Alternate versions of Wolverine
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As a fictional character, Marvel Comics's Wolverine has appeared in a number of media, from comic books to films and television series. Each version of the work typically establishes its own continuity, and sometimes introduces parallel universes, to the point where distinct differences in the portrayal of the character can be identified. This article details various versions of Wolverine depicted in works including Marvel Comics Ultimate line, What If?, television and film.
[edit] Age of Apocalypse
In the "Age of Apocalypse" story arc, the Wolverine/Logan character is again a member of the X-Men, this time using the code-name Weapon X rather than Wolverine. In this reality the events which saw the character's Adamantium ripped out have never occurred, and it is Magneto that helps him to control his feral rages. Consistent with the main characterisation, this version is also shown to be a loner, his back story presenting him as an unwilling recruit to the X-Men. He reconsiders after meeting the team's telepath, Jean Grey, with the two eventually becoming lovers.[citation needed]
Logan trains Magneto's newer recruits to the team, including this realities version of Shadowcat. The character is tasked to train the character as an assassin, a task kept secret from the rest of the team. Weapon X teaches Shadowcat everything he knows, crafting a pair of claws similar to his own for her with the aid of Magneto.
One of the main differences between Weapon X and the Earth 616 Wolverine is that Weapon X's left hand is missing and he has a number of red-stripped facial and head tattoos. The hand was blasted off by the Prelate Scott Summers, a villain in this universe, when Weapon X tried to rescue Jean from Mr. Sinister. He succeeded and gouged one of Summers' eyes out in return. Not willing to return to the X-Men, Logan and Jean worked on their own.
After months of guerrilla warfare, they were contacted by Sinister who revealed Apocalypse's plan to attack the humans in Europe. Logan and Jean delivered this information to the Human High Council and learned of the Council's plan to launch nuclear missiles on America to stop Apocalypse. Logan supported this plan but Jean did not, for the indiscriminate destruction it would cause. The two confronted each other about it, with Jean coming to believe that Logan would even kill her in order to stop her from possibly warning Apocalypse about the plan. In the end, Jean was killed by the Prelate Alex Summers because of her growing relationship with Scott Summers. Seeing Jeans death and taking multiple wounds to his good arm, he popped his claws, still housed in his forearm with his missing hand, killing Alex.
Logan's relationships with some of his old enemies are different in the Age of Apocalypse universe, such as Sabretooth being his ally instead of his nemesis. In the recent 2005 mini-series of the Age of Apocalypse, Logan learned from Magneto that Jean is still alive, but mind-controlled by Mr. Sinister. Eventually, the X-Men face Sinister and manage to bring Jean back, and she and Logan become lovers again. Logan also learns that he now has a "daughter" of some-sorts in the form of the X-Man Kirika, who can be compared to X-23. Kirika's mother is revealed to be Mariko Yashida, Logan's former lover.
[edit] Counter Earth
In the Onslaught Reborn mini-series, the Wolverine of Counter-Earth is revealed to have been masquerading as that Earth's version of Hawkeye.
[edit] Days of Future Past
In this alternate reality the X-Men fail to prevent the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly, which results in Sentinels ruling the United States of America by 2013 AD. Mutants fall one by one at the hands of the Sentinels, until only Wolverine, Storm, Colossus and Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat) are left. They are confronted by a group of Sentinels and Wolverine lunges at one, ready to slice off the Sentinel's head, but his flesh is burned off by the Sentinel's hand laser. Wolverine seemingly dies and his charred Adamantium skeleton falls onto the ground. Later on in the Earth X: Heralds storyline, Wolverine is revived by X-51's machine.
[edit] Earth X
According to the information in the Earth X miniseries Paradise X: Heralds, the second child of the Howletts died in childbirth and the Howletts found and adopted an infant member of the Moon Clan, a bestial race which has co-existed with humanity for hundreds of thousands of years. This Clan, which is also dubbed wolf clan, were mortal enemies of the Bear Clan, to which Sabretooth belongs. Supposedly, it is this Moon Tribe child who was named James Howlett and would grow up to become Wolverine explaining the enmity between Wolverine and Sabretooth in this alternate reality.
It is also revealed that this seemingly divergent sub-species is in fact what the "true" human species would have become if not for the Celestials' intervention and genetic tampering.
[edit] Exiles & Weapon X
Another version of Wolverine, originating from Earth-172, was revealed by Sabretooth to have joined an alternate, more sinister version of Weapon X in the Exiles series. At some point in Weapon X's travels, this version of Wolverine was killed. Like other fallen members of the Exiles and Weapon X, his body was stored in a stasis wall inside the Timebreakers' crystal palace before he was sent home to his own timeline to be cremated by his loved ones.
Issue #85 and #86 followed the adventures of several Wolverines from different timelines gathered in an attempt to stop a mutant known as Brother Mutant, a being with the combined powers of Wolverine, Magneto, Quicksilver, Scarlet Warlock (a male version of the Scarlet Witch) and Mesmero. Different teams of Wolverines were gathered and each fell to the hypnotic powers of Brother Mutant. The last team of Wolverines was comprised of Patch, an alternate version of the zombie Wolverine featured in the miniseries Marvel Zombies, Albert & Elsie-Dee, Weapon X, a young James Howlett and the Days of Future Past Logan. When most of this team fell before Brother Mutant's followers, Logan and James Howlett were able to contact the Timebreakers and convinced them to gather the original Exiles to help defeat Brother Mutant.
Numerous other alternate reality versions of Wolverine appear in those issues as well, some of them being hybrids between Wolverine and main Marvel continuity characters (Thing/Wolverine, Hulk/Wolverine, Deadpool/Wolverine, etc).
Issue #91-94 shows Wolverine as an agent of HYDRA which he leads together with the Invisible Woman, with whom Logan has a relationship.
[edit] Guardians of the Galaxy
In the alternate future of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Wolverine's adamantium skeleton is reanimated and controlled by the brain of Doctor Doom. Additionally, one of the villains appearing in the series is Wolverine's great-great-granddaughter Rancor, who is obsessed with her ancestor. Rancor comes to rule a human colony, which had been founded by Wolverine and other mutants, hundreds of years ago. She came from a long lineage, all claiming ruler ship by relation to Wolverine. Most were murderous tyrants.
[edit] House of M
Although another reality, the Wolverine of House of M is the 616 Wolverine, retaining his memories from the old reality, including his untampered past. After the House falls, he retains these memories. The House of M Wolverine was a head operative of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Red Guard, and had an affair with Mystique.
[edit] Here Comes Tomorrow
In Here Comes Tomorrow, set 150 years in an alternative future, Wolverine is part of group fighting against a version of Beast possessed by Sublime. This version of Wolverine is killed when Beast artificially gives himself the powers of the Phoenix Force and turns off Wolverine's healing factor, before beating him to death. This future is averted by Jean Grey.
[edit] Marvel Mangaverse
In the Marvel Mangaverse reality Wolverine, not Charles Xavier, formed the X-men (Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Mirage and Jean Grey forming the core of the group, with Rogue living with them).
Wolverine has one set of long metal claws--most likely adamantium and shaped like katanas on his left hand, and another set, on his right hand, composed of red energy (like Cyclops's optic beams) and shaped like lightsabers. Wolverine has incredible strength (He is clearly stronger than the Spider-Man of the manga reality who is not even superhuman). He has white hair (it is later changed to black in the new mangaverse) and a strange tattoo on his face, possibly meant to be the Greek symbol Omega.
In this reality, he and Cyclops are brothers. Wolverine cost Cyclops one of his eyes, while it is hinted that Cyclops cost Wolverine one of his hands. (This seems to be why one of Wolverine's sets of claws is energy while the other is metal. Throughout this story with the exception of a pair of panels, Wolverine was depicted with two flesh and blood hands, but his right hand had claws of energy, not adamantium. The flesh and blood appearance of both hands continued in the final issue of the first arc of Mangaverse). He is also hinted to have had a relationship with Jean Grey, who had begun to favor Cyclops.
In the New Mangaverse, Wolverine is one of the only mutants to survive the Hand / SHIELD bio-engineered virus targeting mutants thanks to his healing factor. Jean Grey's rejection of him has clearly left him with some issues since he said he had a thing for redheads and flirts with Spider-woman (Mary Jane Watson) in New Mangaverse #2. It is clear that his advances are unwanted and that Mary Jane is scared of him. When Logan grabs her, Spider-man becomes angry and tries to fight him but proves to be no match for Wolverine and it is ultimately the Black Cat that stops him. He flirts with the Black Cat throughout the New Mangaverse miniseries, saying "I've always been a sucker for a girl with a nice set of... CLAWS." It is also hinted that at some point in the past he was Lady Deathstrike's lover.
In the New Mangaverse, Wolverine teams up with the Black Cat, Captain America (Carol Danvers), Iron Man, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman (Mary Jane Watson), and The Torch (Jonatha Storm, Sioux Storm's half sister, this reality's Human Torch) to fight the Hand (some of the organization's more prominent members being Lady Deathstrike, Elektra, Silver Samurai, Sunfire, and a (brainwashed) Sharon Carter).
[edit] Marvel Zombies
In the alternate Marvel Zombies universe, Wolverine is one of many heroes who become infected by the zombie virus. He is infected when Colonel America and Hawkeye bite him on the arms. For reasons unexplained, the virus prevents his healing factor from working. He, along with other zombies, attempt to slay the Silver Surfer. Wolverine attacks the Surfer but his body is decayed so much that his arm is torn apart, as his adamantium bones are a lot stronger than his flesh. Eventually, Wolverine and the other zombies are successful in killing and eating the Surfer. As a result, he and the others gain the Silver Surfer's cosmic power and devours Galactus, becoming one of the creatures collectively known as The Galacti.
Currently, the Marvel Zombies are attacking a Skrull planet, only to encounter the Fantastic Four of the 616 reality - currently consisting of Black Panther, Storm, the Thing and the Human Torch, leaving the Zombies eager to capture the FF and transport back to their reality. He also appears in Marvel Zombies 2.
[edit] MC2
In the alternate future known as MC2, Wolverine and Elektra are married and have a daughter named Rina Logan, who inherits her father's healing factor and senses and possesses "psychic claws" which resemble Psylocke's telepathic "psychic knife". She becomes a superheroine called Wild Thing. Wolverine also has a son, Sabreclaw (Hudson Logan), with another woman.
During the events of Last Hero Standing, Wolverine is among the heroes kidnapped by Loki as part of his plan to bring about the end of the Age of Heroes.
[edit] Spider-Man Unlimited
Spider-Man Unlimited (a comic based on the Spider-Man Unlimited animated series) introduces a bestial version of Wolverine in #5.
[edit] Ultimate Wolverine
- See also: Ultimate X-Men
Wolverine appears in comics published under the Ultimate Marvel banner, particularly Ultimate X-Men. Within this continuity the character is depicted as an assassin for Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy. The character is shown within the series as being assigned the task of infiltrating the X-Men to assassinate Professor Xavier. As the series progresses, Wolverine discovers acceptance, purpose and love as a member of the team.[issue # needed] The character enjoys a sexual relationship with team-mate Jean Grey, which she dissolves upon discovering his connection to the Brotherhood. Wolverine eventually betrays and attacks Magneto, abandoning his initial mission and joining the X-Men outright.[issue # needed]
Much of this version of Wolverine's history is still unknown. It has been revealed in the Ultimate X-Men/Ultimates crossover miniseries through claims made by Captain America that Wolverine serves in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II as Corporal James "Lucky Jim" Howlett. This storyline also establishes within the continuity the character's invisibility to radar. This is shown to be due to the modifications made by Weapon X. The Weapon X records on Wolverine have been shown to have been destroyed by Sabretooth, the writers presenting these as being the only record of his past.[issue # needed]
Further changes within this continuity include the character of Cable being established as a future version of Wolverine.[1] He has lost his healing factor[2] and sports a bionic arm. He travels from an undetermined point in the future to the past in order to kill Professor Xavier.
After the X-Men team is disbanded[3], Bishop invites Wolverine to join a new team of X-Men focussing on taking the fight to the enemy. Wolverine accepts,[4] but during the course of the storyline it is revealed that Bishop is working with Cable. Wolverine stabs Bishop and leaves him for dead.[5] In the Apocalypse arc (Ultimate X-Men #91), Wolverine's arm is ripped off and his healing factor was apparently absorbed by Apocalypse. It is unknown whether he will regain his healing factor or will become Cable in this timeline, although the cover to Ultimate X-Men #92 suggests he will regain it as he is shown with two arms.
Ultimate Wolverine makes an appearance in the video game Ultimate Spider-Man, as the first boss faced by Venom.[citation needed]
The most visible difference between the Ultimate Wolverine character and that of the character in the Marvel Universe continuity is physiological. The Ultimate Wolverine is shown to be taller, with a leaner muscular build. The character has also been presented as immune to mind-reading abilities, his back story involving brain washing which the creators have used to establish this immunity.[issue # needed] He is most commonly represented as amoral.
[edit] What If?
In an alternate reality, Genesis is successful in his attempt to re-implant Adamantium into Wolverine's skeleton, and Wolverine becomes Apocalypse's Horseman of Death. He kills Apocalypse and every single supervillain. Death is hunted by superheroes when he begins to kill common criminals. When Wolverine disappears, a superhuman police force called the Death Watch forms to protect the public from The Enemy, as Wolverine is now dubbed, while the Wolf Pack, a gang of criminals, becomes a cult of sorts, inspired by Wolverine's violent tendencies. Secretly, Wolverine seeks redemption and calls himself Brother Xavier.[6]
In What If? #74, Wolverine also becomes lord of the Vampires while battling Dracula. Only Frank Castle, the Punisher, can vanquish these undead beasts.
[edit] Wolverine: The End
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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Wolverine: The End. (Discuss) |
In this non-canon series by writer Paul Jenkins and artist Claudio Castellini purporting to be Wolverine's last adventure, Logan is an old man living in the Canadian wilderness making a modest living selling animal pelts. His only friend is a sixty-one year old man called George, who has been delivering Logan's groceries since he was a child. Though Logan has aged incredibly slowly, it seems that the long, long years have finally started to catch up with him. Though still faster than a normal man, he isn't as fast as he used to be and has trouble keeping up with the animals he hunts due to arthritis in his hands. His claws no longer work properly and one of them has even been broken off. Logan knows that, despite his healing factor, he will die soon. He doubts his own sanity and his memories, including the Weapon X program. This doubt is exacerbated by the spirit of Professor X, who lives on (in diminished capacity) in Logan's mind.
One day, Wolverine is invited to the funeral of Victor Creed, also known as Sabretooth. After denouncing Sabretooth's faith in God as a fear of death, Wolverine receives a letter from Creed's attorney. He has George drive him to an ancient and destitute mansion in Alberta. After quickly walking through the mansion, George notices that a crest above the fireplace is the same as on the letter given to him by Creed. Wolverine finds the grave of John Howlett and a book entitled Ghosts of Japan: Lost Rituals of the Kanaguri. Someone had left the book on the grave earlier that day, knowing that Wolverine had lived both in Japan and in that region of Alberta. Paranoid, Wolverine goes to a port on the West Coast and stows away on a ship headed for Japan. Before he leaves, he has George go back to his home, asking him to check a stack of magazines in his cabin, saying "one of them ain't right. It ain't...me, if ya follow".
While working as a galley assistant on the voyage to Japan, Logan reads Lost Rituals of the Kanaguri, and learns that it is a factual account of a supposedly extinct evil Shinto sect. When he arrives at his destination, he breaks up a Kanaguri ritual. He asks the participants if they are working for Weapon X. The leader of the group declares his allegiance to the White Ghost, before being killed by a shadowy figure. Logan follows the figure up the mountain, where he is attacked and left for dead. Just before Logan passes out, the White Ghost says, "I could have killed you, old man. Any time in the last two hundred years, I could have killed you."
Back in Canada, George sifts through the magazines. Among Popular Mechanics and Custom Bikes, he finds an issue of Wine Lover. George recognizes the title is an anagram of "Wolverine". A note in the magazine gives George the login information to access Logan's computer. George finds instructions from Wolverine and is given the location of a large amount of cash, which he is to use to purchase a list of items. He is told to keep whatever money is left over as a tip (a joke that refers to a conversation in the first issue of the series, in which George complains that in fifty years of grocery deliveries, Logan has never given him a tip).
In Japan, Logan awakes. He discovers that the White Ghost is none other than John Howlett Jr., his brother, presumed dead during Logan's childhood. He is a mutant, with Logan's claws and healing factor, but also the power of invisibility and intangibility (similar to Shadowcat). He used these in a successful career as a spy, which in combination with his share of the Howlett fortune, has made him rich. He became involved in the Weapon X program and watched Logan all through his life. He promises to tell Logan everything as soon as he completes his scheme: to teleport an atomic weapon into the atmosphere over Las Vegas. With this act, the American economy will collapse, and mutants will ascend in the resulting chaos. They struggle, falling out of a window. As they land, John is impaled on Logan's claws. With his dying breath, he tells Logan he's sorry that he doesn't have enough time to tell him about Rose. John dies in Logan's arms, just as Japanese attack helicopters arrive with orders to destroy the compound and all its occupants, Logan included.
[edit] Wolverine: Snikt!
In this comic by Tsutomu Nihei, Wolverine is sent into an alternate future, arriving there by the hand of the humans of that age in need for a weapon to fight against a race of engineered viruses that grow up to be sentient beings, and who can only be destroyed with adamantium. Though whether this is the future of the Marvel universe or whether it is a crossover into another universe is not completely made clear. This is mainly because Marvel has so many alternate futures and universes, making it difficult to place this particular world within them.
[edit] X-Men: The End
In the alternate future of X-Men: The End, Wolverine is caring for a crippled Storm and has given up his life as an X-Man. However after being attacked by a Warskrull, Wolverine and Storm return to the X-Men only to find a crater where the mansion stood. Wolverine along with Rachel Summers, X-23 and a few others were sent to find out what happened to Cable and his team. Wolverine and Jean Grey/Phoenix meet up again. Jean helps Logan break free of the Lady Mastermind and later helps him heal. They are shown as lovers.
