from Ireland, perhaps less intimidating, but still distinct. These were not superheroes who blended in. They were born different, and society responded not with curiosity, but with fear.
That distinction is what made the X‑Men unique among superheroes. Superman is an outsider because he is an alien. Batman and Iron Man are ordinary men elevated by technology and wealth. The X‑Men are something else entirely. They are born the way they are. Their abilities are not chosen, built, or purchased. Society fears them simply for existing.
Among them all, Wolverine stood apart.
Alan Zuckerman gravitated toward Wolverine not just because he was strong, but because his strength was unavoidable. Alan wrestled. He played football. He matured early, growing chest hair before the other boys, long before he had the emotional framework to understand why that difference made him a target. Processing that kind of attention at twelve years old is not easy. Wolverine, too, carried visible markers that set him apart, physical, permanent, and impossible to hide.
Wolverine fought in wars across continents. Alan Zuckerman, in his own era, fought modern media wars nationwide, competitive, political, and unforgiving. Early in his career, Alan provided services to the government and staffing firms, gaining firsthand insight into how large systems operate and how easily individuals can be overlooked within them. Those experiences sharpened his instincts and reinforced his independence.
Like Wolverine, Alan developed a reputation for durability. Hip flexor injuries healed. Sprained ankles recovered. His bones, literal and professional, have never broken.
No ad or social media post from has ever broken Alan Zuckerman.
Wolverine has his vices. Cigars. Alan Zuckerman enjoys nicotine too, particularly after a long sales call. Neither habit defines the man, but both mark the end of a battle.
Over time, Wolverine evolved into a mentor. Once gruff and dismissive, he learned to train Jubilation Lee, an impulsive, emotionally volatile junior member of the team who tested every ounce of his patience. She was loud, unpredictable, and challenging. And yet Wolverine adapted, learned to believe in her, and helped shape her potential.
Alan Zuckerman now faces a similar challenge, a new workforce shaped by constant connectivity, delayed responses, and an abundance of emotion. Campaign support teams do not always move with urgency or clarity. But just as Wolverine learned to lead Jubilee, Alan is learning to believe in these teams, not as liabilities, but as future allies who need structure, trust, and guidance.
In the Marvel universe, even the X‑Men are never allowed stability for long. Every so often, Sentinels arrive, cold, impersonal machines designed to eliminate difference. Their attacks often destroy the X‑Men’s base of operations, forcing the team to rebuild elsewhere.
Rather than retreat, he rebuilt, this time on the other coast of Florida. And like the X‑Men, the mission continued uninterrupted. Alan remained connected to his workstation much like Cerebro, using social and professional networks to stay in constant contact with talented individuals nationwide. Through these networks, he identifies and coordinates with people he calls his DMCs, his own evolving X‑Men.
This philosophy shapes Alan Zuckerman’s workplace values and his ad store, which provides a labor model for people repeatedly told they do not fit traditional corporate norms.
This brings the story back to the X‑Men and to superheroes more broadly.
They are not heroes because they are powerful. They are heroes because they choose what to do with that power. Born different, misunderstood, and targeted, they refuse to become bitter. Instead, they protect everyday people using their unique talents.
That is the true connection between Alan Zuckerman and Wolverine.
Not the claws.
Not the muscles.
Not even the shared athletic ability, or the unmistakably hairy chest.
And while the comic‑book Wolverine was famously a very short, hairy man, the real Alan Zuckerman stands at five‑eleven and a half. He learned the value of marketing early, because after recording six tackles and one tackle for a loss against Waukegan in the Buffalo Grove countryside, he was proudly listed as six feet tall.
(More on that story here https://www.therealalanzuckerman.com/underthefridaynightlights)
Alan Zuckerman is taller than comic‑book Wolverine, shorter than Hugh Jackman, and by all reliable accounts, a far worse dancer.
What truly connects them is not height, claws, or choreography. It is Resilience. Accountability. Leadership & the discipline to take strength, difference, and pressure, and consistently use them for good.
Professor X was always concerned about Wolverine’s past.
There were gaps. Violence. Government involvement. Too many years that could not be explained with a neat résumé. Any reasonable leader would hesitate before building a team around someone like that.
So Professor X did what serious leaders do.
He verified the facts.
Once Wolverine’s background was run clean, Xavier stopped focusing on the past and started focusing on the future. He built a strong team around him, put the right structure in place, and let Wolverine do what he did best, protect the mission and the people around him.
That is how real teams get built.
Transparency matters. Verification matters. Trust is earned, not assumed.
For anyone who believes in doing things the right way, here are The Real Alan Zuckerman background checks, fully documented and publicly available:
Professor X did not ignore risk.
He addressed it, verified it, and then moved forward with confidence.
That is leadership.