10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Wolverine

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?'”