Wolverine a Reader's Perspective Part 16

THE WOLVERINE!

Art by John Byrne


Chronological Wolverine facts as revealed to the reader part 16

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 perspective here is Logan's history, who he was, and how and when we learned it!

1980
KING-SIZE ANNUAL! X-MEN 4
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: John Romita Jr.





The X-Men celebrate Nightcrawler's birthday and apparently Logan likes to eat Turkey legs and doesn't like to sing.



Nightcrawler is seemingly killed when he opens a mysterious gift. Even Wolverine's heightened senses cannot detect a heartbeat.



Nightcrawler wasn't actually killed but was the victim of a mystic attack that separated his body and soul by sorcery as revealed by Dr. Strange. The X-Men are transported magically to a replica of Dante's Inferno to battle for the fuzzy elf's soul.



Storm is transmuted into a demon, Wolverine using his senses and knows the real Storm despite appearances.



Wolverine is no stranger to the Grim Reaper. Whether that is because he has been close to dying many times or because he has acted as an agent of Death sending many her way is unknown.



Wolverine is the one who officially recognizes Kitty Pryde as an X-Man.

Nov 1980
THE UNCANNY X-MEN 139
Writers: Chris Claremont and John Byrne
Penciller: John Byrne





The very first look at Wolverine's new costume the brown and tan, my personal favorite. It makes sense too because it is similar to the coat pattern of his namesake a real Wolverine.





Nightcrawler collides with Angel during a Danger Room sequence because Angel has not trained in awhile and is rusty. Nightcrawler, stunned, falls towards a pit of fire, but Wolverine quickly improvises a rescue using a wall panel he cuts out of omnium steel.



Wolverine is now a team player with the betterment of the team in mind. Former sour-puss Wolverine doesn't do lemonade.



We learn that when Wolverine was a special agent for the Canadian government it was as a member of their Secret Service.



Wolverine and Nightcrawler head to Ottawa, Canada and home of James MacDonald Hudson the Vindicator and his wife Heather Hudson. James and Heather had taken Logan in and given him a home when he was a "feral wild-child"*. Nightcrawler hears Wolverine's real name Logan for the first time and is the first X-Man to learn his name.

*See Uncanny X-Men 121 in Wolverine a Reader's Perspective Part 10 -NLogan



Wolverine considers the X-Men true friends and James and Heather were the only ones he had before them.



Wolverine and Nightcrawler head to the north country to see if they can help against the danger that is menacing the Canadian wilderness with Alpha Flight. Wolverine has skills in tracking. He recognizes the print of the Wendigo. We learn that his mission to repulse the Hulk from Canada was his first mission for Department H and his only failure.



We learn that during his fight with Hulk and Wendigo Wolverine became maddened with battle lust consumed by a berserker rage.



Wolverine traveled extensively outside of Canada as a secret service operative for the Canadian intelligence group Department H.

Dec 1980
MARVEL TEAM-UP SPIDER-MAN AND THE FANTASTIC FOUR 100
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Frank Miller





Wolverine is briefly seen in a cameo appearance in the danger room during a phone call to Xavier. It is a continuity insert albeit a minor one. Wolverine changed his costume to the brown and tan uniform one month prior. Because he is shown here in his yellow and blue striped costume it must take place prior to Uncanny X-Men 139, probably directly following King-Size Annual X-Men 4.

Dec 1980
THE UNCANNY X-MEN 140
Writers: Chris Claremont and John Byrne
Penciller: John Byrne





Angel, despite being welcomed back to the X-Men by Wolverine with an offer of helping him train together as a team, is opposed to Wolverine being a member. Professor Xavier considers Logan a good man and sees extraordinary potential in him. He views Wolverine as a future leader of the team.



Nightcrawler considers Wolverine's tracking skills formidable and about on par with the Wendigo's ability.



Wolverine researches his enemies.



Wolverine was found in the Canadian Rockies by the Hudsons. At the time he was sick, starving, frozen, and close to death, his healing factor must have been severely overtaxed. They loved him and he them. Wolverine considers himself a dangerous man to whom fighting is second nature. However he values a fair fight and because he has been turned into a killing machine with adamantium claws and skeleton he thinks that is impossible now. If you ever wondered what Logan looked like without sideburns well this is it. The first time ever shown clean shaven with a tie no less.

Wolverine accomplished all of the brutal and dirty but necessary assignments as a secret service special agent. It says he never forgave them for what they did to him (at this point we know they have invested considerable time and money training and developing him as a living weapon, does this infer to his adamantium bionic hardware? Or is this just referring to the type of solitary dangerous missions he was ordered to fulfill? He resents being made to kill (implied) for the government.



Early in Wolverine's life he learned to recognize the scent of death, and to differentiate between a living person and a dead one.



One of the legal definitions of Mayhem is to permanently deprive a combatant of a body part such as puting out an eye, cutting off an ear or nose, or permanently disabling or severing a limb. Mayhem is definitely Wolverine's game and he has the tools to do it with considering his razor sharp adamatium claws. Wolverine can feel a berserker rage building and can choose whether or not to suppress it. While in a berserker rage Wolverine's endurance allows him to perform at peak ability denying pain, fatigue, and everything else except the will to win overwhelming his opponents with a fury of combat moves compressed into a short time frame.



The fury of Wolverine's berserker rage is enough to temporarily stun and stop even invulnerable foes like the Wendigo. Wolverine's berserker rages are fueled by adrenaline, and when they fade fatigue sets in.



Wolverine can survive blows that would be instantly fatal to most and can absorb frightening amounts of punishment.



The narrator compares Logan's indomitable will and ferocity as the closest thing to the ferocity of his namesake. Snowbird upon transforming assumes the persona of whatever creature she becomes and if consumed by blood-lust can pose a threat as dangerous as that of the Wendigo to her friends.



Wolverine, using his affinity and ability to communicate with predators* is able to reach Snowbird's intellect by talking to her. Wolverine knows how Snowbird feels, Wolverine himself has faced the worst parts of himself and triumphed.

*See Wolverine a Reader's Perspective Part 8 where Wolverine communicates with Zabu a Sabre-toothed Tiger in Uncanny X-Men 116 -NLogan



Wolverine bore his soul to Snowbird, perhaps the first time he has to anyone. Possibly because he had found in her a kindred spirit in the moment. It has left a lasting impression on both of them.



Wolverine has killed as both a war-time soldier and secret agent. The only wars Canada was involved in for the last century at the time this was printed was the Korean War 1950-1953, World War II 1939-1945, the Russian Civil War 1918-1920, World War I 1914-1918, and the Second Boer War 1899-1902. Canada did not fight in the Vietnam War. We do not know which war Logan is referring to or have any indication of how old he is yet. Wolverine is skilled at combat and possibly assassination or at any rate killing.  He has medals and commendations from his service. Wolverine has his own code of ethics when it comes to combat and generally meets force with force and only escalates when necessary, he considers killing self defense. Even when forced to kill for the government that he regrets and does not forgive them for, it still falls under his code of ethics as forcing his hand threatening the people he is protecting (in this case Canadian citizens). The time he killed the guard in the Savage Land* also falls in this category as the X-Men who were captured were about to be sacrificed as Wolverine, Storm, and Nightcrawler raced to save them.

*See Uncanny X-Men 116 in Wolverine a Reader's Perspective Part 8 -NLogan

Until next time bub!