Wolverine (comics) Totally Explained

Everything about Wolverine Comics totally explained

Wolverine (born James Howlett and commonly known as Logan) is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero who has been a member of several teams, including the X-Men and the New Avengers. He was created by writer Len Wein and Marvel art director John Romita Sr., who designed the character, and was first drawn for publication by Herb Trimpe.
   Wolverine had a cameo appearance on the last page of Incredible Hulk #180 (October 1974) and his first "full" appearance in Incredible Hulk #181 (November 1974). X-Men writer Chris Claremont played a significant role in the character's subsequent development as well as artist/writer John Byrne, who insisted on making the character older than the other X-Men. Frank Miller also helped to revise the character in the early 1980s with the eponymous limited series in which Wolverine's catch phrase, "I'm the best there's at what I do, but what I do isn't very nice", was first written.
   A mutant, Wolverine possesses animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, and a healing factor that allows him to recover from virtually any wound. This healing ability enabled the supersoldier program Weapon X to bond the near indestructible metal alloy adamantium to his skeletal system. He is also a master of hand-to-hand combat and martial arts.
   Wolverine joined the X-Men's "All New, All Different" roster in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975). Wolverine was typical of the many tough anti-authority anti-heroes that emerged in American popular culture after the Vietnam War; his willingness to use deadly force and his brooding nature became standard characteristics for comic book anti-heroes by the end of the 1980s. As a result, the character became the clear favorite for fans of the increasingly popular X-Men franchise. He has been featured in his own solo comic since 1988 and he's been a central character in every X-Men adaptation, including animated television series, video games, and the live action 20th Century Fox X-Men film series, in which he's played by Hugh Jackman.

Publication history

Wolverine first appeared in the final "teaser" panel of The Incredible Hulk #180 (cover date October 1974) written by Len Wein and penciled by Herb Trimpe. The character then appeared in a number of advertisements in various Marvel Comics publications in early July (cover date November) before making his first major appearance in Hulk #181 (cover date November 1974) again by Wein and Trimpe. John Romita, Sr. designed Wolverine's yellow-and-blue costume. The character's introduction was ambiguous, revealing little beyond his being a superhuman agent of the Canadian government. In these appearances, he doesn't retract his claws, although Len Wein stated they'd always been envisioned as retractable. He appears briefly in the finale to this story in Hulk #182.
   Wolverine's next appearance was in 1975's Giant-Size X-Men #1, written by Wein and penciled by Dave Cockrum, in which Wolverine is recruited for a new squad. Gil Kane, who drew the cover of the comic, accidentally drew Wolverine's mask wrong, with larger headpieces. Dave Cockrum liked Kane's alteration (believing it to be similar to Batman's mask) and decided to incorporate it into his own artwork for the actual story. Cockrum was also the first artist to draw Wolverine without his mask, and the distinctive hairstyle became a trademark of the character.
   A revival of X-Men followed, beginning with Uncanny X-Men #94 (August 1975), drawn by Cockrum and written by Chris Claremont. In Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine is initially overshadowed by the other characters, although he does create tension in the team as he's a crush on Cyclops' girlfriend, Jean Grey. As the series progressed, Claremont and Cockrum (who preferred Nightcrawler) considered dropping Wolverine from the series; Cockrum's successor, artist John Byrne, championed the character, later explaining, as a Canadian himself, he didn't want to see a Canadian character dropped. Byrne created Alpha Flight, a group of Canadian superheroes who try to recapture Wolverine due to the expense their government incurred training him. Later stories gradually establish Wolverine's murky past and unstable nature, which he battles to keep in check. Byrne also designed a new brown-and-tan costume for Wolverine, but retained the distinctive Cockrum cowl.
   Following Byrne's departure, Wolverine remained in X-Men. The character's growing popularity led to a solo, four-issue limited series, Wolverine (Sept.-December 1982), by Claremont and Frank Miller, followed by the six-issue Kitty Pryde and Wolverine by Claremont and Al Milgrom (November 1984 - April 1985). Marvel launched an ongoing solo book written by Claremont with art by John Buscema in November 1988. It ran for 189 issues. Larry Hama later took over the series and had an extensive run. Other writers who wrote for the two Wolverine ongoing series include Peter David, Archie Goodwin, Erik Larsen, Frank Tieri, Greg Rucka, and Mark Millar. Many popular artists have also worked on the series, including John Byrne, Marc Silvestri, Mark Texeira, Adam Kubert, Leinil Francis Yu, Rob Liefeld, Sean Chen, Darick Robertson, John Romita, Jr., and Humberto Ramos. During the 1990s, the character was revealed to have bone claws, after his adamantium is ripped out by Magneto, which was inspired by a passing joke of Peter David's.
   In addition to the Wolverine series and appearances in the various X-Men series, two other storylines expand upon the character's past: "Weapon X", by writer-artist Barry Windsor-Smith, serialized in Marvel Comics Presents #72-84 (1991); and Origin, a six-issue limited series by co-writers Joe Quesada, Paul Jenkins, and Bill Jemas and artist Andy Kubert (November 2001 - July 2002). A second solo series, Wolverine: Origins, written by Daniel Way with art by Steve Dillon, spun out of and runs concurrently with the second Wolverine solo series.

Wolverine's first intended origin

Co-creator Len Wein originally intended for Logan to be a mutated wolverine cub, evolved to humanoid form by the High Evolutionary. In X-Men #98, a biological analysis of Wolverine suggests stated that he was in some way different from the other X-Men, and in X-Men #103, Wolverine says he doesn't believe in leprechauns, to which the leprechaun replies, "Maybe leprechauns don't believe in talkin' wolverines, either." In a reprint of Hulk #180-181, titled Incredible Hulk and Wolverine, an interview with Cockrum supports the claim Wolverine was intended to be a mutated wolverine. Cockrum said he considered having the High Evolutionary play a vital role in making Wolverine a human. He wanted Wolverine to be the age of a young adult, with superhuman strength and agility similar to Spider-Man. This changed when Cockrum saw John Romita Sr. draw a mask-less Wolverine as a hairy 40-year-old. Creator Len Wein originally intended the claws to be retractable and part of Wolverine's gloves, and both gloves and claws would be made of adamantium. This idea was later nixed by Claremont because he believed anyone could then become Wolverine by wearing the gloves. The claws are first revealed to be part of Wolverine's anatomy in X-Men #98.

Wolverine's second intended origin

Byrne said (as stated in interviews and on his website) that he drew a possible face for Wolverine - but then learned that John Romita Sr. had already drawn one for him (Wolverine's face, drawn by Cockrum, can be seen in Uncanny X-Men #98, long before Byrne started). Later, Byrne used the drawing for Sabretooth's face (an enemy of Iron Fist, who Claremont was also currently writing). Byrne then came up with the idea of Sabretooth being Wolverine's father (they both had similar healing abilities and raging tempers). Together, Byrne and Claremont came up with Wolverine being around 60 and having served in World War II after escaping from Sabretooth (who was around 120 years old and had been abusing him for decades - explaining his rages). The plan had been for Wolverine to have been almost crushed in an accident; at which point he'd discover (when attempting to stand for the first time after recovering) that his healing factor doesn't work on bones - his legs immediately break. He then spends over a decade in a hospital bed, almost going mad (another reason for his berserker rages) when the Canadian Government approaches him with the idea of replacing his skeleton one bone at a time with solid adamantium - the claws being an extra surprise. This origin too was never used.

Fictional character biography

Born in 19th century Canada to rich plantation owners, James Howlett grows into manhood on a mining colony in Northern Alberta, adopting the name "Logan." Logan leaves the colony and lives for a time in the wilderness among wolves, until returning to civilization, residing with the Blackfoot Indians. Following the death of his Blackfoot paramour, Silver Fox, he's ushered into a Canadian military unit. Logan then spends some time in Madripoor, developing his "Patch" persona; before settling in Japan, where he marries and has a son.
   During World War II, Logan teams with Captain America versus HYDRA, and continues a career as a soldier-of-fortune/adventurer. Logan works for the First Canadian Parachute Battalion and the CIA before being recruited for Team X.
   As a member of Team X, Logan is given false memory implants. He continues on the team, until he's able to break free of the mental control and joins the Canadian Defense Ministry. Logan is subsequently kidnapped by Weapon X, where he remains captive and experimented on, until his rescue by the Winter Soldier, after which he returns to the Canadian wilderness.
   Logan is eventually discovered by James and Heather Hudson, who help him recover his humanity. Following his recovery, Logan, this time under the supervision of Department H, once again works for Canadian Intelligence. Logan becomes Wolverine, one of Canada's first superheroes. In his first mission, he's dispatched to stop the destruction caused by a brawl between the Hulk and the Wendigo. Professor X recruits Wolverine to a new team of X-Men. Disillusioned with his Canadian intelligence work and intrigued by Xavier's offer, Logan resigns from Department H. Logan continues to adventure as a superhero, eventually recovering his memories.

Powers and abilities

Wolverine is a mutant with a number of both natural and artificial improvements to his physiology. His primary mutant power is an accelerated healing process typically referred to as his mutant healing factor that regenerates damaged or destroyed areas of his body far beyond the capabilities of an ordinary human and renders him immune to nearly all toxins and diseases. Though he's virtually immune to "fatal" dosages of toxins, he does exhibit superficial or immediate reactions to harmful or toxic substances, indeed Wolverine has been shown to become intoxicated after significant dosages of alcoholic beverages, and has been "knocked out" on several occasions with "knock-out" gasses.
   Depictions of the speed and extent of injury to which Wolverine can heal vary. Originally, this is portrayed as accelerated healing of minor wounds, but writers have increased this ability over years to the point that he can fully regenerate nearly any damaged or destroyed bodily tissue. One of the more extreme examples of Wolverine's healing factor shows the total regeneration of his soft body tissue, within a matter of minutes, after having it incinerated from his skeleton . Wolverine survives the explosion due to the protection his adamantium-laced skull provides to his brain. It has been stated in the Xavier Protocols, a series of profiles created by Xavier that lists the strengths and weaknesses of the X-Men, that Wolverine's healing factor is increased to "incredible levels" and that the only way to stop him is to decapitate him and remove his head from the vicinity of his body. In addition, the regenerative qualities of his healing powers dramatically alter his natural aging process to an unknown degree. However, despite being born in the late 1800s, he's the appearance and vitality of a man in his physical prime. Though he now has all of his memories, his healing abilities can provide increased recovery from psychological trauma by suppressing memories in which he experiences profound duress.
   Wolverine also has superhumanly acute senses of sight, smell, and hearing. He can see with perfect clarity at greater distances than an ordinary human, even in near-total darkness. His hearing is enhanced in a similar manner, allowing him to both hear sounds ordinary humans can't and also hear to greater distances. Wolverine is able to use his sense of smell to track targets by scent, even if the scent has been eroded somewhat over time by natural factors. This sense also allows him to identify shapeshifting mutants despite other forms they may take.
   Wolverine's physical appearance displays animal-like mutations, including pronounced canines and three retractable bone claws housed within each forearm. While originally depicted as surgically placed implants of the Weapon X Program,, the claws are later revealed to be part of his natural, mutant anatomy. The claws are much harder than normal bone and can cut substances as durable as most metals, wood, and some varieties of stone. Wolverine's hands don't have openings for the claws to move through: they cut through his flesh every time he extrudes them.
   Wolverine's entire skeleton, including his claws, is molecularly infused with adamantium, rendering it practically indestructible. Due to the adamantium coating, the claws can cut almost any known solid material. The only known exceptions are adamantium itself and Captain America's shield, which is the only substance in the Marvel Universe known to be even more durable than adamantium. Wolverine's ability to slice completely through a substance depends upon both the amount of force he can exert and the thickness of the substance. The adamantium also weights his blows, dramatically increasing the effectiveness of his punches and kicks.
   Wolverine's healing factor also affects a number of his physical attributes by increasing them to superhuman levels. His stamina is sufficiently heightened to the point he can exert himself for numerous hours, even after exposure to powerful tranquilizers. Wolverine's agility and reflexes are also enhanced to levels that are beyond the physical limits of the finest human athlete. Due to his healing factor's constant regenerative qualities, he can push his muscles beyond the limits of the human body without injury. This, coupled by the constant demand placed on his muscles by over one hundred pounds of adamantium, grants him some degree of superhuman strength. Since the presence of the adamantium negates the natural structural limits of his bones, he can lift or move weight that would otherwise damage a human skeleton. He is strong enough to break steel chains and lift a dozen men above his head with one arm and throw them through a wall.
   Due to high level psionic shields implanted by Professor Charles Xavier, Wolverine's mind is highly resistant to level 9 telepathic assault and probing.

Skills and personality

During his time in Japan and other countries, Wolverine becomes a master of virtually all forms of martial arts. He is proficient with most weaponry, including firearms, though he's partial to bladed weapons. He can defeat the likes of Shang-Chi and Captain America in single combat. He also has a wide knowledge of the body and pressure points. He is also an accomplished pilot and highly skilled in the field of espionage and covert operations.
   Wolverine sometimes lapses into a "berserker rage" while in close combat. In this state he lashes out with the intensity and aggression of an enraged animal and is even more resistant to psionic attack. Though he loathes it, he acknowledges that it has saved his life many times.
   In contrast to his brutish nature, Wolverine is actually extremely intelligent. Due to his increased lifespan, he's traveled the world and amassed an intimate amount of knowledge of foreign languages and cultures. He can speak English, Japanese, Russian, Chinese, Cheyenne, Spanish, Arabic, and Lakota; he also has some knowledge of French, Thai, Vietnamese, German and Portuguese. When Forge monitors Wolverine's vitals during a Danger Room training session, he calls Logan's physical and mental state "equivalent of an Olympic-level gymnast performing a gold medal routine while simultaneously beating four chess computers in his head."
   Despite his apparent ease at taking lives, he doesn't enjoy killing or giving into his berserker rages. Logan adheres to a firm code of personal honor and morality. He is often irreverent and rebellious, particularly towards authority, though he's a reliable ally and capable leader. He has had romantic, platonic, and even paternal relationships over the decades with numerous women.

Other versions

As one of Marvel's flagship characters, Wolverine has seen many adaptations and reimaginings. For example, an issue of Exiles featured a planet of Wolverines. In the Marvel Mangaverse, Wolverine is even the founder of the X-Men. In Marvel Zombies, Wolverine appears zombified alongside Marvel's other major players. The Ultimate Marvel line of comics sought to ingrain Wolverine into its Ultimate X-Men title from the onset.

In other media

Wolverine is the only X-Men character to be included in every media adaptation of the X-Men franchise, including film, television, computer and video games, and is the only one to have starred in his own video games (for example, ). Marvel Studios recently announced that an X-Men spin-off movie based on Wolverine, titled, is currently in production and will have Hugh Jackman reprise his role as Wolverine. Gavin Hood will be directing the film, which will be released worldwide on May 1, 2009. Troye Mellet will play the young Wolverine. In the game Marvel Ultimate Alliance Wolverine stars as one of the four main heroes.

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