That's true, Gorgon is really one of the few Wolverine villains created in recent years that is still used consistently, he really become a big player in the Marvel Universe after EoTS and yeah I also hope Percy will be allowed to use him.
I do agree, it's strange seeing him taking orders and not leading the Hand anymore, Hickman seems to like the character, as seen with his works on Secret Warriors and the first arc of Avengers World so maybe he has a plan for him down the line beyond just being one of the commander of Krakoa. I admit seeing him telling he's seen the errors of his ways, that he's now enlighted and that he has no problems being led by mutants who understand war better than him was so strange.
Losing both Gorgon and Sabretooth as antagonists is problematic right now, I would have loved to see the two of them fight for the control of the Hand with Wolverine trapped in the middle of the conflict. At least it was mentioned that Cyclops consulted Logan before appointing Gorgon as one of the commander so maybe he's keeping an eye on him, still, that scene where Logan gave him a beer is something I didn't like and something almost out of character for Logan, because no way he would forgive Gorgon for what this monster did to him, to Mariko and to the son of her cousin.
But who knows, maybe it's just Logan playing along for now, at least I hope so.
I was wondering the same thing, it's strange they're not using recent modern covers swipes for the variants such as the covers of Wolverine Vol 2 #159, #167, #171, #173, #185, #300, #307, Wolverine Vol 3 #3, #20, #31 #66, #70, #71, #72, some covers from the Wolverine: Weapon X series, the Jae Lee covers from Volume 4 or even the Alan Davis cover of the first issue of Wolverine Vol 5.
Thinking about it, Marvel could also do another videogame variant like they did during Killable with Zelda II, it could be fun too:
Yeah using other covers, especially the ones from the Claremont's run like you said, could be interesting such as #173, #196, #205, #207, #213, #234, #251, #258 or #268 for example (#268 has been used during House of X though) although I understand why they're using this cover as an homage variant so much, it's iconic and it always sells a lot. Beyond the covers from the Claremont's run or the original Wolverine ongoing, I think the one from X-Men Vol 2 #5 could be perfect as a new variant especially with the return of Omega Red: