10 Amazing Facts You Probably Didn't Know About WOLVERINE
Despite currently being, well, dead, Wolverine remains one of the most popular characters in comic book history. However, his history is very long and bizarre, so read on for some truly mind-blowing facts...
Wolverine is one of the most iconic characters in Marvel Comics history, and his adventures in both the source material and on the big screen has ensured that he's one of the most popular as well. While he's now on the shelf after being killed off (though an older version from an alternate universe is still knocking about), the hero remains perhaps the most recognisable and beloved member of the X-Men.
With Wolverine: Weapon X set to be released next year, you'd best believe he'll be back soon enough, but even if he isn't, there's still a lot to discuss when it comes to James Howlett. The story behind his creation is one of the most unusual out there, while he's had some truly weird and bizarre adventures over the years which make him stand out. So, read on for the most amazing Wolverine facts...
10. His Claws Weren't Originally Part Of Him
Wolverine has a lot of cool powers, including enhanced senses and the ability to heal from pretty much any injury. However, the pièce de résistance is obviously his six deadly claws. Creator Len Wein originally had some very different ideas for those though, and among his earliest ideas was that Logan would be a wolverine who had somehow mutated into a humanoid creature, similar to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
As if that wasn't already weird enough, the now iconic claws would have been revealed as gloves with the claws attached to them, robbing Wolverine of arguably his most recognisable feature (and that classic "Snikt!" sound). It wasn't until years later that we would learn those those claws were actually part of his skeleton before being coated in Adamantium.
9. He Was Supposed To Be A Teenager
The first appearance of Wolverine came not in the pages of an X-Men comic book, but in a 1974 issue of The Incredible Hulk. Kept in costume for his entire battle with the Green Goliath, very little was revealed about the mysterious new addition to the Marvel Universe. Before he was unmasked and more about him was revealed, the plan was for Wolverine to be revealed as a teenager.
This is obviously something which would have greatly altered the character's role in the X-Men as he likely would have been portrayed more an an unruly student than a badass reluctant leader who often butted heads with Cyclops. A teenage version of Logan would later be introduced - sort of - when the hero was cloned and the female X-23 was created (who is currently serving as the new Wolverine in the Marvel Universe.
8. He Got Beaten Up By...Spock?!
Well, this is embarrassing (unless you're a Star Trek fan; in that case, you'll probably love this). As you're no doubt already aware, the 90s were a strange time for comic books, and with Marvel on the verge of bankruptcy, the company prioritised what were essentially get rich quick schemes by launching massive crossovers which forced fans to buy a number of books along with almost countless variant covers.
One of the former included a 1996 Star Trek/X-Men series which featured a team-up of sorts between the two very different teams. Arguably the strangest moment however came when Wolverine lunged at Spock in a berserker rage and was immediately stopped in his tracks by the Vulcan and one of his well known nerve pinches. Logan was taken down and Spock stood victorious over a character you'd think could slice him to pieces in seconds!
7. Hugh Jackman Wasn't Bryan Singer's First Choice
After seeing Hugh Jackman play Wolverine almost countless times, it's now hard to picture anyone else in the role (and with his final appearance as Logan set for next year, replacing him will be a huge challenge for 20th Century Fox). However, while this may now be hard to believe, Jackman wasn't actually X-Men director Bryan Singer's first choice to play the character.
It was Russell Crowe who both the filmmaker and the studio really wanted in the role, but he had no interest in joining the comic book adaptation. It was then that Dougray Scott was chosen to play Wolverine, but when scheduling conflicts forced him to drop out just weeks before the cameras started rolling, the unknown Jackman was chosen at the last minute, a decision Singer wasn't initially that pleased with. Needless to say, it all worked out for the best!
6. He Murdered Pretty Much All Of His Kids
Wolverine and his son Daken never got on, but one of the latter's most bizarre plots aimed at his father involved helping out a cult made up of those who had somehow been victimised by Logan over the years. Many of them had legitimate gripes with the X-Men member, but the majority were also completely nuts, hence why they dispatched a team of horribly mutated freaks against the hero.
They had been raised from an early age to hate and kill Wolverine, but after he took them all out in a typically violent fashion, it was revealed that the cult - who had all killed themselves by this point - had actually trained the kids from his many forgotten relationships over the years to take on their own father and inevitably fall in battle against him. Wolverine was understandably horrified, but that didn't stop him from later drowning and killing Daken when he went too far with one of his schemes.
5. He Was Nearly Named "Badger"
How does, "10 Amazing Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Badger" sound? Had history played out a little differently, that's exactly what this feature would have been titled! Back when Len Wein was creating Wolverine, he had actually specifically been asked by Marvel to come up with a character with the potential to increase their sales in Canada.
That didn't exactly present him with a long list of options, so he decided to base this newcomer to the Marvel Universe on one of the animals that call the Great White North their home. As a result, Wein was left with two options; "Wolverine" and "Badger." Thankfully, he ended up choosing the former as it's hard to imagine that Badger would have found the same level of success even if his adventures had all played out in exactly the same way...
4. Later Versions Were Modelled After Clint Eastwood
As you've now no doubt already realised, Wolverine was very much a work in progress when he was first introduced. Having decided against making the hero an angry teenager with clawed gloves, Marvel portrayed Logan as being a little rougher around the edges after he joined the X-Men. However, while his appearance had already been settled on, it's Chris Claremont and Frank Miller who deserve the lion's share of credit for the version of Wolverine we all know and love today.
Just like he did with Daredevil, Miller played a huge role in redefining how readers viewed Logan by taking inspiration from Clint Eastwood. That's something which we've also been able to see on the big screen with Hugh Jackman, while Miller can also be credited with dreaming up the iconic line, "I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do best isn't very nice."
3. He's Been In Pretty Much Every Superhero Team
This is something you probably already knew, but were you aware of just how many teams Wolverine has been part of at one time or another? Despite being classically portrayed as a loner who prefers working alone, the hero has called more than just the X-Men his home. From variations of that group (X-Force and X-Factor for example) to the likes of Alpha Flight, The Defenders, and Fantastic Four, Wolverine has actually been part of more than THIRTY teams in total over the years; not many other heroes can compete with that!
Despite his tendency to jump between superhero teams, pretty much everyone was still shocked when the character ended up becoming a member of the New Avengers. Still, when sales of that title rocketed - Spider-Man was also included - Wolverine quickly ended up being part of pretty much every iteration of that group as well.
2. He Hooked Up With MJ...In Peter Parker's Body
We all know that Wolverine has a thing for redheads. The obsession started with Rose and later Jean Grey, but Logan took things way too far in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Determined to teach the hero a lesson, this world's version of Jean swapped the clawed mutant's mind with that of the teenage Peter Parker, and it goes without saying that hilarity and chaos ensued.
However, things in the Brian Michael Bendis penned tale took a creepy turn when Wolverine (in Spider-Man's body) came across the wall-crawler's girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson. When the duo were finally switched back, the 15 year old redhead asked Peter, "That thing you tried to do this morning, can we not do that till were older?" What exactly went on between them is never revealed - neither is how far it went - but this was still pretty damn weird.
1. He Was Once Merged With Batman
Crossovers between Marvel and DC Comics are a rarity (and don't happen at all these days), but it was in the 90s that one of the weirdest yet took place when heroes and villains from both worlds were merged to create brand new characters. In the case of Wolverine, he was mashed up with Batman to create Logan Wayne, a.k.a. Dark Claw. In the Amalgam Universe, it was Logan who witnessed the murder of his parents as a child, but he then moved to Canada and became more Wolverine than Batman.
However, Dark Claw was still a mixture of both with key elements from both of their worlds. For example, he had Bruce Wayne's billions and gadgets, but also Logan's Adamantium claws from the Weapon X project. The whole thing was bizarre and not something we should probably expect to see in a movie any time soon!
Which of these facts about Wolverine is your favourite? Have we missed any that you're aware of? As always, share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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