History Characters / MarvelComicsLogan

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: He's got a body count to rival that of the Punisher, yet unlike Frank is very rarely depicted as a villain.

* {{Unobtanium}}: The adamantium coating Wolverine's bones is a very rare commodity. When a villain wanted to give it back to him after he lost it the first time, the metal had to be stolen from another person using adamantium at the time... [[{{Squick}} as his skin]].

* TameHisAnger: Wolverine tries to do this a lot, but it doesn't last. Notable examples include ''ComicBook/{{Origin|2001}}'', where Wolverine and his childhood friend [[PrecociousCrush Rose]] worked at a mine in British Colombia and Wolverine found peace and tranquility. That peace was interrupted when his half-brother [[BigBadFriend Dog]] caused him to inadvertently kill Rose. In ''ComicBook/Wolverine1988'', it's revealed that Wolverine had fallen in love with a Native American woman called Silver Fox and settled down. Sabretooth, [[GreenEyedMonster jealous of the peace Wolverine found]], killed Silver Fox.]]

** The ultimate example of this would be ''ComicBook/OldManLogan'', where a hallucinating Wolverine kills the X-Men (literally all of the X-Men), despite the fact that many of the X-Men should be able to mulch Logan without even trying, and have in other stories. It's explained that they were deliberately holding back to avoid killing him, except: a. between them they should have at least a dozen ways of restraining or incapacitating him non-lethally, and b. Wolverine is effectively immortal, so there's no reason for anyone to hold back against him.

* RetCanon: In ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'', set in the ComicBook/UltimateMarvel universe, Wolverine joins the X-Men with the mission to kill Charles Xavier. Mainstream Wolverine was retconned to have done the same in ''Wolverine: Origins'' #29. In his case, Xavier knew it all in advance, and simply altered his mind.

* RebelliousSpirit: In most continuities, he's clearly an anti-authoritarian loner. Averted in ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'', where Logan's a DrillSergeantNasty combat instructor. Even in the mainstream canon these days, he's now school headmaster.

* NinetiesAntiHero: Well, he really came in the '70s, but went on to fit just fine in the '90s, and beyond.

** The one thing the healing factor can't prevent is death by asphyxiation. This is alluded to in one issue of ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'' when Sabretooth tries to drown him. Years later, it's proven when [[spoiler:Wolverine kills his son Daken by drowning him]], and then even later when [[spoiler:Logan finally dies from suffocation after being buried in molten adamantium]]. That said, [[spoiler:both of them eventually recovered from these deaths.]]
** The ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'' version actually crosses over with AdaptiveAbility; not only can Ultimate Wolvie regenerate, he can actually reconfigure his body to survive until he heals over. Best displayed in ''Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk'', which proves the asphyxiation weakness doesn't work in the Ultimateverse: [[spoiler:when Logan is reduced to just a head, he mutates to be able to absorb oxygen and expel carbon dioxide directly through his skin. When Nick Fury puts his decapitated head into a vacuum for shits 'n' giggles, he goes into a life-sustaining stasis. Ultimate Wolverine's mutant power is theorized to be less "HealingFactor" and more "survive anything".]]

** Jimmy Hudson in the ComicBook/UltimateMarvel universe.

*** Also, from the first movie:
--->'''Rogue:''' When they come out...does it hurt?\\
'''Logan:''' Every time.

* CigarChomper: Until smoking became ''unbelievably'' uncool around the '90s, Wolverine was rarely without a cigar. Even now he still flaunts one in the movies.

** On the other hand, Magneto is this to Logan in both the comics and movies, as adamantium is very susceptible to magnetism and Magneto takes full advantage of this whenever they square off. The only way Logan can effectively fight him is to catch him off guard or when he's distracted, and even then that may not be enough, as Magneto proved when he ripped the metal off Logan's bones even after being badly hurt by Logan a couple of minutes earlier.

* PermaStubble: Wolverine always has a five o'clock shadow, though the movies have him pretty well cleaned up at times.

* BigScrewedUpFamily: Possessing the genes of Wolverine is a one-way ticket to Hell. His older brother scarred their mother with his bone claws, before dying suspiciously at the age of twelve. His true father murdered his cuckolded "father" in front of him, which led to him killing his father with his bone claws. As a result, his mother banished him from the Howlett estate, and then killed herself. Afterwards, Logan's half-brother (by his abusive biological father) attempted to kill him and instead caused him to inadvertently kill his childhood friend. Over the course of his long life, Wolverine has unknowingly fathered ''who knows'' [[ReallyGetsAround how many illegitimate children]], many of whom grew into crazed, soulless killers, and were sent to kill him, with him being forced to kill first, only later discovering who they really were. His legitamte son Daken is a {{manipulative|Bastard}} sociopath who enjoys toying with others for his own amusement, and even murdered his own adopted baby brother out of jealousy. His only true legacy are a line of physically and psychologically tormented girls, fashioned from his X chromosomes and shaped to become perfect assassins. Of those that survived to adulthood, X-23 two appear to have overcome their trauma]], while one has followed her destined role. The only member of his family that seems to be doing good with no trauma at all is the son he unknowingly fathered in the Savage Lands and hasn't seen since he was a baby.

* BigBrotherMentor: Despite his gruff exterior, Logan is actually pretty good with kids, and has a particular soft spot for troubled girls. He serves as a mentor to ComicBook/{{Rogue}} (in the films), ComicBook/KittyPryde, ComicBook/{{Jubilee|MarvelComics}}, ComicBook/{{X 23}}, Armor, and even helps set [[ComicBook/MsMarvel Kamala Khan]] in the right direction.

** The ''X-Men'' movies having the claws come out between his knuckles introduces new anatomical oddities.
*** The [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/loganarmxray.png X-ray of Logan's arm]] in ''Film/XMen1'' not only has the ends of the claws inside his hands, the implants are pushing his forearm bones far enough apart to dislocate them from his wrists.
*** In ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'', just after Logan receives the adamantium, [[https://youtu.be/-sqio1tiPGk?t=243 the brief X-ray scene of the claws extending]] shows them dislocating his forearm bones from the wrist and rearranging his wrist bones as they cut through the joint.

* ExpositionOfImmortality: Wolverine's HealingFactor means his age is hard to pin down. ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'' placed his childhood in 1845, and ''ComicBook/{{Origin|2001}}'' also put his early years in the 19th century, though 35 years later, in 1880. Both spend time exploring his earlier life, firmly placing the character in a time period at least 120 years earlier than the one he currently lives in.

** In [[Film/XMen1 the original X-Men film]] released in the year 2000, the X-Men are wary of any of their allies who show up from another room/location/etc., being that there is a near-flawless shapeshifter (Mystique) amongst them. When told to prove that he's himself and not Mystique in disguise, he deadpans to [[FireForgedFriends Cyclops]]: "You're a dick." Scott deadpans in return "Okay." It WAS a good tactic to prove his identity ([[RuleOfFunny and funny as well]]), but between the two of them, Logan had definitely been more of "a dick." He has a short temper and is extremely antisocial in the film, and is probably the reason that the [[HeadbuttingHeroes feud between Cyclops and himself]] started to begin with.

* AdaptationalProtagonist: In the comics, for decades Wolverine was a pivotal character of the rotating EnsembleCast of the main X-Men books, ''ComicBook/UncannyXmen'' and ''ComicBook/XMen''. Barring, of course, his own comic book series, sprung off the main books for his [[EnsembleDarkhorse popularity]]. Whenever there is an AnimatedAdaptation of the comics, it is almost always about the X-Men as a ''team'', with Professor Xavier, Cyclops, or Storm at the helm. For example, the premise of the 2009 cartoon ''WesternAnimation/{{Wolverine and the X|Men2009}}-Men'' is that the X-Men dissolve after a mysterious attack where Jean Grey and Professor Xavier disappear. Years later, it is up to Wolverine to [[PuttingTheBandBackTogether reunite the X-Men]] and step up as their de facto team leader. It's even {{lampshaded}} in the title who the (new) protagonist is supposed to be.

* TheLancer: Usually takes this role in whatever team he happens to be on at the moment. Attempts to break him out of this into taking the role of TheLeader full-on have been made in the last few years. See both ''Wolverine and the X-Men's'' TV show and comic book for example. Reception isn't stellar, to say the least.

* OneManArmy: He's always been this, but it was most pronounced in the 1990's cartoon and ''WesternAnimation/{{Wolverine and the X|Men2009}}-Men''.

* RebelliousSpirit: In most continuities, he's clearly an anti-authoritarian loner. Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Wolverine and the X|Men2009}}-Men'', owing to Logan and Scott's exchange of roles. Averted in ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'', where Logan's a DrillSergeantNasty combat instructor. Even in the mainstream canon these days, he's now school headmaster.

* SuperStrength: Yet another byproduct of his healing factor. Logan's muscles, bones, and connective tissue are all denser than those of a normal human, resulting in enhanced strength. In Logan's case this is even ''further'' augmented by his adamantium skeleton: Not only does he ''need'' to be stronger to lug around the 100 pounds of metal inside his body ever day, but because his bones are unbreakable, he doesn't have to worry about structural failure when he tries to lift things, as his bones won't break from too much weight, and he can utilize far more of his muscles' potential than would normally possible.[[note]]Human muscle is capable of exerting so much force that it can free from its attachments, if not outright breaking bones. Thus why people are capable of tremendous feats of strength in life-or-death situations that they wouldn't be able to do in every day life: adrenaline overrides those safeguards and allows the muscles to unleash their full potential.[[/note]]
** Wolverine himself has observed that his healing factor lets him push himself harder during workouts, as his muscles heal, recover, and grow stronger almost as soon as he's finished (the human body only uses 60-70% of it's full power to prevent it from destroying itself but James can ignore this). Since strength training means damaging muscles so as they grow back stronger, he can work out more often with faster benefits, with the fast regeneration meaning he can recover from training instantly and stay on peak physical condition with ease
** Something many don't know but people can't sustain adrenaline naturally for very long as it harms them so after using the fight or flight response it goes away quickly and the body needs time to recover but James continuously recovers so he can stay in an elevated fight or flight adrenaline state for extended periods of time.

* SupermanStaysOutOfGotham: ComicBook/{{Sabretooth}} tracks him down every year on his birthday and beats him to within an inch of his life. Despite being friends with some of the most powerful superheroes in the world, and knowing for a fact that his ArchEnemy would come after him on one specific day every year like clockwork, it never occurred to him to set a trap for Sabretooth or simply ask for backup.

* AdaptationalProtagonist:
** The protagonist of the original ''ComicBook/DaysOfFuturePast'' comic is ComicBook/KittyPryde, however, it's changed to ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} for the ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' movie. This is because Kitty was largely OutOfFocus for the X-Men film series, so the plotline wouldn't make as much sense to wider audiences if it was starring her. She is still the catalyst for TimeTravel in the movie.
** In the comics, for decades Wolverine was a pivotal character of the rotating EnsembleCast of the main X-Men books, ''ComicBook/UncannyXmen'' and ''ComicBook/XMen''. Barring, of course, his own comic book series, sprung off the main books for his [[EnsembleDarkhorse popularity]]. Whenever there is an AnimatedAdaptation of the comics, it is almost always about the X-Men as a ''team'', with Professor Xavier, Cyclops, or Storm at the helm. For example, the premise of the 2009 cartoon ''WesternAnimation/{{Wolverine and the X|Men2009}}-Men'' is that the X-Men dissolve after a mysterious attack where Jean Grey and Professor Xavier disappear. Years later, it is up to Wolverine to [[PuttingTheBandBackTogether reunite the X-Men]] and step up as their de facto team leader. It's even {{lampshaded}} in the title who the (new) protagonist is supposed to be.

* ExpositionOfImmortality: Wolverine's HealingFactor means his age is hard to pin down. The films of the 2010s have placed his childhood in 1845, and ''Origin'' also put his early years in the 19th century, though 35 years later, in 1880. Both spend time exploring his earlier life, firmly placing the character in a time period at least 120 years earlier than the one he currently lives in.

* TameHisAnger: He tries to do this a lot, but it doesn't last. Notable examples include ''Origin'' where Wolverine and Rose work at a mine in British Colombia and Wolverine finds peace and tranquility. That peace is interrupted when Dog kills Rose. Wolverine later meets a Native American woman called Silver Fox and they fall in love. Sabretooth, jealous of the peace Wolverine found, kills Silver Fox.

* ThatManIsDead: In ''Origin'', a young Logan gradually loses all memory of his life before going on the run, and angrily rejects his friend Rose's offers to tell him about his childhood and family, outright telling her that he's ''Logan'', not James Howlett.

** His ''Origin'' comic reveals that he increasingly preferred to hunt alongside a pack of wolves over spending time with other people as his powers developed and his memory worsened. After accidentally killing his FirstLove, Rose, the story ends with a naked Logan retreating into the wilderness with some wolves.

* CainAndAbel: While not siblings, he and Sabretooth share a closely connected past, were previously friends (to an extent) and were both "reborn" in the Weapon X program. He also has this with his actual half-brother Dog. Ironically, in the ''Origin'' story, Dog was strongly implied to be a young Sabretooth, but they are later shown to not be the same person. Dog is still alive and well after almost 133 years and ''really'' knows how to hold a grudge. Another version is this with his other half-brother John Howlett III.

* ExpositionOfImmortality: Wolverine's HealingFactor means his age is hard to pin down. The films of the 2010s have placed his childhood in 1845, and the ''Wolverine: Origins'' comic also put his early years in the 19th century, though 35 years later, in 1880. Both spend time exploring his earlier life, firmly placing the character in a time period at least 120 years earlier than the one he currently lives in.

* HasAType: Sleeps with women of all kinds, but if there's a redhead around, expect him to develop feelings for her. It is one of his defining personality traits, first with Rose from ''Origin'', then Heather Hudson from ''ComicBook/AlphaFlight'', and especially Jean Grey. In ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'', Mystique (who he is in a relationship with in this reality) says he has a fetish for redheads.

* MysteriousPast: He was introduced in 1974, but readers didn't learn his real name or family background until the ''Wolverine: The Origin'' miniseries published in 2001. We learned some of his backstory in 1991, when the ''ComicBook/WeaponX1991'' storyline revealed how he got his adamantium skeleton.

* TameHisAnger: He tries to do this a lot, but it doesn't last. Notable examples include ''Origins'' where Wolverine and Rose work at a mine in British Colombia and Wolverine finds peace and tranquility. That peace is interrupted when Dog kills Rose. Wolverine later meets a Native American woman called Silver Fox and they fall in love. Sabretooth, jealous of the peace Wolverine found, kills Silver Fox.

* VillainProtagonist: In the flashbacks of ''Wolverine Origins''.

* WorkingClassHero: In most stories where he isn't an active super hero or living as a wild animal, Logan prefers a low-key, blue-collar lifestyle, usually as some kind of manual laborer and hanging out at the local bar. His origin story revealed him to have worked in a stone quarry for most of his adolescence.

* ''ComicBook/{{Snikt}}'' (2003): A miniseries written and drawn by Creator/TsutomuNihei

!!!'''Affiliations:''' ComicBook/XMen, ComicBook/AvengersAcademy

!!!'''Nationality:''' Canadian

!!Wolverine provides examples of:

[[folder:A-H]]
* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Those pointy things sticking out of his hands. In the first issue of his first solo series, Logan's inner dialogue describes them as "honed so keen they'll cut through anything" and in ''X-Men'' #1, Cyclops jumps all over him for popping his claws in Prof. X's face to "tag" him at the end of the Danger Room exercise which starts the issue, saying "[a] wave of [his] hand could pass them through solid steel".

* ArtEvolution:

*** His claws came out of the backs of his hands behind his knuckles (see the page pic).
*** The claws were either thin blades or roughly cylindrical and tapering to ''really'' sharp tips, more like true animal claws. The former was more prevalent in the '90s but really depended on the artist, while the latter was especially prevalent in the '70s and '80s, as well as in ''Weapon X'' and ''sans'' adamantium.
*** He had chutes for his claws installed in his hands during the late 80s/early 90s.

* BadassAndChildDuo: So much it's a RunningGag. "Child" is sometimes overstating it, but all of his well-known sidekicks are adolescent girls who he can both trade snark with and act [[PapaWolf violently protective of]]. If it ain't broke... How much of a running gag is it? Well when his time displaced [[ComicBook/OldManLogan future version]] ends up in the present, he immediately forms this relationship with the time displaced teen Jean Grey.

* BattleCouple: His alternate self is this with Hercules in ''X-Treme X-Men'' volume 2.

* TheBear: A heterosexual example in the mainstream Franchise/MarvelUniverse. Played straight (or not) in ''X-Treme X-Men'' volume 2.
* BeardOfSorrow: Grows one after he is tricked into killing his children.

* BigBrotherMentor: Despite his gruff exterior, Logan is actually pretty good with kids, and has a particular soft spot for troubled girls. He serves as a mentor to Rogue (in the films), Kitty Pryde, Jubilee, X-23, Armor, and even helps set Kamala Khan in the right direction.

* BigScrewedUpFamily: Possessing the genes of Wolverine is a one-way ticket to Hell. His older brother scarred their mother with his bone claws, before dying suspiciously at the age of twelve. His true father murdered his cuckolded "father" in front of him, which led to him killing his father with his bone claws. As a result, his mother banished him from the Howlett estate, and then killed herself. Afterwards, Logan's half-brother (by his abusive biological father) attempted to kill him and instead caused him to inadvertently kill his childhood friend. Over the course of his long life, Wolverine has unknowingly abandoned several children, all of whom (that we know of) grew into crazed, soulless killers, five of whom he killed (not knowing who they were), Daken one of whom murdered his own adopted baby brother out of jealousy]]. His only true legacy are a line of physically and psychologically tormented girls, fashioned from his X chromosomes and shaped to become perfect assassins. Of those that survived to adulthood, X-23 two appear to have overcome their trauma]], while one has followed her destined role.

* BladeBelowTheShoulder: Those claws.
* BlessedWithSuck: His powers come with a number of drawbacks.

*** One issue of ''ComicBook/XForce'' graphically highlighted this fact, with Wolverine repeatedly popping and retracting one claw while stewing over something... and a small spurt of blood with each SNIKT!
*** In the ''Weapon X'' standalone story, the metal chutes his claws extend through are surgically implanted in his hands because of the damage the claws did the first time he extended them.
*** In ''Wolverine'' #75, his first time popping his claws after Magneto [[ComicBook/FatalAttractionsMarvelComics pulled out the adamantium]] was a gory mess, and was ''excruciatingly'' painful. Afterwards, he had to keep his hands constantly bandaged to deal with bleeding from the holes made by the claws, and the pain, while not as bad as that first time, was still a ''lot'' worse because the HealingFactor wasn't working (see its entry below). He still kept it up, though...
---->[''Logan pops his right claws while he and Jubilee are talking'']\\

** His enhanced senses may seem like a cool thing to have, but most people would probably crack up from having to process that level of constant sensory input 24/7.
** His healing factor is equally effective at healing mental trauma as well, which sounds good until one realizes this is a key reason why Logan's suffered from many bouts of amnesia. His body heals traumatic memories like it does physical injuries, which is by erasing them.
** On a somewhat lighter note, having an adamantium-infused skeleton means Wolverine really ought to stay out of the water since the huge amount of added weight and the reduced buoyancy means he'll sink like a rock, which poses an extra problem since suffocation is on a very short list of things that can definitively kill Logan.

** Literally everything surrounding Magneto ripping the adamantium out of Logan's skeleton.
** His noseless phase. After his body rejected a second adamantium infusion, he instead devolved into a feral animal. His teeth became fangs, his nose receded back into his face, his eyes became pupil-less dots and his body hair grew into full-on fur in some places.

* BreakoutCharacter: More popular than the entire team he is a part of.

* CartwrightCurse: One of the most egregious illustrations of the saying "Being paired up with a badass never ends well for a woman". Wives, fiances, girlfriends, girlfriends he hadn't been dating for years but happened to hook up with again. Dating Logan 9 times out of 10 will result in your horrible death... except for Yukio [[spoiler:and she's now a paraplegic]].

* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: These days, you can pretty much tell what team he's working with at the moment by the color of his uniform. Blue and yellow means he's acting heroic and working with the X-Men and/or the Avengers. Dull gray and black means that he's doing X-Force work (and you should probably get out of the way).

* ConspicuousGloves: In his early appearances, Wolverine had his claws attached to his gloves. Once they were said to come out of his hand, his gloves had slits to accommodate their extension.

* DependingOnTheWriter: How big a jerk he is and how powerful his healing factor is.

* EnemyWithin: He constantly struggles to keep his natural animalistic rage from taking over his humanity. The best he can generally manage is to reconcile the parts of his humanity with his beastlike nature.

* HatesBaths: Mostly depends on the writer, but it has been said that he does not bathe often and Wolverine himself went on a diatribe about how much he dislikes being in water due to how he can easily drown.

** Averted during the "no adamantium" arc; having the metal ripped out of his body over-stressed the healing factor and killed it for a few months of story time. When it finally came back, without the adamantium to slow it down, it essentially overclocked, allowing Logan to at one point completely recover from being ''run over'' in a matter of seconds but slowly causing him to revert to a more bestial state. This was taken to an extreme when Cable's evil son Genesis tried to re-implant the adamantium. Logan's body explosively rejected the adamantium, and when he was fully healed he was a monstrous subhuman.
** Creator/ChrisClaremont, in particular, was ''very'' careful to avert, invert, subvert and otherwise keep this trope from giving Wolverine the effective immortality that he often seemed to have. In one issue, Wolverine is poisoned and badly stabbed by the Silver Samurai, and it's implied that he's risking his life to [[HeroicSacrifice let Rogue absorb his healing powers]] because he is so badly hurt. In another issue, Mystique demonstrates that a slit throat will kill Wolverine before his healing factor has a chance to kick in [[spoiler:(it's being played with there, though, because it is one of Arcade's replicas being killed, and Arcade may not know the full extent of Wolverine's powers)]].

** The one thing the healing factor can't prevent is death by asphyxiation. This is alluded to in one issue of ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'' when Sabretooth tries to drown him. Years later, it's proven when [[spoiler:Wolverine kills his son Daken by drowning him]], and then even later when [[spoiler:Logan finally dies from suffocation after being buried in molten adamantium]].
* HeelFaceTurn: His first appearance was as an antagonist to the Hulk, after which he just dropped off the face of the Earth for a few months, only to randomly pop up as a member of the new X-Men the year after.

* HeroicSacrifice: The eponymous ''ComicBook/DeathOfWolverine'' happens because [[spoiler:Logan cuts open a pipeline of liquid adamantium that was going to be pumped into another unfortunate victim, saving them from ending up like him. The pain of the heated metal is insane, and, after [[KarmicDeath killing Abraham Cornelius]], he suffocates in the adamantium shell, satisfied with what he had done in his life]].
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Nightcrawler and Colossus, [[OddFriendship of all people]]. For a time, had a mix of this and LikeAnOldMarriedCouple with Cyclops before tensions flared up again. Oddly enough, he is this less frequently with Gambit, the X-Man with whom he has the most in common with. A good example of how close he and Nightcrawler are is that that Kurt can crash in the notoriously anti-social Wolverine's apartment uninvited, and Logan will come home and not bat an eye. And of course there is Logan's emotional reaction to Kurt's death.

[[folder:I-Z]]

* IdenticalGrandson: Grows up to look exactly like his biological father Thomas Logan. This was used as a RedHerring in the ''Origin'' story, with readers initially being lead to believe that Thomas' other son Dog was the young Wolverine.

* ImmuneToBullets: Subverted; he can be ''hurt'' by getting shot, but the adamantium and healing factor make being ''killed'' by getting shot pretty much impossible. From the first issue of his first solo series, after taking several bullets to the torso from an AK-47:

* InformedAbility: His martial arts prowess has become this in modern continuity. 9 times out of 10 we only see him wildly flailing his claws around, something which requires no skill. Wolverine can't seem to make it out of a fight unscathed and is very dependent on his healing factor. Back when he was first introduced--and could be killed by slitting his throat or stabbing him in the heart--this was less of the case, and he appeared far more competent.
* InformedFlaw: While Logan's short height is a well known trait that gets brought up every now and then, some artists have depicted him as looking more or less of average height, especially after Hugh Jackman landed the role on the silver screen.
* IronicName: Creator/ChrisClaremont conceived of the name Logan as an ironic reference to Wolverine's height. The name Logan was inspired by Mount Logan, the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest peak in North America. "The idea was the tallest mountain being the name of the shortest character."

* KickTheDog: Whenever (since he's done it a few times) he tries to kill a teenager, or anyone for that matter, under the excuse that its for the "greater good", tend to come off as this. Especially in ''All New X-Men'' when he decides to take out his anger and hatred of Cyclops and bullies the Past!Cyclops, vocally blames him for [[spoiler:Xavier's recent death]], and publicly humiliates him by threatening to kill him and encouraging someone to give him reason not to and, given how the X-Men still hate him for [[spoiler: killing Xavier]], ''no one'' steps up to stop him, at most looking on disapprovingly (making it a major KTD moment for all the X-Men too), so it continues until Kid!Cyclops tearfully calls him out until finally he's told off by Storm and Beast.

* {{Omniglot}}: Wolverine has been shown to be at least conversant in about a dozen languages, including one extraterrestrial and two Native American.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: He's most commonly known only as Logan, with it being the only name he himself knew for a long time. It took almost three decades until his real name was revealed to be James Howlett, with Logan being the last name of his biological father, Thomas.
* PapaWolf: Regarding Jubilee and Kitty Pride, most notably, but young girls in general bring this out in him...''God help you'' if you do anything to harm them. It's been suggested this is one of the reasons why Logan makes no effort to conceal his identity as Wolverine. Most heroes, like Peter Parker have close family they need to protect, so concealing their identity is necessary. Others, like Reed Richards have no need, because their loved ones are just as powerful. In Logan's case? Given his typical stance on killing, it's just [[BerserkButton not good]] [[CurbStompBattle for your health]] [[FateWorseThanDeath to try and harm]] [[PayEvilUntoEvil his loved ones]], so in his case, people knowing he's Wolverine ''is'' the best protection he can provide.

* PaperThinDisguise: His "Patch" alter ego; his disguise was basically just an eyepatch over one eye. In the '80s, Jessica Drew called him out on how blatant the Patch disguise was, and that no-one wanted to be the first to point it out lest they get stabbed in the face.

* PermaStubble
* PetTheDog: Logan gets this from Lady Deathstrike in one issue during the "no adamantium" arc, when she learns the metal's gone.
-->[''Logan retracts his claws, letting Deathstrike see him bleed from the holes in his hands'']\\
'''Deathstrike:''' You're...still bleeding. But your healing factor--\\
'''Logan:''' It's pretty much used up. As good as gone.\\
[''Deathstrike hesitantly brushes Logan's forehead with one finger'']\\
'''Logan:''' [''internal''] For the first time in years, she reaches out to touch me... and the touch is gentle.

* PlatonicLifePartners: With Psylocke. Formerly with Storm as well, before their RelationshipUpgrade in 2013.
* PopularityPower: Uh, well, [[ComicBook/MarvelVersusDC he beat Lobo]]. LOBO. THE GUY WHO FIGHTS ON EVEN FOOTING WITH SUPERMAN. The IRL reason he lost is because the winners were determined by readers' votes, and Wolverine got more.

* ARealManIsAKiller: Subverted. Whilst he is indeed very manly by traditional definitions, and a killer, Logan himself has significant ethical reservations about killing ''per se'' and he strongly condemns the killing of innocents. Indeed, his CatchPhrase of "I'm the best there is at what I do, and what I do isn't very nice" was originally meant to express his own self-doubt about the morality of his actions. In short, Logan ''rejects'' the trope even if he technically fulfills its requirements.
* ReallyGetsAround: Being over a hundred years old, he has a long list of lovers and one-night stands. He's fathered numerous children because of it.

* RebelliousSpirit: In most continuities he's clearly an anti-authoritarian loner. Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Wolverine and the X|Men2009}}-Men'' owing to Logan and Scott's exchange of roles. Averted in ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'', where Logan's a DrillSergeantNasty combat instructor. Even in the mainstream canon these days, he's now school headmaster.

* SuperDrowningSkills: A LogicalWeakness of his metallic bones is that he's too dense to float (despite which he's been shown floating on numerous occasions, and is frequently depicted as being a strong swimmer). Drowning is said to be one of the few things that could kill him.

* SuperStrength: Not touched on directly and more subtly alluded to but some of the things James does physically should not be possible for a normal well trained man. His adamantium skeleton means that he doesn't have to worry about structural failure when he tries to lift things (his bones won't break from too much weight), His healing ability means that muscle tearing heals almost as fast as it's inflicted (the human body only uses 60-70% of it's full power to prevent it from destroying itself but James can ignore this and the fast regeneration mean he can recover from training instantly and stay on peak physical condition with ease), and something many don't know but people can't sustain adrenaline naturally for very long as it harms them so after using the fight or flight response it goes away quickly and the body needs time to recover but James continuously recovers so he can stay in an elevated fight or flight adrenaline state for extended periods of time.

* UnbreakableBones: The iconic comic book example with his metal-laced skeleton.

* UnstoppableRage: Whenever he goes into Berserker mode... which tends to happen a lot.

* WallCrawl: By poking his claws into surfaces and climbing.

* WeaksauceWeakness: Water. Because of the 100 lbs of metal encasing his skeleton, he sinks like a rock in water. It's also worth noting that asphyxiation is one of very few things that his healing factor can't really do that much about.

* WeUsedToBeFriends: Growing up, his best friend was the groundskeeper's son, Dog Logan, who was secretly his half-brother. However after everything that went down when they were teenagers, not to mention the fact that Dog hunted the now adult Logan down seeking revenge, which led to the accidental death of Wolverine's first love Rose, Dog Logan's hatred for Wolverine is very much reciprocated.

** From Logan's first appearance through the [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks 90s]], the following were pretty consistent:

* CanadaEh: Though whether the writers do anything with it tends to vary.

* LogicalWeakness: Because his skeleton is coated with adamantium (which is metal), he has a hard time swimming because the adamantium greatly reduces his buoyancy, meaning that he can easily drown which is one of the few actual ways to kill him without disabling his HealingFactor, and two, its ferromagnetism makes Logan weak to magnetic fields, meaning that Logan can easily be taken out by magnetic traps and Magneto can easily toss him around.

* AbusiveParents: His true father, Thomas Logan, was a complete bastard who mercilessly beat his son Dog and murdered Logan's legal father John while attempting to kidnap his mother after getting fired because Dog assaulted his friend Rose and killed Logan's dog.

* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: Wolverine has enough similarities to ComicBook/{{Batman}} that one could make this argument. When Marvel and DC collaborated to produce the ComicBook/AmalgamUniverse, combining their characters for fun, Wolverine and Batman fused to become "Dark Claw".

* AnimeHair[=/=]HotbloodedSideburns: Logan's standard look since his introduction has been a swept-back mane-like hairstyle that comes to prominent points on the sides of his head, combined with muttonchop sideburns. During Adam Kubert's run as artist of the self-titled comic in TheNineties, the combination was so long that he almost did have an actual mane; in newer works his hair tends to be a more realistic length while keeping the same style. ''Living Between Wednesdays'' actually did an [[https://web.archive.org/web/20090507145542/http://www.livingbetweenwednesdays.com/?p=1409 analysis]] of the various aspects of Wolverine's hair.

** Is slowly becoming this with both Hercules and Thor, due to all three's shared long life spans, love of battle and love of drinking. Amusingly, he really wishes it wasn't happening with Herc, who remains blithely convinced that it's inevitable.