Wolverine: Why is he so popular?

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Feeling feeble here. Tried included symbols to show Wolvie's haircut as far superior to Guy's.

scamperingalpaca (Chris Hill), Thursday, 13 October 2005 01:49 (eighteen years ago) link

I never thought I'd see the day when somebody said Guy Gardner was "cool"!!!

Guy just wouldn't be the same without the "ernie" hairdo!

iodine (iodine), Thursday, 13 October 2005 01:55 (eighteen years ago) link

Miguel got that right. GG wouldn't be the same without the "ernie" hairdo.
Besides, I think what caused GG to stop being cool was the whole retconning origin / vuldarian warrior thing, which made a perfectly good character convoluted and difficult to comprehend.

Wolverine, on the other hand, and despite all the false memories / origin / blah blah blah is a character that's been kept relatively simple and his core characteristics have been the same for years, that contributes to his enduring appeal.

Amadeo (Amadeo G.), Thursday, 13 October 2005 03:33 (eighteen years ago) link

Isn't there some sort of weird macho appeal going on with his "healing factor" also (and was this and its terminology stolen from some older SF material? I know Claremont used to do that occasionally)? You can beat the crap out of him but he *will* always get up again and get you back-- scales better into the average teenage boy's psychology than being invulnerable to bullets (more a fantasy for teenage nerds who feel vulnerable to everything)?

Chris F. (servoret), Thursday, 13 October 2005 05:20 (eighteen years ago) link

Yeah, he def. has that ultimate masochist thing going. Couple that with the fact that he's the baddest-ass around then add that he's short and has funny hair and you've got a major teen-goober identification figure. (I'm throwing that psychobabble term around way too much lately. Better find some other gobblegook to latch onto.)

Austin Still (Austin, Still), Thursday, 13 October 2005 05:30 (eighteen years ago) link

I like how Morrison took Wolverine's healing power to its logical extreme of making him an immortal who's more powerful than the Sun.

Old School (sexyDancer), Thursday, 13 October 2005 14:06 (eighteen years ago) link

But there are some obvious ways of getting around it - throw him into space, bury him in concrete...

Ray (Ray), Thursday, 13 October 2005 14:41 (eighteen years ago) link

Was it Morrison who had him toss of a reference to being buried in an avalanche for months and living off strips of his own regenerating flesh?

Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 13 October 2005 15:16 (eighteen years ago) link

Something that kind of highlights the absurdity of a healing factor. Have Wolverine and The Beyonder ever been seen in the same room?

Ray (Ray), Thursday, 13 October 2005 15:22 (eighteen years ago) link

Was it Morrison who had him toss of a reference to being buried in an avalanche for months and living off strips of his own regenerating flesh?
-- Jordan (jordan...), October 13th, 2005. (later)

That can't be right. Surely that breaks the second law of thermodynamics? Yeah, like that matters.

And in the real world Logan & Jean Grey would have been shagging like a pair of nymphomaniacal rabbits with unlimited access to supplies of V1aGra.

Which probably makes him fairly popular with a certain type of fanboy...

Stone Monkey (Stone Monkey), Thursday, 13 October 2005 15:44 (eighteen years ago) link

Wolverine stole his hairdo from Simon Stagg.

Huk-L (Huk-L), Thursday, 13 October 2005 18:06 (eighteen years ago) link

Though if Wolverine has an infinite healing factor, why does he even need to eat his own flesh to survive? If he doesn't eat, his muscles atrophy and blood thins and whatever the hell else not eating does to your body, but then the healing factor kicks in and everything goes back to normal. He shouldn't need to eat, drink or breathe, because he can't do any permananent damage to his body.

Ray (Ray), Friday, 14 October 2005 07:43 (eighteen years ago) link

Er, that's the second law of thermodynamics again. Even if he has healing powers, he should need some external energy source to power those powers.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Friday, 14 October 2005 09:23 (eighteen years ago) link

(That's assuming his healing power is biological in nature rather than created by some mystical energy field or something.)

Tuomas (Tuomas), Friday, 14 October 2005 09:25 (eighteen years ago) link

Sure, he should have to get the energy from somewhere, but this is obviously an essentially magic power (like most mutant powers) where energy is coming from nowhere. My point is that, even ignoring the energy issues, there is no reason why Wolverine should eat himself to avoid starvation, and then recover the bits he's bitten off, rather than just recover the damage from starvation directly. It doesn't make any sense, even taking into account the fact that his power doesn't make sense.

Ray (Ray), Friday, 14 October 2005 09:51 (eighteen years ago) link

I'm guessing that Wolverine, along with all the other mutants, is powered by zero point energy.
It would explain a few things.

Personally I've always thought that Forge's powers were the coolest. But that's probably because I'm a bit weird.

Stone Monkey (Stone Monkey), Friday, 14 October 2005 10:43 (eighteen years ago) link

He was able to order drinks when he was 17? A power that would have some appeal to teenagers...

Ray (Ray), Friday, 14 October 2005 10:50 (eighteen years ago) link

TS: Forge vs Cypher

The Ghost of Black Elegance (Dan Perry), Friday, 14 October 2005 12:57 (eighteen years ago) link

But, probably, eating has become a pyschological necessity for Wolverang, so even though he doesn't need to do it for PHYSIOLOGICAL reasons, his mind will fret itself silly if he don't get some grub-a-dub-dub in his adamantium belly. Just like Silver Age Superman didn't NEED to sleep, but often did, because, y'know, he was already in his pyjamas.

Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 14 October 2005 13:49 (eighteen years ago) link

He was able to order drinks when he was 17? A power that would have some appeal to teenagers...

Oh come on, every other teenage girl has that power... It's called make-up and cleavage.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Friday, 14 October 2005 13:50 (eighteen years ago) link

TS: Forge vs Cypher

Let's see -

Forge - had a cool robot hand, could build a tank out of crisp packets like the A Team, boned Storm

Cypher - could speak Estruscan and boned Warlock

I would say Forge, though it was quite interesting to have Cypher as a superhero with a superpower that is absolutely no good in a Fite

Mark C (Markco), Friday, 14 October 2005 14:31 (eighteen years ago) link

I like Cypher a lot more than Forge - he's just a more appealing character for one, and his power makes more sense than Forge's, which I think is too broad and ill-defined, not to mention totally wasted on building guns and holographic apartments.

Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Friday, 14 October 2005 15:25 (eighteen years ago) link

BKV used Forge to great effect in Mystique!

Leeeeeeeeee (Leee), Friday, 14 October 2005 17:48 (eighteen years ago) link

Isn't the easiest explanation for the whole "eating yourself" nonsense that Wolverine likes to make up crazy stories?

The Yellow Kid, Friday, 14 October 2005 17:52 (eighteen years ago) link

Isn't the easiest explanation for the story that the writer flunked all his science classes?

Chris F. (servoret), Saturday, 15 October 2005 18:03 (eighteen years ago) link

Are we seriously talking about the second law of thermodynamics as it pertains to a universe where there's a dude who generated copies of himself every time someone punches him too hard?

The Ghost of Black Elegance (Dan Perry), Sunday, 16 October 2005 17:24 (eighteen years ago) link

Why not?

Einstein: "Then again, e=mc^2 may only be a local phenomenon."

William Paper Scissors (Rock Hardy), Sunday, 16 October 2005 17:30 (eighteen years ago) link

The thing is, you just accept the powers as they are until the writer tries to explain them. Wolverine can regenerate any damage - okay, he just can, fine. Wolverine can regenerate damage because he's full of tiny nanomachines - hmm, okay, if you say so (but then what about X, and Y...). Wolverine can regenerate any damage so he can eat his own arm to stop from starving? That's just silly.

Ray (Ray), Monday, 17 October 2005 07:47 (eighteen years ago) link

three months pass...
From the list of Comic Urban Legends here. I didn't know this. Think of how they could have wrapped Bova into his romantic past!

COMIC URBAN LEGEND: Wolverine was initially intended to be a genetically mutated wolverine.

STATUS: True

Initially, not only was Wolverine to be a mutated Wolverine, he was also supposed to be a teenager, just like the rest of the X-Men! It wasn't until Dave Cockrum first drew Wolverine without a mask that everyone realized that Wolverine was not as young as the other X-Men. Said Wein, at the time, "You just put thirty years on that guy."

In addition, according to Len Wein, “The adamantium claws were [only] in the gloves when I first created the character. And the claws were retractable. They were telescoping, and they would fit back in the casing of the gloves.”

As for the "mutated Wolverine" part, check out X-Men #98. A technician gets a reading on Wolverine that suggests he is not a full-fledged mutant. This was because Wein's initial intentions were to make Wolverine an evolved wolverine, courtesy of the High Evolutionary.

Chris Claremont soon took over writing the book full-time, and he went his own way with the character, but imagine...what could have been?!?

(Wein quotes courtesy of The X-Men Companion, 1982)

scamperingalpaca (Chris Hill), Friday, 3 February 2006 17:23 (eighteen years ago) link

Whoops. There's a better link to the original article.

scamperingalpaca (Chris Hill), Friday, 3 February 2006 17:25 (eighteen years ago) link

That Comics Urban Legend thing is R-A-D.

Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 3 February 2006 17:48 (eighteen years ago) link

Agreed! Had no idea about some of the stuff - like Milgrom getting fired for the anti-Harras art addition, or the editor scorning Liefeld's art on that Hawk & Dove issue. I'd thought all the anti-Liefeld scorn was backlash driven by fanboys.

scamperingalpaca (Chris Hill), Friday, 3 February 2006 18:02 (eighteen years ago) link

Editor scorning the what now? I thought the only urban legend related to Liefeld and that H&D mini was that the job had to be saved by the inker? Or does "it had to be saved" = "scorn"?

Chris F. (servoret), Saturday, 4 February 2006 00:39 (eighteen years ago) link

Oh, never mind-- I finally got the site to load. Cute-- I never knew that it got so bad that Kesel had to complete the figure drawings for him!

Chris F. (servoret), Saturday, 4 February 2006 00:59 (eighteen years ago) link

Maybe something people like about Wolverine is, despite the anger and killing, he enjoys himself once in a while? Sure its bad news for villains when he shows up, but he usually has a pretty good time messing with other heroes. Unlike say, Punisher, Wolverine enjoys being a badass.

goodbyesoberday (goodbyesoberday), Saturday, 4 February 2006 01:46 (eighteen years ago) link

why are there no threads on the adventures of tin tin?

no bones, Saturday, 4 February 2006 02:02 (eighteen years ago) link

Are you serious? We publish fiction, not documented history!
(If you are serious, check the "Greatest Comics of All Time Poll" for how highly Tintin rates on ILC)(A: VERY HIGHLY)

Nobody ever answered my question about Logan's eyepatch. So I'm going to assume it was private dig at Cyclops.

Huk-L (Huk-L), Saturday, 4 February 2006 03:51 (eighteen years ago) link

six months pass...
Just read this in the weekly X-Axis e-mail, regarding the new "Claws" Wolverine / Black Cat limited run, and the overuse of the character in inconsequential miniseries:

Since cover date January 2000, Wolverine has
appeared in Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk, What If: Wolverine, Wolverine:
Soultaker, Witchblade/Wolverine, Wolverine/Punisher, Wolverine/ Captain
America, Wolverine: The End, Spider-Man & Wolverine, Wolverine: Snikt!,
Wolverine/Doop, Wolverine: X-Isle, Hulk/Wolverine: Six Hours, Wolverine:
Netsuke, Wolverine/Hulk, Elektra/ Wolverine: The Redeemers, Origin, Iron
Fist/Wolverine and Before the Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm & Logan.

Yet he remains one of, if not THE, most popular Marvel characters.

lumberingwoodsman (Chris Hill), Monday, 21 August 2006 16:45 (seventeen years ago) link

SNIKT

Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Monday, 21 August 2006 17:28 (seventeen years ago) link

The art looks both amateur and interesting. All five issues can be seen here, albeit with Hungarian dialogue.

lumberingwoodsman (Chris Hill), Monday, 21 August 2006 18:32 (seventeen years ago) link

From X-Axis, these both sound kinda great:

EXILES #85 - We're now firmly into the stories Tom Bedard is writing while he waits for Chris Claremont to recover and take over the book, but kudos for a premise so gloriously ridiculous that you've got to admire the sheer nerve. Having sacked the Exiles last issue, the Timebreakers introduce the new, improved team - all-new and all-Wolverine. After all, if Wolverine is great, six of him have got to be even better. Walking a fine line between sheer silliness and actually having a proper story, this is tremendous fun. A-

WOLVERINE #45 - God, I love this storyline. It's got all the playful absurdity of "Enemy of the State" without the grinding cynicism. This issue: Wolverine in underwater armour! With claws! You either get it and roll with the absurdity, or you don't and you'll hate it with a passion. Emphatically not for anyone who thinks Wolverine stories should be taken particularly seriously, but so cheerfully nonsensical that I can't help but smile. And when they stop for a couple of panels to lecture Wolverine about his extremely inconsistent sense of honour, there are some fair points being made as well. A

Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 28 August 2006 16:54 (seventeen years ago) link

Mile High Comics has a four page preview on their 8/23 First Look list.

lumberingwoodsman (Chris Hill), Monday, 28 August 2006 17:30 (seventeen years ago) link

...of Exiles #85.

lumberingwoodsman (Chris Hill), Monday, 28 August 2006 17:31 (seventeen years ago) link

seven years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1NK9qrSqYE

乒乓, Saturday, 21 December 2013 21:21 (ten years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zs92eCn11k

that's you, that is (snoball), Saturday, 21 December 2013 21:32 (ten years ago) link

New Wolverine series next week, Origins II.

The cover is pretty sweet - plastic die cut on top of a painted cover

Kiarostami bag (milo z), Saturday, 21 December 2013 23:45 (ten years ago) link

ugh

giant faps are what you take, wanking on the moon (sic), Sunday, 22 December 2013 00:42 (ten years ago) link

do these fucks never learn [Started by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WhiteAmericanFolks.jpg (nakhchivan) in June 2011, last updated 6 hours ago by A Skanger Barkley (nakhchivan) on I Love Football] 2 new answers

Ward Fowler, Sunday, 22 December 2013 10:13 (ten years ago) link

I got the Wolverine & Nick Fury: Scorpio trade collection a while back. The main story is a graphic novel that Archie Goodwin and Howard Chaykin did in the 80s and it is a good story. It's a worthy sequel to the Steranko story. The few things Archie Goodwin wrote later in his career are all pretty good comic books.

The other two related tales are not quite as good and not written by Goodwin. The second story by Tom DeFalco with John Buscema also inking himself is a decent 80s Wolverine/Nick Fury adventure. Buscema inking himself just has a different look, smoother lines. The third tale is a sequel to the Goodwin story written by Chaykin with somewhat mismatched art by Shawn MacManus. It's not the best comic by either.

earlnash, Monday, 23 December 2013 23:25 (ten years ago) link

Grunge soundtrack!

face it, tiger... you just hit middle age (morrisp), Thursday, 1 June 2017 00:11 (six years ago) link

Grunge soundtrack would be perfect for that Cable movie we were brainstorming a while back, that would just go all-in on 1991-era badassery, and have only solid colors as backgrounds for 3/4 of the scenes, five variant opening credits sequences, etc.... gah, what thread was that?

﴿→ ☺ (Doctor Casino), Thursday, 1 June 2017 05:09 (six years ago) link

I reread some Cable stuff on Marvel Unlimited and it's not all bad? The badass gun dude cliche is horrible but any mid-/post-conflict era where dudes who are into guns and infiltrating our zeitgeist (and colonizing our police forces) makes a reasonable big gun man a viable alternative to "shoot everything" big gun man

plus pouches are back in

mh, Thursday, 1 June 2017 05:45 (six years ago) link

one month passes...

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