History ComicBook / Wolverine

* SelfMutilationDemonstration: Logan isn't above harming himself or allowing himself to be harmed, either for intimidation purposes or as a way of externalizing his emotional pain. He's pinned his arm to a table with a knife and then picked the table up with that same arm to freak people out, and allowed a biker to punch him in the face with brass knuckles, making a show of re-setting his jaw and eyeball afterward.

** The Big Crunch story arc (Vol. 2 #51-3) starts with Logan picking up a woman at a local bar. Jubilee follows him and finds him at a motel...and is shocked to find ''Jean Grey'' coming out of the motel room. She returns to the Westchester mansion, dejected, until she sees ''Jean Grey'' jogging around the mansion, doing her morning workout. Jubilee is ecastatic, embracing Jean, realizing that whoever Logan was with it was someone she could "punch in the nose". [[note]]It was Mystique.[[/note]]

* BreakoutVillain: His archnemesis Sabretooth used to be a minor Comicbook/IronFist villain.

** Back in the day, he would mock Comicbook/WonderMan for constantly pining over Comicbook/ScarletWitch, a married woman who showed no sign of viewing him as anything but a friend. Yeah, [[Comicbook/JeanGrey that'd be real pathetic]], huh Logan?

** His relationship with ComicBook/{{Storm}}, back when it was platonic, has always been this.

%%* PlatonicLifePartners: With Psylocke. Formerly with ComicBook/{{Storm}} as well, before their RelationshipUpgrade in 2013.

** His [[TheRival rival]] is Comicbook/{{Cyclops}}, a man with EyeBeams powerful enough to crack open a tank. Realistically, every fight between them should be over in a few panels and end with Scott standing over a smoking and unconscious Logan.[[note]]In fact that’s exactly what did happen whenever they fought back in TheSeventies before Wolverine’s fandom completely took over the company[[/note]] However, because Marvel don’t want to show their patron saint of badassery get destroyed by a man generally seen as boring at best and a whiny prick at worst, Wolverine typically leaps right back to his feet after taking blasts that can knock the side off a mountain, or in some especially egregious moments, holds his claws up in front of his face and just walks into them like they’re a stiff breeze.

* RelationshipUpgrade: With ComicBook/{{Storm}} following the annulment of her marriage to the ComicBook/BlackPanther. Whether they're an OfficialCouple or just FriendsWithBenefits was never completely established.

* 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.

He first appeared in ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'' #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 [[BreakoutCharacter popularity skyrocketed]]. He would gain his own miniseries, and then his own title, [[WolverineWannabe and then spawned tonnes of characters based off of him]],[[WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen2009 and then his own cartoon]], then his [[Film/XMenOriginsWolverine own]] [[Film/TheWolverine film]], [[Film/{{Logan}} trilogy]], and then... well, [[SpotlightStealingSquad then he was kind of everywhere...]] [[WolverinePublicity and still is]]. [[SelfDemonstrating/{{Wolverine}} Even here on TV Tropes]].

He first appeared in ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'' #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 [[BreakoutCharacter popularity skyrocketed]]. He would gain his own miniseries, and then his own title, [[WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen2009 and then his own cartoon]], [[WolverineWannabe and then spawned tonnes of characters based off of him]], then his [[Film/XMenOriginsWolverine own]] [[Film/TheWolverine film]], [[Film/{{Logan}} trilogy]], and then... well, [[SpotlightStealingSquad then he was kind of everywhere...]] [[WolverinePublicity and still is]]. [[SelfDemonstrating/{{Wolverine}} Even here on TV Tropes]].

''For tropes pertaining to'' ComicBook/AllNewWolverine ''please see that page or ComicBook/{{X 23}}.''

** In the comics, for decades Wolverine was a pivotal character of the rotating EnsembleCast of the main X-Men books, ''ComicBook/UncannyXmen'' and ''ComicBook/AdjectivelessXMen''. 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 2008 cartoon ''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen'' 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.

* TheCowl: Subverted. Wolverine has been called "Franchise/{{Batman}}, sans the subtlety".

* PermaStubble

* PlatonicLifePartners: With Psylocke. Formerly with ComicBook/{{Storm}} as well, before their RelationshipUpgrade in 2013.

* VillainProtagonist: In the flashbacks of ''Wolverine: Origins''.
* VitriolicBestBuds
** Whenever he's with Cyclops and Gambit.
** Does this a bit with Spidey too.
** ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} thinks of himself as this by way of being listed (even in Website/ThatOtherWiki) in Logan's RoguesGallery.

* WouldHitAGirl: Logan generally detests violence against women, but that goes out the window when it comes to the women in his RoguesGallery and other similarly lethal female opponents. Lady Deathstrike, the Viper, Lady Mastermind, Mystique, and even ''Rachel Summers'' can attest to that. Averted with Storm, although she saw during one of their blowups in the 80s that he was prepared to thrown down with her if that's what it came to.

* DubPronunciationChange: His name is pronounced as "vol-veh-Ree-nee" in Brazilian Portuguese dubs.

* HauntingTheGulity: Alluded to when Jubilee has Reno and Molochai, the hitmen who'd killed her parents, at her mercy. Wolverine tells her that one "paff" [[note]]The sound-effect/name of Jubilee's plasma fireworks [[/note]] to the brain stem and they'd be dead and it would seem like a regular heart attack, aside from two fairly healthy men experiencing it at the same time. Jubilee protests.

* HauntingTheGulity:* Alluded to when Jubilee has Reno and Molochai, the hitmen who'd killed her parents, at her mercy. Wolverine tells her that one "paff" [[note]]The sound-effect/name of Jubilee's plasma fireworks [[/note]] to the brain stem and they'd be dead and it would seem like a regular heart attack, aside from two fairly healthy men experiencing it at the same time. Jubilee protests.

* AchillesHeel:
** While it normally isn't touched on, there is one fatal flaw to Wolverine's HealingFactor: Because of the way memories are formed, if Wolverine's brain were damaged in a specific way, he would be an amnesiac when he recovered. Youtube user The Film Theorists explains in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUT6nET1yjo this video.]]
** It's also been touched on that he has a strong fear of deep water, as the weight of his adamantium-laced skeleton makes it impossible for him to swim. There's a great deal of DependingOnTheWriter at play here.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/death_of_wolverine_4_land_final_wolverine_variant.png]]

** 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.

* AnimalThemedSuperbeing: He might seem like he is based off actual wolverines at first glance since he has enhanced senses and claws, but those are very generic animal traits. His claws pop out of the back of his knuckles, which does not happen in the animal kingdom. Then, you get into his metal skeleton, HealingFactor, and the fact that his blue and yellow striped costume does not resemble a wolverine at all. Some later made attempts to change this a bit to various degrees of success. Wolverine is more "animal symbolism" than anything; his power-set invokes the wolverine's reputation as an extremely tough and aggressive creature that can basically shred whatever it's going after.

* CatchPhrase

** ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} thinks of himself as this by way of being listed (even in Wiki/ThatOtherWiki) in Logan's RoguesGallery.

** Is slowly becoming this with both [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules Hercules]] and ComicBook/{{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.

** He once got into a fight with ComicBook/WonderMan, who is one of Marvel’s heavy hitters, yet also kind of a second tier character and not exactly a mainstream name. Typical comic book logic would suggest a brief, fairly even skirmish. Simon delivered an absolute beating to Logan, with every hit sending him flying. Wolverine was utterly helpless, never got a shot in or even managed to pop his claws. The fight is eventually broken up by ComicBook/{{Thor}}, who is actually in Wonder Man’s weight class, but it does realistically depict how a fight would actually go between a man of above average but relatively normal physical capabilities whose primary offensive move is stabbing; and someone orders of magnitude stronger, who by his very nature is immune to being stabbed, and, given that his opponent would be fine in a few hours anyway, would feel no obligation to hold back.

* WorldsBestWarrior: Wolverine isn't the best soldier (that would be ComicBook/CaptainAmerica), he's not the best fighter (that's split between ComicBook/IronFist and Shang-Chi), he's not the WorldsStrongestMan (that's usually ComicBook/TheHulk) and he's not a PersonOfMassDestruction or PhysicalGod. However, he ''is'' [[JackOfAllTrades good enough to put up a fight against all of that]], making him one of the MU's most dangerous men.

*** The [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/1/16696/717394-wolverineshand.jpg 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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLiNyglOyJY the X-ray graphic of the claws extending]] shows them dislocating his forearm bones from the wrist and rearranging his wrist bones as they cut through the joint.

* AwkwardStoplightMoment: Issue #47 of his second solo title revolves around a drug user who snaps and goes on a killing spree, with Logan as more of a background character for most of it. Near the climax, as Logan is on his motorcycle at a stop light, the killer pulls up beside him in his car. Already drunk and ramped up on adrenaline from his previous kills, as well as armed and with stolen money in the seat beside him, the killer starts freaking out as he looks at Logan, seeing that he's not someone to mess with and wondering if he's a cop.
* BackstabBackfire: In the final issue of the ''Kitty Pryde & Wolverine'' limited series, Logan had defeated Ogun and brought him to his knees. He spared Ogun's life and began to walk away alongside Kitty. Ogun produced a knife and rushed at the two of them from behind. Wolverine noticed it in time to tell Kitty to use her phasing power, causing the knife to pass harmlessly through her. He then stabbed Ogun with his claws, killing the villain.

* BadassBiker: Logan is this in general. It becomes a plot point in one issue of the first self-titled series when a paranoid, drugged-up murderer stops by Logan at a traffic signal. He starts eyeballing Logan, and freaks out because he can see that Logan isn't one to be messed with.

*** In ''Wolverine'' #75, [[https://i.pinimg.com/564x/24/70/33/247033382c0ec967e9d1316b2141710a.jpg his first time popping his claws after Magneto 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 than normal because his HealingFactor was so overstressed that it had stopped working. He still kept it up, though...

** [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/e/e4/Wolverine_Vol_2_48.jpg Logan's spiky, freakishly distorted body]] in the fever dream-like memories of his handling by the Weapon X program, as depicted in ''Weapon X'' and his self-titled series.
** Magneto [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/d/d9/James_Howlett_(Earth-616)_and_Max_Eisenhardt_(Earth-616)_from_X-Men_Vol_2_25_0001.jpg ripping the adamantium out of his body]] in ''X-Men'' #25 left him looking like a grotesque meld of a pincushion and a melted candle.
** [[https://s.ecrater.com/stores/428338/5a978bbf6ed7e_428338b.jpg Wolverine's "feral" form]] that he devolved into in ''Wolverine'' #100, which had elongated, barbed claws, a warped face with the nose shrunken to little more than slits, diminished height, bulging muscles, exaggeratedly hairy arms, hunched back, and Sabretooth-like clawed fingernails and fang-like canines. Picture Wolverine as somewhere between a troll and a caveman, and you have the basic idea.

* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: In ''Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk'', the Hulk [[http://comicsmedia.ign.com/comics/image/article/667/667856/ultimate-wolverine-vs-hulk-20051117010529051-000.jpg rips Logan in two at the waist]]. Not only does Logan survive, he crawls up the mountain he's on to find his legs.

** [[http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2015/06/ANADMarvel2_June5-2-a.jpg X-23]] in the ''All-New All-Different'' Marvel Universe following the conclusion of ''ComicBook/{{Secret Wars|2015}}''.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Sabretooth [[https://shadowandflamewithmagik.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/wolverine-v4-13-kitty-1.jpg delivered]] [[https://shadowandflamewithmagik.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/wolverine-v4-13-kitty-2.jpg one]] [[https://shadowandflamewithmagik.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/wolverine-v4-13-kitty-3.jpg to him]] in the last part of ''Killable''. Even fans agreed it was one of the best TakeThat moments a writer ever did indirectly, because much (if not everything) of the statement was absolutely true.

* ShootTheDog: Subverted. In the issue mentioned under BadassBiker above, the killer's wacked-out behaviour causes Logan to associate him with a rabid dog, which for some reason makes Logan unable to kill him, shown as flashbacks to him being unable to put down a rabid pet dog when he was young. [[spoiler:After Logan retracts his claws, the killer is shot dead by a female police officer. In talking with her, Logan reveals at the end of the issue that Silver Fox took the gun from him and shot the dog herself.]]

** The Big Crunch story arc (Vol. 2 #51-3) starts with Logan picking up a woman at a local bar. Jubilee follows him and finds him at a motel...and is shocked to find ''Jean Grey'' coming out of the motel room. She returns to the Westchester mansion, dejected, until she sees ''Jean Grey'' jogging around the mansion, doing her morning workout. Jubilee is ecastatic, embracing Jean, realizing that whoever Logan was with it was someone she could "punch in the nose". [[note]] It was Mystique. [[/note]]
** Wolverine, Rogue, and Jubilee go the Savage Land to investigate rumors of Magneto being there. Separated from the others, Jubilee runs afoul of some native tribes in the Savage Land, and manages to best them in combat. When Logan meets up with her again on the Blackbird, he's informed that the people of the tribe mistook her for a boy and tried to betroth her to one of their princesses.

** Wolverine, Rogue, and Jubilee go the the Savage Land to investigate rumors of Magneto being there. Separated from the others, Jubilee runs afoul of some native tribes in the Savage Land, and manages to best them in combat. When Logan meets up with her again on the Blackbird, he's informed that the people of the tribe mistook her for a boy and tried to betroth her to one of their princesses.