Character history. Wolverine: A Brief History of the Character What is the name of Logan from Wolverine

Today, Marvel Comics publishes about a hundred comics a month, either regular or mini-series, and Wolverine appears in 80% of them. It doesn't matter whether he plays the main role or is content with a cameo for a couple of pages, his appearance is always accompanied by an increase in sales of the comic he visits and a stir among readers.

Considering that most Marvel series take place in the same universe and in more or less the same period of time, there is often reason to wonder how Wolverine can be in several places at once (not to mention participating in two or three teams at the same time). This quality makes James Howlett a unique character, whose popularity goes beyond all reasonable limits, irritates many, but continues to grow. The first solo film in the X-Men universe was dedicated to him, and in the previous trilogy, for that matter, he was always at the center of the plot.

In May 2008, the authoritative American magazine Wizard ranked him first in the list of the two hundred best comic book characters of all time. Why did this particular character become one of the leading heroes of the world's largest comic book publishing house? What is the secret of his popularity?

James Howlett, known by his nicknames Logan and Wolverine, has superpowers obtained naturally and artificially. The genetic mutation gave him powerful vision, hearing and smell, claws popping out of his hands and a healing factor that allowed him to endure the most severe injuries (he was once able to recover from a naked skeleton), as well as granting immunity to alcohol, drugs and toxins. And, no less important, it slows down the aging process. So the real age of the hero was a big question until a certain time. Dramatic changes in genes also affected Wolverine’s consciousness, bringing his bestial nature to the fore. Over time, Logan learned to suppress it, but he still has attacks of aggression, during which he goes into berserker mode, mindlessly destroying everything in his path. The Weapon X program covered James's skeleton with the strongest metal on Earth - adamantium, turning his bone claws into the sharpest blades and enhancing his natural abilities and physical endurance several times. Thus, Logan became a perfect killing machine, but with a kind and sensitive heart.

Wolverine's first appearance was on the last page of issue 180 of the series. Incredible Hulk, released in October 1974, and in 181 he acted as a full-fledged hero. It was created by screenwriter Len Wein and legendary artist John Romita Sr. The latter's participation, however, was limited only to the design of the yellow and blue suit (it was this suit that actually became the main symbol of the hero), and the comic book itself was drawn by Herb Trimpe. Logan was introduced as an agent of the Canadian government, sent to deal with the giant Hulk who had invaded his country. Since then, these two have met repeatedly for a rematch, with one or the other emerging victorious, but it was never possible to find out who was stronger in the end. Recently, the story of their acquaintance was reproduced in a cartoon.

At first, some writers planned to explain Logan's origins in a very wild way - as if he had mutated into a humanoid creature from a real wolverine cub. Even the famous claws were intended to be nothing more than blades attached to gloves. But both ideas, fortunately, were abandoned, otherwise anyone who put on these gloves could become Wolverine.

New heroes appeared in comics almost every month, and after his high-profile debut, Logan was forgotten for some time. Only when the original X-Men team (Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman and Jean Gray) decided to add new members did the writers remember the existence of the clawed hero. They decided to make him a mutant, and starting in 1975, Wolverine began to appear regularly in X-Men comics.

It must be said that for all his natural quarrelsomeness, the Canadian fit perfectly into the team and became one of its irreplaceable members. At that early period, he had not yet gone beyond the scope of a hero of the second or third plan, but even then, in his relationships with other mutants, Logan’s character began to manifest itself. He has shown himself to be rude, tough and uncompromising, but at the same time follows a code of honor, has extensive knowledge of the languages ​​and cultures of the world (which he owes to his age) and is a reliable partner. It is not surprising that such a contrast immediately gave Wolverine many fans.

, Red Hulk, Viper, Red Omega, Romulus, Daken and others

In the Wolverine Origins series, Wolverine learns the whole truth about his past. In one of the main events of Marvel comics - “Civil War” - he initially remained neutral during the pursuit of Nitro, but then sided with the “underground” along with the “Secret Avengers”.

In the Marvel-616 universe, there are other characters bearing the name Wolverine, there were 7 of them: the original Wolverine (James Howlett), the new Wolverine (Laura Kinney), Ultimate Wolverine (Jimmy Hudson), Dark Wolverine (Daken Akihiro), old man Logan (Wolverine from comic book universe Old Man Logan who ended up in the 616 universe), Gebi (a clone of Laura Kinney), Weapon N (a hybrid of Wolverine and the Hulk named Clayton).

Publication history

In 1974, then-Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas approached screenwriter Len Wayne with the idea of ​​a character specifically called Wolverine, who was Canadian by birth and had a tough temperament to match his name. Artist John Romita Sr. designed Wolverine's first costume and introduced the idea of ​​retractable claws, as he [Romita Sr.] recalls:

When I come up with a design, I need it to be practical and functional. I thought: if a person has such claws, how does he pick his nose or lace his shoes?

Original text (English)

When I make a design, I want it to be practical and functional. I thought, "If a man has claws like that, how does he scratch his nose or tie his shoelaces?

Wolverine's first appearance was in the last panel of the comic. The Incredible Hulk No. 180 (October 1974), produced by Wayne with the artist Herb Trimpe. The character then made several appearances in promotional material for Marvel publications before making his full-length comic book debut. The Incredible Hulk#181 (November 1974), which, like the previous one, was produced by the duo of Wayne and Trimple. In a 2009 interview, Trimple said he "clearly remembers" Romita's sketches and that he said Wayne and Romita "stitched the monster together and it shocked [him]." Trimple goes on to say that it was originally going to be a supporting or third character that appeared in a specific issue with no future prospects. At the same time, Trimple denies any involvement in the creation of the image of Wolverine.

The character's introduction was initially received with great ambiguity, as it revealed very little information about him beyond his work for the Canadian government. In the shot, Wolverine does not retract his claws, although Wayne originally considered them retracting. He later appears briefly at the end of the comic. The Incredible Hulk #182.

Wolverine's next appearance was in the 1975 comic book Giant-Size X-Men#1, prepared by Wayne together with the artist Dave Cockrum, in which Wolverine, among others, was recruited into the new X-Men team. Artist Gil Kane, who prepared the cover, incorrectly drew Wolverine's mask, giving it noticeably larger characteristic ear attachments, which, however, pleased Cockrum, who believed in the similarity with Batman's mask and introduced this image into his work. Cockrum portrayed Wolverine without a mask for the first time, and as a result, his characteristic hairstyle became an attribute of the character.

This was followed by a restart of the series X-Men, starting with issue 94, written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Cockrum. At first, Wolverine's figure is overshadowed by the other members of the team, although he creates some tension due to his feelings for Jean Gray and related clashes with her lover Scott Summers. As the series continued, Claremont and Cockrum (who preferred Nightcrawler to Wolverine) considered eliminating the character from the series, but John Byrne, who replaced Cockrum, defended the character, explaining, being a Canadian himself, that he did not want a Canadian character to be excluded from the team. The basis for Burn's portrayal of Wolverine was the image of Paul D'Amato's hero from the film " Shot on goal"1977. Byrne also created Alpha Flight, a group of Canadian superheroes sent to capture Wolverine due to the cost the Canadian government put into training him. In subsequent stories, it gradually became known about Wolverine's dark past and his unstable character, which he tries to keep to himself. Burn also designed Wolverine's brown and gold suit, but retained the distinctive hood introduced by Cockrum.

The last series of comics about Wolverine was published in 2014 and was called “The Death of Wolverine”.

In 2015, the comic book series “Old Man Logan” was published, connected to the “Secret Wars” series, which tells how Wolverine was replaced by his counterpart from a parallel reality.

In 2015, the New Wolverine series was released, where Logan's clone Laura Kinney took his place after his death.

In 2015, two comic book series dedicated to Wolverine were released - Logan's Legacy and The Wolverines.

In 2017, the comic book “X-Men: Blue” was released, where Wolverine is replaced by his son from a parallel universe, James Hudson.

In 2017, the first issue of the Marvel: Legacy comic was released, in which three years later Wolverine rose from the dead.

Powers and abilities

Wolverine is a mutant with several both natural and man-made changes to his physiology. His innate ability is an accelerated “healing factor” (regeneration), allowing him to restore damaged areas of the body much faster than an ordinary person. This ability facilitated the changes to his body as part of the Weapon X program, during which his skeleton was reinforced with an indestructible alloy of adamantium.

In the comics, it was long believed that Wolverine received his claws along with his adamantium skeleton, but during the "Deadly Attractions" storyline, Magneto stripped Wolverine of his adamantium, revealing a truth, unexpected even to Logan himself, about the bony nature of his claws.

Descriptions of Wolverine's ability to regenerate vary. At first it was shown as an accelerated healing of minor wounds, but over time the authors increased the strength of this ability. Some writers have shown Wolverine's regeneration as capable of healing severe wounds in a matter of days or even hours. Other writers continued to increase the power of this ability to the point where he could completely regenerate his entire body from virtually nothing. One of Wolverine's more extreme examples of this ability shows the complete restoration of the body's soft tissue in a matter of minutes after being completely burned (remaining only the skeleton). In "The Xavier Protocols", a series of profiles created by Professor Charles Xavier, the strengths and weaknesses of the X-Men were described, noting that Wolverine's healing factor had increased to "unbelievable levels", and that the only way to kill him was to behead him.

In addition to accelerating the healing of physical injuries, Wolverine's healing factor makes him exceptionally resistant to disease, drugs, and poisons. However, he still experiences the immediate effects of these substances; it was shown that he was poisoned by alcoholic drinks, and he was also incapacitated more than once with the help of drugs and poisons. Although his body heals, the healing factor does not suppress the pain he experiences when injured. However, frequent exposure to severe injuries has significantly increased his pain threshold, which allows him to remain conscious when receiving injuries that would cause painful shock in an ordinary person.

Wolverine's healing factor also affects certain physical abilities, enhancing them to superhuman levels. James is able to maintain his body in full tension even after being injected with powerful tranquilizers. Wolverine's mobility and reflexes are also enhanced to levels beyond the limit of athletes. Thanks to the constant work of the healing factor, he can overexert his muscles without harming himself (which in reality would lead to a reduction in muscle mass, but this fact is omitted by the comic book authors). This, combined with bone strength, provides a high level of physical ability. Because the presence of adamantium enhances the natural strength of his bone structure, he can move or lift weights that would otherwise damage the human skeleton. He was shown breaking steel chains, lifting several people with one hand and throwing them through a wall, breaking through it, and lifting a Big Bear (a huge bear-like creature) over his head before throwing it across a room.

Wolverine's mutation also consists of animal-like abilities, including prominent fangs and three retractable claws inside each forearm. While they were initially described as bionic implants created by the Weapon X program, the claws were soon described as a natural part of his body. The claws, made not from keratins like the usual claws of most animals, but from especially dense bone, can cut most metals, wood and some types of stones. At the same time, there are no holes in Logan's hands for the advancement of the claws - they cut straight through his flesh with each use.

Wolverine's senses of sight, hearing and smell are superhumanly acute. He sees a clearer picture at greater distances than an ordinary person, even in almost complete darkness. His hearing is also sharper than that of a human, allowing him to hear high- and low-frequency sounds, as well as sounds that are far away from him. Wolverine is able to use his sense of smell to track a target's scent, even if that scent weakens due to natural reasons. This sense also allows him to distinguish werewolf mutants, despite the different appearance they have adopted.

Thanks to high-level psionic shields installed by Professor Charles Xavier, Wolverine's mind is extremely resistant to telepathic attacks and infiltration. Wolverine's mind also has what he calls "psychic scar tissue" due to so many traumatic events in his life. This serves as a kind of natural defense even against such powerful telepaths as Emma Frost. Wolverine was one of two mutants whose memory the Scarlet Witch could not change on M-Day.

Wolverine's entire skeleton, including his claws, was filled with adamantium at the molecular level. Thanks to him, his claws can cut almost any hard material. The only known exceptions are adamantium itself, Muramasa's magic blade, capable of piercing any material, as well as temporarily suppressing Wolverine's healing factor (its location is known only to Logan) and Captain America's shield, made of vibranium, slightly less durable, but with the property of absorbing vibration waves . Wolverine's ability to penetrate a substance depends on both the force with which he can apply pressure and the density of the substance. Adamantium also makes his strikes more powerful, increasing his offensive capabilities. But since adamantium is a metal alloy, this makes Wolverine exceptionally vulnerable to electrical and magnetic attacks and significantly increases his weight.

Skills and personality

Although he is a skilled fighter, Wolverine is often seen getting himself into combat situations in which he willfully allows himself to suffer injuries that could permanently cripple or kill someone without regeneration. In such situations, he relies on his healing factor and adamantium skeleton to cope with bodily harm. He also sometimes intentionally injures himself or allows himself to be injured to achieve various goals, such as to free himself from captivity, for intimidation, to gain a strategic advantage, or simply to follow his savage nature. Despite possessing an almost superhuman tolerance for pain (due to being frequently injured), he does not enjoy it and will sometimes try to avoid situations where extreme pain is imminent.

Wolverine possesses superhuman speed, agility and reflexes, superior to many superheroes, but these abilities do not compare to those of Spider-Man and Daredevil.

• In the X-Men movie, Logan, as in the comics, has no memory of his past. He makes his living by fighting without rules, using his adamantium skeleton as an advantage. After another battle, he meets Rogue, who recently ran away from home, afraid of her abilities. Logan soon develops paternal feelings for the girl, so he takes her with him on his further journey. They are then attacked by Sabretooth, but are saved by Storm and Cyclops, sent by Professor X. Once at the Xavier Institute, Logan realizes that the Professor can help him regain his memory; He also develops feelings for Jean Gray and a slight dislike for Scott. In addition, everyone has the impression that Magneto sent Sabretooth specifically for Logan. When Rogue escapes due to Mystique's deception, Logan goes after her, but Magneto suddenly appears, who was really after Rogue. He neutralizes Logan and takes the girl. After this, Logan joins the X-Men and participates in the battle at the Statue of Liberty. In the finale, Charles gives him the location of the complex on Lake Alkali, where Logan goes to regain at least part of his memory. As a farewell, he leaves Rogue his tokens.
• In X-Men 2, Logan makes it to Lake Alkali, but the base is abandoned. After this, Logan returns back to the Xavier Institute, where everyone happily greets him except Scott. At night, Logan wakes up from another nightmare, after which he has a friendly conversation with Bobby Drake (Rogue's boyfriend) until the school is attacked by William Stryker's soldiers. Logan vaguely recognizes him, but still runs away with Rogue, Bobby and John Allerdyce. They first go to Bobby's family, but his brother Ronnie angrily calls the police and they have to flee. They are soon joined by Magneto and Mystic, who decide to team up with them against a common enemy. Logan admits to Jean that he loves her, but she makes it clear that she chose Scott. Afterwards, Wolverine, along with the rest of the X-Men, Magneto and Mystique, participate in the attack on Stryker's compound, defeating Lady Deathstrike and remembering the day of his transformation. He leaves Stryker (who soon dies) his token, and then, along with everyone else, mourns Jean's sacrifice. He tells Scott that she chose him.
• In X-Men: The Last Stand, Logan began working at the Xavier Institute as a new teacher. He tries to make peace with Scott, but he misses Jean so much that he does not want to listen to him. When Jean is revealed to have survived, Logan rejoices until Charles informs him that Jean is incredibly powerful, but now the psychic barriers have been destroyed and Jean is now dominated by an unstable individual named Phoenix. When Jean awakens and nearly kills Logan, he realizes that she destroyed Scott. He goes into the forest to the lair of the Brotherhood of Mutants to return Jean, believing that she can still become the same, but Magneto discovers him and drives him away. Logan returns back, informs Storm and the Beast about Magneto's plans to attack Alcatraz, after which the renewed team of X-Men, led by Wolverine, flies to the aid of the special forces soldiers. They manage to neutralize Magneto with the help of a cure for the mutation, but Jean-Phoenix, suddenly enraged, begins to destroy everyone. Having made a difficult decision, Wolverine approaches Jean, overcoming her telekinesis with the help of his regeneration, and, at her request, pierces her with his claws, having previously confessed his love to her.
• In the prequel film X-Men: Origins. Wolverine" details Wolverine's past. As in the comics, his name is James Howlett and he is from Canada, but he was born in the early 19th century rather than the late. When he was young, his father was killed by a family friend, the father of James's best friend, Victor Creed. And at this moment, James accidentally releases his claws for the first time in his life. He is overcome with bestial rage and impales Mr. Creed, pinning him to the wall. And at the last moment before his death, he admits to James that he is his real father. James, along with his brother, who also turned out to be a mutant, runs away from home. Even as adults, they never part and participate together in many wars over two centuries, and then become members of the mutant team of William Stryker, who rescued them from the guardhouse in Vietnam. However, in the end, Logan’s conscience begins to awaken, and he leaves the squad. Some time passes, Logan is married to Kayla Silverfox and works as a lumberjack. However, he has to return to the game when Victor, who hated his brother for leaving, kills Kayla. Then Logan agrees to be implanted with adamantium, which, according to the film, is a metal of alien origin obtained from a meteorite. Logan successfully undergoes the operation, but then hears that Stryker has decided to erase his memory and escapes. He understands that Victor and Stryker are at the same time, and the murder of Kayla was done in order to involve Logan in the Weapon X project. On the advice of another former colleague, Bubble, Logan finds Gambit, who was also Stryker's prisoner and knows how to get to him. After a short fight, due to a misunderstanding, Remy takes Logan to Stryker's Island, where Logan is horrified to learn that Kayla is alive and is also a mutant. She was forced to fake death in exchange for her little sister's life, but her love for Logan was very real. Wolverine forgives Kayla, and together they save not only her sister, but also other young mutants (among whom was Cyclops). However, then Logan has to be distracted by a duel with Deadpool, whom Victor helps him defeat, although this does not end their enmity. Logan rushes to the wounded Kayla, but Stryker appears and shoots Logan's skull twice with an adamantium bullet, erasing his memory. Kayla dies, but before her death she takes revenge on Stryker, telling him to walk until his legs are bleeding. Waking up, Logan does not remember anything about himself, but the returning Gambit reminds him of his nickname.

• In the prequel X-Men: First Class, Logan makes a cameo appearance. Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr come to him to ask to join the team, but he sends them away without even looking at them. This moment takes place before the events of the previous film.
• In the film "Wolverine: Immortal", which is a continuation of the main trilogy, Logan again serves as the main character. Strongly repenting for the murder of Jean, he left the X-Men and settled in a remote Canadian province, where he leads the life of an alcoholic hermit. He is haunted by Jean, whom he constantly sees as a hallucination or dream. However, then Logan, through the fighter girl Yukio, is called to Japan by the millionaire Ichiro Yashida, who in his youth was saved by him from an atomic explosion. He asks Logan to give him his regeneration abilities in order to be cured of cancer, and at the same time give Wolverine a chance at a normal life. But Logan refuses because he understands that immortality is more of a curse than a gift. However, then fate brings Logan together with his granddaughter Mariko, with whom he falls in love. After Yashida's death, the Yakuza begin to hunt Mariko, and Logan begins to protect her, but during the battle he suddenly discovers that he has lost the gift of regeneration. In the end, it turned out that a special implant was introduced into him by the Viper, which deprived him of his abilities. After spending the night with Mariko, Logan loses her. He contacts Yukio, who helps him get to Yashida's laboratory and remove the Viper implant. With his powers back, Logan defeats Yashida's fighters and then rushes alone to Yashida's laboratory to save Mariko. However, this turns out to be a trap: Viper catches him and chains him to a chair, blocking his claws. However, Wolverine then manages to escape and begins to fight the huge adamantium robot Silver Samurai while Yukio and Mariko fight Viper. And then it turns out that the Silver Samurai is Yashida, who, after meeting Logan, became obsessed with his abilities and decided to take them for himself. He cuts off Logan's claws and begins to pump out the bone marrow from them, restoring his youth. Mariko, seeing what is happening, kills her grandfather with Wolverine's severed claws. After his victory, Logan decides to leave Japan; Yukio volunteers to accompany him. 2 years later, Logan returns to America, where he is suddenly greeted by Magneto and the resurrected Professor, who inform him of the impending chaos.
• In X-Men: Days of Future Past, Logan volunteers to travel to 1973 to change the future and prevent the creation of the Guardians. He comes to young Charles and the Beast to persuade them to help him. At first, Charles categorically refuses to help him (to which Hank metaphorically remarks: “There is no Professor here”), but then he nevertheless agrees. They rescue Eric and search for Mystique to stop her from killing Bolivar Trask. They find her, but she accidentally ends up on the street in her true form, scaring people and convincing politicians that mutants must be destroyed. Moreover, Mystique soon wanted to kill Trask even more after seeing photos of the dead friends whom Trask killed for the sake of research. While chasing her, Logan notices a young Stryker and briefly loses concentration, causing his consciousness to temporarily return to the future, injuring Kitty who helps him, causing confusion in his past self, but he soon manages to return back. At the presentation of the Guardians, Wolverine and the Beast come to the defense of Trask, whom Magneto decided to destroy with the help of the Guardians he converted. He subdues Logan by stabbing him with multiple bent steel rods and throwing him into the river, and then prepares to declare war on humanity, but is stopped by Mystique. She was about to set her sights on Trask, but Charles managed to convince Raven to stop, and she leaves after removing Eric's helmet, allowing Charles to take control of him. After this, the past changes for the better, and Logan, waking up in an updated future, sees that he is now a history teacher at the Xavier Institute, and all the X-Men are alive, including Scott and Jean. In the last frames, it is shown that Logan was pulled out of the water in the past by Mystique, who took the form of Stryker.
• In X-Men: Apocalypse, Wolverine makes a cameo appearance in the escape scene from the Weapon X laboratory, but here he is closest to the original comics. Wolverine, after an adamantium coating operation under the Weapon X program, which involved turning him into a living killing machine through hypnotherapy, brainwashing and pumping him with psychotropic drugs, is kept under lock and key at Stryker's base on Lake Alkali. As a result of the experiments carried out on him, Logan lost his memory and turned into the likeness of an animal. Having arrived at the base in search of kidnapped friends, Jean Gray, Cyclops and Nightcrawler free him from the adamantium chamber, and Logan, with the rage of a wild beast, begins to kill the base personnel who meet him on the way. Before he ran away from the base into the forest, Gina managed to scan his brain and free a certain memory of Logan.
• In the third solo film, “Logan” (2017), Hugh Jackman played his character for the last time. The film is based on the comic book series Old Man Logan. 2029 Mutants are almost extinct. Aged due to the weakening of his healing factor and suffering from adamantium poisoning, Logan works as a limousine driver, supplies medicine to Professor Xavier, suffering from dementia, and dreams of saving up for a yacht and living the rest of his life on the high seas. Suddenly, a new mutant is discovered: a girl named Laura, with abilities like Wolverine. Logan, Professor Xavier and Laura travel to North Dakota to find other surviving mutant children and smuggle them across the Canadian border. Xavier, and by the end of the film, Logan himself, die at the hands of X-24, a perfect clone of Wolverine. After his funeral, Laura places an X on his grave.

Cartoons

• "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" (1981-1983). He appears with the other X-Men in "The Birth of a Star of Fire", voiced by Neil Ross.
• "Brave X-Men" (1989). He was also voiced by Neil Ross in this cartoon.
• "X-Men" (1992-1997). Wolverine is voiced by Kezel Jay Dodd, who also voiced him in the Spider-Man animated series. Here he is one of the main characters, appears in most episodes, and takes an active part in the life of the team. Several episodes from his past are also shown.
• "X-Men: Evolution" (2000-2003). In this animated series, Wolverine is a man whose past is shrouded in mystery. He teaches combat training to teenage X-Men and creates conflict between his younger teammate. In this animated series, he is voiced by Scott McNeil. In this version, he is not in love with Jean Gray, since she is still a schoolgirl. In this version, Wolverine, along with Storm and Beast, is an old friend of Xavier's and takes on the role of surrogate father to the students, much like Xavier himself. He saves all the X-Men when he encounters X-23, his clone, who is released in Season 3. He also became involved with Magneto, rescuing him as a child from concentration camps (Magneto is Jewish) in World War II, although he is his sworn enemy. Magneto turns down the opportunity to kill Wolverine, Rogue, and Nightcrawler in Operation Rebirth out of a sense of duty. In the first two seasons, he wears an orange dress suit. In the third, he puts on a suit that is very similar to the suit from the ULTIMATE series.
• "Wolverine and the X-Men" (2008). Here, Wolverine became the leader of the X-Men after Professor X fell into a coma.
• "Hulk vs. Wolverine" (2009). Wolverine was sent to stop the Hulk, but they both ended up being captured by Weapon X.
• Animated comics "Astonishing X-Men", "Black Panther", "Spider-Woman: Agent V.O.I.N.A", "Wolverine", "Wolverine vs. Hulk", "Wolverine vs. Sabretooth", "Wolverine. Weapon X: Tomorrow Dies Today" (under the general title "Marvel Knights").
• "Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" (2010-2012). This animated series features James Howlett (the future Wolverine) fighting in World War II alongside Captain America and the War Commandos. In the second season, Wolverine teams up with Spider-Man, War Machine, the Thing, Luke Cage and Iron Fist to form the New Avengers to battle Kang the Conqueror while the Avengers are temporarily inactive due to the villain. In the final scene, Wolverine and other heroes fought against Galactus and his heralds.
• "Marvel Anime" (2011). Wolverine, voiced by Rikiya Koyama, is the only character who has appeared in all anime based on Marvel comics (two as the main character, two more as a cameo).
• Appears in several episodes of the animated series "Ultimate Spider-Man".
• In the animated series “Hulk and the Agents of U.D.A.R. "appears in one episode, where he hunts the Wendigo monster together with agents.
• In the animated series LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Ultimate Reboot, Wolverine appears in several episodes throughout the first season.
• In several episodes of the anime Avengers: Disc Wars, where he is voiced by Kenji Nomura.

Video games

• One of the characters in the games X-Men (1993) and X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995) for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis gaming platform.
• The main character of the game Wolverine: Adamantium Rage.
• One of the characters from X-Men: The Ravages of Apocalypse.
• One of the characters in X-Men Legends (English) Russian and X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse.
• One of the characters in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, as well as an exclusive playable character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 for Nintendo DS.
• The main character of the game X2: Wolverine's Revenge (English) Russian.
• One of the three main characters of X-Men: The Official Game (English) Russian, along with Iceman and Nightcrawler.
• The main character of the game X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
• Featured in the Spider-Man games: Ultimate Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Web of Shadows.
• One of the characters in the MMORPG Marvel Heroes.
• Appeared in the game Deadpool.
• One of the characters in the game Lego Marvel Super Heroes.
• One of the characters in the game X-Men: Destiny (English) Russian.
• X-Men: Children of the Atom (English) Russian.
• One of the selectable fighters in the games X-Men: Mutant Academy and X-Men: Mutant Academy 2.
• One of the selectable fighters in the game

Over the more than 40-year journey traversed by Wolverine and his legacy, the hero has had many adventures and misadventures. He was a member of many teams and received different incarnations on film or television screens. As the hero changed, so did his costumes. So sit back and read the story about all of Wolverine's costumes.

The first version of the black and yellow suit

First appearance:Incredible Hulk #181 (1974)

Appearance: Already during its first appearance, Wolverine's costume resembled the one that many would love in the future. It had all the basics: yellow spandex, black tiger stripes marked on it, a pointy mask, gloves, and seemingly useless coat hangers.

The main difference between this version of the costume was the mask with a mustache. Apparently wolverines are similar to cats. But it was still a good suit that needed a little work.

Black skin

First appearance: New X-Men #114 (2001)

Appearance: As with most comic book movies, the X-Men monthly series began taking cues from the movie. So the mutants have finally traded the flashy spandex for slightly less ostentatious black leather.

The team began wearing leather suits with a bright yellow "X" logo. Was the goal to make the logo as recognizable? How .

For several years, Wolverine wore a T-shirt and leather jacket. And this costume even appeared in the game X2: Wolverine's Revenge.

Source: New X-Men (2001) #114, published July 1, 2001.

Ultimate Wolverine

First appearance: Ultimate X-Men #1 (2001)

Appearance: At the dawn of the new millennium, Marvel realized they needed to try something different to attract new readers. Which will not require them to understand the long and complicated history of the characters. Thus, the Ultimate universe was born. The plots in this universe were modern and accessible to a reader unfamiliar with the universe.

Naturally, the X-Men were one of the first comics in the updated universe. And, of course, Wolverine was among them. This version of Wolverine was angrier and more bloodthirsty than before.

The costume was visually reminiscent of the cinematic version. He was taller, less hairy and generally more attractive. He even wore a goatee for a while. His costume was also a bit like the classic red and brown, but with a muted color scheme and without the pointy mask.

Source: Ultimate X-Men (2001) #1, published February 10, 2001.

Amazing Wolverine

First appearance: Astonishing X-Men #1 (2004)

Appearance: In 2004, black skin fell out of favor with X-Men editors. So with the debut of Astonishing X-Men, the popular mutants received yet another visual makeover. Spandex is back.

Wolverine's new uniform was based on his striped clothing, but with a change in the flashy aspects. So Wolverine became one of the last heroes who stopped wearing underpants over his pants. This costume immediately became very popular due to its mixing of old with new. The suit was present in the main X-line for many years until the death of Wolverine. It has also appeared as an alternate costume in several games and as Wolverine's main costume in the animated series Wolverine and the X-Men.

Source: Astonishing X-Men (2004) #1, published May 26, 2004.

Dom-M

First appearance: House of M #2 (2005)

Appearance: After the Scarlet Witch changed reality, the world began to be ruled by the House of Magneto. The Red Guard squad was created on the orders of Magneto, and in order to quietly enter his palace, Wolverine and other heroes dressed in the uniform of this special unit. A dark military uniform with shoulder straps and the emblem of the House of M, made in the red signature color of Magneto.

Source: House of M (2006) #2, published June 22, 2005.

Zombie Wolverine

First appearance: Ultimate Fantastic Four #21 (2005)

Appearance: In 2005, comics related to zombies began to gain incredible popularity in the comics industry. And Marvel, following the trend, decided to combine zombies and their characters.

In the Marvel Zombies universe, all heroes and villains have been infected by the zombie virus. And when they ate all the people on the planet, they were forced to resort to desperate measures to feed themselves.

Despite his healing factor, Wolverine was vulnerable to the zombie virus just like everyone else. Worst of all, his healing factor was no longer fully functional.

After a confrontation with the Hulk, Logan, at the request of Department H, joins and becomes the leader of Team Alpha, a government-run group of Canadian superheroes. At this time, Charles Xavier approaches him, who is looking for mutants who can help his students, the X-Men, get out of the island called Krakoa. Logan leaves Team Alpha and accompanies Professor Xavier to the island. After rescuing the students, Wolverine decides to stay at Charles Xavier's Institute for Gifted Teens, along with other newcomers Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Stormcrow and Banshee, due to the fact that he falls in love with Jean Gray. Logan remained with the X-Men for quite a long time, as the squad's commander. Initially skeptical of Professor Xavier's hope that humans and mutants could live in peace, Wolverine came to respect his ideals and became a loyal and respected member of the team. Wolverine develops strong friendships with Nightcrawler and Colossus, but there is increasing competition between him and Cyclops due to the fact that they both have strong feelings for Jean Gray. The second group of X-Men consisted mostly of adults and did not need Professor X's training, but they trained in using their powers in the Danger Room (a special room designed by Charles Xavier that can generate random danger scenarios. Also, you may have seen it at the beginning of the movie "X-Men: The Last Stand").

It was on the X-Men team that Wolverine created his first suit, and a little later he changed it. Wolverine and Nightcrawler head to Canada, at the request of Alpha Team, to help them fight the Wendigo, and some time later, the X-Men rescue Senator Kelly from the Brotherhood of Mutants. After Professor Xavier detects a strange anomaly in Cerebro, the X-Men set out to find it. The source of the anomaly turns out to be a child, whose parents are an earthly woman and a representative of the race of “Terrible Ghosts” (“Terrible Ghosts” is nothing more than a dead-end branch of Skrull development). Since the child was dangerous, the X-Men eliminated him. Later, the X-Men fought Garrock and Magneto and after Storm sensed that Arkon was in trouble, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four rushed to help fight Badoon.

After returning home, Logan helped Spider-Man in the fight against Mentallo, but he himself immediately encountered a problem in the person of the Grandmaster and Death. After defeating the Grandmaster and Death, along with Storm, Logan heads to the Pentagon to delete all the information collected on the X-Men. A little later, the X-Men heard disturbing rumors that demons from the world of Limbo were trying to invade their world. The team heads there and fights Belasco, the King of Limbo and his minions - the Hive race. After the defeat, the Hive decided to counterattack and infused all the X-Men with the larvae of its own individuals. Storm had some kind of connection with the Acanti race, which was at enmity with the Hive race. Without thinking twice, Storm asked for help and the Akanti, passing through space and time, came to the rescue. But the most interesting thing awaited our heroes - the Queen of the Hive took possession of Professor X. The X-Men had to transfer the professor's mind into a clone.

Wolverine is a famous hero from the Marvel Comics universe, part of the X-Men group. Few people know that the clawed character initially did not receive public recognition, but miraculously remained on the pages of graphic novels, gaining widespread popularity. It got to the point that in 2017, the directors presented film fans with the film “Logan,” in which Wolverine became the main character.

Story

In 1974, regulars of comic shops met a new character in the Marvel universe - Wolverine (Logan), who was created by screenwriter Len Wayne and artists John Romita Sr. and Herb Trimple. This superhero was named after a predatory mammal from the mustelid family, the wolverine, since the character of James Howlett (the name “in the world”) coincides with the animal that grew up in the wild.

The first sketches of John Romita, who recreated a real monster together with Wayne, shocked Herb Trimple, although this artist subsequently in every possible way denied his participation in creating the image of the obstinate character.

The superhuman mutant appeared fleetingly in issue 180 of the Incredibles graphic novel and then appeared in a Marvel promotional campaign before making his full debut in issue 181 of the magazine.

It is noteworthy that Wolverine was supposed to appear in several comics as a secondary or even secondary hero with no prospects for the future. First of all, this was due to the character’s poor biography. All that was known was that James Howlett worked for the Canadian government.

In 1975, Logan appeared in the first issue of the Giant-Size X-Men comic, where he joined the X-Men team - a squad of superheroes possessing the X-Factor gene, which causes mutation.

The mutants included in this unit struggle with problems on both an internal and global scale, repelling the misfortunes of cosmic villains and defeating brilliant criminals. Wolverine had to work side by side with such superheroes as Deadpool, Cyclops, Storm, Phantom Cat, Magneto and other arbiters of justice.

Since the 94th issue of the graphic novels, the X-Men series has undergone changes, but Wolverine still does not stand out among other owners of superpowers. But the writers brought some tension into the comics: James Howlett had mutual love feelings for the beautiful Jean Gray, thereby creating clashes with her boyfriend Scott Summers.

It is noteworthy that then-writers Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum considered removing Wolverine from the script because they preferred another mutant, Nightcrawler, to this hero. And the bosses at Marvel were sure that Logan was a depressive and uninteresting character who pales in comparison to other superheroes.

But the illustrator who replaced Cockrum, John Byrne, insisted that Logan appear in the X-Men comics, because he himself was Canadian and did not want to exclude his “compatriot” from the pages. Byrne developed a new storyline, creating Alpha Flight, and also gave Wolverine conflicting character traits. Subsequently, the brave mutant acquired a wave of fans and became a full-fledged superhero with an individual temperament.

The last comic book about James Howlett, entitled "Death of Wolverine", was published in 2014. In other publications dedicated to the mutant team, Logan was replaced by his clones and doubles, and in the 2015 magazine, his son James Hudson, who arrived from a parallel universe, appeared instead of Wolverine. But in 2017, the creators returned the main character, who rose from the dead.

Image

The writers came up with a full-fledged biography of Wolverine. Based on the events that happened to the superhero in his early years, one can judge the formation of the character of this character. It is known that the boy grew up and was raised in the family of Elizabeth and the wealthy landowner John Howlett. James was the second child, and his brother died under mysterious circumstances.

It would seem that a carefree and wealthy childhood is all that is needed for happiness, but James had poor health, and besides, the estate guard Thomas Logan (Wolverine's possible biological father) added a considerable portion of ointment to the ointment.

The fact is that the watchman had such a quality as an addiction to strong drinks, which is why he had attacks of unreasonable aggression. The dog (Wolverine's friend), motivated by resentment, killed James' puppy, which is why the Howletts decided to evict the Logans from the estate.

As a result of the conflict, Thomas shot John in the head with a shotgun, and James, who watched this situation, had an emotional breakdown: the boy acquired superpowers, and claws grew from his hands, with which he tore apart his offenders.

After the nightmare situation, Elizabeth was unable to live a normal life and committed suicide. James, left an orphan, ran away from the estate, and his brain, due to the stress he suffered, forgot the past: throughout most of the comics, the mutant tried to collect the remnants of his memory bit by bit. Wolverine is shown in the comics as a loner dealing with his own personal problems. The superhero is rude and unfriendly, and also shows disrespect for people in authority.

Wolverine, driven by his outsider politics, is suspicious of his friends and former colleagues. However, the avid mutant bachelor had romantic relationships with women. Despite his wild and rough character, Logan adheres to a code of morality and honor: the clawed character does not like to draw blood from his offenders. Wolverine is also very smart: having traveled to many countries, he learned languages ​​and espionage techniques, thanks to which he worked as a CIA agent.

As for the appearance, in 1975, illustrator Gil Kane incorrectly drew a superhero mask with unusual ears on the cover of the comic, which pleased the other creators of Wolverine, as they saw the similarity with. His colleague Cockrum portrayed the hero without a brown-and-gold suit with a characteristic hairstyle: a man 180 cm tall has blue eyes (sometimes brown), full hair and wears sideburns.

Capabilities

The main difference between Wolverine and other superheroes is his skeleton (later covered with adamantium alloy, a fictional indestructible metal), which contains six razor-sharp blades that extend from the webbing of his fingers on his hands (there are three points on each hand). Due to his metal alloy, Wolverine is vulnerable to electrical and magnetic attacks.

With the help of these innate adaptations, a mutant can literally cut his opponent in half, especially since the superhero masters hand-to-hand combat techniques. Although, despite his experience, sometimes Logan deliberately allows himself to be seriously injured, counting on super-fast regeneration.

Wolverine's soft tissues and injuries are restored in a matter of minutes, due to which Logan's body ages more slowly than that of mere mortals. In addition, he is not afraid of drugs, deadly poisons and viral diseases.

Wolverine also has agility, physical strength, superhuman speed and reflexes. Wolverine's abilities surpass those of his colleagues: Spider-Man and Daredevil. The mutant can see and smell his target even in the dark and from a long distance, and is also able to find the enemy by smell. Due to his animal resemblance, Wolverine has sharp fangs, as well as bones protruding from each forearm that can pierce wood or metal.

Movies

It is not surprising that such a colorful character as Wolverine eventually migrated to cartoons, computer games and even cinematic creations of famous directors. Below is a list of animated works and all parts of the films where Logan appears:

Movies:

• 2000 – “X-Men”
• 2000 – “X-Men 2”
• 2006 – “X-Men: The Last Stand”
• 2009 – “X-Men: Origins. Wolverine"
• 2011 – “X-Men: First Class”
• 2013 – “Wolverine: Immortal”
• 2014 – “X-Men: Days of Future Past”
• 2016 – “X-Men: Apocalypse”
• 2017 – “Logan”

Cartoons:

• 1989 – “Brave X-Men”
• 1992–1997 – “X-Men”
• 2000–2003 – “X-Men: Evolution”
• 2008 – “Wolverine and the X-Men”
• 2009 – “Hulk vs. Wolverine”
• 2011 – “Marvel Anime”
• 2010–2012 – “Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes”

Actor

The only and at the same time the best Wolverine was the actor, remembered by the audience for the films “Password “Swordfish”” (2001), “Prestige” (2006), “Les Miserables” (2012) and other notable works. The Australian made his debut as Logan in the fantasy film “X-Men” (2000) and subsequently played the superhero in the rest of the franchise.

It is noteworthy that there were many contenders for the role of Wolverine. Initially, Dougray Scott was considered and approved for the project, who refused to film due to being busy with the film Mission: Impossible 2. Three weeks before work on the film, director Bryan Singer cast the then little-known actor Hugh Jackman in the role. It was his participation in the X-Men that brought him popularity and fame.

Hugh approached his work responsibly and even learned hand-to-hand combat techniques. The writers equipped the future Wolverine with ten suits made of thick leather and polyvinyl chloride, which were worn out after difficult filming. The actor also used about seven hundred blades made of plastic, wood or steel in his stunts.