Wolverine (character)

Wolverine
Art from alternante cover for Wolverine : origins #01. Art by Michael Turner.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Incredible Hulk #180-181 (October-November 1974)
Created by	Len Wein John Romita, Sr. Herb Trimpe
In-story information
Alter ego	James Howlett
Species	Human Mutant
Team affiliations	X-Men New Avengers S.H.I.E.L.D. Horsemen of Apocalypse Alpha Flight Weapon X Weapon Plus Department H HYDRA "New Fantastic Four"
Notable aliases	Logan, Death, Patch, Weapon X, Agent Ten, Hand of God, Mai'Keth, Emilio Garra. Peter Richards, "Canucklehead", James Logan, Mutant #9601, Wildboy
Abilities	Regenerative healing factor Superhuman senses, strength, stamina, agility, and reflexes Adamantium-laced skeletal structure with retractable claws Resistance to telepathy Expert martial artist

Wolverine (James Howlett), commonly known as Logan, is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero and a member of several teams, including the X-Men and the New Avengers. Created by writer Len Wein and artist John Romita, Sr. with some input by Incredible Hulk illustrator Herb Trimpe, Wolverine first appeared in Incredible Hulk #180-181 (October 1974). X-Men writer Chris Claremont played a significant role in the character's subsequent development. Frank Miller also helped to revise the character in the early eighties with the eponymous limited series in which Wolverine's catch phrase, "I'm the best there is 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 unbreakable metal alloy adamantium to his skeletal system that includes razor-sharp retractable claws. 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 symbolic of the many tough anti-authority anti-heroes that emerged in American popular culture after the Vietnam War, and his willingness to use deadly force and 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 has been a central character in every X-Men adaptation, including animated television series, video games, and the live action 20th Century Fox film series, in which he is 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 pencilled 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 does not retract his claws, although Len Wein stated they had always been conceived of 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 is also the first artist to draw Wolverine without his mask, and the distinctive hairstyle became a trademark of the character.

File:Hulk181.jpg

Cover to The Incredible Hulk #181.
Wolverine's first major appearance.
Pencils by Herb Trimpe.

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 has 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 did not 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),4-issue 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 189issues. 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 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 that he is not a full-fledged mutant, 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." (an oblique reference to the dialog between the Hunter and the talking Unicorn in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass)

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. 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. Shortly after this, it was revealed that Spider-Woman was a spider evolved to human form by the High Evolutionary. Publisher Stan Lee was disgusted with the interpretation of the character and insisted her origin be changed. Lee's strong reaction and subsequent demand for a retcon convinced Cockrum and Claremont they could never get away with introducing Logan as a mutated wolverine.

Wolverine's second intended origin

After Dave Cockrum left and John Byrne became the artist, 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. 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 (after all, 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 would discover (when attempting to stand for the first time after recovering) that his healing factor does not 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

Origin

Wolverine first uses his claws in Origin #2 (December 2001). Pencils by Andy Kubert.

After decades of complicated, confounding back-stories and retcons, the 2001 limited series Origin finally tells the story of Wolverine's early years.

Set in 19th century Alberta, Canada, James Howlett, the second son of John and Elizabeth Howlett, is sick and frail in contrast to the quickly healing Wolverine. His parents hire a young Irish girl named Rose to watch over James and keep his spirits up. On the rare days that James is allowed to go outside he and Rose spend their time playing with a young boy they know as "Dog" Logan, the son of Thomas Logan, groundskeeper of the Howlett Mansion. Thomas and Dog live together in a small shack on the poor side of town. Thomas is an abusive alcoholic and is highly resentful of the Howletts, particularly John Howlett. At first his resentment seems rooted in the fact that he and his son have nothing while John Howlett has everything, but it is later revealed that he has been carrying on a secret affair with the lady of the house since before James was born. It is also later revealed that when Rose walks in on Elizabeth, there are three long scars on her side. After Dog commits such heinous acts as trying to force himself on Rose and killing James's pet dog, John Howlett fires Thomas and has him thrown off the property. This only adds to Thomas' hatred and, in a drunken rage, he and his son, with the forced help of Rose, break into the Howlett Mansion at night armed with shotguns. Thomas finds Elizabeth in her bedroom and tries to convince her to run away with him when they are both confronted by John Howlett who gets into a fistfight with Thomas. Awakened by the noise, James enters the bedroom just in time to see Thomas shoot and kill John. Enraged and horrified at seeing his father murdered, James extends his claws for the first time. He kills Thomas, slashes Dog across the face, and passes out. Elizabeth, upon witnessing the death of her husband, her lover, and the emergence of James' claws, promptly commits suicide.

Rose, blinded by fear and not thinking straight, takes James and runs off into the night. The police are summoned to the mansion and they question Dog, who blames the killing entirely on Rose. With Rose blamed for the death of the Howletts and James exiled by his bitter grandfather, the two friends set out for parts unknown. They join a mining colony in British Columbia where James (who has lost all memory of his parents, his childhood, and his name, due to his trauma) adopts the name "Logan" and struggles under the harsh working conditions of the mining colony. As his mutant abilities develop, James becomes strong, acquiring the nickname "Wolverine" from his fellow miners. During his time at the mining colony, James speaks less and less of the past to Rose, often immersing himself in hunting and the physically demanding work of daily life in the colony. Unbeknownst to James and Rose, Dog has tracked them to British Columbia. On his deathbed, James's grandfather had a change of heart and asked Dog to find his grandson so that he can see him one last time. However, Dog is still nursing a deep grudge against James for killing his father as well as scarring his face and against Rose for spurning his advances. Following their trail, Dog finds Rose and James at the mining colony and attempts to beat him to death in front of a large crowd. Just as James prepares to extend his claws and kill Dog, Rose is accidentally knocked into the fray by the crowd. Impaling herself, she dies in James' arms. Driven mad with grief, James becomes feral, living in the woods with wolves.

Early Years

At some point in time, Logan lives in another frontier community in the Canadian Rockies, where he will meet his deadliest enemy, Victor Creed, although the community knows him only as Sabretooth. He will also meet a young Native American woman named Silver Fox, with whom Logan soon falls in love. The two build a cabin together and live happily for several months. On Logan's birthday, Sabretooth brutally attacks Silver Fox, killing her as Logan returns home. Enraged, Logan battles Sabretooth only to be defeated. Unable to bear this defeat, Logan leaves never to return.

World War I

Logan eventually joins a unit in the Canadian military known as the Devil's Brigade. Logan's commanding officer is a superhumanly-strong man known as Cyber. Logan and Cyber fight over a woman named Janet who Cyber kills. During the battle, Cyber brutally beats Logan and gouges out one of his eyes. At this time, Logan wears a patch over his eye and uses the alias "Patch".

Logan leaves the army and travels to China, where he meets a man by the name of Chang, a Chinese businessman and an employee of Landau, Luckman, and Lake. In Shanghai, Logan meets Ogun, a Japanese samurai, sorcerer, and an immortal. Impressed by Logan, Ogun offers to instruct him in the martial arts. Wolverine soon has a deep love for Japan; it is like a second home to him. After a number of years, Logan travels to Madripoor, an island nation in Asia.

At some point, Logan develops a close attachment to the Romanov family in Russia and to young Natasha Romanova, who will later be known as the Black Widow.

In 1936, Wolverine worked along time-travelling Kitty Pryde and Rachel Summers to fight Nazi villains Baron Strucker and Geist, who had allied with the Shadow King to dethrone Edward VIII of the United Kingdom and replace him with a fascist heir.

World War II

Due to World War II, Logan is no longer welcome in Japan. He returns to Madripoor, where he deals with the Hand. Later, Logan teams up with Captain America to battle against the Hand and Baron Strucker. Thier main goal: rescuing Natasha Romanova from being transformed into a Hand assassin. During the war, Strucker will also work with HYDRA, a worldwide terrorist organization.

Eventually, Logan returns to Canada and again enlists in the Armed Forces and joins the First Canadian Parachute Batallion. Among the Nazi soldiers, Logan encounters Bloodscream, an immortal vampire.

During this period, Logan will also meet Nick Fury for the first time.

After World War II, Logan again travels to Japan.

Logan will later join the American CIA.

At some time Logan's name is submitted for consideration in Team X.

Team X

Logan is recruited for Team X, a Black Ops section of the American CIA for the purpose of using him as a sleeper agent. Logan is unaware of his mutant powers but is also given false memory implants created by Psi-Borg. The Weapon X Program, created the Shiva Scenario; armored robots whose only mission is to terminate Team X agents. This scenario was created by Dr. Alexander Ryking, Dr. Kurt Marko, and Dr. Brian Xavier; fathers of Hazard, Juggernaut, and Professor X. Other members of Team X include Sabretooth, Silver Fox, John Wraith, a.k.a. Kestrel, Maverick, Mastodon, Vole, and Wildcat. Mystique, under the name of Leni Zauber, also assists Team X on occasion.

On one mission, Logan and Sabretooth are to assassinate the Soviet super-agent Epsilon Red. The mission is called off but Sabretooth murders Epsilon Red's wife for kicks. In Logan's final mission with Team X, he, Sabretooth, Maverick, and John Wraith are again dispatched to East Germany to sabotage a Soviet super-soldier program in Berlin and steal the carbonadium synthesizer, along with a double agent named Janice. Team X is confronted by another super-agent, Omega Red. During their efforts to escape, Sabretooth murders Janice.

Logan learns he is a mutant and resigns from Team X. Logan then works for the Canadian Defense Ministry. This may be Department K, a branch of the Canadian government linked to the Weapon X Program. On one occasion, Logan works with Richard and Mary Parker, government agents who will give birth to Peter, who will eventually become Spider-Man. Logan also first meets Carol Danvers during this time.

Weapon X

Wolverine's days at Weapon X.
Art by Kaare Andrews

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This file may be deleted after Saturday, 21 July 2007.

In the serialized story "Weapon X", Barry Windsor-Smith creates the backstory for the man who would become Wolverine.

Logan is kidnapped by agents of the Weapon X Program. The man known only as the "Professor", Dr. Abraham Cornelius, and Carol Hines run the experiment on Logan. After doing many tests, the Professor learns Logan is a mutant and will make the perfect weapon. Then Logan's bones and claws are bonded with the indestructible metal known as adamantium. This adamantium bonding process was stolen by the Weapon X Program from the Japanese scientist known as Lord Dark Wind.

Logan proves too difficult for the Weapon X Program to control and shortly thereafter, Wolverine escapes the facility, killing nearly everyone except for the Professor, Cornelius, Hines, and Malcolm Colcord, a soldier, whom Logan disfigures. Driven feral-like state due to the experiment, Logan wanders the forests of the Canadian Rockies for months. During this period, Logan saves the life of a werewolf-like creature known as the Hunter in Darkness.

The Weapon X Program is shut down and is taken over by Canada's Department H, headed by James Hudson. In later years, the Program will also be revived by the American government under the supervision of a man known only as the Director, a survivor of Logan's rampage at the Weapon X facility.

Department H

Wandering the woods, Logan is eventually discovered by James and Heather Hudson, who help him with recovery. Following his recovery, Logan, this time under the supervision of Department H, again goes to work for Canadian Intelligence. Logan is dispatched to stop the destruction caused by the powerhouses Hulk and the Wendigo, who are locked in a savage fight.

James Hudson creates Alpha Flight and Logan joins and later becomes a leader.

Early during this period, Logan meets Ben Grimm. At this time, Logan is targeted by Sabretooth and HYDRA under the command of Silver Fox. Again, he is aided by Nick Fury, Carol Danvers, and the Black Widow.

At some point, Logan meets Cable for the first time.

X-Men

Giant-Size X-Men #1, 1975. Art by Gil Kane & Dave Cockrum.

In Giant-Size X-Men #1, 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.

Professor X gathered a new team of X-Men to free Cyclops' team from the mutant island known as Krakoa. Logan and the other new X-Men successfully rescue the previous team with no loss of life, marking the beginning of a new period in Logan's life. Logan forms an immediate friendship with Nightcrawler and a strong attraction to Jean Grey, Marvel Girl which causes frequent clashes with Cyclops.

James Hudson, eventually seeks Wolverine out to return him to Department H, but is defeated quickly. Meanwhile, Wolverine encounters Lady Mariko Yashida, heir to an extremely powerful Yakuza family in Tokyo.During an intimate scene in a garden Wolverine begins to tell Mariko his name but is interrupted by Mandroids and Moses Magnum. After the battle and before leaving Japan, he finally tells Mariko his name is "Logan" presenting her with a white chrysanthemum. It is the first time he reveals the name he calls himself. As time passes, he falls for Mariko, as Jean Grey is attached. Vindicator returns as the leader of Canada's first superhero team Alpha Flight, on their first mission: to capture Wolverine. After the X-Men win a victory over Alpha Flight, the team leaves and some time later, new member Kitty Pryde joins the team, right after Jean Grey, seemingly possessed by Phoenix, dies. Cyclops leaves the team in grief, and Storm takes up the mantle as X-Men leader. Wolverine, donning his yellow and brown outfit for the first time, travels to Canada to make peace with Alpha Flight by taking down the Wendigo once more, this time with Nightcrawler. During this adventure, Heather Hudson reveals Wolverine's name as "Logan", revealing that others know of his name and past as well as more of his secret nature: when Nightcrawler asks why he never told them his name, he simply replies, "You never asked". After the Wendigo is defeated, the two head back, and quickly become friends, although the two are extremely different in nature.

In his first solo limited series, written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Frank Miller, Wolverine, in love with a now married Lady Mariko, is manipulated into using his claws to attack her crime lord father, Shingen. Mariko decides not to speak to Logan, who is without honor for unsheathing his claws. When her husband is killed and Logan's honor reclaimed by besting Shingen in combat again, the two are engaged, but the wedding is broken off by Viper and the Silver Samurai, and manipulation by the villain Mastermind.

In another story, Wolverine takes it upon himself to watch over Amiko Kobayashi, daughter of a woman killed in the aftermath of a fight between the X-Men and a giant dragon over Tokyo. In subsequent stories Logan continues to visit Amiko, although she is under the care of his close friend and sometime lover Yukio.

Wolverine later travels with Kitty Pryde to Japan to confront his former mentor, Ogun, who was killed years earlier, and his malicious spirit has since required hosts to inhabit. Ogun possesses Kitty, making her his assassin, but Logan helps her overcome him and force him from her body. Afterwards, Logan and Kitty become very close friends, and she becomes like a daughter to him.

When Storm's powers are lost and she leaves the X-Men for a time, Wolverine takes the mantle of leadership of diminished team of X-Men, featuring members Havok, Psylocke, Longshot, Rogue, and sometimes Colossus. This team is mainly featured in the crossover events The Fall of the Mutants and Inferno.

After the events of Fall of the Mutants, the X-Men, who sacrifice their lives, are reborn in the Australian Outback. There, runaway mutant Jubilee saves Wolverine's life from an attack by Lady Deathstrike and the Reavers. She eventually becomes, as Kitty and Amiko before her, another surrogate daughter. Wolverine also spends a significant amount of time in the seedy areas of Madripoor, under the alias 'Patch.'

Still in Australia, Apocalypse tricks Wolverine into journeying to the Savage Land. While there, Wolverine starts a relationship with the female chieftain, Gahck, of an indigenous tribe. There, he discovers an insane robot version of Apocalypse, which he destroys, as Apocalypse wanted him to do. He puts an end to Apocalypse's experiments on the tribe and unknowingly sires a son with Gahck, who she names "Erista."

After the X-Men return to America, Wolverine returns to the Weapon X base in Canada. There, he learns many of his memories are implants and his personality becomes darker, and fights the robot Shiva.

Wolverine travels back to Japan and reunites with Mariko, who refuses to rekindle her love with him until her clan ceases all illegal activities. However, she is soon poisoned by a Yakuza assassin working for Matsu'o Tsurayaba, who bears a grudge against Wolverine. Mariko asks Wolverine to end her life quickly rather than let her die slowly and painfully from the toxin, and he reluctantly complies. This changes Wolverine's character significantly, making him even more disciplined and emotionally distant. Wolverine vows to Matsu'o that on each anniversary of Mariko's death he will visit him and slice off a body part until there is nothing of him left.

Shortly after Mariko's death, Wolverine rejoins his former Team X members Sabretooth, Maverick, John Wraith, Mastodon, and Silver Fox, with Jubilee and Hines of the Weapon X Program, in hunting down Aldo Ferro a.k.a "Psi-Borg", a powerful psychic who brainwashed many of them for Weapon X. Ferro and Hines die soon after he makes Sabretooth kill Silver Fox.

Wolverine suffers a mental breakdown due to Weapon X's mental tampering and the deaths of Mariko and Silver Fox. Thinking he is on a prior Team X mission to assassinate "Terry Adams", Wolverine breaks into a Russian space program facility and encounters Epsilon Red, a genetically-engineered cosmonaut with powerful psychic abilities. Red, the "Terry Adams" Wolverine is after, breaks down many of the mental blocks in Wolverine's mind in return for help escaping the facility. With this greater knowledge of which memories were true and which were false, Wolverine is finally able to pick up the pieces of his shattered life.

This happiness is short-lived, for at the end of the Fatal Attractions crossover, the adamantium in Wolverine's skeleton is forcibly extracted by Magneto. This act injures Wolverine so severely his mutant healing factor burns itself out in order to keep him alive. In fact, most of Wolverine's other natural abilities, including enhanced strength, stamina, agility, and reflexes are weakened as well.

File:Magnetoripadamanitum.png

Magneto ripping the Adamantium from Wolverine's bones

Unwilling to accept his severely weakened state, Wolverine begins training in the Danger Room. In a fit of rage and frustration, his claws extrude, now bone, revealing them to be a natural part of him, rather than adamantium implants. Furthermore, each time he extrudes them, they forcibly pierce the skin of his hands and cause severe tissue damage and blood loss. Feeling useless, Logan embarks on a series of solo adventures, leaving a note with Jubilee to explains his views on the matter.

During these adventures, he encounters some past enemies, such as the adamantium-skinned Cyber, the Reaver Cylla, and the vampiric Bloodscream. While travelling alone, Wolverine stops for a training session with Generation X and encounters his Weapon X ally Maverick and his X-Men teammate Gambit in Madripoor, before learning Sabretooth is staying at Xavier's. Wolverine returns and defeats Sabretooth in battle while the X-Men are away. The battle ends with Wolverine puncturing Sabretooth's brain, temporarily altering Sabretooth's vicious personality until the injury is fully healed.

Over the course of the next several issues tests and studies jointly conducted by Professor Charles Xavier, Beast, and Heather Hudson show the mutation endowing Wolverine with powers is an ongoing process. Unlike most mutants, he continues to mutate slowly over the course of his life. As a result, Wolverine's powers, particularly his heightened senses and accelerated healing, slowly increase. However, after Wolverine's skeleton was bonded with adamantium by the Weapon X Program, this mutation was completely halted. The studies also reveal, aside from suppressing his ongoing mutation, the presence of adamantium also slowed his mutant healing factor. The adamantium laced to his skeleton is treated as a foreign substance by his healing factor, which constantly devotes a great deal of effort attempting to remove the metal, causing him to heal slower from other injuries. After Magneto ripped it from Wolverine's skeleton, and his body completely healed from the injuries, the mutation resumed, at a greatly accelerated rate. The studies show accelerated mutation has increased his powers beyond any other point in his life.

A prime example of just how much they have increased is seen when Wolverine is run over by a car and suffers numerous internal organs ruptured and half the bones in his body broken, from which he completely heals in a matter of seconds.It is also revealed during this time Wolverine's mutation process will eventually cause him to degenerate physically into a more primitive, beastial state.

Some time later, a maniac named Genesis, who is the biological son of Wolverine's ally, and sometime enemy, Cable, kidnaps Wolverine and attempts to re-bond adamantium to his skeleton in an attempt to transform Wolverine into a Horseman of Apocalypse. The attempt is unsuccessful, and the process pushes Wolverine's system to the point that he degenerates into a feral state that is dominated by wild, animalistic instincts. In a rage, Wolverine murders the Dark Riders, including Genesis and flees. With the help of Elektra and Stick, he is able to regain his humanity and reverse the bulk of his regression.

Wolverine lives without adamantium for some time before being kidnapped by the villain Apocalypse. Apocalypse sets up a contest between Wolverine and an adamantium-bonded Sabretooth to determine who would become the new leader of his Four Horsemen.

File:WolDeath.jpg

Wolverine as Death, from Wolverine vol. 2 #145 (December 1999). Pencils by Leinil Francis Yu.

Although he knows winning means being brainwashed and turned against his friends, Wolverine supposes that Sabretooth would enjoy being set loose as a killing machine, while he himself might be able to fight it. Emerging victorious he is made the Horseman Death, and Apocalypse strips the adamantium from Sabretooth and bonds it to Wolverine's skeleton once more. Made to battle the X-Men, Wolverine overcomes Apocalypse's conditioning with the help of Jubilee.

During his time as Death, Wolverine is replaced on the X-Men by a Skrull imposter, with the switch having being made during a recent X-Men mission on a moon, which served as a base for Skrull agents training to act as long-term imposters for Earth's heroes. The real Wolverine, in the form of Death, goes on to kill the Skrull imposter. This episode may be an early indicator of a major 2008 Marvel Comics storyline.

Wolverine is then captured by a restarted Weapon X program under the leadership of Director Malcolm Colcord, a soldier Wolverine disfigured when he escaped from the original Weapon X facility. It is revealed that the mental implants installed by the original program are still functional, as Colcord uses them to force Wolverine into tracking down and eliminating former members of the program. However, it seems that during his assassination of the previous director, Wolverine's mental implants are finally destroyed.

Grant Morrison's run as writer of the X-Men (temporarily renamed New X-Men during Morrison's tenure) reveals that the "X" in "Weapon X" was a Roman numeral, making Wolverine "Weapon Ten" in a sequence of living super-weapons that begins with Isaiah Bradley and Captain America (Weapon I). The Weapon X program that experimented on Wolverine spun out of a larger "Weapon Plus" program, leading Wolverine to join Cyclops and the mysterious Fantomex (himself Weapon XIII) on a mission to bring down Weapon Plus and discover Wolverine's true identity. During the assault on Weapon Plus, Wolverine killed Ultimaton, AKA Weapon XV.

Wolverine then gains access to the Weapon X files that describe his genesis, though this happens largely off-panel and it is not clear to the reader precisely what he learns. What is known is that he was intended to be a living Sentinel and that he was forced to exterminate the populace of the small Midwestern town of Roanoke as a test of his abilities. This revelation leads Wolverine to believe he is a monster once more and that his only purpose is to kill, but Jean Grey is able to persuade him out of this mentality.

When Wolverine is brainwashed into becoming an agent for HYDRA, he is able to overcome their conditioning with the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. In return, Wolverine becomes a temporary S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in order to help put a stop to HYDRA's plans.

Post House of M

At the conclusion of House of M, Wolverine's memories are completely restored. This causes a panic for some of the major powers and governments across the Marvel Universe because of their involvement in Wolverine's life and the knowledge he has recovered. The United States and Canada purge all records of Wolverine's involvement in anticipation of his revenge. The governments' fears prove correct in the "Origins & Endings" arc of his solo series. Wanting to find others' knowledge of a mysterious weapon called the "Muramasa Blade", he confronts the Silver Samurai, who tells Wolverine that he did not escape the Weapon X program alone. Bucky, Captain America's World War II partner, now known as the Winter Soldier, helped him break out. Wolverine travels to Serbia to confront him, and Bucky reveals that he murdered Logan's previously unrevealed Japanese pregnant wife, Itsu, but was not in control of his actions at the time. Wolverine reflects on how he met Itsu. After World War II, Ogun had been Wolverine's master. After completing his training, Ogun sent Wolverine to a village where another master, Bando Saburo, teaches warriors how to regain their humanity. There, Wolverine met Itsu and they married and conceived a child. Saburo's village is surrounded by mountains belonging to the demon swordsmith Muramasa. After Bucky murdered Itsu, Wolverine, believing it was the people of the village who killed her, allied with Muramasa, who made a sword in honor of Wolverine, the Muramasa Blade. Through unknown means, Muramasa began the process that made Wolverine into a weapon and countering Saburo's training. After remembering this, Wolverine goes back to Muramasa's mountains and reclaims the Muramasa Blade, given to him willingly by Muramasa, who tells Logan to "wield [the sword] like an angry god". Wolverine wants revenge, and he now remembers who deserves his vengeance.

New Avengers

Wolverine is recruited by the New Avengers, because he is willing to "cross the lines they refuse to cross"; after the events of Avengers Disassembled, Iron Man recognizes the need to have someone who is prepared to kill on the team, should something like what happened to the Scarlet Witch happen again. He serves alongside such notable Marvel heroes as Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Luke Cage.

Despite the end of the Civil War, as well as the X-Men having assumed an officially neutral stance for the War, Wolverine remains a member of the New Avengers, now underground after the surrender of Captain America and provided with secure accommodation by Doctor Strange. Their objectives are twofold; to save people "the way [they] want to", and to investigate the reason why the world has been turned upside-down recently. After a confrontation with Elektra and the Hand to rescue Echo, the team discover that Elektra had been replaced with a Skrull some indeterminate time ago, but whether more prominent figures in the Marvel Universe have been replaced with Skrulls by this point is unclear. Brian Michael Bendis has stated that Wolverine will be the first to suspect his team-mates in the New Avengers are secretly Skrulls.

Civil War

Main article: Civil War (comics)

File:Wolb.jpg

Wolverine being incinerated down to a skeleton, from Wolverine (vol. 3) #43

After Nitro's murder of over 600 Stamford, Connecticut residents, Wolverine embarks on a mission to take vengeance on Nitro, to Tony Stark's disapproval. Nitro explodes, incinerating Wolverine to his adamantium skeleton, but Wolverine is able to regenerate, due to his adamantium skull protecting his brain during the explosion.

Wolverine spends the next several minutes brutally beating Nitro. Three Atlantean sleeper agents under orders to avenge the death of Namor's cousin Namorita, killed in the Stamford explosion, arrive, and Wolverine battles their leader Janus while the other two subdue Nitro. Namor, prince of the Atlanteans, then appears. Wolverine then fights Namor and has the upper hand until Janus attempts to attack Wolverine from behind. While Wolverine subdues Janus, Namor attacks from behind and knocks Wolverine unconscious. After regaining consciousness, he realizes that Nitro has been taken to Atlantis. Wolverine calls Iron Man, who lends him an armor adapted for underwater survival so he can confront Namor. Namor allows Wolverine to see Nitro, who has escaped. Nitro tries to attack but is disabled. Wolverine leaves him in Atlantis, as Namor's situation is more important. A grateful Namor discloses that Nitro was given Mutant Growth Hormone, a drug that enhances mutant abilities, by Walter Declun, the CEO of Damage Control.

Returning to the surface, Wolverine places a listening device in Declun's office and learns that Damage Control, Inc. had been increasing the number of superhero fights so they could get the cleanup contracts. Wolverine decides to take down Declun's operations. Declun sets a squad of men on Wolverine, who overwhelm him. Janus and a female Atlantean, Amir, come to his aid. The three defeat the soldiers, but the Sentry arrives. Supporting the Superhuman Registration Act, the Sentry defeats the impartial Wolverine and takes him to S.H.I.E.L.D. who attempt to "depower" him by way of a collar and gauntlets. Wolverine is still able to extend his claws (a permanent part of his anatomy as a result of his mutation) and escape.

File:Astonishing xmen-16 wolvy.jpg

Wolverine as "James".
Art by John Cassaday.

He then appears at the Damage Control meeting where Marie Hoag and Walter Declun are engaged in a heated argument. Declun ingests Mutant Growth Hormone, giving him superhuman strength, agility, and durability, and fights Wolverine. Winning, Wolverine questions whether true evil is premeditated or spontaneous before killing Declun. He returns to the remains of Stamford incident and talks to Miriam Sharpe.

Wolverine then returns to Atlantis and speaks with Amir and sleeps with her. He recalls painful times in his life and the physical agony that he goes through and how he can cope with that, but not the pain of losing loved ones and being unable to die that he finds hard to bear. Recalling when Nitro incinerated him, he spoke to Jean Grey, although it is unclear whether this was Jean in spirit or a subconscious manifestation, as Jean has died and returned before. Either way, Jean informed Logan that at the edge of life, beyond the light, lay all the answers. The loves of his life are waiting for him there, as is she, as is "Lazaer". Exactly who or what Lazaer is or represents is unclear at this time. Wolverine says if Lazaer defeats him, it means dying for good.

Wolverine later gets his revenge against Nitro, and then begins the chase to find whoever is ultimately responsible for Stamford. During this time, he falls from a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier and loses consciousness while his body starts to heal itself. Again, Lazaer is waiting for him on the edge of death, looking for payback for Logan having killed him. Wolverine defeats Lazaer again but knows that this means he will once more heal, losing another chance to see the ones he’d loved and lost.

Amir finds his story sad and asks if Wolverine knows why his soul cannot go to its final rest. Wolverine replies that he knows, but that is a secret he will not give up yet.

Post Civil War

Frequently dreaming of two battling feral armies that he refers to as the Lupines, Wolverine returns to the X-Mansion and immediately initiates a fight with Sabretooth by throwing him through a window. In the middle of the fight, Wolverine asks what Sabretooth meant years ago when he seemingly killed Silver Fox and said "Quod Sum Eris". Sabretooth explains that it means "I am what you will become." Wolverine calls Sabretooth insane and puts his fist to Sabretooth's throat. Creed tells him if he extends his claws, he will rip his heart out. Wolverine replies "Let 'er rip" and extends his claws into Sabretooth's throat.

Wolverine awakens, after dreaming of the Lupines once again, and finds himself chained to the top of the Blackbird. He physically snaps the chains and plunges through the jet's cockpit, surprised to see Sabretooth piloting. He begins strangling Sabretooth with one of the chains, forcing him to crash the jet into the ground. They emerge from the flaming wreckage with numerous injuries and continue to fight. They are suddenly separated by a bolt of lightning, courtesy of Storm. She scolds them somewhat with a cryptic statement, "You both are going to have to learn you cannot kill one another without killing yourselves."

A short time later, Wolverine has another dream involving the Lupines battling one another, this time wearing armor, using swords, riding atop elephants, and speaking. Sabretooth, who is chained up, breaks free from the Black Panther's palace and flees to the jungle, with the Panther immediately giving chase and Wolverine and Storm giving chase a short time later. Sabretooth and the Panther briefly fight, with Sabretooth quickly gaining the upper hand. Before Sabretooth can strike a killing blow, Wolverine appears and slices off Sabretooth's right hand. Wolverine prepares to finish Sabretooth before he realizes that the part of the jungle they're currently in is an elephant graveyard. Aside from the skeletons of elephants, Wolverine discovers the skeletons of humanoids with fangs and claws. He realizes that this graveyard is the scene of his latest dream involving the Lupines.

Wolverine has another vision of the Lupines, this time in full armour and helmets, battling in the Roman Colosseum. The Black Panther states that, based on the archaeological interpretations of the bones found in the elephant graveyard and the presence of many lupine mutants, some humans evolved from wolves rather than apes. Insulted by this theory, Wolverine confronts a more securely chained Sabretooth, who informs him that he is "much older" than Wolverine and that, in time he will become just like Sabretooth. Wolverine asks him about Romulus (Marvel Comics), but a fearful Sabretooth refuses to talk. That night, Wolverine discovers Sabretooth has been abducted, and is ambushed by Wild Child while following his trail. Poisoned, Wolverine blacks out, awaking two days later to find Sasquatch, Wolfsbane, Thorrn, and Feral beside his bed. Sasquatch confirms that it was Wild Child that attacked him and that to discover the truth they must return to Weapon X. On the jet ride to Canada, Wolverine has a different dream about fighting along side Captain America during World War II. Wolverine attacks a German soldier who turns out to be Wild Child, he tells Wolverine that "You will remember this when HE wants you to." and sets off a grenade. Wolverine is awakened by Sasquatch to find they have arrived at Weapon X. Sasquatch is attacked by Wild Child, who cuts his throat. Wolverine discovers Sabretooth in a containment tank, much like he was when he had his adamantium bonded to his bones, Sabretooth breaks free and the two battle. Wolverine finds that Sabretooth has been reverted to a beast like state, with little intelligence, and he gouges Wolverines eyes out. As his eyes begin to heal, he finds Sabretooth escaped again, he ventures after him to find Sasquatch bleeding, and Wolfsbane in shock who tells him in a trembling voice tells Wolverine that Sabretooth is over the ridge, as Wolverine arrives, he finds Sabretooth has killed Feral and is eating her internal organs.

World War Hulk

Due to Professor X involvment over the Hulk's exile, it seems that Wolverine is going to defend the X-men leader against the Hulk's wrath. They battled it out in issue two of World War Hulk: X-men, however this Hulk has the knowledge of Wolverine's ability to heal from anything, and he also acknowledged the fact that he can not kill Wolverine. So in order to prevent that from occuring, the Hulk repeatedly punched Wolverine in the head, knocking him out.

Wolverine: Origins

File:WOLRIG01.jpg

Cover art to Wolverine: Origins #1.
Art by Joe Quesada.

Wolverine: Origins is a second ongoing series, starring Wolverine in his quest as a result of "Origins & Endings". At the beginning of the series, he encounters a Shiva robot while trying to extract information from a government foe. After defeating the robot with the Muramasa Blade, those in the government hiding from Logan send Frank Simpson a.k.a. Nuke against him. It is revealed through flashbacks that Wolverine takes Nuke from his family as a child and, during the Vietnam War, is responsible for implanting a trigger word into Nuke that causes him to massacre a Vietnamese village. All this is apparently part of an attempt to recreate Wolverine, already a living weapon prior to Weapon X. Exactly who is controlling Wolverine at this point remains unclear at this time.

After defeating Nuke in South Vietnam, he then fights Captain America who has been sent to stop Wolverine's path of vengeance once and for all. Cyclops, Emma Frost, and Hellion of the X-Men enter the fray and stop Wolverine (driven berserk by a slash from the Muramasa Blade Captain America managed to take from him) from killing the famous hero.

Emma calms the combatants telepathically and reveals to Wolverine his son is still alive and that the boy's name is Daken. Emma also warns Wolverine his boy doesn't seem to have any thoughts of his own, similar to how Wolverine has been controlled so many times before. Wolverine remembers when Sabretooth killed Silver Fox all those years ago, and how her murder was arranged by those who want to bring out the beast in him and turn him to their side. He assumes something similar has been done to his son by his enemies in order to gain control over him.

Emma advises Wolverine to end his mission of revenge as he has a son to rescue. He entrusts Cyclops with the Muramasa Blade, explaining that the captors of his son will most likely brainwash him if they are able to capture him. Wolverine makes Cyclops promise to use the sword to kill him if that time ever comes. Emma informs Wolverine that, above all else, his son hates him. Wolverine tells her that he hates himself, as well, for all the terrible things he's done under his enemies' control.

Wolverine remembers carbodanium weakened his mutant healing factor and thinking it may provide him with a way to take down his son without killing him, he travels back to America to find Maverick. Maverick was part of Team X during Wolverine's first encounter with the carbodanium synthesizer and the villainous Omega Red. He had also been entrusted with by Wolverine a few years back. Wolverine tracks Maverick to a building in New York City where mutants, powered and depowered alike, are taking refuge and is surprised to see Jubilee there. Their reunion is shortlived, however, as Omega Red mysteriously bursts into the building, nearly killing Jubilee and demanding Maverick tell him where the carbonadium synthesizer is.

File:WOLRIG05.jpg

Cover art to Wolverine: Origins #5.
Art by Joe Quesada.

Wolverine and Omega Red fight while Maverick and Jubilee evacuate the depowered mutants. Wolverine remembers his first encounter with carbodanium, when his handlers in Team X tested it on him before they rewrote his memories like they did after every one of his missions. As they were taking him to the device that would brainwash him, he fought back, killing one of the scientists with a blow to the throat. He threatened the other scientist, popping his (bone) claws accidentally. Seeing his claws made him remember everything that Team X had taken from him. He asked the scientist who gave the orders and he said he didn't know. Wolverine, smelling that he was not lying, ordered him to tell him what he did know. The scientist is contacted via telephone every time Wolverine needs to be mindwiped. When he completes his task, he tells Wolverine that he barely made it out alive of whatever mission he was on and then gives him a dossier detailing his next mission. Wolverine asks for the dossier he would normally be given. He tells the scientist to tell whoever was in charge that the brainwashing was successful and then leaves, intending to participate in this mission. The mission is in Berlin, where he first encountered Omega Red.

In the present, Wolverine is overpowered by Omega Red. Red tackles him through a wall where they land on the rooftop of an adjacent building. Wolverine is briefly knocked unconscious, while Omega Red makes his way back to the building where Maverick last was. Wolverine, hearing Jubilee scream for him, rushes back into the building. He finds a wounded Maverick who tells him that Omega Red has Jubilee and that he told the villain who he gave the carbonadium synthesizer to.

With Dum Dum Dugan and SHIELD hot on his trail, Wolverine travels to Berlin where he reminisces about his Team X mission there. He had undertaken the mission (to steal the carbonadium synthesizer from a German laboratory), pretending he was still under the control of his handlers, to see if he could get any answers as to who was directing him. Remembering his past with Sabretooth, he intended to use the carbonadium synthesizer on him since it shorted out mutant healing factors. Before he could do so, Omega Red attacked. As Team X fled with a defecting German scientist, Sabretooth realized Wolverine had regained control and executed the scientist. The scientist was a woman and Sabretooth was advised to kill any available female targets when Wolverine broke free of his masters' control, since it showed him that whenever he wasn't kept on a tight leash, "pretty things die."

In the present, Wolverine meets up with the Black Widow. The details as to how Wolverine first became involved with the Widow and her father are revealed, as are the details of his first mission as a covert operative in a number of flashbacks. During a brief skirmish with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Jubilee is severely injured. Wolverine surrenders to the agents after they promise to save Jubilee's life. After being taken to a S.H.I.E.L.D. base and placed into restraints, Wolverine's son, disguised as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, enters the room where Wolverine is being held, after using his bone claws to wound Dum Dum Dugan (despite the apparent seriousness of the injury, Joe Queseda recently confirmed Dugan was not killed [1]). A tear rolls down Wolverine's cheek as, he notes to himself, just how much his son seems like him. Wolverine's son announces his disgust at how "weak" Wolverine is and uses his claws to slash him across the stomach, before leaving him to bleed on the floor. Wolverine quickly heals from the injuries, however, and escapes from the facility.

He later on finds his son, but he is soon confronted by his old foe, a reborn Cyber. However Cyber came for his son and Wolverine later learns that Cyber trained his son in the field of combat. Wolverine got this information in exchange for saving Cyber's life.

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 widely known as a "healing factor" that regenerates damaged or destroyed areas of his body far beyond the capabilities of an ordinary human and renders him immune to most toxins and diseases.

Depictions of the speed and extent of injury to which Wolverine can heal vary, depending on the story and writer. Originally, this is portrayed as just accelerated healing, but writers have increased this ability over years to the point that he can regenerate organs such as eyes and large portions of his body. For example, Wolverine has been shown recently regenerating all of his bodily tissue, after having it incinerated from his skeleton as a result of being caught in the middle of an explosion caused by Nitro, within a matter of minutes. 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 has been 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. However, Wolverine's skeleton wasn't bonded with adamantium at the time Xavier conceived this strategy. Given the recent depictions of the extent of Wolverine's healing powers by various writers and artists, it is unclear if decapitation would kill him or not.

In addition, the regenerative qualities of his healing powers cause Wolverine aging process to slow or stop. Wolverine himself was born sometime in the late 19th century. Wolverine is depicted in modern stories, set well over 100 years later, with the appearance and vitality of a man in his prime.

Finally, it's been hinted that his healing abilities also work on a mental and emotional level, as well; although he is susceptible to psychic attacks, he can heal much faster from these traumatic experiences than most, and can suffer through horrific events more or less little worse for wear without a deal of the psychological breakdowns a normal human would experience and, therefore, not experience the physical ailments that would be associated with coping with such events. For instance, a recent encounter with Sabertooth at the Weapon X program suggested that his amnesia was caused as a result of his healing factor, 'scabbing' over the painful memories of his past to prevent him from going insane and suffering physically from them.

Wolverine possesses a number of superhuman physical attributes. Wolverine's healing factor affords him superhuman levels of physical stamina. Wolverine has engaged Omega Red in a continuous fight for more than 18 hours, despite regular exposure to Omega Red's Death Pheremones. Wolverine has also demonstrated that his agility and reflexes are also enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of finest human athlete, as shown by dodging Cyclops' optic energy beams at point blank range.

Wolverine also possesses superhumanly acute senses of sight, smell, and hearing. Wolverine is capable of seeing 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.

Wolverine's physical appearance displays animal-like mutations, including sharper-than-normal teeth with pronounced canines and three retractable claws housed within each forearm. The claws are made of bone which is laced with adamantium, unlike the claws of normal mammals which are made of keratin. The claws are sharp and dense enough to slice through substances as durable as most metals, wood, and some varieties of stone.. Wolverine's hands do not have openings for the claws to move through; thus, they cut through his flesh every time he extrudes them. Although his healing factor deals with the wounds created almost instantaneously, he has said on multiple occasions that it always hurts.

File:WOLVXR.JPG

X-ray depicting Wolverine's adamantium claws from the film X-Men

Wolverine's entire skeleton, including his claws, is molecularly infused with adamantium, rendering it practically indestructible. The adamantium 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. The adamantium claws make a distinctive "Snikt" sound when extruded.

The mutant physiology which produces his healing factor also allows him to push his muscles beyond the limits of the human body without injury, granting him some degree of superhuman strength. This is augmented by the constant demand placed on his muscles by over one hundred pounds (45.5 kilos) of adamantium, which also removes skeletal structural limitations, allowing him to lift weight that would damage a human skeleton. He has been depicted being strong enough to break steel chains and being able to 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 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 and fighting, both armed and unarmed; as a samurai, he is especially skilled in the use of the katana. Wolverine has also received vast training as a ninja thanks to his mentor Ogun and trained for 5 years with Bando Suboro at the ninja village in Jasmine Falls. He can also use nearly all types of weapons, traditional or modern, long or close range. Wolverine is an extraordinary hand to hand combatant with sufficient skills to 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 a mindless animal and is more resistant to psionic attack. Though this quality has sometimes saved the life of his allies, as well as himself, he has frequently expressed shame concerning it as he strives to be a purely civilized and honorable warrior.

Though seemingly brutish, Wolverine is actually highly intelligent. Due to his increased lifespan, he has traveled the world and amassed an intimate knowledge of foreign languages and cultures. He can speak English, Japanese, Russian, Chinese, Cheyenne, Spanish, 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."

Wolverine is private and often gruff but, despite his apparent ease at taking lives, he does not enjoy killing or giving into his berserker rages. Logan adheres to a firm code of personal honor and morality, despite often displaying a rebellious and irreverent attitude. Coincidentally, Wolverine seems to defy authority on any team he is on. However, he has proven time and time again of being a valuable and reliable teammate, and when necessary, a leader. He has had many romantic relationships with numerous women throughout the decades, most of which aren't known. His most meaningful have included Itsu, Silver Fox, Mariko Yashida, and a flirtation with Jean Grey. He has found a family in the X-Men and provides a father figure to Rogue,Laura Kinney ,Kitty Pryde and Jubilee.

Other versions

Main article: Alternate versions of Wolverine

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 a collaboration with DC Comics, the Amalgam Comics version of Wolverine has been amalgamated with one of their flagship characters, Batman, creating "Dark Claw".

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.

Films

Casting

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Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men (film)

Many actors were considered in casting Wolverine in a film adaptation of X-Men. At one point in the 1990s, Glenn Danzig was approached to play Wolverine in ad hoc committee X-Men film, because he bore an uncanny resemblance to the character, as well as being the same height as Wolverine, and very muscular. However, he had to decline, due to the fact that the shooting for the film would force him to put a halt to touring with his band for nine months..

Bryan Singer, the director of the first two X-Men movies, spoke to a number of actors about the role. He says Russell Crowe was too exhausted after playing a similar role in Gladiator; that the role didn't appeal to Edward Norton; and that Fox themselves ruled out Mel Gibson as being too expensive. In 1999, SFX magazine spoke to Keanu Reeves, who told the publication he didn't feel he was right for the role.

Eventually, Dougray Scott was cast as Wolverine, but shooting on Mission: Impossible II overran. Hugh Jackman became his replacement, and went on to play Wolverine in all the X-Men films: X-Men, X2: X-Men United, and X-Men: The Last Stand. When it was first announced, it was considered a highly controversial move, as Hugh Jackman was not only known solely for his musical theater career, but the fact that he was simply too tall for the role (Jackman being 6'3", the comic-book version of Wolverine being approximately 5'3"). Despite these divergences though, Jackman's actual performance was well received. He is also slated as Wolverine for the movie entitled "Wolverine" a prequel revealing more on Wolverine's origins.

Television

Wolverine's two costumes in
X-Men: Evolution

• Wolverine appears in television in the 1989 animated television pilot Pryde of the X-Men. Wolverine also appears in an episode of the animated series, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. Neil Ross voices the character in both episodes, using an apparent Australian accent.

• Cathal J. Dodd voices Wolverine in the 1990s X-Men animated television series and in the Marvel vs. Capcom series of fighting games. Dodd also portrayed Wolverine in two episodes of Spider-Man: The Animated Series as well as the less than popular 'X-men Cartoon Maker' PC game.

• In the 2000-2003 animated television series X-Men: Evolution, Wolverine, a man whose past is shrouded in mystery, provides the teenaged X-Men with battle training and creates conflict among his younger teammates. Scott McNeil provides his voice.
• A new cartoon is scheduled for 2007 titled Wolverine and the X-Men, with Steve Blum playing the lead role.

Video games

See also: List of X-Men computer and video games

Wolverine is a playable character (often the primary or default playable character) in all X-Men video games and many Marvel video games in general. Marvel's X-Men (video game), X-Men (arcade game), X-Men (Sega), X-Men 2: Clone Wars

• Video games featuring Wolverine as the lead character include Wolverine for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Wolverine: Adamantium Rage for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis.

• He is a playable character in Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems and X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse.

• Wolverine is an unlockable character skin in Activision's 2001 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.

• Wolverine is one of the playable characters in the movie tie-in games X2: Wolverine's Revenge and X-Men: The Official Movie Game, voiced by Mark Hamill and Hugh Jackman, respectively.

• Logan also appears in several Spider-Man-related games, beginning with 1992's Spider-Man and the X-Men: Arcade's Revenge, and followed by a cameo in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 for the Gameboy and as a poster on a wall in the 2000 Spider-Man video game. Keith Szarabajka voices the character in the Ultimate Spider-Man video game, where he appears as a boss that the player must defeat when playing as the villain Venom. Venom flings Logan's motorcycle through the wall of a pub, and Logan attacks in retaliation.

• Steven Blum provided the voice for Wolverine in X-Men Legends, its sequel X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, and most recently Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. He is one of many playable characters in all three games, as well as being a playable character from the very beginning of the three.

• Wolverine also appeared in the 2005 Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects.

• Wolverine also appears in all of the Marvel vs. Capcom series games by Capcom. He is voiced by Cathal J. Todd in these games, the same actor who provided his voice in the X-Men animated series. On a side note, there are 2 selectable versions of Wolverine in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. One with adamantium claws and the other one without the adamantium, who has longer bone claws than the latter.

• Wolverine appears as a playable character in X-Men: Next Dimension.

Music

The Bloodhound Gang mention Wolverine in the song "Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me?". In the first few lines, the song states that when the person was born, "Wolverine is less hairy than your son", referencing Wolverine's prodigous body hair.

The band Entombed has an album, Wolverine Blues, with Wolverine on the cover. The album also had a single of the same name.

Brazilian rock singer Nasi, because of his similarity with the character, in his first solo album, called "Onde os Anjos Não Ousam Pisar" has posed as Wolverine, with a cigar and adamantium claws. The album has also a track called "Wolverine Blues", but it has no connection with the Entombed version.

Action figures

Wolverine has often been rendered in plastic, either independently, or in conjunction with other media. Mattel was the first, with the 1984 Secret Wars line, supported by five points of articulation, including the neck, shoulders and hips. Among other notable figures, started a controversial trend in toys: the variant. His claws came in two different color options, one set silver, the other set black. When collectors began trying to complete their sets for Secret Wars, the silver set was readily available, while the black set was found to be rare.

While Wolverine was the first to be rendered in plastic, the other X-Men would go several years with no interest, until 1992 when Night of the Sentinels was shown in animated form. With a toy line in stores retailing at roughly five inches, they had a modest roster of seven figures. The sculpts were a cross between DC's Superpowers line and GI Joe. The points of articulation included on these figures were relatively standard, but many of the figures also include action features as well.

Out of the twenty-eight waves of the X-Men line produced by Toybiz, starting with 1991s series 1, only two series of the line did not feature a Wolverine (Counting Albert, because his package clearly states; "Robot Wolverine"...) Twenty-six figures were eventually produced, but with; repaints, two-ups (10" figures) or reissues, the total count is uncertain.

In 1998, Marvel had begun producing X-Men: Evolution in '99, and that Line of toys yielded a net of six Wolverine action figures. But at the same time of the movies release, Wolverine gave us another nine figures. X-Men: Evolution's. The toy line performed well, as Toybiz began producing figures in 6" to support the character's animated exploits. In 2003, they featured a figures with twenty-six POA. X-men:Classics were 6" and they added three Wolverines...

Marvel Legends started in 2002, releasing two solid waves with no Wolverine. Toy Biz boasted 26+ POA (points of articulation), extreme detail, and excellent paint applications. It seemed that Marvel wanted to create iconic versions of all their characters with the collector in mind. Gone were the days of colorful, childlike toy packages. They were replaced with; impenetrable clamshells that flattered the characters in general.

During Toy Biz's production of Marvel Legends, there were a total of 13 Wolverine figures produced. These included Classic costume (with unmasked variant), Brown costume, a Weapon X figure, a "Days of Future Past" Logan figure (with younger variant), an "Astonishing X-Men" costume (with unmasked variant), an "Age of Apocalypse" figure (with burnt face variant), another unmasked Classic costume model (With a different head sculpt included in an X-Men 5-pack boxset) and an original costume model included in a 2-pack with Sabretooth (a variant "raging" model was also produced). Toy Biz as well produced a short-lived X-Men Classics toy line which included two more Wolverine figures. Another X-Men line was released in 2005 which included Ninja Armor Wolverine, Stealth Wolverine and Air Strike Wolverine action figures.

In 2007, Hasbro took over production of Marvel Legends. The 2nd wave of figures produced included an "Ultimate" Wolverine figure. Also they produced a 25th Anniversity Wolverine exclusively to Toys R Us. The figure itself is just a repaint of Toybiz's Marvel Legends Series 6 Wolverine painted silver. The package comes with no BAF and features a picture of his famous solo series.

Diamond Select began a Marvel Select collectors line-up. They promised even more detail than the X-Men and Marvel Legends lines. Although they weren't in scale with the other figures, offered more Wolverines, three to date. Marvel Legends has provided 13 different figures, including variants, including deluxe scale figures and Icons.

See also

• Albert, a robotic duplicate of Wolverine.
• X-23, Wolverine's clone/"daughter."
• Daken, Wolverine's biological son.
• Amiko Kobayashi, Wolverine's adopted daughter.

External links

• Marvel.com Bio
• Marvel Directory : Wolverine
• XMenFilms.net Popular Fan-Site with News, Photos, and More!
• Logan Files
• Wolverine Files: a detailed chronology
• Wolverine Limited : scanned images of Wolverine comic books and related titles
• Marvel Database