Wolverine (Logan, later revealed to have been born James Howlett) is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero, and member of the X-Men. The character first appeared on the last page of Incredible Hulk #180 (October, 1974), with a full introduction in the following issue, Hulk #181 (November, 1974). In the 1980s and 1990s, he rose from relative obscurity to become a household name; he may be Marvel Comics' second most-popular character, after Spider-Man.
| Wolverine | |
|---|---|
| File:Wolverine (comics).PNG Wolverine, on the cover of The New Avengers #3. Art by Oliver Coipel | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Incredible Hulk #180-181 (October - November, 1974) |
| Created by | John Romita, Sr. Len Wein |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Logan (born James Howlett) |
| Team affiliations | X-Men Avengers X-Treme Sanctions Executive, Secret Defenders, Devil's Brigade, Four Horsemen, Alpha Flight, Weapon X, Canadian Parachute Battalion, Department H, Team X, Central Intelligence Agency, Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D. |
| Notable aliases | Death, Patch, Weapon X |
| Abilities | Regenerative healing factor, retarded aging, true Adamantium-laced skeleton & claws, heightened senses, and enhanced endurances |
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A mutant, Wolverine heals quickly, possesses animal-like senses and reflexes, and has three forearm-length claws on each hand. The claws -- and his entire skeleton -- are laced with the unbreakable metal alloy adamantium. He is an unparalleled master of combat who will not hesitate to meet lethal force in kind.
Wolverine's fierce nature helped forge the mold for comic book anti-heroes. His willingness to use deadly force, his efforts to come to terms with his questionable past and his angst-filled inner conflicts have become standard for anti-heroes.
Wolverine was created by Len Wein and John Romita Sr., with some additional influence by Herb Trimpe. The character was further developed by the celebrated creative duo of Chris Claremont and John Byrne, popularly remembered for their work on Uncanny X-Men. Frank Miller, usually remembered for his revitalization of Daredevil and redefinition of Batman, deserves credit for establishing important nuances in the Wolverine limited series he co-wrote with Claremont, such as the memorable catch phrase, "I'm the best there is at what I do, and what I do best ain't pretty." (Sometimes quoted as "...And what I do isn't very nice.")
Wolverine joined the X-Men roster in 1975 as part of the new group of mutants introduced in Giant-Sized X-Men #1, and has been featured in his own solo series since 1988. He has also been a central character in the various X-Men animated series and films.
Due to his massive popularity Wolverine has become one of the most overexposed characters in comics. It has even become a tradition of sorts over the last several years that every roster of the X-Men include Wolverine in it. Currently, Wolverine is an active member on all three teams of X-Men across the three main X-books and is a member of the recently formed New Avengers, along with continuing his solo adventures in his own book and making frequent guest appearances in many other books across the Marvel Universe. This habit of seemingly being everywhere at once has been noted in the comics and jokingly explained as an example of him "being the best at what he does."
Publication history
Wolverine first appeared in Incredible Hulk #180 (October 1974), in the final panel (enshrouded by darkness) of an issue written by Len Wein and illustrated by Herb Trimpe. His full introduction was in the next issue, #181 (November 1974. He appeared in a costume designed by John Romita, Sr: yellow-and-blue spandex which didn't particularly resemble a true wolverine; and sporting foot-long metal claws. His introduction left an ambiguous impression, revealing little more than that he was an agent of the Canadian government with superhuman powers. The basic facts about the character had not been established.
Wolverine next appeared in Giant-Sized X-Men #1 (1975), in which he joined the X-Men. Written by Wein and drawn by Dave Cockrum (who altered Wolverine's mask), the issue was successful enough to revive the title, starting with #94 (August 1975), drawn by Cockrum but written by Chris Claremont. Wolverine was initially overshadowed by the other characters, and, as the series progressed, Claremont even considered dropping the character.
However John Byrne, Cockrum's replacement as artist on The Uncanny X-Men, took it upon himself to champion the character. Himself a Canadian, Byrne did not appreciate the suggestion of dropping a Canadian character. One of his ideas involved creating Alpha Flight, a group of Canadian superheroes, who tried to recapture Wolverine due to the expense the Canadian government incurred in training him. Wolverine's murky past was gradually established, as was his unstable nature, which he battled to keep in check. To further deepen the character, Claremont and Byrne presented Wolverine as having a crush on Jean Grey, (a subplot that has been revisited,) the team leader Cyclops' girlfriend. This caused tension within the team dynamic, especially as Cyclops was written as a more cautious character, allowing another avenue for writers to develop tension, as well as adding a new dimension to the character. Byrne also designed a new, brown-and-tan costume for Wolverine, keeping the distinctive Cockrum-designed cowl. The new look succeeded and the readers' interest began to climb.
Following Byrne's departure, Wolverine remained with the X-Men, written by Claremont. By this point he was becoming popular with regular comic book readers, and appeared in his own mini-series Wolverine (#1-4 by Claremont and Frank Miller, September - December 1982) and in Kitty Pryde and Wolverine (#1-6 by Claremont and Al Milgrom, November 1984 - April 1985).
The success of these books prompted Marvel to launch a solo book for Wolverine, written by Claremont, with art by John Buscema, in November 1988. In addition to the Wolverine comic book and his appearances in the various X-Men comic books, two other stories have been published which serve to expand upon the character's past; Weapon X (by Barry Windsor-Smith, which was serialised in Marvel Comics Presents #72-84, 1991); and the Origin six issue mini-series (by Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada, Paul Jenkins and Andy Kubert, 2002).
Wolverine has also proven one of the most popular X-Men in other media, being one of the most prominent characters in the X-Men movies, and one of the main characters in each of the X-Men cartoons. For more details, see In Other Media section below.
Marvel Universe version
Wolverine first appeared as a Canadian superhero and government agent fighting The Incredible Hulk and the Wendigo, in order to halt the destruction in the wake of their battle. His speed and maneuverability proved to be a match for the two plodding powerhouses of vast superhuman strength, and he was able to fight both creatures to a standstill.
Soon Professor X recruited him to join a new team of X-Men, and he resigned from his position in Canada, disregarding his superiors' objections. Over the following year, Wolverine was revealed to be a mutant whose skeleton had been laced with the unbreakable metal adamantium. Initially misanthropic and a loner, Wolverine often clashed with the X-Men's leader Cyclops. Given to berserker rages in combat, he slowly learned how to control his feral instincts. However, Wolverine is the X-Man most likely to permanently deal with adversaries who dispense lethal force. Despite his quick temperament, he has been described as a warrior poet with an iron will.
Various writers have subsequently fleshed out and revised Wolverine's mysterious past. Within the current continuity of Wolverine's background, it has been revealed that he joined Nick Fury, Captain America, and the Black Widow fighting the Nazis in Madripoor during World War II and afterward, he joined the Canadian Army and participated in D-Day and the liberation of Holland. He may have also been a spy for the allies and it was recently revealed that he may have been captured and spent time in the Sobibor concentration camp. What is for certain about his past is that he was part of a project called Weapon X; it was this project which added the adamantium to his body. He was then adopted by James and Heather Hudson and co-opted into their superhero work with the Canadian government, which eventually became Alpha Flight. There was an intention for Wolverine to lead this team, and his abrupt departure from the team precipitated James Hudson's adoption of the identity of Weapon Alpha (later Vindicator and then Guardian), and saw a number of typically hostile confrontations in which Alpha Flight tried to bring Wolverine back to Canada, whilst Wolverine attempted to retain his freedom. Wolverine would eventually make peace with Hudson and Alpha Flight, while remaining a member of the X-Men. He was also on a government Black-Ops team which consisted of him, Maverick, Sabretooth, and Silver Fox. The team was apparently disbanded after a botched mission concerning Omega Red.
Claremont and other writers have added layers of complexity to the character over time; it was revealed that he could read and speak Japanese; that he had a strong sense of personal honour; and the character was also shown developing a close friendship with his teammate Nightcrawler, a character whose personality was written as somewhat diametrically opposed to Wolverine, as well as developing a father-like relationship with the character Jubilee who is regarded as his unofficial sidekick.
As mentioned previously, early in their run together on The Uncanny X-Men Claremont and Byrne created a subplot wherein Wolverine became interested in Jean Grey. However this interest was never consummated, and it was unclear as to whether Wolverine's feelings were reciprocated by Grey. Eventually a new love interest was introduced, with Wolverine becoming engaged to Lady Mariko Yashida, a daughter of a Japanese crime family. He was forced to kill her father in a duel and single-handedly destroyed his crime cartel. Mariko and Logan became estranged due to the strange honour customs of her family, and the manipulations of the villain Mastermind. Once they were finally reunited she was poisoned by Reiko, an assassin for the Yakuza. She requested Wolverine to end her life quickly rather than let her die a slow and painful death from the toxin, and he obeyed. This changed Wolverine's character significantly, making him more disciplined and emotionally distant.
In X-Men #25 (1993), at the culmination of the "Fatal Attractions" crossover, the adamantium in Wolverine's skeleton was forcibly removed by the supervillain Magneto. The act inflicted devastating injuries to Wolverine's body, so devastating that his mutant healing factor burned itself out in order to keep him alive. As a result, many of Wolverine's other natural mutant abilities, such as his heightened senses, strength, stamina, and agility, were burned out. In the Weapon X serial, then in Wolverine Vol. 2 issue 75 and the Origin mini-series, it was revealed that Wolverine's claws were actually made of bone and part of his mutant powers, and not created by the Weapon X program.
However, it was revealed in Wolverine Vol. 2 issue 91 that after sufficient time had passed enabling his body to recover from this severe trauma his mutation actually began to accelerate and as a consequence Wolverine not only regained his superhuman abilities, they actually increased from what they had been when he had the adamantium in his skeleton. Unfortunately, this also made Wolverine more feral.
Some time later, in Wolverine #100, another maniac, Genesis, kidnapped Wolverine and attempted to re-bond the metal to his skeleton. This was unsuccessful and caused Wolverine's mutation to accelerate out of control. He was temporarily changed into a semi-sentient beast-like form in which he knew greater physical power than ever before, at the price of part of his humanity. Genesis did not survive the battle following his failed experiment. Wolverine found a way to reverse his form to what it had been just previous to the time when Genesis captured him.
After several years of continuing to exist without the benefit of the adamantium to reinforce his skeletal structure, Wolverine was kidnapped by the villain Apocalypse, who set up a contest between Wolverine and his arch nemesis, Sabretooth, with the victor to become one of Apocalypse's new group of Horsemen. Wolverine barely emerged victorious, and as a result Apocalypse extracted the adamantium from Sabretooth and had it bonded to Wolverine. Although initially brainwashed into serving Apocalypse, Wolverine eventually overcame Apocalypse's programming and returned to the X-Men.
Recently, Wolverine was recaptured by the Weapon X program, which is under new leadership. It was then revealed that the mental implants installed by the original Weapon X program were still functional, because the new director had used Wolverine as a sleeper agent to track down and eliminate the old members of the Weapon X program. However, we are told that during his assassination of Senator Drexel Walsh (the previous director of the Weapon X program), the mental implants were destroyed under the stress. It was in this incident that we were introduced to the Shiver Man and Mauvais. Hints in this series point towards the opinion that Origin is in fact the true story of Wolverine's past.
Today, Wolverine remains an integral part of the X-Men, He is also an officer of the mutant law enforcement agency the X-Treme Sanctions Executive (XSE), and he recently joined the reformed Avengers alongside other famous Marvel Comics heroes such as Captain America, Iron Man, and Spider-Man.
At the conclusion of Marvel's 2005 event, House of M, Wolverine's memories of his entire life have been restored. How this will affect the character remains to be seen.
Early life
Wolverine's early life has been revealed gradually over time. Wolverine's time as a captive and subject of the Weapon X project has been revealed as a period when he was entirely at the mercy of feral instincts due to severe physical and psychological trauma inflicted upon him by the program. He was their agent, their ultimate weapon, along with his future archnemesis Sabretooth. Next, Wolverine lived on a Native American reservation with his former girlfriend Silver Fox, whom he thought had been killed by his enemy.
Finally, the story of his childhood was told in the miniseries Origin. He was born James Howlett, the son of wealthy Canadians John and Elizabeth Howlett. In 19th century Alberta, the frail boy was raised by the red-haired Rose, his companion and tutor which bore more than a passing resemblance to Jean Grey, since his mother was distant and remote. Elizabeth's first son had was believed to have been born a mutant and killed by the Grandfather Howlett. This traumatic experience caused Elizabeth to be locked away in the attic of the Manor for some time, as she underwent therapy. Years passed and she eventually gave birth to James Howlett, the man later known as Wolverine. During this time, her husband hired a new groundskeeper, Thomas Logan, with whom she eventually had an affair with. Thomas' son, Dog, would later on attack Rose and cause Thomas Logan to be fired. However, John Howlett later found Logan with his wife. Thomas had returned to get his lover. In a twist of fate, Logan killed John. Wolverine's mutant powers -particularly his claws - chose this traumatic moment to emerge. With his new powers, James Howlett killed Logan and scarred Dog. Elizabeth lost both husband and lover. She chose to commit suicide.
Due to his alleged killing of his parents, James was exiled by his grandfather and became a nomad. He was brought to a British Columbia mining colony, where he grew into a strong and ferocious lad. Three years later, Dog tracked him down. Wolverine won the resulting battle but failed to kill Dog. Rose attempted to prevent the killing and was impaled by the claws of her mutant charge. Wracked with grief over the death of his true love, Wolverine spent more time in the woods with wolves, where he feels more at home.
Much of Wolverine's origin still remains a mystery. It is unclear how much Wolverine recalls about his past, as his memories have been extensively tampered with, both by the Weapon X program and his healing powers.
Recently, due to the events caused by the Scarlet Witch during the House of M storyline, it is now believed that Wolverine has full recolection of his entire past. How he will choose to deal with this information has yet to be seen.
Skrull impostor
A Skrull working for Apocalypse briefly replaced the real Wolverine to allow the real one to be kidnapped and brainwashed. Due to mental programming to allow him to take the place of the real Wolverine without alerting the X-Men's telepaths, he believed himself to actually be Wolverine.
The Skrull impostor of Wolverine was initially created as part of a program initiated by the Skrulls to impersonate Earth's heroes en masse, at the cost of the shapeshifting abilities of those used - instead they would be physically locked into the forms they were imitating, in addition to mental programming designed to make them believe they were the hero in question. Due to the limitations of the process and their technology, however, they could not duplicate most of the respective abilities (e.g., the fake "Nightcrawler" could only pretend to teleport by becoming invisible). After the Skrull homeworld was destroyed by Galactus, Apocalypse found some skrulls and put them to use, including using this process on one of them to cover while they kidnapped the real Wolverine. The limitations meant, however, that "Skrullverine" had no "healing factor" or enhanced senses.
The impostor took on Wolverine's heroic qualities and saved several members of the X-Men and the Mannites (super powered children) from being eliminated by Apocalypse's acolyte of Death. The Skrull impostor was killed by the acolyte of Death (who turned out to be the real Wolverine who had been brainwashed). His death was noble and heroic.
Costumes
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Original costume, designed by John Romita, Sr.
Herb Trimpe, Art -
Second costume. Original costume with minor modifications (mask has bigger wing-tips, no whiskers). Designed by Dave Cockrum, first appeared in Giant Size X-Men #1.
Cover to Uncanny X-Men #133, art by John Byrne. -
Brown and tan suit first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #139, designed by John Byrne.
Cover to Wolverine #17, art by John Byrne. -
Wore team's uniform along with fellow X-Men beginning in Uncanny X-Men #275 for a brief while. Art by Jim Lee
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Reverted to the yellow suit, with a blue mask in the early 90's.
Art by Joe Maduirera -
Short-lived leather-jacket no-shirt look, created for New X-Men.
Promotional art, by Frank Quitely. -
Short-lived maskless inversion of his "classic" suit, intended to keep his appearance consistent across both Ultimate and Earth-616 comics, merchandising, X-Men Legends, and the X-Men: Evolution cartoon.
Cover to Ultimate X-Men #33, art by Adam Kubert -
Current costume, a slight variation on the Romita Sr/Cockrum costume.
Cover to New Avengers #3, art by Oliver Coipel.
Other versions of Wolverine
Age of Apocalypse
Wolverine was never actually called “Wolverine” in the Age of Apocalypse timeline. Instead, he retained his code name, Weapon X. In this reality he never had his adamantium ripped out and it was Magneto that helped him to control his feral rages. Weapon X was a loner and, initially, an unwilling recruit to the X-Men. He reconsidered after meeting the team’s telepath, Jean Grey. The two had an instant connection and eventually became lovers. Logan trained Magneto’s newer recruits, including Kitty Pryde, also known as Shadowcat. Unbeknown to the rest of the X-Men, Magneto had asked Weapon X to train the girl as an assassin. Weapon X taught Shadowcat everything he knew and even crafted a pair of claws, similar to his own, for her with Magneto’s help. One of the main differences between Weapon X and the Earth 616 Wolverine is that Weapon X’s left hand is missing. The hand was blasted off by the Prelate Scott Summers (a villain in this universe) when Weapon X tried to rescue Jean from Mr. Sinister. He succeeds and gorged one of the Summers' eyes out in return. He also has a number of facial tattoos. Not willing to return to the X-Men, Logan and Jean worked on their own. After months of guerrilla warfare, they were contacted by Sinister who revealed Apocalypse’s plan to attack the humans in Europe. Logan and Jean delivered this information to the Human High Council and learned of the Council’s plan to launch nuclear missiles on America to stop Apocalypse. In the end, Jean was killed by the Prelate Alex Summers, but Logan avenged her.
Interestingly, his relationships with many of his old enemies were changed. Sabretooth is no longer his nemesis, but instead an ally, although the two still shared similar powers.
Earth X
According to Earth X, the second child of the Howletts died in childbirth, and the Howletts found and adopted an infant member of the Moon Clan, a bestial race which has co-existed with humanity for hundreds of thousands of years. This Moon Clan were mortal enemies of the Bear Clan, of which Sabretooth belongs to. Supposedly, it is this Moon Tribe child who was named James Howlett and would grow up to become Wolverine. This explains the enmity between Wolverine and Sabretooth, but the story is not considered canon.
Ultimate Wolverine
In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Wolverine first appeared as an assassin who worked for Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants, who was sent to infiltrate the X-Men in order to assassinate Charles Xavier. In this continuity, he quickly seduced Jean Grey, ultimately falling in love with her. Grey later left him upon discovering his connections to the Brotherhood of Mutants and his intention to assassinate Xavier. At this point Wolverine changed sides and abandoned his original mission.
Wolverine then allowed Cyclops, a rival for Grey's affections, to seemingly fall to his death, thinking it would allow him to continue his relationship with Jean Grey. However Cyclops survived the fall and when Grey learned of this she once again spurned Wolverine. The character is now currently in exile from the X-Men, accompanied by Storm.
This version of Wolverine has all of the abilities of the Wolverine in the normal continuity. However, a major plot point in this continuity is the creation of adamantium as a highly sought after alloy. The formula for the metal is a government secret, with the process for creating the substance next to impossible to duplicate, leading to numerous criminals seeking to obtain Wolverine's adamantium for their own purposes. The adamantium in Wolverine's skull also prevents telepaths from reading his mind. This principle is also used for the helmets of Magneto and the Juggernaut (metal seems to work as a deterrant to telepathy.)
Other changes in the new continuity involve Sabretooth, Wolverine's archnemesis, who now became a high ranking officer of the Weapon X program. Wolverine killed Sabretooth by decapitation whilst battling at their arctic head quarters, after watching Sabretooth burn all records of his past.
Wolverine's origin is also slightly different. According to Captain America, Wolverine was James Howlett, a Canadian paratrooper with whom the Captain had made several jumps with during World War II. Sabretooth had also claimed Wolverine to have had a wife and child, proudly claiming responsibility for killing them. Whether or not he was telling the truth remains to be seen, but a wedding ring that belonged to Wolverine is the only remaining piece of his past.
Wolverine in other media
Wolverine, as the most prominent member of the X-Men, has been the only X-Man to have been included in every adaptation of the X-Men franchise into non-comics media (including film, television, and computer and video games), and is the only X-Man to have starred in his own video game.
His voice was provided by Cathal J. Dodd in the 1990s X-Men animated television series and in the Marvel vs. Capcom series of fighting games. In the 2000s animated television series X-Men: Evolution, his voice was provided by Scott McNeil.
In the X-Men movies, he was played by Hugh Jackman, a 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) actor as opposed to Wolverine's traditional height in the comics of 5'3". In the movie tie-in video game X2: Wolverine's Revenge, his voice was provided by Mark Hamill. Steven Blum provided the voice for Wolverine in the video game series X-Men Legends.
In X-Men: Evolution, Wolverine is a distant man with a past shrouded in mystery. His memories reduced to a flashing series of contradictory images, Logan comes to the Xavier Institute at the behest of Professor X. The object of fear, awe and speculation on the part of the students, he inspires the X-Men in good (providing battle tips after clandestinely watching Danger Room sessions) and bad (inspiring conflict between the core group of X-Men simply by virtue of his loner status and aggressive behaviour) ways.
Powers and abilities
- See also: Healing Factor
Wolverine is a mutant with a number of both natural and artificial improvements to his physiology. He regenerates and heals hundreds of times faster than a normal human, and has recovered completely from injuries that would have killed most humans, even those with superhuman abilities. He can regenerate organs such as eyes and large portions of flesh, but not completely severed limbs. His healing factor has been depicted with some degree of contradiction, depending on the writer.
This "healing factor" also grants immunity to most toxins and diseases, giving him enough stamina to exert himself at peak levels for days, and retards aging to an unknown degree. He is about 110 years old, yet his appearance and physique are unchanged since the peak years of his life. However, writers have suggested that the healing factor is also the cause of his amnesia, explained at one point by Sabertooth to have the added ability to 'scab over' potentially damaging memories and experiences and prevent deterioration of his mental health. This does not, however, seem to give him any added protection against psionics.
Wolverine possesses heightened senses enabling him to see and hear distant objects more clearly than a normal human, and identify and track someone purely by scent. His heightened sense of smell is slightly more developed than that of Daredevil. They are actually a result of his constant cellular regeneration as are his agility and reflexes.
Wolverine's physical appearance also displays animal-like mutations, including sharper-than-normal teeth with two pronounced canines, and six retractable claws housed within his forearms, which he can release from between his knuckles (causing bleeding that is rapidly healed). The claws are made of bone, unlike the claws of normal mammals, which are made of keratin.
Wolverine's claws and skeleton have been molecularly laced with nigh-indestructible metal Adamantium. The adamantium coating keeps the claws sharp and mean that his ability to cut through things is limited by his strength, not the claws. The tensile strength and additional weight of his skeleton combined with his constant cellular regeneration grants him great physical strength as his body is able to withstand higher levels of physical pressure than a normal human. His exact level of physical strength has been depicted with some degree of contradiction, depending on the writer. His blows are weighted (similar to using brass knuckles) due to the presence of this metal.
Skills
Though seemingly brutish, Wolverine is in fact very intelligent. Due to his increased lifespan, he has been able to travel around the world and amass an intimate knowledge of many foreign languages, customs and cultures, with his years in Japan, where he became a master in martial arts, both armed and unarmed, especially notable in the way of the katana. He can use most weapons, traditional or modern, long or close-range. He is also an accomplished pilot, and is extremely well trained in espionage and covert operations.
External links
- Marvel Universe
- Wolverine at X-Boys8 Central,
- Wolverine & Rogue movieverse, with official stills
- Unofficial chronology of his life based on various stories
- The Wolverine Files, a detailed Wolverine Chronology
- Knightmare6.com; Wolverine FAQ