Here are some things you should know about Wolverine.
Wolverine is one of the most popular characters in comic book history. A lot of that has to do with his attitude. Logan more than the angry little man with impulse issues. He has been alive for over a hundred years and along the way he has been a lot of different people, doing more interesting things than people will ever know. He’s developed a love for foreign cultures, he’s a romantic, he’s been to Hell and back (literally) and so much more.
There is a lot you probably don’t know about Wolverine. With that in mind, here are ten cool facts about the iconic X-Men character that the novice fan may not be aware of.
10. Matsu’o Tsurayaba
Comic book: Wolverine No. 57
Matsu’o Tsurayaba poisoned the love of Wolverine’s life, Mariko Yashida. Rather than a slow and painful death, Mariko asked Logan to kill her with his claws. Logan reluctantly agreed and, after that, he vowed revenge on Matsu’o Tsurayaba for what he had done.
Wolverine vowed to take a part of Tsurayaba’s body every year on the anniversary of Mariko’s death. Tsurayaba thought it was a false threat. That was until Wolverine showed up and cut his arm off. The following year, he removed Tsurayaba’s ear. This continued every year until Logan was temporarily dead. What’s funny is the year that happened, Tsurayaba was going to beg for mercy or take his own life.
9. Wolverine was born a sickly kid
Comic book: Wolverine: Origin: The Hill No. 1
The Logan we know now isn’t how he was originally. He was born James Howlett into a wealthy family. He was also a sickly child. It left him unable to play like normal kids his age. He couldn’t even go into the water without his skin getting blotchy. When you think about it, it was like his body was developing an immunity to everything, perhaps in its own away preparing him to have a healing factor. Soon after, he popped his claws for the first time.
He was immediately thrown into harsher situations in life after that. He never got sick again. Well, barring shenanigans with viruses tailor-made for him.
8. He beat the Devil
Comic book: Wolverine: Wolverine Goes To Hell
Logan was sent to Hell by people he wronged in life. These people were called the Red Right Hand and they figured there couldn’t be a worse fate than this (we later find out there was more to their plan). As a result, Logan was in Hell and almost gave up fighting for his life. With the help of Puck, however, he mustered up the courage to keep fighting – a battle that he eventually won.
Wolverine not only defeated the Devil, but he left him pinned with bone claws. He defeated the king of Hell in his own realm -not many people can say that and Logan managed to do it without magical powers.
Logan has won a lot of impressive fights but none of them as awe-inspiring as beating the Devil on his own turf.
7. He killed his kids
Comic book: Wolverine: Wolverine’s Revenge
After escaping Hell and regaining control of his body, Logan set out for revenge. The idea was to kill everyone responsible for sending him to hell, being responsible for demons controlling his body, and attacking his loved ones. He gets vengeance, but also ends up hurting maybe even worse than he did when he was in Hell. The Red Right Hand set him up to kill the children he didn’t know he had.
The second part of the Red Right Hand’s plan was devious. Logan walked into a room and saw the people who planned his torture dead before he could get to them. As he walked in, he was told (via a video) that the resistance he came across were the unknown children he had over the years – people that they trained and set up for him to kill.
The Red Right Hand may be dead and in Hell, but they accomplished their goal.
6. He trained Black Widow
Comic book: Wolverine Origins
Logan has been around longer than most Marvel Comics characters born on Earth. He’s lived more lives than some people would want to. Because of his longevity, he’s had an influence on a lot of people’s lives – and not just mutants. In The Uncanny X-Men No. 268, we see the first time Logan meets Captain America and a very young Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) during World War II.
The story didn’t end after the issue concluded. In Wolverine Origins No. 9, we see that Logan had a hand in training her to become a fighter and a killer. He taught her how to fight dirty, how to use her opponents’ emotions against them and how to be stealthy. Logan regrets teaching her this but it doesn’t seem like she does. Black Widow’s bond with her “Little Uncle” is stronger than some of the ones Logan has with the X-Men.
5. He fought the Angel of Death
Comic book: Wolverine: The Death of Wolverine
So, we know Logan has beaten the Devil. That’s an accomplishment in itself. Let’s add another major victory to Wolverine’s résumé. The Devil isn’t the only angel that has been defeated by the best there is. He has multiple victories over the Angel of Death too.
The first time Logan fought Azrael (or Lazaer as he’s also called), a deal was made: If Logan ever has a near-death experience, he has to fight Azrael for his life. Logan continued to beat him from then on until Wolverine: Enemy of the State when he was defeated after losing the will to live. The only reason he didn’t stay dead, however, was due to being resurrected by the Hand.
4. He is a member of the Fantastic Four
Comic book: Fantastic Four No. 347
People say that Wolverine is everywhere at once. In New Avengers, Logan jokes to Mockingbird that his mutant power was multitasking. He’s on more than one X-Man team, he’s on the X-Force, he’s an Avenger and he still manages to have dozens of solo adventures. On top of all this, Wolverine somehow managed to be on the Fantastic Four.
Logan was joined by the Hulk, Ghost Rider, and Spider-Man. While the team has disbanded after the original Fantastic Four came back, Wolverine and Spider-Man have come back to help – most recently during the Marvel crossover event Empyre.
3. He opened a school
Comic book: Wolverine and the X-Men
Wolverine and Cyclops had a falling out in Schism – one that would almost destroy their friendship and respect for each other. Logan was tired of seeing mutant kids put in danger; Cyclops thought he was protecting them by teaching them how to fight. Instead of staying, Logan decided to give everyone an option: Stay with Cyclops and follow his way or join him at the school he was opening.
Logan opened the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning. It gave younger mutants a chance to be kids. It was a legitimate school with full accreditation. While they would always be hunted, at least they weren’t soldiers. Veteran mutants became part of the faculty too. Kitty Pryde, Iceman, Gambit, and Rachel Grey were among the adults who joined and taught at the school. In this writer’s opinion, it was Logan’s most honorable move.
2. He’s scared of water
Comic book: Wolverine: Weapon X
Wolverine has a healing factor that lets him heal from almost anything. The key word here is almost. We’ve seen Wolverine be burned, shot, and stabbed. One time he even threw himself off a mountain, climbed back up and did it again. However, there is one thing that can kill Logan for good and that’s drowning.
In Wolverine: Weapon X No. 5, Logan says that he’s never been comfortable around water, specifically the ocean. He says that part of it is the darkness, depths and mystery of the ocean. But the other part is that it can kill him. It doesn’t help that he has an extra hundred pounds of metal on his bones. As he said in the issue, “It’s like swimming with an anvil on your back.” With that in mind, it makes sense that this is something he’d be afraid of.
1. Who really erased his memory
Comic book: X-Men: Original Sin
One of the many things that Wolverine is known for is having no memory of his past. For years, he thought that Weapon X was responsible for him losing his memory. Weapon X did some horrendous things to him, but that’s not one of them. No, his memory loss is due to Professor Xavier needing a weapon.
Wolverine was sent to kill Xavier after his fight with the Hulk. After he thwarted Logan’s attack, he probed Logan’s mind and said he found the most powerful brainwashing he’d ever seen (thanks, Romulus).
Later, Xavier said Logan’s mind has been broken and reassembled so it would be pretty straightforward to break it again. And why did he do this? Xavier’s exact words were because he needed a weapon. That’s right. Xavier erased Logan’s memory to use him for his own needs.
What are your favorite Wolverine moments? Are there some facts you would have added? Let us know in the comments below.