January 26, 1973

That was the date he traveled back to in order to save the world.
Not him, physically, but his consciousness.
Fifty years into his past.
Then, he had to relive all of those years for his body to catch back up to his mind.
How did that finally happen?
The power of music.
One song.

This afternoon, to escape the heat, I went to see Wolverine again.
Yeah, yeah, and the other X-men, too.
(But mostly him. He can put his boots under my bed any time!)
I first saw it while in Daytona Beach for my birthday.
I had sandwiched in a seafood lunch between this Marvel flick and the baseball movie.
Good call on both occasions!

This second viewing allowed me to really look at the action and listen to the dialogue.
And to the soundtrack.
That last part is important.
The music is the key to his finding his way home.

When his consciousness is flashed forward fifty years into his younger body - not that he isn't just as hot in his 2023 form! - he awakens in bed, next to a nubile nymph. Roberta Flack is crooning a 1972 hit on the clock radio by the waterbed.
"The first time
ever I saw your face
I thought the sun
rose in your eyes"

Go ahead, click the link and watch the video, then come back.
I'll wait.

Great song, right?
But not one that gets much airplay these days.
Probably not ten years from now, either.
Which is when we zip to after the world has been saved.
Again, Wolverine is waking up in bed...
alone this time...
but to that same song...
on his modern clock radio...
and SUDDENLY his consciousness leaps back into his body!!!
What's going on???
Where is he???
Why, he's at the school and all is well and he is supposed to be teaching a history class - but just what history he has no idea.
That's okay. The Professor will catch him up, now that he's "back".

And maybe later we'll find out what happened to Magneto and Mystique.