Wolverine (character)

For other uses, see Wolverine (disambiguation).

Wolverine
File:Marvelwolverine.jpg Wolverine on the cover of The New Avengers #5 (March 2005). Art by David Finch.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Incredible Hulk #180 (October 1974) (cameo) The Incredible Hulk #181 (November 1974) (full)
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 X-Force S.H.I.E.L.D. X-Treme Sanctions Executive Avengers Horsemen of Apocalypse Alpha Flight Team X Weapon X Weapon Plus Department H Department K HYDRA The Hand New Fantastic Four Secret Defenders Jean Grey School
Notable aliases	Logan, Patch, Captain Canada, Weapon X (Ten), Death, Mutate #9601, Emilio Garra, Weapon Chi, Experiment X, Agent Ten, Peter Richards, Mai' keth, Black Dragon, Captain Terror, John Logan, Jim Logan
Abilities	Regenerative healing factor Superhuman senses, strength, agility, stamina, reflexes, and longevity Adamantium-laced skeletal structure Retractable adamantium-laced bone claws Elongated and sharp canines Master martial artist, spy, and tactician Trained swordsman

Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero who appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant who possesses animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing factor that allows him to recover from virtually any wound, disease or toxin at an accelerated rate. The healing factor also slows down his aging process, enabling him to live beyond a normal human lifespan. His powerful healing factor enabled the supersoldier program Weapon X to bond the near-indestructible metal alloy adamantium to his skeleton and claws without killing him. He is most often depicted as a member of the X-Men, Alpha Flight, or later the Avengers.

The character first appeared in the last panel of The Incredible Hulk #180 (his first full appearance is in issue #181, November 1974) and was created by writer Len Wein and Marvel art director John Romita, Sr., who designed the character, and was first drawn for publication by Herb Trimpe. Wolverine later joined the X-Men's "All New, All Different" roster in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975). X-Men writer Chris Claremont played a significant role in the character's subsequent development, along with artist/writer John Byrne, who insisted on making the character older than the other X-Men. Artist Frank Miller collaborated with Claremont and helped to revise the character with a four-part eponymous limited series from September to December 1982 in which Wolverine's catchphrase, "I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do best isn't very nice," debuted.

Wolverine was typical of the many tough, anti-authority, antiheroes that emerged in American popular culture after the Vietnam War; his willingness to use deadly force and his brooding nature became standard characteristics for comic book anti-heroes by the end of the 1980s. As a result, the character became the clear favorite for fans of the increasingly popular X-Men franchise. Wolverine has been featured in his own solo comic since 1988 and has been a central character in most X-Men adaptations, including animated television series, video games, and the live-action 20th Century Fox X-Men film series, in which he is portrayed by Hugh Jackman. In May 2008, Wolverine was ranked #1 out of Wizard magazine's Top 200 Comic Book Characters of All Time and was ranked as the 4th Greatest Comic Book Character by Empire magazine in July 2008. On their list of the 100 Greatest Fictional Characters, Fandomania.com ranked Wolverine at #21. In May 2011, Wolverine was ranked 4th on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes.

Publication history

Wolverine made his debut in The Incredible Hulk #181 (November 1974).
Art by Herb Trimpe.

Wolverine first appeared in the final "teaser" panel of The Incredible Hulk #180 (cover date October 1974) written by Len Wein and penciled by Herb Trimpe. The character then appeared in a number of advertisements in various Marvel Comics publications before making his first major appearance in The Incredible 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 envisioned as retractable. He appears briefly in the finale to this story in The Incredible 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 illustrated the cover artwork but incorrectly drew Wolverine's mask with larger headpieces. Dave Cockrum liked Kane's accidental alteration (believing it to be similar to Batman's mask) and incorporated it into his own artwork for the actual story. Cockrum was also the first artist to draw Wolverine without his mask, and the distinctive hairstyle became a trademark of the character.

A revival of X-Men followed, beginning with X-Men #94 (August 1975), drawn by Cockrum and written by Chris Claremont. In X-Men and Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine is initially overshadowed by the other characters, although he does create tension in the team as he is attracted to 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, Wolverine (September – December 1982), by Claremont and Frank Miller, followed by the six-issue Kitty Pryde and Wolverine by Claremont and Al Milgrom (November 1984 – April 1985). Marvel launched an ongoing solo book written by Claremont with art by John Buscema in November 1988. It ran for 189 issues. Larry Hama later took over the series and had an extensive run. Other writers who wrote for the two Wolverine ongoing series include Peter David, Archie Goodwin, Erik Larsen, Frank Tieri, Greg Rucka, and Mark Millar. Many 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 in X-Men #25, 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 off of, and runs concurrently with, the second Wolverine solo series.

Wolverine's first intended origin

Despite suggestions that co-creator Len Wein originally intended for Logan to be a mutated wolverine cub, evolved to humanoid form by the High Evolutionary, Wein denies this:

While I readily admit that my original idea was for Wolvie's claws to extend from the backs of his gloves ... I absolutely did not ever intend to make Logan a mutated wolverine. I write stories about human beings, not evolved animals (with apologies for any story I may have written that involved the High Evolutionary). The mutated wolverine thing came about long after I was no longer involved with the book. I'm not certain if the idea was first suggested by Chris Claremont, the late, much-missed Dave Cockrum, or John Byrne when he came aboard as artist, but it most certainly did not start with me.

Wein has stated in a conversation with Stan Lee included on the X-Men Origins: Wolverine blu-ray special features that he has read "Ten things you did not know about Wolverine," which states that he was originally intended to be a mutated wolverine cub, and this re-kindled Wein's frustration. He again stated that he had "always known that Wolverine was a mutant."

In X-Men #98 (April 1976), a biological analysis of Wolverine suggests that he was in some way different from the other X-Men, and in X-Men #103, Wolverine says he does not believe in leprechauns, to which the leprechaun replies, "Maybe leprechauns don't believe in talkin' wolverines, either."

In an article about the evolution of Wolverine included in a 1986 reprint of The Incredible Hulk #180-181, titled Incredible Hulk and Wolverine, Cockrum is quoted as saying that he considered having the High Evolutionary play a vital role in making Wolverine a human. Writer Wein wanted Wolverine to be the age of a young adult, with superhuman strength and agility similar to Spider-Man. This changed when Wein saw Cockrum's drawing of the unmasked Wolverine as a hairy 40-year-old. Wein originally intended the claws to be retractable and part of Wolverine's gloves, and both gloves and claws would be made of adamantium. Chris Claremont eventually revealed that they were an integrated part of Wolverine's anatomy in X-Men #98 (April 1976). Writer Jeph Loeb used a similar origin for Wolverine in the Marvel continuity, having feral mutants be an evolved lifeform.

Wolverine's second intended origin

John Byrne said in interviews and on his website that he drew a possible face for Wolverine, but then learned that Dave Cockrum had already drawn him unmasked in X-Men #98 (April 1976), long before Byrne's run on the series. Later, Byrne used the drawing for the face of Sabretooth, an enemy of the martial artist superhero Iron Fist, whose stories Chris Claremont was writing. Byrne then had the idea of Sabretooth being Wolverine's father. Together, Byrne and Claremont came up with Wolverine being approximately 60 years old and having served in World War II after escaping from Sabretooth, who was approximately 120 years old. The plan had been for Wolverine to have been almost crushed in an accident; he would discover, when attempting to stand for the first time after recovering, that his healing factor does not work on bones, and his legs immediately break. He then spends over a decade in a hospital bed, almost going mad, when the Canadian government approaches him with the idea of replacing his skeleton one bone at a time with adamantium, the claws being a surprise. This origin, too, was never used.

Fictional character biography

Wolverine first uses his claws in Origin #2.
Art by Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove.

As shown in the 2001–2002 miniseries Origin, Wolverine was born as James Howlett in Alberta, Canada, in the late 1880s, to rich farm owners John and Elizabeth Howlett. As the Origin miniseries insinuates and the Wolverine Goes to Hell story fully reveals, however, he is actually the illegitimate son of the Howlett's groundskeeper, Thomas Logan. After being thrown off of the Howlett's property for violent actions perpetrated by his other son, named simply Dog, Thomas returns to the Howlett manor and kills John Howlett. In retaliation, young James kills Thomas with bone claws that emerge from the back of his hands and is cast out by his mother (who then kills herself). His grandfather sends him away with his childhood companion, Rose (who closely resembles Jean Grey). The character grows into manhood on a mining colony in the Yukon Territory, adopting the name "Logan." After accidentally killing Rose with his claws, Logan leaves the colony and lives for a time in the wilderness among wolves until returning to civilization, residing with the Blackfoot Indians. Following the death of his Blackfoot lover, Silver Fox at the hands of Sabretooth, he is ushered into the Canadian military during World War I. Logan then spends some time in Madripoor, before settling in Japan, where he marries Itsu and has a son, Daken.

During World War II, Logan teams up with Captain America and continues a career as a soldier-of-fortune/adventurer. He then serves with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion during D-Day, and the CIA, before being recruited by Team X, a black ops unit.

As a member of Team X, Logan is given false memory implants. He continues on the team, until he is able to break free of the mental control and joins the Canadian Defense Ministry. Logan is subsequently kidnapped by the Weapon X program, where he remains captive and experimented on, until he escapes, as shown in Barry Windsor-Smith's "Weapon X" storyline which ran in Marvel Comics Presents. It is during his imprisonment by Weapon X that he has unbreakable adamantium forcibly fused onto his bones.

Logan is eventually discovered by James and Heather Hudson, who help him recover his humanity. Following his recovery, Logan, this time under the supervision of Department H, once again works as an intelligence operative for the Canadian government. Logan becomes Wolverine, one of Canada's first superheroes. In his first mission, he is dispatched to stop the destruction caused by a brawl between the Hulk and the Wendigo.

Later on, Professor Charles Xavier 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. It was later revealed, however, that Professor X had wiped Logan's memories and forced him to join the X-Men after Wolverine was sent to assassinate Xavier.

In X-Men #25 (1993), at the culmination of the "Fatal Attractions" crossover, the supervillain Magneto forcibly removes the adamantium from Wolverine's skeleton. This massive trauma causes his healing factor to burn out and also leads to the discovery that his claws are actually bone. Wolverine leaves the X-Men for a time, embarking on a series of adventures during which his healing factor returns, greatly increased in speed and efficiency (due to the fact that the adamantium in his bones used a considerable amount of his healing factor on a constant basis). It is also realised at this time that Wolverine constantly mutates (unlike other mutants) and that the adamantium slowed his mutation to a halt. His natural abilities such as healing factor and animalistic senses increase slowly over time. Feral by nature, Wolverine's mutation process will eventually cause him to degenerate physically into a more primitive, bestial state. After his return to the X-Men, Cable's son Genesis kidnaps Wolverine and attempts to re-bond adamantium to his skeleton. This is unsuccessful and causes Wolverine's mutation to accelerate out of control. He is temporarily changed into a semi-sentient beast-like form in which he gains greater physical power than ever before, at the price of part of his humanity. Eventually, the villain Apocalypse captures Wolverine, brainwashes him into becoming the Horseman Death, and successfully re-bonds adamantium to his skeleton. Wolverine overcomes Apocalypse's programming and returns to the X-Men.

In 2005, author Brian Michael Bendis had Wolverine join the Avengers. After the miniseries House of M, Wolverine regains his memories and prepares to seek out and enact vengeance on those who wronged him. In Wolverine: Origins, the character's second solo series, Wolverine discovers that he has a son named Daken, who has been brainwashed and made a living weapon by the villain Romulus, the man behind Wolverine's own brainwashing. Wolverine then makes it his mission to rescue Daken and stop Romulus from manipulating or harming anyone again.

During the events of the Messiah Complex storyline, Cyclops orders Wolverine to reform X-Force. Since then, Wolverine and the team (initially consisting of X-23, Warpath, and Wolfsbane) have starred in a new monthly title. The team was also featured in the "Messiah War" storyline, a sequel to Messiah Complex. After the events of Second Coming, Cyclops ends the X-Force program, but Wolverine continues a new X-Force team in secrecy with Angel/Archangel, Psylocke, Deadpool and Fantomex.

In 2008, writer Mark Millar and artist Steve McNiven explored a possible future for Wolverine in an eight-issue story arc entitled "Old Man Logan" that debuted with Wolverine #66. Millar, the writer for the story, said, "It's The Dark Knight Returns for Wolverine, essentially. The big, wide, show-stopping series that plays around with the most popular Marvel character of the last forty years, a dystopian vision of the Marvel Universe and a unique look at their futures. The heroes have gone, the villains have won and we're two generations away from the Marvel we know."

In X-Men #5, it is revealed that in order for Wolverine to fully infiltrate the ranks of the vampires that were attacking Utopia at the behest of Dracula's son (when Wolverine thought the vampire virus had simply bested his healing factor), Cyclops has to infect him with nanites that are capable of shutting off Wolverine's healing factor. Cyclops can activate them by merely clicking a button on a remote control device he carries with him at all times.

Wolverine Goes to Hell

A group known as the Red Right Hand is a group of people who have been wronged by Wolverine and have sworn revenge on him. They trick him to try to save his recent girlfriend Melita Garner (who was Mystique in disguise) and then trap him in a mystical circle to send him straight to Hell. While he is in Hell, a group of demons possess Wolverine's body. The demons then attack Wraith while he is at church, then they attack Colossus. The Red Right Hand then start to kill off people that Wolverine knows, like the Silver Samurai. While in Hell, Wolverine finally confronts his biological father, Thomas Logan. He is reunited as well with various people he has either killed or died because of him, both foes (led by Sabretooth) and friends. Wolverine manages to escape from Hell with the help of Melita, Daimon Hellstrom, and the Ghost Rider. However, his body is still possessed by the demons. The X-Men find out about Wolverine is possessed and decide that he should die to protect humankind, believing Wolverine would prefer to die rather than kill innocents. Wolverine is attacked on all sides by fighting the demons that still possess him and the X-Men that want him killed. He subsequently tracks down the Red Right Hand and kills their team of killers, the Mongrels. Wolverine fights his way through them only to find that the Red Right Hand's members have all committed suicide, while a pre-recorded message reveals that the Mongrels were all his illegitimate children. Unable to seek vengeance, Logan drags his children to the graves of their mothers before abandoning the world altogether. Broken and depressed, Wolverine secludes himself in the frozen wilderness and travels with a pack of wolves, eating little scraps of what's left of their kills. Poachers find the pack and capture any wolves that are young enough to fight. Wolverine goes to find his pack and kills the poachers. As he debates going back to the wild and hiding in deeper seclusion, he finds injured children who the poachers were using to fight wolves for sport. Wolverine returns the children to their families only to be found by Melita and his allies who convince him to come back to civilization. Sometime afterwards, the events of Fear Itself and before Schism take place.

Schism

At the beginning of the events of Schism, Cyclops thanks Wolverine for always being there for him as they seem to finally have come to a mutually spoken and understood respect for each other after years of fighting and rivalry. While at a conference for weapon control, Kid Omega (Quentin Quire) launches a psychic terrorist attack on the ambassadors present. In response, Sentinels are deployed at the conference and are disposed of by Cyclops and Wolverine. Due to growing fears of mutant threat, countries around the world begin to mobilize their Sentinel forces. As Cyclops begins to deploy X-Men around the globe to deal with the threat, Wolverine returns to Utopia to find Hope Summers and the Lights waiting for their combat training lesson. After insulting Hope's team and realizing that Idie is losing her childhood, Wolverine asks Kitty Pryde to make him a doll to give to Idie. Wolverine gives the doll to Idie and eats ice cream with her while news reports of Sentinel activity play and tensions build around Utopia. Sometime after, Kid Omega shows up on Utopia. Wolverine tries to attack Kid Omega when Cyclops stops him. While Cyclops sends a team of some of his most powerful X-Men, as well as some of the island students, to a local mutant museum exhibit as a "show of force," Wolverine goes to a local bar to sulk in his aggravation with the current situation. The new Hellfire Club attacks the exhibit and incapacitate all senior X-Men present. As Wolverine rushes to the museum to help from the bar and Cyclops flies in from Utopia, Idie asks if she should kill the Hellfire Club to help. While Wolverine protests against it profusely, Cyclops tells Idie to do what she feels is right. Idie kills almost every Hellfire Club member left to save her friends and mentors. Wolverine pops his claws at Cyclops in anger that he used a child to save the day, but restrains himself when he realizes what he's doing.

From the wreckage of the museum, a sentinel begins to form. While Wolverine tries to stop the sentinel from maturing, he is thrown into the ocean. Shortly after, Wolverine swims on to Utopia and tells the mutant children that they need to leave. Cyclops tells the students to fight together and that they can beat the sentinel, but Wolverine objects to using children to fight battles. Cyclops doesn't listen and begins to prepare the students for combat. Shortly after Wolverine returns with a detonator to blow up Utopia and orders all remaining people on the island to evacuate. Cyclops and Wolverine's frustration with each other come to a head when Cyclops brings up Jean Grey saying that she never loved Wolverine and always feared him. Wolverine replies "And if she were here right now, who do you think she would be more frightened of?" The two fight each other in a rage while being attacked by the sentinel and as Wolverine claws into Cyclops visor, the students reappear on the battlefield to help them fight the sentinel. In the morning, Cyclops and Wolverine stand victorious with the students all living, but Wolverine can't continue watching Cyclops use children as soldiers to fight these battles. Wolverine announces his departure from Utopia and indicates he will take any mutant on the island who wants to leave with him. While Wolverine doesn't leave as an enemy of Cyclops and his X-Men, he makes clear he wants both sides to stay out of the others business.

Wolverine returns to Westchester, New York to open a new school, the "Jean Grey School for Higher Learning."

Regenesis

After the Schism, around half of all the mutants on Utopia accompany Wolverine to Westchester to be a part of the new school. He appoints himself as the headmaster, Kitty Pryde as the co-headmistress, Hank McCoy as the vice-principal, and various other characters such as Rogue, Cannonball, Iceman, Rachel Grey, and Gambit are appointed as the school's staff. Even Toad is appointed, as a janitor. The first issue focuses on the state education board visiting to approve of their school application. As Logan and Kitty give the delegation a tour, Kade Kilgore shows up and tells Logan that he is the one who caused the Schism and he will destroy all that Logan has worked to build up. Wolverine founded the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, spending all the fortune that he had amassed over the years upon it. On its first day it was assaulted by the new Hellfire Club, whom had been a major force in causing the Schism of the X-Men. Wolverine made it clear that he didn't want to lose any of the kids and fought as hard as he could against the Frankenstein Monsters whom Iceman defeated by making Ice clones of himself. Then, they were attacked by the Hellfire Club, that were in possession of a spawn of the original Krakoa. Kid Omega who wanted to prove himself to Broo, Idie and Kid Gladiator who told him they never heard of him, reasoned with Krakoa who then joined Wolverine's X-Men.

Wolverine, with everyone in the school, confronted the Hellfire Club and he made it clear to them to stay away from his school. As the Hellfire Club members were leaving, Krakoa almost attacked them but Logan stopped him as he had a better idea on how to deal with them. The next day Matt Murdock told Kade Kilgore that he was being sued by Wolverine for the sum of 879 million dollars for the damage he had done to the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning and if he didn't pay they would take control of his company. As the school was being rebuilt, Logan was informed that Krakoa was glad they allowed him to stay and Logan found it good to have a school ground that could fight back.

Avengers vs. X-Men

When the Phoenix Force returned to Earth, Wolverine sided with the Avengers and went with them to Utopia to take Hope Summers into custody (as they suspected her of being the Phoenix Force's intended host). Wolverine found this particularly difficult to do as he was forced to fight those he once thought of as family.

Cyclops arrived at the Jean Grey School in order to try and convince Wolverine to switch sides and become part of the X-Men once more. Wolverine was infuriated, saying Cyclops didn't get to decide who was and wasn't part of the X-Men and that Cyclops had betrayed every thing the X-Men stood for.

After Hope's escape, Wolverine accompanies her to the Blue Area of the Moon. She promises to let Wolverine kill her if she is unable to control the Phoenix Force; her only request is that she gets the chance to control it. However, Wolverine betrays her by summoning the Avengers. The Phoenix Force begins to bond with Hope, at which point she admits that she cannot contain it. She asks Wolverine to kill her, but he is prevented from doing so by Cyclops. Eventually, the Phoenix Force possesses the X-Men present on the moon, who then return to Earth, leaving Wolverine and the Avengers injured on the Blue Area of the Moon.

Powers and abilities

Wolverine is a mutant with a number of both natural and artificial improvements to his physiology. His primary mutant power is an accelerated healing process, typically referred to as his mutant healing factor, that regenerates damaged or destroyed tissues of his body far beyond the capabilities of an ordinary human. This power facilitated the artificial improvements he was subjected to under the Weapon X program (in later comics called the Weapon Plus program), in which his skeleton was reinforced with the virtually indestructible metal adamantium.

Depictions of the speed and extent of injury to which Wolverine can heal vary. Originally, this was portrayed as accelerated healing of minor wounds, but writers have steadily increased this ability over the years. After several years, Wolverine's healing factor was depicted as healing severe wounds within a matter of days or hours. Other writers went on to increase Wolverine's healing factor to the point that it could fully regenerate nearly any damaged or destroyed bodily tissues within seconds. Among the more extreme depictions of Wolverine's healing factor include fully healing after being caught near the center of an atomic explosion and the total regeneration of his soft body tissue, within a matter of minutes, after having it incinerated from his skeleton. It has been stated in the Xavier Protocols, a series of profiles created by Xavier that lists the strengths and weaknesses of the X-Men, that Wolverine's healing factor is increased to "incredible levels" and theorizes that the only way to stop him is to decapitate him and remove his head from the vicinity of his body. It's possible for the efficiency of his healing powers to be suppressed. For example, if an object composed of carbonadium is inserted and remains lodged within his body, his healing powers are slowed dramatically though they are not fully suppressed. His healing factor can also be greatly suppressed by the Muramasa blade, a katana of mystic origins that can inflict wounds that nullify superhuman healing factors. His healing factor also dramatically slows his aging process, allowing him to live beyond the normal lifespan of a human. Despite being born in the late 19th century, he has the appearance and vitality of a man in his physical prime. It is unknown exactly how greatly his healing factor extends his life expectancy. Though he now has all of his memories, his healing abilities can provide increased recovery from psychological trauma by suppressing memories in which he experiences profound distress. In addition to accelerated healing of physical traumas, Wolverine's healing factor makes him extraordinarily resistant to diseases, drugs, and toxins. However, he can still suffer the immediate effects of such substances in massive quantities; he has been shown to become intoxicated after significant amounts of alcohol, and has been incapacitated on several occasions with large amounts of powerful drugs and poisons; S.H.I.E.L.D. once managed to keep Wolverine anesthetized by constantly pumping eighty milliliters of anesthetic a minute into his system.

Although his body heals, the healing factor does not suppress the pain he endures while injured. Wolverine also admits to feeling phantom pains for weeks or months after healing from his injuries. He does not enjoy being hurt and sometimes has to work himself up for situations where extreme pain is certain. Wolverine, on occasion, has deliberately injured himself or allowed himself to be injured for varying reasons, including freeing himself from capture, intimidation, strategy, or simply indulging his feral nature.

Wolverine's mutation also consists of animal-like adaptations of his body, including pronounced, and sharp fang-like canines and three retractable claws housed within each forearm. While originally depicted as bionic implants created by the Weapon X program, the claws are later revealed to be a natural part of his body. The claws are not made of keratin, as claws tend to be in the animal kingdom, but extremely dense bone. With their adamantium coating, the claws can cut substances as durable as most metals, wood, and some varieties of stone. They can also be used to block attacks or projectiles, as well as dig into surfaces allowing Wolverine to climb structures. Wolverine's hands do not have openings for the claws to move through: they cut through his flesh every time he extrudes them, with occasional references implying that he feels a brief moment of slight pain in his hands when he unsheathes them.

On more than one occasion, Wolverine's entire skeleton, including his claws, has been molecularly infused with adamantium. Due to their coating, his claws can cut almost any known solid material. The only known exceptions are adamantium itself and Captain America's shield, which is made out of an iron-vibranium alloy. Vibranium alone is not comparable in terms of durability with adamantium, seeing as Colossus has broken it. 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, increasing the effectiveness of his offensive capabilities. However, this also makes him exceptionally susceptible to magnetic based attacks. Also, while the adamantium is in his body his healing factor must work constantly to prevent the metal poisoning from killing him, with the result that his ability to heal is slightly lessened compared to what he would be capable of normally.

Wolverine's healing factor also affects a number of his physical attributes by increasing them to superhuman levels. His stamina is sufficiently heightened to the point he can exert himself for numerous hours, even after exposure to powerful tranquilizers. Wolverine's agility and reflexes are also enhanced to levels that are beyond the physical limits of the finest human athlete. Due to his healing factor's constant regenerative qualities, he can push his muscles beyond the limits of the human body without injury. This, coupled by the constant demand placed on his muscles by over one hundred pounds of adamantium, grants him some degree of superhuman strength. Since the presence of the adamantium negates the natural structural limits of his bones, he can lift or move weight that would otherwise damage a human skeleton. He has been depicted breaking steel chains, lifting several men above his head with one arm and throwing them through a wall and lifting Ursa Major (in grizzly bear form) over his head before tossing him across a room.

It was recently revealed that, when Wolverine is injured so seriously that his body actually dies before his healing factor can repair the damage, he returns to life by fighting with Azrael, the Angel of Death, while trapped in Purgatory, due to Wolverine defeating Azrael in combat in the real world during the First World War. However, after Wolverine's soul was damaged following his resurrection and brainwashing by the Hand, he made a new deal with Azrael to repair the damage that had been done to his soul that negated their previous arrangement, with the result that, the next time Wolverine sustains death-inducing injuries, he will remain dead, and his healing factor has apparently been slightly weakened in the process.

Wolverine's senses of sight, smell, and hearing are all superhumanly acute. He can see with perfect clarity at greater distances than an ordinary human, even in near-total darkness. His hearing is enhanced in a similar manner, allowing him to both hear sounds ordinary humans cannot and also hear to greater distances. Wolverine is able to use his sense of smell to track targets by scent, even if the scent has been eroded somewhat over time by natural factors. This sense also allows him to identify shapeshifting mutants despite other forms they may take. He is also able to use his senses of smell and hearing, through concentration, as a type of natural lie detector, such as detecting a faint change in a person's heartbeat and scent due to perspiration when a lie is told.

Due to a combination of his healing factor and high level psionic shields implanted by Professor Xavier, Wolverine's mind is highly resistant to telepathic assault and probing. Wolverine's mind also possesses what he refers to as "mental scar tissue" created by all of the traumatic events over the course of his life. It acts as a type of natural defense, even against a psychic as powerful as Emma Frost.

Skills and personality

During his time in Japan and other countries, Wolverine becomes a master of virtually all forms of martial arts and is experienced in virtually every fighting style on Earth. He is proficient with most weaponry, including firearms, though he is partial to bladed weapons. He has demonstrated 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 will sometimes lapse into a "berserker rage" while in close combat. In this state he lashes out with the intensity and aggression of an enraged animal and is even more resistant to psionic attack. Though he loathes it, he acknowledges that it has saved his life many times, it being most notably useful when he faced the telepathic 'Mister X', as X's ability to read his mind and predict his next move in a fight was useless in a berserk state as not even Wolverine knows what he will do next in this state. Despite his apparent ease at taking lives, he does not enjoy killing or giving in to his berserker rages. Logan adheres to a firm code of personal honor and morality.

In contrast to his brutish nature, Wolverine is extremely knowledgeable. Due to his increased lifespan, he has traveled around the world and amassed extensive knowledge of foreign languages and cultures. He is fluent in English, Japanese, Russian, Chinese, Cheyenne, Spanish, Arabic, and Lakota; he also has some knowledge of French, Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese, German, Italian, Portuguese, Korean, Hindi, and Persian. 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." Much to Professor Xavier's disapproval, Wolverine is also a heavy drinker and smoker - his healing powers negate the long term effects of alcohol and tobacco and allow him to indulge in prolonged binges.

Wolverine is frequently depicted as a gruff loner, often taking leave from the X-Men to deal with personal issues or problems. He is often irreverent and rebellious towards authority figures, though he is a reliable ally and capable leader. He has been a mentor and father figure to several younger women, especially Jubilee, Rogue, Kitty Pryde and X-23, and has had romantic relationships with numerous women (most notably Mariko Yashida), as well as a mutual, but unfulfilled attraction to Jean Grey, leading to jealous run-ins with her boyfriend (and later husband), Scott Summers. He also married Viper as part of a debt, and then later divorced her. When Squirrel Girl is hired as a nanny for the daughter of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, Wolverine reveals that he and Squirrel Girl had a relationship at some point in the past, and she uses his given name, James, indicating she knew him at some point when he was aware of his birth name. According to Wolverine, the relationship ended with the two agreeing never to see each other again, but Squirrel Girl stated she hopes they "can be professional" during her tenure as nanny.

Other versions

Main article: Alternative versions of Wolverine

As one of Marvel's flagship characters, Wolverine has seen many adaptations and re-imaginings. 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. The "Old Man Logan" storyline is set in an alternate timeline 50 years into the future where the world's superhuman heroes are dead; Wolverine has aged considerably and has become a pacifist.

In other media

Main article: Wolverine in other media

Wolverine is one of the very few X-Men characters to be included in every media adaptation of the X-Men franchise, including film, television, and computer and video games, and he has also starred in his own video games (e.g., X2: Wolverine's Revenge and X-Men Origins: Wolverine).

Marvel Animation has completed the first and only season of the animated series, Wolverine and the X-Men, in which Wolverine leads the X-Men while Charles Xavier and Jean Grey are missing. The series aired the full first season in Canada and the U.S. (aired on Nickelodeon's Nicktoons channel). An anime series based on Wolverine began airing on January 7, 2011 as part of a 4-part collaboration between Marvel Animation and Madhouse called Marvel Anime. Logan also appears in an episode of the Iron Man part of this collaboration.

20th Century Fox, in association with Marvel Studios, released an X-Men spin-off movie based on Wolverine, titled X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which stars Hugh Jackman returning as the title character. Gavin Hood directed the film, which was released in North America on May 1, 2009, and in Australia, the United Kingdom, and France on April 29, 2009. Troye Mellet plays the young Wolverine. The film chronicles Wolverine's metamorphosis from a sickly child in 19th century Canada discovering he is a mutant to his time in the army with his half-brother Victor Creed/Sabretooth, and then explores how they gradually came to be enemies. William Stryker and Victor Creed are the main antagonists in the film and are played by Danny Huston and Liev Schreiber, respectively. Another film went into development in 2009. Titled The Wolverine, the film will be based around Wolverine's exploits in Japan and will be modeled after Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's 1982 limited series on the character. It is not stated to be a sequel, but rather a standalone story from X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Jackman has an uncredited cameo as Wolverine in the 2011 prequel film X-Men: First Class, in which he is nearly recruited by Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr into the X-Men in a brief bar scene, but simply snaps "go fuck yourself" without even looking the men in the face.

In the game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Wolverine stars as one of the four main heroes, with the others being Spider-Man, Captain America, and Thor. He is also a playable character in the games X-Men Legends, X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, and many others. (See List of X-Men video games for more details.)

Wolverine appears in the Spider-Woman motion comics. In this series, he is voiced by Jeffrey Hedquist.

Collected editions

Main series

Wolverine	Wolverine #1-4; Uncanny X-Men #172-173	March 2009 January 2007	SC: 978-0785137245 HC: 978-0785123293
The Best of Wolverine, Vol. 1	Wolverine #1-4; Marvel Comics Presents #72-84; The Incredible Hulk #181; Uncanny X-Men #205; Captain America Annual #8	October 2004	978-0785113706
Wolverine Omnibus, Vol. 1	Wolverine #1-4; Wolverine vol. 2, #1-10; Marvel Comics Presents #1-10, 72-84; The Incredible Hulk #180-182, 340; Marvel Treasury Edition #26; Best of Marvel Comics (HC); Kitty Pryde and Wolverine #1-6; Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1; Marvel Age Annual #4; Punisher War Journal #6-7; Uncanny X-Men #172-173	April 2009	978-0785134770
Wolverine Classic, Vol. 1	Wolverine vol. 2, #1-5	April 2005	978-0785117971
Wolverine Classic, Vol. 2	Wolverine vol. 2, #6-10	September 2005	978-0785118770
Wolverine Classic, Vol. 3	Wolverine vol. 2, #11-16	May 2006	978-0785120537
Wolverine Classic, Vol. 4	Wolverine vol. 2, #17-23	September 2006	978-0785120544
Wolverine Classic, Vol. 5	Wolverine vol. 2, #24-30	September 2007	978-0785127390
Essential Wolverine, Vol. 1 (b&w)	Wolverine vol. 2, #1-23	February 2009	978-0785135661
Essential Wolverine, Vol. 2 (b&w)	Wolverine vol. 2, #24-47	March 2002	978-0785105503
Essential Wolverine, Vol. 3 (b&w)	Wolverine vol. 2, #48-69	March 2002	978-0785105954
Essential Wolverine, Vol. 4 (b&w)	Wolverine vol. 2, #70-90	May 2006	978-0785120599
Essential Wolverine, Vol. 5 (b&w)	Wolverine vol. 2, #91-110, Annual '96; Uncanny X-Men #332	December 2008	978-0785130772
Essential Wolverine, Vol. 6 (b&w)	Wolverine vol. 2, #111-128, -1, 1997 Annual	November 2012	978-0785163527
Wolverine Legends, Vol. 6: Marc Silvestri	Wolverine vol. 2, #31-34, 41-42, 48-50	May 2004	978-0785109525
Wolverine: Not Dead Yet	Wolverine vol. 2, #119-122	December 1998 May 2009	SC: 978-0785107040 HC: 978-0785137665
X-Men vs. Apocalypse, Vol. 1: The Twelve	Wolverine vol. 2, #146-147; Cable #73-76; Uncanny X-Men #376-377; X-Men #96-97	March 2008	978-0785122630
X-Men vs. Apocalypse; Vol. 2: Ages of Apocalypse	Wolverine vol. 2, #148; Cable #77; Uncanny X-Men #378, Annual '99; X-51 #8; X-Men #98; X-Men Unlimited #26; X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #1-4	September 2008	978-0785122647
Wolverine: Blood Debt	Wolverine vol. 2, #150-153	July 2001	978-0785107859
Wolverine: The Best There Is	Wolverine vol. 2, #159-161, 167-169	September 2002	978-0785110071
Wolverine/Deadpool: Weapon X	Wolverine vol. 2, #162-166; Deadpool #57-60	August 2002	978-0785109181
Wolverine Legends, Vol. 3: Law of the Jungle	Wolverine vol. 2, #181-186	March 2003	978-0785111351
Wolverine, Vol. 1: The Brotherhood	Wolverine vol. 3, #1-6	February 2004	978-0785111368
Wolverine, Vol. 2: Coyote Crossing	Wolverine vol. 3, #7-11	May 2004	978-0785111375
Wolverine, Vol. 3: Return of the Native	Wolverine vol. 3, #12-19	October 2004	978-0785113973
Wolverine: Enemy of the State, Vol. 1	Wolverine vol. 3, #20-25	October 2006 May 2005	SC: 978-0785114925 HC: 978-0785118152
Wolverine: Enemy of the State, Vol. 2	Wolverine vol. 3, #26-32	June 2006 December 2005	SC: 978-0785116271 HC: 978-0785119265
Wolverine: Enemy of the State Ultimate Collection	Wolverine vol. 3, #20-32	June 2008 October 2006	SC: 978-0785133018 HC: 978-0785122067
House of M: World of M, Featuring Wolverine	Wolverine vol. 3, #33-35; Black Panther vol. 4, #7; Captain America vol. 5, #10; The Pulse #10	March 2006	978-0785119227
Wolverine: Origins and Endings	Wolverine vol. 3, #36-40	December 2006 May 2006	SC: 978-0785119791 HC: 978-0785119777
Wolverine: Blood and Sorrow	Wolverine vol. 3, #41, 49; Giant-Size Wolverine #1; X-Men Unlimited #12	July 2007	978-0785126072
Wolverine: Civil War	Wolverine vol. 3, #42-48	May 2007	978-0785119807
Wolverine: Evolution	Wolverine vol. 3, #50-55	March 2008 November 2007	SC: 978-0785122562 HC: 978-0785122555
Wolverine: The Death of Wolverine	Wolverine vol. 3, #56-61	July 2008 April 2008	SC: 978-0785126126 HC: 978-0785126119
Wolverine: Get Mystique	Wolverine vol. 3, #62-65	August 2008	978-0785129639
Wolverine: Old Man Logan	Wolverine vol. 3, #66-72; Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant-Size	September 2010 October 2009	SC: 978-0785131724 HC: 978-0785131595
Dark Wolverine, Vol. 1: The Prince	Wolverine vol. 3, #73-74 (back stories); Dark Wolverine #75-77	March 2010 November 2009	SC: 978-0785138662 HC: 978-0785139003
Dark Wolverine, Vol. 2: My Hero	Dark Wolverine vol. 3, #78-81	March 2010	SC: 978-0785138679 HC: 978-0785139775
Wolverine Goes to Hell	Wolverine vol. 4, #1-5	January 2011 February 2011	SC: 978-0785147855 HC: 978-0785147848
"Wolverine Vs. The X-Men"	"Wolverine" vol. 4, #6-9 & 5.1	June 2011	SC: 978-0785147879 HC: 978-0785147862
"Wolverine's Revenge"	"Wolverine" vol. 4, #10-16	November 2011	SC: 978-0785152792 HC: 978-0785152798
Wolverine: Goodbye, Chinatown	"Wolverine" vol. 4, #17-20	April 2012	SC: 978-0785161417
Wolverine: Back in Japan	"Wolverine" #300-304	July 2012	HC: 978-0785161431

Marvel Comics Presents featuring Wolverine

Title	Material collected	Publication date	ISBN
Marvel Comics Presents: Wolverine, Vol. 1	Marvel Comics Presents #1-10	July 2005	978-0-7851-1826-8
Marvel Comics Presents: Wolverine, Vol. 2	Marvel Comics Presents #39-50	January 2006	978-0-7851-1883-1
Marvel Comics Presents: Wolverine, Vol. 3	Marvel Comics Presents #51-61	June 2006	978-0-7851-2065-0
Marvel Comics Presents: Wolverine, Vol. 4	Marvel Comics Presents #62-71	December 2006	978-0-7851-2066-7
Wolverine: Weapon X	Marvel Comics Presents #72-84	March 2009 March 2007	SC: 978-0-7851-3726-9 HC: 978-0785123279
Wolverine: Blood Hungry	Marvel Comics Presents #85-92	December 1993	978-0-7851-0003-4
Wolverine: Typhoid's Kiss	Marvel Comics Presents #109-116	May 1994	978-0-7851-0056-0

Wolverine: Origins

Title	Material collected	Publication date	ISBN
Wolverine: Origins, Vol. 1: Born in Blood	Wolverine: Origins #1-5	April 2007 November 2006	SC: 978-0-7851-2287-6 HC: 978-0785122852
Wolverine: Origins, Vol. 2: Savior	Wolverine: Origins #6-10	October 2007 March 2007	SC: 978-0-7851-2288-3 HC: 978-0785122869
Wolverine: Origins, Vol. 3: Swift and Terrible	Wolverine: Origins #11-15	November 2007 August 2007	SC: 978-0-7851-2613-3 HC: 978-0785126379
Wolverine: Origins, Vol. 4: Our War	Wolverine: Origins #16-20, Annual #1	June 2008 February 2008	SC: 978-0-7851-2614-0 HC: 978-0785126386
Wolverine: Origins, Vol. 5: Deadpool	Wolverine: Origins #21-27	December 2008 September 2008	SC: 978-0-7851-2615-7 HC: 978-0785126393
X-Men: Original Sin	Wolverine: Origins #28-30; X-Men: Original Sin; X-Men: Legacy #217-218	August 2009 February 2009	SC: 978-0-7851-2956-1 HC: 978-0785130383
Wolverine: Origins, Vol. 6: Dark Reign	Wolverine: Origins #31-36	December 2009 September 2009	SC: 978-0-7851-3538-8 HC: 978-0785136286
Wolverine: Origins, Vol. 7: Romulus	Wolverine: Origins #37-40	April 2010 December 2009	SC: 978-0785135395 HC: 978-0-7851-3629-3
Wolverine: Origins, Vol. 8: Seven the Hard Way	Wolverine: Origins #41-45	September 2010 April 2010	SC: 978-0-7851-4649-0 HC: 978-0785146483
Wolverine: Origins, Vol. 9: The Reckoning	Wolverine: Origins #46-50; Dark Wolverine #85-87	October 2010	HC: 978-0785139782

Wolverine: First Class

Title	Material collected	Publication date	ISBN
Wolverine: First Class - The Rookie	Wolverine: First Class #1-4; The Incredible Hulk #181	October 2008	978-0-7851-3316-2
Wolverine: First Class - To Russia With Love	Wolverine: First Class #5-8	February 2009	978-0-7851-3317-9
Wolverine: First Class - Wolverine by Night	Wolverine: First Class #9-12	April 2009	978-0-7851-3534-0
Wolverine: First Class - Ninjas, Gods and Divas	Wolverine: First Class #13-16; X-Men and Power Pack #1	August 2009	978-0-7851-3535-7
Wolverine: First Class - Class Actions	Wolverine: First Class #17-21	February 2010	978-0-7851-3678-1

Other

Title	Material collected	Publication date	ISBN
Wolverine Legends, Vol. 2: Meltdown	Havok and Wolverine: Meltdown #1-4	March 2003	978-0785110484
Wolverine: Origin	Origin #1-6	March 2006 October 2006	SC: 978-0785137276 HC: 978-0785123286
Wolverine: The End	Wolverine: The End #1-6	May 2007	978-0-7851-1349-2
Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk	Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk #1-6	May 2010 October 2009	SC: 978-0785141570 HC: 978-0785140139
Wolverine: Weapon X, Vol. 1: The Adamantium Men	Wolverine: Weapon X #1-5; Wolverine vol. 3, #73-74	April 2010 November 2009	SC: 978-0785141112 HC: 978-0785140177
Wolverine: Weapon X, Vol. 2: Insane in the Brain	Wolverine: Weapon X #6-10	July 2010 March 2010	SC: 978-0785141129 HC: 978-0785140184
Wolverine: Weapon X, Vol. 3: Tomorrow Dies Today	Wolverine: Weapon X #11-16; Dark Reign: The List - Wolverine	October 2010 March 2011	SC: 978-0785146513 HC: 978-0785146506
X-Men: Wolverine/Gambit	Wolverine/Gambit: Victims #1-4	June 2002 November 2009	SC: 978-0785108962 HC: 978-0785138020
Wolverine: Flies to a Spider	Wolverine: Chop Shop; Wolverine: Switchback; Wolverine Holiday Special: Flies to a Spider; Wolverine: Dead Man's Hand	August 2009	978-0785135692
Wolverine Noir	Wolverine Noir #1-4	May 2010 November 2009	SC: 978-0785135470 HC: 978-0785139454
Weapon X: Days of Future Now	Weapon X: Days of Future Now #1-5	February 2006	978-0785117490
Wolverine/Black Cat: Claws	Wolverine/Black Cat #1-3	February 2010 February 2007	SC: 978-0785142850 HC: 978-0785118503
Hulk/Wolverine: 6 Hours	Hulk/Wolverine: 6 Hours #1-4; The Incredible Hulk #181	May 2003	978-0785111573
Marvel Platinum: The Definitive Wolverine	Origin #2; Marvel Comics Presents #79; Incredible Hulk #181; Uncanny X-Men #109; Wolverine #1-4; Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1; X-Men #25; Wolverine #75, #145	April 2009	978-1-84653-409-6
Wolverine: Logan	Logan #1-3	April 2009 September 2008	SC: 978-0785134145 HC: 978-0785134251

External links

• Wolverine at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
• Template:IMDb character
• Wolverine at Marvel.com
• Template:Dmoz