Relive the long (and complicated) life of Logan, AKA the mutant known as Wolverine! From a first SNIKT! to his X-Men intro, here are the pivotal comic stories that complete his backstory in chronological order.
The late 19th century, Alberta, Canada. Meet James Howlett, a sickly boy with as many dark secrets as family money. After his father is murdered by a cruel ruffian named Thomas Logan, James’ mutant powers manifest—and bony claws emerge from his hands in a rage. After committing his first murderous act, James flees the life he knew with his companion, Rose, destined to wander until he settles on a new home and name.
On the lam once more, the man formerly known as James Howlett (now going by “Logan”) has retreated to the wilderness as a member of an actual wolf pack. More animal than human, Logan’s curious nature garners the attention of ringmaster Hugo Haversham. Following his capture (and torture) as a circus sideshow, Logan meets Nathaniel Essex, AKA Mister Sinister, and lifelong nemesis Sabretooth!
Igniting a feud that would last over a century, Victor Creed, AKA the savage mutant Sabretooth, senselessly kills Logan’s love Silver Fox at the turn of the 20th century.
In a now-classic issue, Wolverine meets Captain America in the summer of 1941 when the two are pulled into a fight against the Hand’s ninja warriors. Madripoor, the most laissez-faire locale in the Marvel Universe, is an important destination in the life of Wolverine, and was a prominent setting in Logan’s second solo series, WOLVERINE (1988). Read more stories from its shores in MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS (1988) #1-10.
In 1940s Japan, Logan rebuilds his life and falls in love with a woman named Itsu, who becomes pregnant with their son. Tragically, ancient wolf-warrior Romulus cuts the baby from her womb, murdering Itsu and pinning the blame on the Winter Soldier. Logan has no clue that Romulus is responsible for key events in his life, and is shocked to learn decades later that the son he believed dead is very much alive.
Prior to acquiring his Adamantium, Logan was a commando on a super-powered black ops unit called Team X. Comprised of Sabretooth, Silver Fox (the original resurfaced or an imposter), Maverick, and teleporter John Wraith, Team X worked under military orders to snuff out international threats. Including Soviet super-weapon Omega Red, as recalled in X-MEN (1991) #4-7!
Read through issue #84. The definitive origin of how Logan gained his inorganic skeleton and fully became “the Wolverine.” Drugged, kidnapped, and exploited by a shadowy enclave sanctioned by the government, the tenth candidate of the “Weapon X” program was transformed into an Adamantium-laced berserker and a ghost of a man. But Weapon X failed to predict the outer limits of “Experiment X’s” animalistic rage...
Wiped of his memories (and humanity) by the Weapon X project, a completely feral Logan is discovered by future Alpha Flight leaders Heather and James Hudson in the wild. The soon-to-be Super Hero couple went on to rehabilitate Logan, before recruiting him as a super-powered agent of their Canadian cause.
In 1974, creators Len Wein and Herb Trimpe unleashed the Wolverine on the world of Marvel Comics! While canonically his first appearance, Logan’s backstory expands far beyond this issue where he fights (then assists) the Hulk in a battle against the Wendigo.
Taking his place with the Children of the Atom, Wolverine joins an international team of X-Men under the leadership of Professor Charles Xavier. While not a natural team player, the loner Logan develops a tight bond with his teammates including Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus.
In his first solo adventure, creators Chris Claremont and Frank Miller take Logan back to Japan. But the vacation is interrupted when he discovers that his love, Mariko Yashida, has been married off by her criminal father. When Shingen humiliates Wolverine, the hero drowns himself in beer, brawls, and the arms of assassin Yukio. But betrayal strikes, and Wolverine rescues Mariko from the trap drawn around them both.