[Boy Blunder]

Remember, true believers - characters like Wolverine, Deadpool, Spider-Man, Iron Man, etc are the anchor characters - the recognizable "face" figures that help sell the wave to big-box retailers. Even when they end up the pegwarmers, they're the ones that help motivate a retailer to order cases to stock.

I doubt the Legends team really wants to have to give those character slots up for another Wade or Logan, necessarily, but those characters are recognizable parts of the brand to retailers, which to them, translates to more "guaranteed" sales. Is it unfair and a little nonsensical? Absolutely. But that's the way of life.

I mean, hell, I remember back in the 5" days, when there was, no joke, one Wolverine per X-Men wave, even if the wave was themed around something where including Wolverine made no sense.
(EDIT: Found one wave that didn't have a Wolverine, Wave 5, but that was the sole exception)