Wolverine (character)

James "Logan" Howlett
Wolverine
Wolverine on the cover of Wolverine & the X-Men #1 (October 2011).
Art by Frank Cho.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceCameo appearance:
The Incredible Hulk #180 (October 1974)
Full appearance:
The Incredible Hulk #181 (November 1974)
Created by
In-story information
Alter egoJames "Logan" Howlett
SpeciesHuman mutant
Place of originCold Lake, Alberta, Canada
Team affiliations
Notable aliasesLogan
Jeremiah Logan
Patch
Weapon X
Death
Mutate #9601
Emilio Garra
Weapon Chi
Experiment X
Agent 10
Peter Richards
Mai' keth
Black Dragon
Captain Canada
Captain Terror
John Logan
Jim Logan
Hellverine
Abilities
  • Enhanced strength, stamina, durability, speed, agility, reflexes, and senses
  • Indestructible bones via adamantium
  • Retractable adamantium claws
  • Regenerative healing factor
  • Extended longevity
  • Master of various forms of combat

Wolverine (birth name: James Howlett;[1] alias: Logan and Weapon X) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, often in association with the X-Men. He is a mutant with animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, a powerful regenerative ability known as a healing factor, a skeleton reinforced with the unbreakable fictional metal adamantium, significantly delayed aging and a prolonged lifespan and three retractable claws in each hand. In addition to the X-Men, Wolverine has been depicted as a member of X-Force, Alpha Flight, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. The common depiction of Wolverine is multifaceted; he is portrayed at once as a gruff loner, susceptible to animalistic "berserker rages" despite his best efforts, while simultaneously being an incredibly knowledgeable and intelligent polyglot, strategist, and martial artist, partially due to his extended lifespan and expansive lived experiences. He has been featured in comic books, films, animation, and video games.

The character first appeared in the last panel of The Incredible Hulk #180 before having a larger role in #181 (cover-dated November 1974), in the Bronze Age of Comic Books. He was created by writer Len Wein[2] and Marvel art director John Romita Sr. Romita designed the character's costume, but the character was first drawn for publication by Herb Trimpe. Since 2017, Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas has also claimed co-creator credit.[3]

Wolverine then joined a revamped version of the superhero team the X-Men; writer Chris Claremont, artist Dave Cockrum and artist-writer John Byrne would play significant roles in the character's development. Artist Frank Miller collaborated with Claremont and helped revise the character with a four-part eponymous limited series, cover-dated from September to December 1982, which debuted Wolverine's catchphrase, "I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do best isn't very nice." The subsequent 1991 Weapon X storyline by Barry Windsor-Smith established that Wolverine had received the adamantium grafted to his skeleton in a torturous process conducted by a secret government project intended to create a super soldier, and that this experience led to post-traumatic amnesia.

Wolverine is typical of the many tough antiheroes that emerged in American popular culture after the Vietnam War;[4]: 265  his willingness to use deadly force and his brooding loner nature became standard characteristics for comic book antiheroes by the end of the 1980s.[4]: 277  As a result, the character became a fan favorite of the increasingly popular X-Men franchise,[4]: 263, 265  and has been featured in his own solo Wolverine comic book series since 1988.

Wolverine has appeared in most X-Men media adaptations, including animated television series, video games and film. In live action, Hugh Jackman portrayed the character across ten installments of the X-Men film series produced by 20th Century Fox between 2000 and 2017, and reprised the role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). Henry Cavill portrayed an alternate version of Wolverine dubbed "Cavillrine" in Deadpool & Wolverine. Troye Sivan portrayed a young version of Logan in the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

  1. ^ Jemas, Bill, Quesada, Joe, Jenkins, Paul (w). Wolverine: The Origin (2001–2002). Marvel Comics.
  2. ^ Kreps, Daniel (September 11, 2017). "Len Wein, Comic Book Writer and Wolverine Co-Creator, Dead at 69". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  3. ^ Locke, Kaitlyn (October 27, 2017). "Waltham eighth grader gets artwork published in national comics magazine". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 24, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Wright, Bradford W. (September 18, 2003). Comic Book Nation. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-7450-5.