"I'm the best there is at what I do. And what I do isn't very nice."
— Wolverine
Weapon X. The Berserker. The Man with the Claws. The most famous X-Man.
The best there is at what he does.
The Wolverine comic books, published by Marvel Comics, are eponymously named for the main character, Wolverine. Wolverine's character page is here.
Wolverine (born James Howlett, also known as Logan, James Logan, and Weapon X) is a Marvel Comics superhero, known for his association with the X-Men; sharp, indestructible claws; berserker rages; managing to be in many places at once; having quite a few tropes named after him; and for being very, very popular. At times he's been the most popular Marvel Super Hero, which led to his tendency to... um... show up everywhere.
He first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #180 (October, 1974), making his true debut in the next issue as an adversary until the two teamed up to fight the Wendigo. Both issues were written by Len Wein and drawn by Herb Trimpe, though John Romita, Sr. is credited with the original design of the character. Wolverine would go on to join the X-Men the following year, with his true origins remaining ambiguously buried in a mishmash of false and real memories for decades, as his popularity skyrocketed. He would gain his own miniseries, and then his own title, and then spawned tonnes of characters based off of him, and then his own cartoon, then his own film trilogy, and even his very own anime. After that... well, then he was kind of everywhere... and still is. Even here on TV Tropes.
Please note that this page covers the Wolverine comics only, for tropes pertaining to all Wolverine media, and a list of comic storylines and other works in the franchise, see the franchise page.
Hey bub, ya prolly wanna check out the self-demonstratin' version of my page.
Wolverine provides examples of the following tropes:
open/close all folders
Wolverine original and ongoing series:
Vol. 1 (1982)
See Wolverine (1982)
Vol. 2 (1988–2013)
See Wolverine (1988)
Vol. 3 (2003–2009)
- Annoying Arrows: In issue #41, Logan, needing to get a small child to safety through a bunch of archers, chose to block them with his body and keep going. It worked, though he wasn't in very good shape at the end.
- Backstory: Issues #62-65, the "Get Mystique" arc, reveal how Wolverine met Mystique for the first time.
- Break Them by Talking: In issue #56, Wolverine has been imprisoned by the unusual method of throwing him in a pit and shooting him constantly so he'll be too busy healing to escape and he still manages to verbally break down the guy with the gun, who eventually lets Wolverine escape in the expectation that Wolverine will kill him.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: At the end of the story arc "Get Mystique", Raven, grievously wounded by Wolverine, begs him not to walk away without finishing her off. He ignores her, and walks away, leaving her to expire slowly and painfully, screaming and cursing at him (don't worry, she gets better).
- Story Arc:
- Issues #20-25 is the "Enemy of the State" arc: Wolverine is Brainwashed by HYDRA and set loose on the Marvel Universe at large.
- Issues #26-31 is the Immediate Sequel, "Wolverine: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.": SHIELD deprograms Wolverine from HYDRA's Mind Control.
- Issues #50-55 cross over with Wolverine: Origins in revealing the mastermind behind Wolverine's life of suffering and the idea of "lupine mutants".
- Issues #62-65 function as one epilogue to Messiah Complex: Cyclops orders Wolverine to get Mystique.
- Issues #66-72 is the storyline Old Man Logan, about Wolverine in devastated America in a Bad Future after the heroes died.
- Spin-Off: The title Wolverine: Origins is a spin off from this volume, following the arc "Wolverine: Origins and Endings" in issues #36-40.
Wolverine: Origins (2006–2010)
Wolverine: Weapon X
- Bedlam House: In issue #6, Wolverine is treated at Dunwich Sanatorium, in Wolverine Weapon X. The place used to be run by a crooked doctor who hired psychopaths out for untraceable mob hits and was then taken over by Dr Rot, a Mad Doctor/Mad Artist who makes Jeremiah Arkham look like Frasier Crane. (Dunwich was also a Lovecraft town.)
Vol. 4 (2010–2012)
- All Asians Know Martial Arts: Averted with a Lampshade Hanging in the storyline Goodbye Chinatown, when streetwise tagalong kid Yuen Yee ends up in the middle of a pitched battle between Wolvie, an ancient kung fu master, a talking gorilla, and a bunch of ninjas, yakuza thugs and giant dragons.Mook: You gonna show us your kung fu too, you little-
*Yuen draws a pistol and shoots him*
Yuen: Right. Because all Chinese know kung fu. You racist *#$@. - Big Brother Mentor: In issue #16, a reporter is going around asking people what they think of Wolverine. Jubilee says he's an amazing big brother. Kitty takes it a little further — she admits that she'll probably never get married because she always compares the guys she meets to Wolverine, and they never measure up.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: The series features Wolverine facing off against a group called the Red Right Hand, who hired mercenaries, joins forces with his greatest enemies and even make a Deal with the Devil trying to make his life hell. They turn out to be people who lost loved ones or had their lives ruined by him, directly or indirectly. All their backstories read like a Perspective Flip of one of Logan’s typical solo adventures, and he had probably never paid any of them any mind afterwards. Additionally, their team of mercenaries, the Mongrels, turned out to be the offsprings of his many forgotten flings.
- Escaped from Hell: In the first story arc Wolverine Goes to Hell, Wolverine has been sent to Hell. He managed to escape with the help of Alpha Flight member Puck, who was there for some reason. Puck ended up taking over Hell after he and Logan killed the Devil. He later gives up his position to get back to life and save his teammates.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Sabretooth delivered
◊ one◊ to him◊ in the last part of Killable. Even fans agreed it was one of the best Take That! moments a writer ever did indirectly, because much (if not everything) of the statement was absolutely true.
Wolverine and the X-Men
Wolverine: The Best There Is
- Bloodier and Gorier: The series does not shy away from showing Wolverine bleeding out himself and his enemies every other page.
- Body Horror: The series is also heavy with grotesque imagery, such as a person with a giant, overgrown brain on his head.
- Legion of Doom: The main enemies of the series are a group named the Unkillables, which is comprised of Marvel villains with healing factors.
- Mundane Utility: In issue #1, Wolverine uses his claws to create hairdos for the female clubgoers.
- Omnicidal Maniac: In issue #11, Contagion reveals his plan: develop a virus potent enough to kill anything on Earth, Heaven or Hell.
- Plaguemaster: Villain Contagion was basically the anthropomorphic personification of the very concept of disease, and at one point infected Wolverine with AIDS, Australian bat lyssavirus, Black Creek Canal virus, Camelpox, Dengue fever, Echovirus 9, Feline immunodeficiency virus, Hemorrhagic fever, the whole Influenza alphabet, Kaposi sarcoma, Kilham rat virus, Klongo, Marburg virus, Mengele virus, mumps, Oropouche, Parapoxvirus, Smallpox, Sowbane, Strain XV infection, Syphilis, Toxoplasmosis, UR2 sarcoma virus, West Nile virus, WVU virus 2937, Xenopus, and Zoysia mosaic virus all at once. His powers later go Beyond the Impossible as he gains the ability to do things like turn diamond into coal and make people allergic to their own thoughts, which he could also replace with his own using another virus.
Vol. 6 (2014)
See Wolverine (2014)
All-New Wolverine
Vol. 7 (2020–2024)
See Wolverine (2020)
Vol. 8 (2024-present)
Wolverine mini-series and limited series:
Kitty Pryde & Wolverine
- Backstab Backfire: In the final issue, Logan defeats Ogun and brings him to his knees, but spares Ogun's life and starts to walk away alongside Kitty. Ogun produces a knife and rushes at the two of them from behind. Wolverine notices in time to tell Kitty to use her phasing power, causing the knife to pass harmlessly through her. He then stabs Ogun with his claws, killing the villain.
Wolverine & Gambit: Victims
Origin
See Origin (2001)
Wolverine: Snikt
Death of Wolverine
Wolverines
See Wolverines
Return of Wolverine
Wolverine: Patch
See Wolverine: Patch
X Lives and X Deaths of Wolverine
Predator Vs Wolverine
Wolverine one-shots:
Spider-Man versus Wolverine
Wolverine: Saudade
- Small Town, Big Hell: The story is about the X-Man going to Brazil for vacation, where Wolverine's motorcycle is stolen by Street Urchins, one of them with a secret. All the story occurs inside the favelas, the ghetto section of Brazilian cities full of delinquency and poverty that work as separated towns inside the cities.
