Marvel Comics: Wolverine's greatest comic book influences
By Mark Lynch
Smitty
When James Howlett and Rose ran away from their past lives, they landed in a mining camp run by a man named Smitty. After leaving everything behind, James needed a new personality. He mimicked Smitty. Logan’s love for cigars and Japan and his work ethic started with Smitty. He’s also the reason Logan says bub.
Sabretooth
Logan has been around death his entire life. He’s met people who despise and unfairly judge him. Despite all of that, Victor Creed taught Logan what hate feels like. Not from without, from within. Whenever Wolverine thinks about Sabretooth, he sees two things. The person who’s tormented him and what he could become if he’s not careful.
Captain America
Long before was an X-Man, Logan was doing whatever he was ordered to. One of the people he was sent after Captain America. After seeing Steve Rogers in person, he couldn’t follow his orders. He saw that he was one of the most honorable men ever. This was one of the first times Logan went against his orders. As we’ve seen, it wasn’t the last.
Charles Xavier
Charles Xavier’s influence on Logan is a gift and a curse. On one hand, Xavier took Wolverine away from Romulus. This leads to Logan becoming an X-Man and eventually a member of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers.
On the other hand, the awful things that happened to him were because of Xavier. He erased Logan’s memory leading Wolverine to search for answers to his past. Each of those adventures leads to multiple deaths and a lot of pain.