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Wolverine (a.k.a. Logan; birth name James Howlett) is a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe, and a member of the X-Men. He first appeared in the final panel of The Incredible Hulk #180 (October 1974). Len Wein is the writer credited with creating the character, but he was more fully developed by creators such as Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Frank Miller.
Wolverine first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #180 (October 1974), albeit only in the final panel of the issue, which was written by Len Wein and illustrated by Herb Trimpe. His full appearance in the next issue - #181 (November 1974) - is considered by some to be his true first appearance. Wolverine wore a yellow-and-blue costume - which didn't particularly resemble a true wolverine, and was designed by John Romita, Sr. - and sported foot-long metal claws. His first story left his nature somewhat ambiguous: He was an agent of the Canadian government with superhuman powers, but later basic facts about the character - his lack of knowledge about his personal history, or his claws being a part of his body rather than part of his gloves - had not been established.
Wolverine next appeared in Giant-Sized X-Men #1 (1975), a special in which he joined the "All-New, All-Different" X-Men. Written by Wein and drawn by Dave Cockrum (who changed the headgear in Wolverine's costume somewhat), the issue was successful enough to revive the then-defunct X-Men comic book series, starting with #94 (August 1975), drawn by Cockrum but written by Chris Claremont. Although a part of the team from the start, Wolverine was initially overshadowed by characters such as Cyclops and Thunderbird and Claremont considered dropping the character later early in the series.
Cockrum's departure from X-Men and replacement by John Byrne resulted in Wolverine's character being better fleshed-out. Himself a Canadian, Byrne balked at the suggestion of dropping a Canadian character from the book and instead offered various story ideas that took advantage of this character. One of them involved creating Alpha Flight, a group of Canadian superheroes, who tried to recapture Wolverine due to the expense the Canadian government incurred in training him. Wolverine's murky past was gradually fleshed out, as was his essentially unstable nature, which he tried to keep in check. He and Cyclops often argued over the leadership of the team, and Wolverine had a crush on Cyclops' true love, Jean Grey. Byrne also designed a new, brown-and-tan costume for Wolverine, though keeping the distinctive Cockrum-designed headgear. These elements were successful and the readers' interest in the character began to climb significantly.
Following Byrne's departure, Wolverine remained a member of the X-Men, his destiny controlled by Claremont. By this point he was becoming one of the most popular characters in comics, and appeared in his own mini-series Wolverine (#1-4 by Claremont and Frank Miller, September - December 1982) and in Kitty Pryde and Wolverine (#1-6 by Claremont and Al Milgrom, November 1984 - April 1985).
Wolverine finally graduated to his own ongoing series with Wolverine #1 (by Claremont and John Buscema, November 1988). Since then he has remained an active member of the X-Men, has appeared in his own series, and in several side series. Most notable of the side stories are Weapon X (by Barry Windsor-Smith in Marvel Comics Presents #72-84, 1991), and Origin #1-6 (by Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada, Paul Jenkins and Adam Kubert, 2002), both of which filled in significant portions of his past.
Many Wolverine stories - with and without the X-Men - have been collected as standalone graphic novels.
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
Wolverine first appeared as a Canadian superhero fighting the monsters The Incredible Hulk and the Wendigo, as an agent of the government attempting to stop the rampage of both creatures. Small, strong and vicious, Wolverine was able to fight both creatures to a standstill.
Soon after that adventure he was recruited by Professor X to join the second incarnation of the X-Men, resigning from his position in Canada over his superiors' objections. Over the following year Wolverine was revealed to be a mutant who whose skeleton had been laced with the unbreakable (fictional) metal adamantium. With his strong, passionate and volatile personality, Wolverine often clashed with the X-Men's leader Cyclops. Given to berserker rages in combat, he slowly learned how to control his animalistic tendencies. He is, however, more willing to kill his enemies than the other X-Men.
Wolverine was gradually revealed as a man who had forgotten his past: He had been transformed by a project called Weapon X, who had added the adamantium to his body. He had then been adopted by James and Heather Hudson into their project which eventually became Alpha Flight. Intended to eventually lead that team, when he departed to join the X-Men he precipitated James Hudson's adoption of the identity of Weapon Alpha (later Vindicator and then Guardian), and a lengthy and often hostile effort where Alpha Flight tried to bring Wolverine back to Canada, while Wolverine attempted to retain his freedom.
Bits of Wolverine's nature surfaced over time: He could read and speak Japanese, he had a strong sense of personal honor, he became close friends with his teammate Nightcrawler, despite their many differences. He went by the name "Logan", without a surname, but it was unclear whether this was his real name.
Wolverine became romantically interested in Cyclops' true love, Jean Grey, but the interest was never truly reciprocated. He later met and became engaged to Lady Mariko Yashida of a Japanese crime family. He was forced to kill her father in a duel and single-handedly destroyed his crime cartel. Mariko and Logan became estranged due to the strange honor customs of her family. Once they were finally reunited she was poisoned by Reiko, an assassin for the Yakuza. She asked Wolverine to save her from the horrible death and he obeyed by using his claws to end her life. This changed Wolverine's character significantly making him more disciplined and emotionally distant.
Wolverine eventually made peace with Alpha Flight and remained a member of the X-Men.
At some point in the 1990s the adamantium in Wolverine's skeleton was forcibly removed by the supervillain Magneto. Following this, Genesis kidnapped Wolverine and attempted to re-bond the metal to his skeleton. This was unsuccessful and caused Wolverine's mutation to accelerate out of control. He was temporarily changed into a semi-sentient beast-like form. In this form Wolverine was physically more powerful than he had ever been before, and far less stable, killing Genesis in the process. Finally, the villain Apocalypse kidnapped Wolverine, brainwashed him, and had the adamantium rebonded to his skeleton successfully. Wolverine overcame Apocalypse's brainwashing and returned to the X-Men.
Wolverine's early life has been revealed gradually over time. His time as a captive and subject of the Weapon X project has been revealed as a time when he was entirely at the mercy of his dark, savage side. Finally, the story of his childhood was told in the miniseries Wolverine:Origin. He was born James Howlett, the son of a wealthy Canadian. When his mutant powers - particularly his claws - developed, he was exiled by his grandfather and became a nomad. It is unclear how much Wolverine recalls about his past, as his memories have been extensively tampered with.
Wolverine remains an integral part of the X-Men, despite having decapitated someone who was believed to be Magneto for killing Jean Grey, resulting in a rift between himself, Cyclops, and Professor X. He is also an officer of the mutant law enforcement agency the X-Treme Sanctions Executive (XSE).
Height: 5'3 Weight: 195lbs(295lbs with Adamantium skeleton) Hair: Black Eyes: Brown
Intelligence: Above Normal Strength: Enhanced Human Speed: Athlete Stamina: Metahuman Durability: Metahuman Regenerative Agility: Enhanced Human Reflexes: Enhanced Human Fighting Ability: Peak Human 7
Strength Level: Without Adamantium bonded to his skeleton, Wolverine possesses the physical strength of a man at the pinacle of human conditioning. While not superhuman, he is as strong as a human being can be and can lift(military press) 800 pounds. However, Wolverine's skeleton is bonded with Admantium, which will greatly increase his bone's tensile strength and make them able to withstand vastly greater pressures. This more powerful skeletal frame, coupled with his natural strength, would naturally push his strength to some degree of superhuman efficiency, mostly likely being able to lift about 1 ton.
Wolverine is a mutant with a number of enhancements to his physiology. Wolverine possesses superhumanly acute senses that are comparable to those of certain animals. His vision enables him to see objects clearly, such as words written on a paper, at a distance of 100 feet. Wolverine is also able to see perfectly in complete darkness, possibly even into the infra-red spectrum. Wolverine's sense of smell is so sensitive, he can detect the distinctive chemical differences in different brands of deodorant which, seemingly, have the same scent. He is able to use his keen sense of smell to track targets with scents several days old, even if their scent has been diluted somewhat by natural erosion. His sense of hearing is only slightly less developed than that of Daredevil. For example, he is able to detect the normal breathing or heartbeat of an individual at a distance of 40 feet.
Wolverine possesses retractable claws that are housed in his forearms. At will Wolverine can release these claws through his skin between the knuckles on each hand. The skin between the knuckles tears and bleeds, but bleeding is quickly halted by his healing factor. The claws are composed of the same dense bone as the rest of his skeleton and are capable of slicing through most types of conventional material with little damage.
As a result of an undescribed surgical procedure, every bone in Wolverine's body has been molecularly bonded to an artificial alloy known as Adamantium. Adamantium is virtually indestructible, a sufficient amount could survive ground zero nuclear blasts without so much as a microscopic scratch. Wolverine's bone claws have also been bonded with the alloy, rendering them not only as indestructible as the rest o fhis bone structure, but their curvature and shape provides them with a natural sharpness that the Adamantium has only enhanced. Wolverine's claws are capable of slicing through any known material, with the probable exception of Adamantium itself.
Wolverine possesses an accelerated healing factor based on his physiology. While most normal humans heal injuries over a long period of time, Wolverine's healing factor speeds up that natural process. Wolverine's natural healing has been advanced to the point where he can heal from multiple gunshot or stab wounds within a matter of only a few seconds. In the past, Wolverine was able to fully recover from having half of the bones in his body shattered and many of his vital organs smashed into paste within 10 to 15 seconds. Wolverine's healing powers are capable of replacing organs that have been completely destroyed or removed. He has regenerated one of his eyes on more than one occassion and it has been theorized that his healing powers are capable of regenerating missing limbs, but this is only speculation. Wolverine's healing powers render him immune to all known Earthly diseases and toxins.
Wolverine's body is in a state of constant cellular regeneration that enhances many of his body's natural abilities. Without the Adamantium, Wolverine is roughly as strong as Captain American(who can military press 800 pounds, which is considered the maximum amount a human being can lift in the Marvel Universe without being considered superhuman). The Adamantium has doubtlessly increased the tensile strength of his bones to enable them to handle much greater pressure. This, combined with his natural strength, should probably allow him to lift(military press) somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 pounds. Wolverine's agility and reflexes have also been enhanced to levels which are beyond the reach of ordinary human beings. While not as agile as Spider-Man, Wolverine can easily best the efforts of any Olympic gymnast who has ever competed. Due to the effects of his healing powers, Wolverine's body produces considerably less fatigue toxins than that of an ordinary human being. It is theorized that Wolverine can perform at peak capacity for a period of several days before fatigue begins to impair him. Also, due to his healing abilities, Wolverine's natural aging process has been considerably supressed, possibly even to the point that he doesn't age at all.
Wolverine is an extraordinary hand to hand combatant and is highly skilled and familiar with virtually every known fighting style on Earth. He is also fluent in English, Japanese, Russian, Chinese, Lakota, and Spanish. It is also known that he has knowledge of several other foreign languages.
His voice was provided by Cathal J. Dodd in the X-Men animated television series, and in a series of video games through the 1990s. In the animated television series X-Men: Evolution, his voice was provided by Scott McNeil.
In the movies, he was played by Hugh Jackman.
In the movie tie-in computer game X2: Wolverine's Revenge, his voice was provided by Mark Hamill.
A handful of Wolverine's more notable and colorful foes:
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