Wolverine a Reader's Perspective Part 17

The Wolverine!

Art by John Byrne


Chronological Wolverine facts as revealed to the reader part 17

Continuing our journey to understand the Wolverine character as was revealed to the reader issue to issue, month to month through his publication history. So from a reader's point of view here is Logan's history, who he was, and how and when we learned it!

Jan 1981
The Uncanny X-Men 141
Writers: Chris Claremont and John Byrne
Penciller: John Byrne



This issue has split realities with the current timeline being on Oct 31st, 1980 (around when this issue hit the newsstands, remember they are out about three months before the cover date) and a non-continuity alternate future timeline set in 2013 or 33 years into the future. Because alternate timelines are not considered cannon any facts will be in green as although they give insight into the character from the perspective of the writer and artist they are not part of his history.

In 2013 it is a dystopian post-apocalyptic alternate universe where the sentinels have taken over the country and have killed the majority of mutants and super-powered beings (both hero and villains) on earth and imprisoned the survivors. The Fantastic Four have been killed, the Avengers killed, Doctor Doom, Daredevil, Ghost Rider, and even Spider-Man. Of all the X-Men who ever were the only survivors are Wolverine, Kitty Pryde, Storm, Colossus, and the first appearance of Rachel Summers the Phoenix (a new X-Man), led by their arch-nemesis Magneto now in a wheelchair. Kitty and Colossus are married in the future and had children! Franklin Richards son of Reed Richards Mr. Fantastic and Sue Richards Invisible Girl of the late Fantastic Four is in a relationship with Rachel.

The first we see of future Wolverine (well besides the cover) he is saving Kitty Pryde who has fallen into a trap set by a bunch of thugs called Rogues in Manhattan. Wolverine gets the drop on two of them then goes for the leader.



Even in the future Logan is still fond of the WWII bomber style A-2 jacket with wool lining. He also has a sidearm in a holster. His hair at the temples has gone white.



He quickly dispatches the Rogue leader with a roundhouse kick followed with a hammer fist to the base of the spine. Indicative of training in a striking based martial art. Roundhouse kicks are popular in Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and Muay Thai Kickboxing, among others. Hammer fist is used in various martial arts styles as well but included with his palm heel strike we saw previously in Uncanny X-Men 133 it is probably a form of Karate, since we know he has been to and more than likely trained in Japan. Although this is the future and doesn't preclude training in Korea or Thailand or anywhere else for that matter. He is also Colonel Logan part of the Canadian Resistance Army and still a member of the X-Men. The future Katherine Pryde-Rasputin's conscious is sent back in time to inhabit her 1980 Kitty Pryde body to prevent an assassination and hopefully alter the chain of events that led to the Mutant Control Act of 1988 and the extermination of super-powered beings and the rise of the Sentinels to power. In the present we find the X-Men where they usually are in the midst of a daily combat workout in the Danger Room.



Because Wolverine's brown and tan costume is my favorite and because this storyline is one of the last times John Byrne will be a regular artist for the Uncanny X-men book and he is my favorite also, it is my prerogative to show more panels than just those that give insight into Logan's character development. Because I think they are cool.



Wolverine has grown fond of Kitty Pryde calling her, "Pun'kin" instead of the standard, "kid" he has called her since he met her back in Uncanny X-Men 129. Logan started calling her Pun'kin back in King-Sized Annual X-Men 4 when he was the first to officially welcome her to the team.*

*See Wolverine a Reader's Perspective Part 16 - NLogan



After Kitty walks through all the dangers set aside for her in the Danger Room during her first official training as an X-Man unfazed in her phased state we see Logan still has his irreverent sense of humor and still has some animosity towards Professor X. 



When the mind of the future Kitty inhabits the body of the present Kitty shortly after her test in the Danger Room she passes out stunned and is taken to the infirmary where we see Logan running scans with the sophisticated bio-sensors showing his aptitude for advanced machinery and sophisticated electronics as we have seen before*.

*See King-Sized Annual! X-Men 3 in Wolverine a Reader's Perspective Part 12 - NLogan



When future Kate tells the X-Men about the genocide of mutants and the impending nuclear armageddon as the fate of the world if they don't prevent the assassination, Logan knows she is telling the truth using his heightened senses.



Meanwhile future Wolverine has broken the remaining X-Men out of the detention center and they are making their way towards the heart of Manhattan using old subway tunnels. Sentinels find them however and a battle begins. We see an old favorite still being used in the future, the fast-ball special. Wolverine's claws have no problem against the omnium steel sentinel. We also see a retcon but it concerns a future Wolverine and not our current one, however it does give insight to Chris Claremont's plans for the character. Back in Uncanny X-Men 126 we learned that Wolverine's skeleton was made of adamantium*. Now we are told that future Wolverine's skeleton is laced with adamantium not made from it, still making his bones virtually unbreakable.

*See Wolverine a Reader's Perspective Part 12

Feb 1981
The Uncanny X-Men 142
Writers: Chris Claremont and John Byrne
Penciller: John Byrne





In a battle at the United States Senate the present day X-Men find themselves facing a new incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants led by Mystique, with the Blob, Pyro, Destiny, and Avalanche filling out the roster attempting to assassinate Senator Kelly. Because the hearing was on the so called mutant menace and heightened public awareness and fear of super-powered beings storm prevents Wolverine from killing Pyro with his claws as an attempt to pacify public sentiment towards mutants as they try to rescue Senator Kelly. We are told that Wolverine's claws specifically were forged of adamantium, meaning specifically made or formed of metal either by heating and shaping by hammering or mechanically formed of the metal by extreme force such as a hydraulic press with or without heat.

During the battle at the senate hearing that has broke out onto the National Mall soldiers are arriving and attacking both the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Pyro used a flame blast from one of the soldier's flame throwers to create a fire monster.



Storm blasts apart the fire monster saving Wolverine. We learn that his new suit the brown and tan is made of fireproof unstable molecules like the suits that were given to the new X-Men way back in Giant-Sized X-Men 1*. We also learn that Wolverine can be killed by immolation if he is entirely burnt. His fast-healing ability is coping with the burns but if it had been much longer he could have died. We have already seen his healing ability multiple times but this is the first time it is spelled out to us as a specific power or ability rather than just the mention of, "I heal real fast".* Mein Verruckt Freund is German for my crazy friend.

*See Giant-Sized X-Men 1 in Wolverine a Reader's Perspective Part 2 and Uncanny X-Men 116 in Wolverine a Reader's Perspective Part 8 - NLogan



Again Wolverine is about to use his claws, and for the second time during the battle Storm stops him. She lists his abilities as speed, strength, and an unbreakable adamantium skeleton; add to that the fast-healing ability, and his animal keen senses. Speaking of which because of the catastrophic burn damage to his system from the fire he is unable to tell using his senses which Nightcrawler is real and which is the doppleganger until he heals more fully. Doppleganger means double goer in German. We have seen him use his super-human speed against the Hulk, his super-human strength to break chromalloy steel shackles, and the fact that his skeleton is unbreakable many times. As for his other abilities*

*See Wolverine a Reader's Perspective Parts 1, 3, 7, 8, and ... well have you been paying attention at all? Go back and read the entire series - NLogan



Wolverine has studied enough to understand fulcrums and levers and even quote ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, and inventor Archimedes with a paraphrase of the original Greek "Give me a lever and a place to stand and I will move the earth"  found in The Library of History of Diodorus Siculus fragments of book XXVI. Even though the text in the story says they will move the earth the Blob stands on to move the unmovable object the illustration shows they lever the Blob directly which shouldn't have been possible. To be fair we can't see the end of the I-beam lever which may in fact be buried in the ground or the Blob's feet which are on the ground.



In the alternate future timeline Wolverine broke them out of the South Bronx Concentration Camp, and now the X-Men or what is left of them is heading to the main headquarters of the Sentinels the Baxter Building former headquarters of the slain Fantastic Four. Future Wolverine is killed by Sentinel Omega 5 completely incinerating all organic molecules from his skeleton leaving nothing to regenerate with a blast of plasma. Storm and Colossus quickly follow him in death.



Future Wolverine's death showed his adamantium skeleton for the first time and his claw housings inside his forearms to the reader. It also confirmed that Wolverine could be killed by immolation or complete incineration of his organic material.

In the present the X-Men defeat the assassination attempt and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants are captured except for Mystique who manages to escape. Future Katherine Pryde exchanges minds again with young Kitty Pryde. As for the future we don't know what happened past the deaths of the core members of the X-Men or if that future timeline was altered by the events in the present.

March 1981
Dazzler 1
Writer: Tom DeFalco
Penciller: John Romita Jr.





In this cameo appearance Wolverine is again training in the Danger Room with the X-Men.



We learn that Wolverine's skeleton as well as his claws were forged out of adamantium.



Alison Blaire the Dazzler still not part of the team interrupts training with a phone call.

March 1981
The Uncanny X-Men 143
Writers: Chris Claremont and John Byrne
Penciller: John Byrne





I guess it is official, Logan introduces Mariko as his lady. He seriously freaks out when Nightcrawler playfully kisses her on the cheek under the mistletoe.





Evidently Wolverine is still working on control and um you should never mess with short stuff's lady.

April 1981
Dazzler 2
Writer: Tom DeFalco
Penciller: John Romita Jr.



Minor continuity insert happened before Uncanny X-Men 143 because as we can see the Danger Room isn't damaged yet from Kitty's fight with the N'Garai demon.



Again as in most cameo appearances in other books the X-Men are busy in the Danger Room.



Logan attends the dance with a host of other superheroes.



Inevitably the party is crashed by a bad guys forcing said heroes to suit up.









There is not much in the way of character development but it is always interesting to see Wolverine in cameos before he was in a cameo or starring in every other book published by Marvel.

April 1981
The Uncanny X-Men 144
Writers: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Brent Eric Anderson





The team is shown cleaning up and repairing the damage from Kitty's fight with the demon in Uncanny X-Men 143.



Wolverine reverts to his old ways and teases Kitty and goes a little overboard. The rest of the issue deals with Kitty's feelings and Cyclops' battle with D'Spayre. Wolverine is shown as both a robotic sentinel and as an undead zombie in Cyclops' nightmares. But the real Wolverine doesn't make anymore appearances or apologize to Kitty who was only trying to survive after all.

April 1981
Spider-Woman 37
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Steve Leialoha





In a cameo in Spider-Woman he still doesn't apologize as they are still cleaning the damage but he at least calls her "Pun'kin" again and acknowledges her ability to take care of herself against a formidable adversary. Professor X spots Spider-Woman with Cerebro and sends a team to contact her. Wolverine isn't chosen for that mission.

Well troops that is all for this round, until next time!