Who is each Raptor as an X-Men character?

It was late in 2014 when James Johnson, then on the Raptors, compared himself to the popular Marvel Comics character Wolverine. He had bounced back quickly from injury; we thought nothing of it at the time. Fast forward two plus years and now Kyle Lowry, undisputed leader of the Raptors, had this to say while he too recovered fast from hurt:

Folks, not everyone can be Wolverine.

Much like the long and largely convoluted X-verse timeline, we need to sort this out once and for all. For if everyone on the Raptors is Wolverine, then no one on the Raptors is Wolverine.

(I won’t even address Terrence Ross’ bizarre self-comparison to Deadpool or this entire listing of characters. I think we all know this take is patently absurd. Sorry, Josh.)

For this week’s Question of the Week, we get to the important matter at hand: who is each Raptors’ X-Men character analogue? (We’ll stick with the X-verse here to keep things focused, which is obviously necessary.) Sure the team is reeling right now — they’ve lost four in a row, DeMar DeRozan is hurt — but this is important.

[cues music]

To the list!

Fred VanVleet — Maggott

Can exert power in two places at once; may not be around for long.

Bruno Caboclo — Skin

Able to stretch limbs way, way out; something of a fringe character.

Delon Wright — Iceman

Constant little brother; unsure of the full extent of powers; likeable.

Jakob Poeltl — Beast

Brainy and digressive; perhaps overly thoughtful when simple aggression will suffice.

Pascal Siakam — Strong Guy

Absorbs energy which he can convert into strength; also a bit of a joker.

Norman Powell — Chamber

Contains seemingly unlimited power; mostly quiet.

Jared Sullinger — Bishop

A large, strong man found in the wrong time.

Terrence Ross — Gambit

Charming; takes huge chances; can only be counted on at certain times.

Cory Joseph — Puck

Small, relentless, Canadian.

Lucas Nogueira — Legion

Noticeable hair, and a wild, inconsistent take on reality.

Jonas Valanciunas — Joseph

Powerful but derivative; tries to be a good guy; undone by his superiors.

Patrick Patterson — Forge

Consummate behind-the-scenes warrior; inventive; hard to describe what he does.

DeMarre Carroll — Longshot

Dimensional wanderer; marksman who creates his own luck; known for his accessories.

DeMar DeRozan — Cyclops

Leads by example; dependable but also kind of boring.

Kyle Lowry — Wolverine

Diminutive in stature but not heart; tough; just should really not mess with him.

So yes, one of the Raptors can be Wolverine and it was never really a question that it would be Lowry.