THE WOLVERINE!

Art by John Byrne


Chronological Wolverine facts as revealed to the reader Part XI

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!

June 1979
THE UNCANNY X-MEN 122
Writers: Chris Claremont and John Byrne
Penciller: John Byrne





Wolverine is worried about his friend Colossus and decides to sabotage the controls to give him some incentive.



Wolverine admits he is a rule breaker and has always been. We also see for the first time that Wolverine not only considers the X-Men friends but he considers them a family, and that he never had one before.



It seems he also has some ability in mechanical/electrical repair.



Wolverine is an adept driver. He also learns that Mariko is in New York.



July 1979
THE UNCANNY X-MEN 123
Writers: Chris Claremont and John Byrne
Penciller: John Byrne





Logan is dating Mariko and is falling hard in love with her. No kiss yet at the end of the date since he had company. Uh four's a crowd guys, you mind getting lost and giving the runt and the lady some privacy, huh bubs?



The X-Men are captured by Arcade's goons using nerve gas. They are placed in a giant pinball machine and shot into Murderworld. They find themselves against an array of traps and devices. Wolverine ends up against Arcade's instant android fun house mirror distorted replicas of himself.



Sometimes Wolverine's heightened senses are a liability. He recognizes Colossus even in armored form.



Although Wolverine knew who was in the shadows he had no way of knowing that Colossus had been brain-washed by Arcade and sent to kill them.

Aug 1979
THE UNCANNY X-MEN 124
Writers: Chris Claremont and John Byrne
Penciller: John Byrne





For the third time we see as a reader that Wolverine has unbreakable bones* this time spelled out for us in the form of Cyclops' thought bubble as he worries about the impact of Colossus' throw splattering him against the wall.

* The first time was in Incredible Hulk 181 when Hulk hurls down Wolverine with bone-shattering force and he bounces right back up and continues fighting, the second was in the Uncanny X-Men 116 when he tells Storm after being bitten by a dinosaur that "the beast ain't been born that can break my bones". See Wolverine a Reader's Perspective Parts I and VIII- NLogan



We see that Wolverine's heightened senses can distinguish a hologram from the real thing.



Wolverine faces and scrags an android Hulk and wishes it was the real thing for a rematch.



1979
KING-SIZE ANNUAL! X-MEN 3
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: George Perez





Wolverine can move faster than the eye can follow. During a battle in an out of control Danger Room (again?! I know, right? It happened in Uncanny X-Men 106 and 110 ) Wolverine says, "Hey, this my kinda roughhouse, boss. We should do it more often." Cyclops thinks to himself, "It figures. We're all about to be pulverized, and Wolverine's having the time of his life."



There is another reference to Wolverine's unbreakable bones.



Wolverine (whom we've seen fixing the Danger Room control panel, see above in Uncanny X-Men 122, and Nightcrawler who has been learning how to fix the Blackbird from Banshee) are tasked with fixing a machine built by Mr. Tony Stark the Iron Man way back in Avengers 76. Wolverine calls himself a tinkerer and doesn't think he is up to the level of electronic sophistication of the device. Unglaublich is German for incredible. The hairy runt and the fuzzy elf pull it off though.

That's all for this episode folks, until next time bub!