With Lang's space station on the verge of exploding, the X-Men made their escape in the shuttle, which was itself badly damaged. The shuttle had to be guided by a pilot sitting in a chamber unshielded from deadly solar radiation (Uncanny X-Men #100). Jean Grey insisted on serving as their pilot, arguing that her telekenetic powers could protect her from the radiation longer than anyone else could withstand it. But her powers couldn't shield her for the entire length of the journey and Logan knew it. He tried desperately to argue her out of it.

Jean refused to be swayed. Pushed to the emotional edge by the danger all around them and her awareness of her own probable death, she let her own unresolved feelings toward Logan explode in anger. "I have tried to like you, Wolverine - obnoxious little upstart that you are - but for the life of me I don't know why I made the effort!"

With deep reluctance, Logan acceeded to Jean's demands, and the shuttle began its desperate journey back toward Earth. The radiation did indeed begin to consume Jean's body, but she was saved by an cosmic entity called the Phoenix. It made a bargain with the dying Jean (Fantastic Four 286) and cast her into a form of suspended animation, in which her body would slowly be restored to full health, while the Phoenix itself assumed a physical duplicate of Jean's form. Hence, when the shutle crashed into the waters of NYC, a cocoon containing the sleeping Jean dropped quietly out of the shuttle, and the X-Men, swinning to safety, saw what they thought was Jean rise from the waters, proclaiming herself to be Phoenix (Uncanny X-Men #101, Excalibur 52).

The X-Men believe that Phoenix is in fact Jean Grey, her powers greatly enhanced, and even Logan's heightened senses are fooled.

The newly human Phoenix collapsed, and the X-Men took her to the hospital. She recovered with remarkable speed, enough so that she could accompany the other X-Men to a Conference on Man-Made Mutation. During their trip Loganand the other X-Men teamed up with Spiderman in battling human beings who had been transformed into superhuman creatures known as the Gods of the Nest (Marvel Team-Up Annual #1).

Phoenix, still unused to her new form, weakened again after this battle and returned to the hospital. There the other X-Men kept a vigil, believing her to be the real Jean Grey on the point of death. Arriving at the hospital bearing flowers, Logan found himself confused by the new feelings churning inside him. "What's Jean Grey to me anyway?" he wondered. "Someone I like. An' what Wolverine wanmts... he gets." And yet, he continued, "Ain't never felt like this before, though, all hot-an'-bothered over a frail. Ain't never cared about anybody. I always liked bein' a loner."

Logan was ignoring his feelings for Heather Hudson, and for Silver Fox (the woman Sabretooth had murdered so long ago), and perhaps even for Carol Danvers. Or perhaps he had simply blocked his memories of those relationships out. Or more likely, his growing passion for Jean exceeded any feelings he had ever had for women he desired in the past.

"Jean" emerged from critical condition, but she still had to remain in the hospital for a time. To get the X-Men's minds of their invalid teammate, Xavier sent them all on a vacation to Sean Cassidy's (Banshee) homeland, Ireland. Logan didn't like the idea at all, but went along, unwilling to defy Xavier's orders.

When the X-Men arrived at Cassidy's castle (Uncanny X-Men #101-103), they discovered it to be taken over by his conniving brother, Tom Cassidy, a mutant himself, who had become best friends with Cain Marko, the Juggernaut. Soon the X-Men found themselves locked in battlle with his formidable pair. Yet this would be a mission in which Logan was constantly losing his dignity.

During the battle Storm fell victim to an attack of the claustrophobia that had plagued her since childhood. Concerned for his friend, Colossus saught to comfort her, angering Logan, who quite rightly pointed out that they needed every X-Man's help to resist the Juggernaught's onslaught. "Forget Storm, you tin dummy!" Logan snapped. "We're the ones who're getting stomped!"

"Do not use that tone of voice with me, Wolverine" the usually placid Russian said, his own temper quickly fraying.

"Fine with me, bub-" said Logan. If Colossus would not go into the fight, he would bring the fight to him. Logan tossed Collosus directly into Juggernaut, knocking him down. "Way to go Russkie!" Logan shouted.

Colossus leapt to his feet, and his fists clenched in rage, confronting Logan. "Do not call me that! And do not come between me and my friends again, Wolverine" - a category in which Colossus clearly no longer included Logan himself. And Logan had just as clearly forgotten that he owed his life to the young Russian.

Logan quickly unsheathed his claws. "Okay, bub, all you gotta do is pick the time an' place"

Both Colossus and Logan had forgotten about the Juggernaut, who easily knocked Colossus through a wall. Logan slashed at him with his claws, but even they were useless against the juggernaut's force field. Perhaps it's for the same reasons Logan's claws couldn't penetrate Hulk's hide. The Juggernaut quickly overcame Logan. Black Tom and the Juggernaut made Storm, Colossus, the Banshee, and Logan their prisoners.

But upon seeing the open air outside the castle, Storm shook off her claustrophobia attack and summoned up hurricane winds that freed the captives from their bonds. Then she cavorted joyfully through the sky.

Logan didn't know what to make of such behavior. "I tell ya, boy," he told Colossus, "that broad's gone flakey. I mean, look at her."

Controllong his anger, Colossus pointed out, "She is very happy, Wolverine. But do not call her a 'broad' again," adding with emphasis, "Shorty."

With the matter seemingly settled for the moment, Colossus turned to the task of trying to free Logan from the metal boots with which their captors had shackled him. But even Colossus's superhuman strength was not sufficient to the task. Storm then volunteered her services.

Exasperated, Logan snapped, "Look, lady, if Colossus can't break 'em, what do you think you can.." He paused in bewilderment: she had just released him from the boots. "In my time, Wolverine, I was the best lockpick in Cairo," Storm stated simply.

From the ground far below, Colossus, Storm, and Wolverine next sighted Black Tom and Juggernaut atop the castle walls. Storm immediately flew up toward them. Furious, perhaps because Storm was outshining him again, and perhaps out of genuine concern for her, Logan yelled after her, "You dumb broad - come hack here! You go chargin' up there alone, you'll just get yourself killed! For cryin' out loud, lady! How are we supposed to follow you, huh?"

That was a problem easy for Colossus to solve. Before Logan knew what was happening, Colossus hurled him up to the top of the castle, calling after him, "I told you never to call Storm a broad again!"

Colossus's aim was off, and Logan landed on the other side of the castle from their two opponents. But then Logan encountered an unexpected ally: a leprechaun named Padriac. Logan allowed Padriac to lead him to Tom and the Juggernaut. While Colossus and Logan did their best to try to defeat Juggernaut, Black Tom nearly killed the Banshee, only to be hurled by his stepbrother over the walls into the sea below. Juggernaut immediately pushed his two opponents aside and dove in after Tom to try and save him. It would be many months before the X-Men had to deal with these two again.

The X-Men spent the following weeks travelling through the British Isles and then rented a hovercraft to travel to Muir Isle, the location of the Research Center run by Xavier's longtime associate, Dr Moira MacTaggert. Xavier had sent various dangerous mutants to MacTaggart's complex, where she could keep them safely imprisoned while studying them.

Among the captives there was the X-Men's greatest enemy, Magneto, the would-be master of the world who weilded vast magnetic energies. In a previous encounter with Xavier, Magneto had been transformed into a helpless infant. But unknown to the X-Men, the Shi'ar agent calling himself Eric the Red had invaded the complex and transformed Magneto back into an adult. He hoped Magneto could prevent Xavier and the X-Men from interfering with his emperor plans. Magneto had quickly taken over the complex, and now detected the approach of the new X-Men in the hovercraft.

Initiating his attack, Magneto projected powerful magnetic forces that tore the hovercraft apart from afar, plunging his unsuspecting victims into the water. Magneto then used his power to wrap cable around Storm, preventing her from swimmimg to the surface. Logan cut her loose with his claws and, together with the other X-Men, swam to Muir Isle. There, within the complex, they confronted Magneto. Logan charged into the fray with obvious overconfidence: "Hey, it's the head honcho himself, troops - What say we cut old bucket-head down to size?"

Magneto found Logan's bravado contemptable. "Such all-consuming arragance from such a little man, Wolverine? Oh yes, I know your name. Thanks to Eric the Red, I know all about the new X-Men! You need a lesson in how to respect your betters! A lesson Magneto will be happy to teach you!"

With that, Magneto effortlessly magnetized Logan's adamantium claws so that they pulled him right into the wall. Magneto easily fended off the rest of the still inexperienced new X-Men, with only Cyclops able to hold him off for a short time.

But Cyclops, realizing from what Magneto had said that Eric the Red was responsible for his transformation back into an adult, was seized with the suspicion that this was all a diversion. What if even now Eric the Red was making an attempt on Xavier's life back in America? So Cyclops ordered the X-Men to forget about Magneto.

Logan had had disagreements with Cyclops's leadership before, but this was the limit. Despite exploding at Cyclops, Logan backed down, seeing it was useless to try and change Cyclops's mind. "Okay, Summers, this round goes to you - but from now on, bub, all bets are off!"

So the X-Men hastily departed, and Magneto glorified in what he believed was his triumph: as he saw it, he had forced Xavier's team to retreat.

Logan was well-aware that they had lost face in Magneto's eyes, and Logan wasn't about to let Cyclops forget it. "You can justify this till the day you die," he growled, "but it won't change the fact the dact that you made us run. You turned the X-Men into cowards, bub, an' that's somethin' the Wolverine'll never forgive."

At leat Cyclops could take pride in aspect of what Logan had said: Logan had not objected to himself being made to look like a coward, but to the sullying of the reputation of the X-Men. Logan, the self-styled loner, was developing real team spirit.

Scott's suspicions were correct, however, and on arriving at the mansion they encountered Eric the red and Firelord of the Shi'ar. Transported to the Shi'ar galaxy, Logan showed no signs of being taken aback by an alien environment in which he found himself, like most people would. If he did, he didn't show it.

The X-Men found themselves plunged into battle with the Imperial Guard, and during the fight he efeated Fang. Since Logan's costume had been destroyed, he appropriated Fang's.

After Phoenix succedded in putting an end to the threat D'ken had posed to the universe, they returned home to Earth. Logan continued to wear Fang's costume for a brief time afterward. In fact, he was still wearing it when he clashed with the martail arts master, Iron Fist, whom he and the other X-Men mistakenly believed to be a foe. In fact, Iron Fist was a friend of Misty Knight, the woman sharing Phoenix's new apartment in Manhattan, and so peace was soon made between Iron Fist and the X-Men.