10 Things You Must Know About Wolverine

 

Since inception, Wolverine has been the favourite X-Men character for the movie lovers. As we prepare for the arrival of Logan which happens to be the final installment of the Wolverine standalone movie here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about the character.

1)      He Was Almost Called Badger

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.

2)      He Was Meant To Be A Teenager

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.

3)      His Claws Were Initially Gloves

As everyone knows, Logan can retract his claws when not in battle as they’re part of his skeleton. mInitially 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.

4)      He Was Partially Modelled After Clint Eastwood

After the character became a short, middle-aged man, it was then comic book supremo Frank Miller 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.

5)      Decapitation Will Stop Him

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.

6)      He’s Been Beaten By Squirrel Girl

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.

7)      He Can Speak 18 Languages

One of his unlikely talents is the fact that he can speak an incredible 18 languages. Apart from English the other languages he’s fluent in are Japanese, French, Russian, Chinese, Cheyenne, Spanish, Arabic, and Lakota. He also knows a little of Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese, German, Italian, Portuguese, Korean, Hindi, and Persian.

8)      He Has Enhanced Senses

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.
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.

9)      He’s Been Part Of A Lot Of Superhero Teams

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.

10)  He Was Almost Written Out

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, 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