Summary
Content Warning: the following article contains discussions of suicide and suicidal ideation.
A lot of superheroes are fueled by tragedy, but few were broken by it as dramatically asWolverine. Unlike many other crime-fighters, Wolverine is a lethal hero, cutting down scores of gangsters, ninjas, aliens and mutants in the name of protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty. Hundreds if not thousands of people have fallenthanks to the Wolverine’s claws, andit all started with a single kill that decided the path of his entire life.
Wolverine’s tragic origin was revealed in the aptly namedOriginby Paul Jenkins and Bill Jemas. This story gives readers the first real look at Wolverine’s childhood, back when he was known as James Howlett. James grew up in a wealthy mansion on top of a hill, the son of John and Elizabeth Howlett. John employed tons of people to work on the land around his mansion, including the groundskeeper Thomas Logan.
Eventually, Thomas Logan grows tired of the Howlett family lording over him. Consumed by jealousy and anger, he takes his son (nicknamed ‘Dog’) to the mansion one night with a pair of shotguns, hoping to run away with Wolverine’s mother Elizabeth Howlett. The attempt goes wrong, andThomas ends up shooting John in front of his family.
Sorry, But Wolverine Is Actually Cooler Without His Adamantium
While his adamantium skeleton and claws are an iconic aspect of his character, Wolverine is actually much cooler WITHOUT adamantium - and here’s why.
Origin #2by Paul Jenkins, Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada, Andy Kubert, Richard Isanove, Wes Abbott and Oscar Gongorra
Overcome with grief, Wolverine’s mutation activates and his bone claws make their first appearance. He immediately murders Thomas Logan in a blind rage, and while he gets his revenge, this murder is just another part of Wolverine’s heartbreaking origin. Unbeknownst to James, his biological father wasn’t actually John Howlett. James' father is actually Thomas Logan, who he just murdered. The tragedy doesn’t end there though. After James is revealed to be a mutant, he is immediately rejected by his mother, Elizabeth, who banishes him from the Howlett Estate.Elizabeth then takes her own life shortly after.This leaves James coping with the trauma of seeing his father’s death, killing his biological father and being utterly rejected by his mother before losing her too, now making his way in a world with no money and no experience of anything but a pampered existence.
Wolverine would later reconnect with his half-brother Dog, who ended up as a time-traveling villain. The character shouldn’t be confused with Sabretooth,who isn’t Wolverine’s brother in the comics.
In many ways, Thomas' attack on the Howletts represents Wolverine’s true nature invading and destroying the happy, ‘civilized’ life he could have lived.
It was a fascinating choice to make the macho, loner Wolverine a spoiled child, but this decision helps to emphasize how dramatically the hero’s life fell apart in a single day.Fans instantly know that Thomas Logan must be Wolverine’s father because of their similar appearances and loner attitudes, as well as the fact the Wolverine will later adopt ‘Logan’ as his civilian name. In many ways, Thomas' attack on the Howletts represents Wolverine’s own animalistic potential invading and destroying the happy, “civilized” life he could have lived, with the fact that fans already know who James will become adding a note of predestination.
It’s almost as if Wolverine’s future arrives to butcher his past, as ‘Logan’ kills the people who love James Howlett and then turns him into a killer.Violence is suggested as Wolverine’s genetic legacy, with him even eventually taking the name of the man who brought bloodshed and death into his home.Wolverine unknowingly killing his biological father also redefines the many moments ofWolverine being forced to kill loversand friends for various reasons, suggesting that his formative experiences set the standard for the tragedies to follow. These concepts may not be literally true (Wolverine is constantly fighting to be better than his worst self), but they echo how Wolverine sees his own life and identity.
Wolverine’s very first kill was his biological father - the man who he’d just seen murder his father John in front of him. The confrontation destroyed Wolverine’s life and left him to make his way with nothing and no-one to turn to, beginning the process that would harden him into the deadliest man alive. Marvel only had one chance to giveWolverinethe definitive origin story he deserves, and it nailed it withOrigin’s horrific reveal about his early years.
Wolverine
The human mutant Wolverine (a.k.a. Logan) was born James Howlett, blessed with a superhuman healing factor, senses, and physiology. Subjecting himself to experimentation to augment his skeleton and claws with adamantium, Logan is as deadly as he is reckless, impulsive, and short-tempered. Making him the X-Men’s wildest and deadliest member, and one of Marvel Comics' biggest stars. He’s played in Fox and Marvel’s movie franchises by Hugh Jackman.
