Dog Logan
| Dog Logan | |
|---|---|
| File:DOGTOOTH.JPG Dog Logan Andy Kubert, Art | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Origin #1 |
| Created by | Bill Jemas, Paul Jenkins, Joe Quesada (story) and Andy Kubert (art) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Dog Logan (first name may be nick name) |
| Team affiliations | unrevealed, unrevealed |
| Notable aliases | unrevealed |
| Abilities | unrevealed (apparently hieghtened physical strength) |
Dog Logan is a fictional character from Marvel Comics that appeared in the limited series Origin (co-written by Bill Jemas, Paul Jenkins and Joe Quesada, drawn by Andy Kubert). The series was published from November, 2001 to July, 2002.
Dog is a critical character in the origin of the superhero Wolverine. It was very strongly implied that Dog Logan would become Sabretooth, Wolverine's arch-nemesis.
Character biography
Dog Logan appears in the Wolverine: Origin story as a servent on the Howlett estate in the late 19th century, located in Alberta, Canada. An adolescent, Dog is the playmate of another servent on the estate, Rose, and James Howlett (who's father owns the estate). His father is the abusive alcoholic, Thomas Logan, who is also a servent on the estate. The three children were good friends until the abuse of Thomas Logan on his son began to twist and warp Dog's mind. At some point in the childhood of Dog and James, Dog actually saved James from drowing in a river.
As a young teenager Dog became cruel and sadistic and made unwanted advances toward Rose. James reported it and in retaliation Dog killed James' dog, Blue. This resulted in his and his father's expulsion from the estate and a violent escalation of events in which John Howlett was murdered by Thomas Logan, and Thomas Logan was in turn killed by James Howlett, who unsheathed his claws for the first time to defend his home and his loved ones against these intruders. As Dog and Thomas were armed home invaders and had already committed one murder, this could hardly be considered anything but self-defense.
It turned out that James' mother, Elizabeth, and Thomas had an affair in the past. Thomas, in drunken stupor, had come to take her away. Ironically, it was strongly implied that the product of this affair was in fact James himself. James Howlett as the adult known as Wolverine looks exactly like Thomas Logan and little like John Howlett. That in addition to the fact that at some point in James Howlett deliberately took the name Logan further adds wieght to the notion. This would further imply that Dog would be a half-brother to James. None of this is stated but it is illustrated fairly obviously in the story.
During the mele Dog Logan had his face slashed, leaving three large scars upon it. He also witnesses Elizabeth Howlett commiting suicide. He was then taken in by James' grandfather, after giving a false report that Rose was the killer, to the police. He then disappeared from the plot for a number of years.
At the time of his return, Dog was large in stature (roughly 6 1/2 feet) and possessed great physical strength. He appeared to have light brown or dirty blond hair instead of the dark brown hair he had during childhood. His ears were leaf shaped and he had unusually pronounced canines, claws, and was clearly depicted with amber colored eyes with no visible pupils. He had been summoned at the request of James' grandfather to find James and Dog intended to do so, but to kill him. As he hunted James several other noteworthy traits are observed. He had an unusually high resistance to the elements and seemingly preternatural tracking abilities.
When he finally found James he attempted to murder him first by rigging a cage fight, then by attacking James himself. He claimed that he was the murderer of James' father, when the true killer was Thomas Logan, which was either a lie to rile his enemy or the product of a distorted perception of the past. James was able to defeat him. Tragically, before James could kill him, Rose stepped in front to prevent the killing and was fatally wounded. James then fled into the forest.
Current whereabouts
What became of Dog after this encounter is not officially stated, but there are two enemies of Wolverine who have a similar stature to Dog and a healing factor that retards their aging process. Those two characters are Cyber and Sabretooth. Of the two, Cyber (before he gained his adamantium skin and artificial claws) did not have razor sharp teeth, leaf shaped ears, sandy blonde hair, amber colored eyes without visible pupils, or claws. Cyber is also a relatively minor character who was already conveniently killed off by writers years before the Origin comics were written. However the latter of the two has all of the attributes of Dog. The matter has never been officially specified by the writers as it would ruin the mystique.
Powers and abilities
Dog was enormous in size, psychopathic, and appeared to have razor-sharp teeth and claws. He had an unusually high resistance to the elements and a seemingly preternatural skill for tracking. He did not appear to have had a healing factor activated by that time, as he still possessed years-old faded scars on his face. His physical strength appeared to be heightened as he was able to hit James with adequate force to send his entire body flying about 20 feet through the air at one point (a feet not easily achieved by a normal human).
It should be noted that in many cases recently in Marvel comics a regenerative healing factor is a secondary mutation that does not appear until later in a mutant's life, such as when Archangel developed his.
External links
- Dog bio from the Appendix to the Marvel Universe