10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Wolverine

Wolverine - that lean, mean, yellow slicing machine - is one of the biggest, most popular names in Marvel's roster. For decades, he's been the fanbase's favourite X-Men member and his success has been through the roof since Hugh Jackman began playing him to critical and commercial acclaim throughout the ongoing film series. Right now, however, the Wolverine character is at something of a crossroads. Though Laura Kinney has taken up her clone-father's mantle, and Old Man Logan from a different reality is on the X-Men team, Logan as we know him is currently dead in the comics. His big-screen counterpart might join him soon, too, as Jackman will be hanging up his claws after March's much-anticipated Logan. So, in honour of the ol' canucklehead, let's take a look at some facts you might not know about Wolvie. Yes, we know that he's immortal, has an adamantium skeleton and Dougray Scott almost played him in the movies, but let's dig a little deeper... 10) He Was Almost Called Badger Wolverine was only designed as a supporting character, making his first appearance in The Incredible Hulk #180 in 1974. Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas had asked writer Len Wein to come up with a Canadian character, in a scheme to bring in more readers from Canada. Wein wanted to base the character around an animal that was native to the country and eventually he got it down to two options: Wolverine and... Badger. Yes, Badger. Even if, uh, Badger turned out to be as cool as Wolverine and was then played by Hugh Jackman on the big screen, we highly doubt that any superhero with such a name would have had the same cultural impact as Wolvie. An animal tends to lose its street cred once it's been in The Wind in the Willows. 9) His Claws Were Initially Gloves Once Wein had decided on Wolverine (thank God), this led to his most iconic characteristic - those six adamantium claws. As everyone knows, Logan can retract his claws when not in battle - usually accompanied by a "snikt!" sound effect - as they're part of his skeleton. Initially, however, Wolvie's claws were not intended to be part of his body but were an accessory, part of a set of adamantium gloves. They also appear to extend out of his wrist. It was only in The Official Marvel Handbook, published in the 1980s, that it was confirmed that they spring from his body. And it wasn't until the 1990s when it was explained that the claws were originally bone and not a complete invention of the Weapon X program. Wolverine's claws were also never seen to retract in his first few appearances. The idea allegedly came from artist John Romita Sr. "When I make a design, I want it to be practical and functional," he said. "I thought, 'If a man has claws like that, how does he scratch his nose or tie his shoelaces?'" 8) He Was Meant To Be A Teenager We might know Wolverine as a cigar-chomping, hairy middle-aged man (or, alternatively, a tall, hunky Hugh Jackman) but Len Wein's original plan was for the character to be a teenage kid. At least, for his first appearance, as Logan never appeared out of his costume during his introductory battle with the Hulk. His face was finally revealed in Uncanny X-Men #98 and the character was only aged up because artist Dave Cockrum drew him that way and everyone liked it so the plan was changed. Funnily enough, Cockrum is also responsible for revamping Wolverine's costume as well. For Giant-Size X-Men #1, illustrator Gil Kane incorrectly drew Wolvie's headpieces too large. Cockrum liked the look, however - feeling it resembled Batman's ears - and incorporated into his artwork. As well as an angsty adolescent, Wolverine's healing factor was also not part of the original package. His only abilities were going to be his extraordinary sense and his animal rage. Rumours persist that Len Wein originally intended the character to be an actual Wolverine mutated into human form. Wein, though, has vehemently denied that this was ever the case. 7) He Was Partially Modelled After Clint Eastwood After the character became a short, middle-aged man, it was then comic book supremo Frank Miller - of The Dark Knight Returns fame - who was responsible for defining the personality of Logan as we know him by today. In 1984, Miller wrote a four-part solo Wolverine series which properly nailed the grizzled loner that Logan is. In the writing and his artwork, Miller was inspired by classic Western actor Clint Eastwood, most known for his enigmatic anti-hero The Man With No Name in Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy. The mini-series was a big influence on both X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine. In particular the latter, as director James Mangold pitched Logan as a lone cowboy/samurai figure. The series also introduced Wolverine's iconic catchphrase: “I’m the best there is at what I do, but what I do best isn’t very nice." It's been used many times since, too, and movie fans will know it from its recitation in the aforementioned X-Men Origins: Wolverine. 6) He Has Survived Being Crushed By A Steamroller, Ripped In Half By The Hulk And An Atomic Blast... But Decapitation Will Stop Him As we've already said, Wolverine possesses a healing factor which keeps him functionally immortal. As well as saving him from more usual forms of death, his knack for survival has also seen him endure some more unusual fates. In 2007's Punisher #12, Frank Castle turns his attention to Logan in a big way. After blowing Wolvie's face off with a shotgun and shooting off his testicles - really - the Punisher rolls over him with a steamroller. Also, the Hulk tore Wolverine in half in Lost writer Damon Lindelof's Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk in 2005. The sad thing was, due to delays that kept the comic from completing until 2009, Wolverine was left ripped in two for four years. Most impressively, Logan survived a nuclear explosion in Venom #9 - a moment loosely adapted for The Wolverine. On the other hand, Wolverine is not indestructible. Like a vampire, he can be stopped if you cut his head off and kept it separate from his body. He's also susceptible to drowning, as this was the method Logan used to tragically murder his own crazed son Daken. 5) He's Been Beaten By Squirrel Girl (And Star Trek's Spock) Wolverine might be an incredibly durable fella, but he has been beaten by some unlikely characters on occasion. For example, Logan is defeated in hand-to-hand combat by none other than Squirrel Girl in New Avengers Vol. 2 #15. To be fair to Wolverine, though, he was holding back when fighting her. Apparently, it was because he was smitten with Doreen Green. They might have even been dating at the time, but the dialogue is ambiguous about this. Someone he was absolutely bested by was Mr. Spock from Star Trek. In 1996's unlikely X-Men/Star Trek crossover comic, the pair come into conflict when Spock calmly asks the mutant team to accompany him to the Enterprise's Security. Logan doesn't take too kindly to being asked what to do and lunges at the first mate. With a swift Vulcan neck pinch, though, Logan is left sprawled on the floor. Spock 1. Wolverine O. 4) He Can Speak 18 Languages Wolverine might have a reputation as a savage, but he's still got some pretty nifty cerebral skills. He's been alive for over a hundred years - he's had a lot of time to educate himself, after all. One of his unlikely talents is the fact that he can speak an incredible 18 languages. Apart from English, of course, he's adept at both Japanese and French. These two are easy to explain; Wolvie has visited Japan on several occasions and he's a Canadian and has spent time in Quebec. The other languages that he's fluent in are Russian, Chinese, Cheyenne, Spanish, Arabic, and Lakota. He also knows a little of Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese, German, Italian, Portuguese, Korean, Hindi, and Persian. In fact, Wolverine has such a first rate mind that his mental state was once described as "equivalent an Olympic-level gymnast performing a gold medal routine while simultaneously beating four chess computers in his head." 3) He Has Ridiculously Enhanced Senses Wolverine's natural talents are pretty impressive too, though. Even Spider-Man's spider-sense or Daredevil's super-hearing can't hold a candle to Logan's incredibly enhanced abilities. First of all, his sight is so acute that he can see with perfect clarity for long distances, even in almost complete darkness. His hearing is similarly powerful; as well as possessing a greater range than normal human beings, Wolvie can also pick up sounds that regular ears do not. His sense of smell is perhaps the most impressive, though. Naturally, he's terrific at tracking down the scent of his enemies, even if the smell has faded over time. He can also recognize shapeshifters thanks to their unique smell. That's in the comics, at least, as Mystique often fools him in the films. On one occasion in X-Men: The Animated Series, Wolverine claims that he can smell light waves on the infrared spectrum - or rather, he can smell the ozone given off by the electronics generating the light. By combining his hearing and sense of smell, Logan is also something of a walking lie detector. By monitoring changes in a person's heartbeat and smelling any perspiration, he can tell when someone's speaking the truth. 2) He's Been Part Of A Lot Of Superhero Teams Everyone knows that Logan's part of the X-Men. That's Wolverine 101. You might also know that he's served on the Avengers' roster from time to time. What you might not know, however, is that Wolverine has been on more superhero teams than any other Marvel character. At one time or another, Wolverine has joined the ranks of Alpha Fight, the Defenders, the Fantastic Four, the New Defenders, the New Fantastic Four, Avengers Unity Squad, the Secret Defenders, the New Avengers, the Outlaw Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., Red Guard, the Heralds, Hearts of Darkness, the Cosmic Champions, Hard 7 and many, many more. In fact, this Comicvine list accrues up to 35 teams (including the odd villainous one) that Wolverine has been a part of. 35! And he calls himself a loner.... 1) He Was Almost Written Out For Not Being Exciting Enough As we've previously said, Wolverine has been one of Marvel's most popular characters for decades. That success could have been curtailed, however, if the company's execs had followed through with their plan to write Logan out back in his early days. In 1975, Wolverine had yet to be fully explored as a character - with his personality and fascinating backstory still to come, he was a minor member of the X-Men at best. As such, Marvel bosses thought about cutting their losses with this dead-end character and remove him from the book. Thankfully, artist/writer John Byrne stepped in. As a Canadian himself, Byrne didn't want one of Marvel's few Canadian heroes to be tossed on the scrap heap before he had really made his mark. After Byrne ensured the character was kept on the team, Frank Miller and Chris Claremont soon came along to turn him into the Wolverine we all know and love.