But this most popular of mutants is also well over a century old. He's done and seen many things in that time. The comics used to always shy away from revealing too much about Wolverine's past. But in recent years, the floodgates have opened and many writers have begun fleshing out the dark, murky areas of his history.
The more you try to delve into Wolverine's history, the more convoluted it can become. That's why we've put together this handy little guide to everything Wolverine. In Origins and Beginnings, we trace the path of the character over the years. We point out the watershed moments and important graphic novels to look for. And we even look at how the comics have impacted and influenced the X-Men movies.
Wolverine may be the best there is at what he does, but now you can finally understand just what it is he does in the first place.
The Origin
Marvel waited some 30 years after Wolverine's creation to truly explore his early years and even reveal his real name. But finally, with 2001's Wolverine: Origin, they did just that. It turns out that Wolverine was born James Howlett, the son of a rich landowner in late 18th Century Canada. Young James was a sickly child, so his father hired a young girl named Rose to serve as both a caretaker and playmate for the boy. Together with Dog, the son of the groundskeeper Thomas Logan, the trio enjoyed a reasonably happy childhood.
However, this quiet domestic life was torn apart when the Logan family was fired and sent away. Thomas attempted to rob the house and steal away Elizabeth Howlett. He murdered John in cold blood, prompting James to unsheathe his claws for the first time. He killed Thomas and wounded Dog before fleeing with Rose.
The duo attempted to start a new life at a mining camp. Thanks to his newfound healing factor and the exercise, James soon sprouted into a strapping young man. His healing factor also showed an unexpected side effect – to protect his mind from the trauma of his past, the healing factor wiped his memories clean. Now calling himself Logan, James spent more time running with a pack of wolves than he did with human companions.
His past caught up with him when Dog arrived to enact vengeance. Logan and his former friend clashed. Unfortunately, Rose was caught in the middle. With both his childhood friends dead, Logan had no ties left to the human world, and he fled into the wild, where he would remain for several years.
The cinematic touch: Origin appears to have heavily influenced the Wolverine movie. The trailers clearly show a young James Howlett struggling with his new bone claws. Unlike this story, however, Dog is portrayed as a young Sabretooth. Origin writer Paul Jenkins has stated that Dog was meant to be an analogue for Sabretooth only.
Traveling the World
Logan spent years in the wilderness, but eventually he found himself in want of company. He drifted south and began exploring the wider range of North America. Jason Aaron's story Wolverine: Get Mystique offers one of the chronologically earliest accounts of Wolverine's history. Through various flashbacks, we see Logan and Mystique acting as the Bonnie and Clyde of 1920's Kansas City. Even early in his life, Logan had clearly developed a taste for redheads.
Logan also began to travel the world during this time. He spent a great deal of time in Madripoor, a tiny island nation full of bars, slums, and seedy dives. He took on the identity of Patch, a bartender at the Princess Bar. He later moved east to Japan, where he began studying the ways of the samurai.
Though he fought in World War I, it was WWII that truly began to distinguish Logan as one of the world's most formidable fighters. He served as part of the Canadian Air Force, even fighting alongside Captain America on several occasions.
Depending which story you choose to believe, Logan either lived out the last days of the war as a prisoner of the Germans or the Japanese. In Wolverine Vol. 2 #32, Mark Millar flashes back to Logan's stint in a Nazi concentration camp, where he used his powers of healing to slowly psychologically torture the camp's commanding officer. In Brian K. Vaughan's mini-series Logan, the titular hero is a prisoner of the Japanese. He escapes along with a fellow prisoner and finds solace and love in a local girl. Unfortunately, the girl's hut happened to be in Hiroshima, and thus Wolverine became a survivor of the atomic bomb.
Logan had loved and lost, a recurring theme throughout his life. He settled down in Japan and tried again, marrying a woman named Itsu. The happy couple were expecting a child, and it seemed as if life was starting to brighten for this eternally troubled mutant. However, certain shadowy figures had already taken a vested interest in Logan's life. He came home one day to find Itsu murdered and the unborn child seemingly dead.
As seen in Daniel Way's Wolverine: Origins and Endings, Logan traveled to meet Muramasa, the legendary sword master. Muramasa was famed for his Muramasa Blade, a mystical sword powered by his own soul. He helped Logan forge a twin blade, into which Logan poured all of his pain and his berserker rage. This blade proved indestructible and powerful enough even to negate Logan's own healing factor. This quality would come in handy, but not for many years.
The cinematic touch: Snippets of Logan's life in the years leading up to Weapon X are shown in the movie. He is seen fighting a number of wars dating back to the American Civil War, making him about as old as his comic counterpart. The more notable difference, though, is that Logan serves alongside his brother Sabretooth in each and every conflict.
It's easy to look at Wolverine and think you know everything there is to know about him. He seems simple enough on the surface. He's gruff and rude. He has claws with which he makes stabbing motions. He loves beer and redheads in equal measure. But this most popular of mutants is also well over a century old. He's done and seen many things in that time. The comics used to always shy away from revealing too much about Wolverine's past. But in recent years, the floodgates have opened and many writers have begun fleshing out the dark, murky areas of his history. The more you try to delve into Wolverine's history, the more convoluted it can become. That's why we've put together this handy little guide to everything Wolverine. In Origins and Beginnings, we trace the path of the character over the years. We point out the watershed moments and important graphic novels to look for. And we even look at how the comics have impacted and influenced the X-Men movies.
Wolverine may be the best there is at what he does, but now you can finally understand just what it is he does in the first place.
Weapon X
Once again alone, Logan returned to Canada and eventually joined the growing Weapon X program. He was unaware that he was playing directly into the hands of those same shadowy figures who had ordered the death of Itsu.
Logan first served on Team X, a black ops squad which also included Sabretooth, Silver Fox, Maverick, and a handful of others. Thanks to his chronic memory problems, Logan was generally unaware of his mutant heritage, relying on guns over his trademark claws. It didn't help that Weapon X regularly wiped his memory after missions, even implanting false memories that rendered his past almost incomprehensible.
The men behind Weapon X were particularly interested in Wolverine's healing factor. An offshoot of the original Super-Soldier Program that spawned Captain America, Weapon X sought to create a new breed of super-soldier for a new era. Thanks to his incredible powers of healing, Logan became the first, albeit unwilling, candidate for the adamantium bonding process.
As seen in Barry Windsor-Smith's mini-series Weapon X, Logan was subjected to a procedure that coated his skeleton and claws with the unbreakable metal alloy. The process reduced Logan to a feral state He escaped his restraints and proceeded to slaughter the scientists of Weapon X. He fled into the Canadian wilderness, once more alone and barely cognizant of the life he once held.
Logan was eventually found and rescued bu James and Heather Hudson, two government scientists. Ironically, the Hudsons were distant relatives of the Howlett family. After helping to reintegrate Logan back into society, he repaid their kindness by agreeing to join Alpha Flight, the premier Canadian superhero team. Logan had unwittingly placed himself back under the watchful eye of certain shadow figures.
In joining Alpha Flight, Logan also adopted a new codename – Wolverine.
The cinematic touch: Weapon X is another story that appears to factor heavily into the movie. Many of the same Team X members are present, along with a few new additions like The Blob and Deadpool. The main difference is that, in the movie, Logan volunteers for the program, whereas his controllers didn't leave him much of a choice in anything in the comics.
Joining the X-Men
Though chronologically Wolverine's first appearance was in Origin, his first published appearance was in The Incredible Hulk #181, where he was dispatched to break up a fight between Hulk and Wendigo.
Not long after that in Giant-Size X-Men #1, Wolverine attracted the attention of Professor Charles Xavier, who desperately needed a new team of X-Men to rescue the old team. Wolverine had grown bored of life with Department H, and Xavier offered the intriguing possibility of finally unlocking the mysteries of his past. He left Canada, an his superiors were none too happy about the loss.
Wolverine didn't find it easy to integrate himself into the X-Men. The rest of the team found many of his habits offensive, from his surly attitude to his love of cigars. Given Wolverine's propensity for redheads, it was only natural that he and team leader Cyclops would continuously butt heads over the affections of Jean Grey.
Over the next 20 years, the comics began a slow circling of Wolverine's origin, always getting closer to the core of the character but never quite revealing the truth about who he was and how he came to be. Early encounters between Wolverine and Sabretooth seemed to suggest Sabretooth was his father, but the mini-series X-Tinction Agenda finally proved this was a false memory implanted by Weapon X.
Wolverine confronted his past as a samurai in the pages of the original Wolverine mini-series (collected as "Wolverine by Claremont and Miller"). Wolverine returned to Japan in hopes of marrying his new love Mariko Yashida. Her father, the criminal overlord Shingen Yashida, wanted nothing to do with Wolverine and nearly succeeded in killing Wolverine in single combat. Wolverine ultimately prevailed, killing Shingen and freeing Mariko. He attempted to make an honest woman out of her, but a consequence of being an X-Man is that no social function can be carried out without supervillain interference.
Wolverine eventually grew closer to his teammates, and even took on a mentoring role for some of the younger students. In X-Men: Kitty Pryde & Wolverine, Wolverine tutored the fledgling X-Man in the ways of the ninja. After Kitty grew up and moved on, Wolverine turned his attention to Jubilee, who became a sidekick of sorts for the gruff warrior.
It's easy to look at Wolverine and think you know everything there is to know about him. He seems simple enough on the surface. He's gruff and rude. He has claws with which he makes stabbing motions. He loves beer and redheads in equal measure. But this most popular of mutants is also well over a century old. He's done and seen many things in that time. The comics used to always shy away from revealing too much about Wolverine's past. But in recent years, the floodgates have opened and many writers have begun fleshing out the dark, murky areas of his history. The more you try to delve into Wolverine's history, the more convoluted it can become. That's why we've put together this handy little guide to everything Wolverine. In Origins and Beginnings, we trace the path of the character over the years. We point out the watershed moments and important graphic novels to look for. And we even look at how the comics have impacted and influenced the X-Men movies. Wolverine may be the best there is at what he does, but now you can finally understand just what it is he does in the first place.
Further X-Adventures
Perhaps the defining Wolverine moment of the '90s came during the course of the "Fatal Attractions" crossover. In this storyline, the X-Men confronted Magneto on his home base of Avalon. After being critically wounded by Wolverine, Magneto lashed out, using his magnetic powers to strip the adamantium from Wolverine's bones. Logan nearly died before the X-Men were able to save him. They soon made a startling discovery (well, startling back in 1994). Wolverine's claws were not made of metal, but of ultra-hard bone.
With his healing factor on the fritz, Wolverine departed the team for a while to do a bit of soul-searching. The healing factor soon returned with a vengeance, accelerated by the fact that it no longer needed to compensate for the foreign metal in his body. Whereas his healing factor used to wipe his memory to block psychological trauma, it now began to chip away at all of his higher brain functions. Wolverine was in danger of regressing to a feral beast.
This dilemma culminated in the pages of Wolverine Vol. 2 #100. The Apocalypse-wannabe known as Genesis attempted to repeat the adamantium-bonding process and turn Wolverine into his personal weapon. Wolverine's body rejected the procedure this time. In the process, he became the savage beast he always feared. Wolverine slaughtered Genesis and his men and was eventually tracked down by the X-Men.
For their part, the team could do little to help their comrade. They had bigger problems to worry about at the time, chief among them being the threat of Onslaught. It instead fell upon Elektra and ninja master Stick to track down the man within the beast. After cultivating a brief romance with Elektra (who hasn't Wolverine romanced?) his mind and body were restored.
Sometime later, Apocalypse succeeded in doing what Genesis had failed to do. He granted Wolverine a new adamantium skeleton and brainwashed him into becoming the new Horseman Death. Luckily, Wolverine's mind was accustomed to being mucked around with. He broke from Apocalypse's control and returned to his teammates once again.
The cinematic touch: Few of Wolverine's side adventures have had any impact on the silver screen so far. Hugh Jackman has made it clear that he hopes to focus on Wolverine's life in Japan should a Wolverine sequel be green lit. Interested readers would do well to check out Wolverine by Claremont & Miller as homework.
Branching Out
One of the more traumatic instances in Wolverine's life came when he was killed by The Gorgon. That's right, even Wolverine can die. In Mark Millar's Wolverine: Enemy of the State, Gorgon rose as the joint leader of HYDRA and The Hand. His master plan involved killing superheroes and resurrecting them using Hand magic and brainwashing them to become assassins. Wolverine soon became the most feared villain in the world. His mind was eventually restored by SHIELD, but not before he had caused untold collateral damage and claimed many lives.
Wolverine fought back fiercely against his former captors. Teaming with Elektra again, the duo managed to kill Gorgon. By that point, though, the damage had been done.
Soon after, Wolverine was faced with a unique opportunity. Captain America was putting together a new squad of Avengers, and he firmly believed Wolverine was a necessary element of the team. Though reluctant to join another team of heroes, Wolverine recognized the good he could do for himself and mutantkind. He accepted.
Thus began one of the busiest periods of Logan's life. When he wasn't serving on one of three squads of X-Men, he was hanging out in Stark Tower with the Avengers. Occasionally he still found time to go on solo adventures. He began to uncover still more mysteries regarding his former life including X-23, the only successful attempt to clone a new Wolverine. This troubled teen came to the X-Mansion, where she became an adopted daughter of sorts to her genetic duplicate.
The cinematic touch Don't expect to see Wolverine joining the Avengers on screen anytime soon. Because the X-Men franchise still rests under the control of 20th Century Fox, a crossover with the Avengers movies at Marvel Studios is out of the question. As for X-23, we can imagine a room full of studio execs twiddling their fingers in anticipation of a Wolverine with sex appeal. To that we ask – what's not sexy about Hugh Jackman?
It's easy to look at Wolverine and think you know everything there is to know about him. He seems simple enough on the surface. He's gruff and rude. He has claws with which he makes stabbing motions. He loves beer and redheads in equal measure. But this most popular of mutants is also well over a century old. He's done and seen many things in that time. The comics used to always shy away from revealing too much about Wolverine's past. But in recent years, the floodgates have opened and many writers have begun fleshing out the dark, murky areas of his history. The more you try to delve into Wolverine's history, the more convoluted it can become. That's why we've put together this handy little guide to everything Wolverine. In Origins and Beginnings, we trace the path of the character over the years. We point out the watershed moments and important graphic novels to look for. And we even look at how the comics have impacted and influenced the X-Men movies. Wolverine may be the best there is at what he does, but now you can finally understand just what it is he does in the first place.
"I remember everything."
The memories Wolverine searched for came flooding back thanks to the Scarlet Witch. In House of M, This former Avenger distorted reality and created a world where mutants reigned supreme. In this world, the world's heroes were granted the lives they secretly desired. Because Wolverine's fondest wish was always to regain his memories, that's exactly what he got. Even when the House of M faded and most of the world's mutants lost their powers, Wolverine still retained his memories.
All of a sudden, he knew things. He knew his name was James Howlett. He remembered Dog and Rose and all the other people he had been close to in the murky time before Weapon X. And he also began to recall more about the shadowy figures that had been manipulating his life.
Much of Wolverine's time and energy since then has been devoted to tracking down a man named Romulus. Romulus is older even than Logan and with deep connections to Weapon X and other secret organizations. It was Romulus who brought in Wolverine, Sabretooth, and others like them to Weapon X. Even after his escape, Wolverine had remained under the watchful eye of Romulus.
As he dug deeper into the Romulus conspiracy, Wolverine also discovered the truth behind his relationship to Sabretooth. According to Jeph Loeb's Wolverine: Evolution, the two were not blood relatives at all, but rather members of the same rare species. Whereas humans and apes share a common evolutionary ancestor, Wolverine and Sabretooth shared an ancestor with wolves. Among their lupine/humanoid race, Wolverine and Sabretooth were some of the earliest mutants. It's quite possible that Romulus is also a member of this species and that he shares similar powers.
Shortly after gaining this knowledge, Wolverine was forced to end his feud with Sabretooth once and for all. Using the deadly Muramasa Blade, Wolverine decapitated his mortal enemy.
Wolverine also realized a chilling fact. The baby he had conceived with Itsu had not died at all. The baby had been taken by Romulus and raised to hate his father. Now grown, the young man named Daken shared all of his father's powers and none of his moral compass.
Over the course of Daniel Way's Wolverine: Origins, Wolverine has struggled to find Daken and redeem him. This has been easier said than done. Though the events of "Original Sin" helped turn Daken against Romulus, he still harbors no love for his father. Both men want nothing more than to kill Romulus for the pain and suffering he has caused. But whereas Wolverine seeks retribution and closure, Daken wants to replace Romulus and assume his throne.
The cinematic touch: Assuming the movies ever get around to the whole Daken/Romulus storyline at all, we assume it will be a greatly condensed version. In fact, we're giving the filmmakers special permission to ignore any and all information pertaining to Evolution. Wolverine is a werewolf now? What?
Wolverine Today
Wolverine is as busy as ever these days, appearing several solo books and many more team projects. This breakdown can help you get some idea of what each book has to offer.
Wolverine Vol. 3 – For years, Wolverine has been a loosely-connected series of story arcs from various writers and artists. Currently, Mark Millar's "Old Man Logan" follows a pacifist Logan in an alternate future where most of the world's heroes are dead. Beginning with this summer's issue #75, however, Wolverine will transition to Dark Wolverine. The series will then shift its focus to Daken, and will be co-written by Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu.
Wolverine: Origins - Daniel Way's other Wolverine book continues to explore the depths of the characters past and his search for Romulus. This is the series that introduced Daken and established Romulus and the prime force behind Wolverine's troubled life. Way has indicated before that he is following a roughly 60-issue outline for the series, which would mean the book has now reached its halfway point.
Wolverine: Weapon X - This new series (debuting April 8th), is aimed at new and old readers alike. Written by Jason Aaron, this series focuses on the return of the Weapon X program. Unlike Origins, however, flashbacks are not a pervasive element. In the first arc, Wolverine squares off against a dozen trained soldiers who have all been granted adamantium claws, enhanced sense, and healing factors. Expect the stakes to only get higher from there.
Uncanny X-Men - The de facto "main" X-Men book, this series includes the bulk of the cast that currently comprise the X-Men. This includes Wolverine, of course, though he hasn't played a major role in the book since issue #500. As the series enters into a crossover storyline with Dark Avengers, however, that may soon change.
X-Force - Part of the reason Wolverine hasn't shown up much in Uncanny is because he's too busy skulking around the shadows. X-Force, in its current form, is a clandestine squad of X-Men controlled by Cyclops and dispatched to carry out violent missions that the rest of the team can't know about. Alongside X-23, Warpath, and others, Wolverine has done his fair share of killing so far. Currently, X-Force comprises one half of the crossover Messiah War.
New Avengers - Wolverine has stuck with his Avengers teammates, even as life continues to go down the tubes. This group of Avengers, which also includes Captain America, Luke Cage, and Spider-Man, exists in direct violation of the law. Norman Osborn's personal squad of Avengers are the new face of law and order. With Daken joining Osborn and even wearing Wolverine's old duds, it's only a matter of time before father and son have a major and very violent confrontation.
Wolverine: First Class - This retro-flavored series looks back to a relatively simpler time in Wolverine's life when he was still tutoring Kitty Pryde in the ways of combat. The stories in this book tend to fall within the time period of the early '80s Uncanny X-Men stories, though continuity and mature content are both kept to a minimum.
