So, it turns out he's a little too old for Jean anyway... Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re uncovering the origins of Wolverine before he joined the X-Men.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're uncovering the origins of Wolverine before he joined
00:13the X-Men.
00:20An unusually long life full of trauma, experimentation, and mental manipulation made it hard for the
00:25popular and clawed mutant to remember his true origins.
00:28In many mediums, Wolverine's struggle to put together the broken pieces of his memory
00:32is a big part of his overall journey.
00:35There are still plenty of gaps to fill in to this day.
00:37However, by looking at various origin comics and flashbacks, we were able to paint a rough
00:42timeline of how Wolverine came to be.
00:51In the late 1800s, a young boy named James Howlett was born to a fairly wealthy couple
00:56in Alberta, Canada.
00:58After battling sickness in his early life, he became a well-adjusted young man who often
01:02spent his days running around with his friend Rose.
01:05James also became close to a boy who had been nicknamed Dog Logan due to his wild nature.
01:10Unbeknownst to them, the two were actually brothers.
01:18It turned out that James' mother had an affair with a groundskeeper named Thomas Logan.
01:23Before this secret came out, a traumatic series of events permanently ripped the Howlett family
01:28apart.
01:31After the cruel Dog Logan mistreated Rose, the family dog, and James, the wild child
01:37was kicked off the estate.
01:38His father Thomas was so angered by this turn of events that he broke into the Howlett mansion
01:43at night with a shotgun.
01:44Once there, the man shot James' adoptive father right in front of the young man's
01:49eyes.
01:50This incident caused the good-natured kid to suddenly snap.
01:58Lost in an insatiable rage, James made his claws come out for the first time and attacked
02:03both Dog and his father Thomas.
02:05The claw injuries proved fatal to the twisted patriarch.
02:09While Dog was reeling in pain from his wounds, Rose and Logan escaped into the night.
02:21The duo was forced to abandon their former estate and start their lives over again in
02:25a mining colony.
02:27Since James was wanted for murder, Rose had him go by a new name, Logan.
02:31Although life in the colony wasn't easy, they were able to grow into adulthood.
02:36Logan's hard work ethic around the mines and in cage matches also earned him the nickname
02:41Wolverine.
02:48But the good times wouldn't last forever.
02:51On the day Rose was prepared to leave the colony to get married, an adult dog showed
02:55up to track Logan down.
02:57It wasn't long before he and his distant half-brother got into a violent and vicious
03:01When Rose tried to stop Logan from killing his enemy, she was accidentally pierced by
03:13her old friend's claws and died.
03:15The mutant was so distressed by what he had done that he immediately fled into the forest.
03:30He lived in the wild with only wolves as his company for years.
03:33Although Logan became content with his lifestyle, he was soon dragged back into proper society.
03:39During a typical hunt, the mutant man heard his wolf allies cry out in pain.
03:43He arrived to see that they had all been slaughtered by a bear.
03:47After lashing out and killing the animal, hunters saw the results of the battle.
03:51They eventually teamed up with the shady Nathaniel Essex and captured Logan out of fear he'd
03:55attack them too.
03:57He spent his life as a circus exhibit until the day Essex experimented on him.
04:07Unable to bear the cruelty, a woman named Clara Creed asked her brother Victor Creed,
04:11aka Sabretooth, to help her free Logan.
04:14The trio managed to break away and go into hiding.
04:17But when Victor Creed saw that Logan and Clara were developing feelings for each other, Sabretooth
04:21told Essex's mercenaries where to find him.
04:33In the confusion of battle, Clara was seemingly killed, and outraged Logan proceeded to severely
04:39wound Essex.
04:41Although Clara survived, Wolverine was so angry about being betrayed that he tried to
04:45drown Victor in a potion.
04:47The act of vengeance caused Clara to completely write Logan off.
04:51Once again, he found himself needing to start over.
04:59Logan lost a few more friends and loved ones to Sabretooth before deciding to leave civilian
05:03life behind.
05:14Wolverine spent a couple decades fighting in both major world wars alongside heroes
05:19like Captain America.
05:21Although Logan tried to settle down in Japan after the fighting had stopped, he left the
05:25country after yet another romantic partner was killed in front of him.
05:29A jaded Wolverine decided to sign up for a black ops task force to take his mind off
05:34things.
05:35But he would end up having to run from this unit after discovering that they were messing
05:39with his memories.
05:49Before Wolverine could fully recover, he was captured once more and put into the Weapon
05:54X program.
05:55Casual and hardcore Logan fans alike recognized that this program was responsible for giving
06:00the mutant his adamantium skeleton and claws.
06:12Not only did he have to endure the painful physical parts of the procedure, but he had
06:16to face even more brainwashing.
06:19While the mental repercussions vary between mediums, Logan consistently loses memories
06:23and his sense of self.
06:25He usually breaks out of the program with a gruesome act of violence that leads him
06:29to wonder if he is more animal than man.
06:32Fortunately, Wolverine's long years of torment get a much-deserved reprieve after Weapon
06:37X.
06:38He's often taken in by a generous couple who finally puts him on the path to his greatest
06:42destiny.
06:52After adjusting to the adamantium, Logan went on a couple of pivotal adventures that shaped
06:56his identity.
06:57His government usually asked him to get into a deadly battle with the Hulk.
07:01While the details have shifted over time, the battle is usually interrupted before anyone's
07:06torn apart.
07:16After facing the Hulk, Logan ran into a brainwashed and costumed beast.
07:20The only part of them that got seriously damaged in the fray was their costumes.
07:25But since Wolverine's headpiece was left in tatters, he takes part of Beast's mags
07:29to complete his look.
07:31It is sometime after this fateful encounter that the Canadian government asks Logan to
07:35take a meeting with Charles Xavier.
07:37From this point on, the rest is X-Men history.
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08:03There's no question that Wolverine went to hell and back a dozen times before he joined
08:09the most famous mutant team.
08:18He saw loved ones perish because of enemy combatants and his own mistakes.
08:23Every time a traumatic incident or brainwashing villain messed with his mind, he had to struggle
08:27to piece together who he was underneath his claws.
08:30Logan's origins are full of heartbreaking moments and bloody consequences.
08:34But the fact that he's never stopped trying to put more good than bad out into the world
08:39truly makes him a hero.
08:46What Wolverine facts surprised you the most?
08:48Let us know in the comments down below!