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The X-Men Origins: Wolverine Character Guide

Written by Adam A. Donaldson Wednesday, 15 April 2009 13:43

The upcoming film X-Men Origins: Wolverine has been the subject of a lot of press lately concerning the leaking of a working print on the internet. Yes, that’s terrible and all, but it only serves to reinforce the fact that Wolverine has still got it, not just as one of the premiere characters of the highly popular X-Men franchise, but as a popular character in his own right. To get you ready for the first solo big screen adventure of the original Crazy Canuck, here’s a rundown of the heroes, villains and mutants you’ll encounter, including their first appearances and comic book histories.

Wolverine

Real Name: James Howlett/Logan
Played By: Hugh Jackman
First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk #180 (October 1974)
Powers: Mutant healing factor; a set of three bone claws on each hand; and super-senes
Secret Origin: Too complicated to fit in a few lines in this article, but basically Wolverine was born the (possibly illegitimate) son of a rich plantation owner in 19th century Alberta. He spent most of his life between looking for peace on the outskirts of society and doing his patriotic duty as a soldier and spy. Through the Weapon X program, he was given his adamantium skeleton, working a number of covert ops for Canada’s Department H. Despite his tragic and often traumatic past Wolverine has fought for redemption for years as part of the X-Men.

Sabretooth

Real Name: Victor Creed
Played By: Live Schreiber
First Appearance: Iron Fist #14 (August 1977)
Powers: Mutant healing factor; superhuman senses and athleticism; retractable claws on fingers and toes.
Secret Origin: As old as Wolverine, if not older, Sabretooth’s memories have been tampered with as often as his archenemy’s. Once believed to possibly be Wolverine’s father, a rumour dispelled thanks to SHIELD DNA testing, the exact familial relationship between the two men, if any, is unknown. What is known is that both Wolverine and Sabretooth were unwitting participants of Weapon X, but while Logan’s spent his whole life trying to suppress his animal nature, Sabretooth has not and instead embraced it by often working as a mercenary for hire.

William Stryker

Real Name: N/A
Played By: Danny Huston
First Appearance: X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills (1982)
Powers: None
Secret Origin: Stryker is a religious fanatic and founder of the mutant hate group The Purifiers. In his first appearance, it’s revealed that he killed his wife and infant son when he found out that his son was born a mutant. It spawned a crusade to wipe out all mutants, including kidnapping and brainwashing Prof. Xavier to use his telepathy powers to kill every mutant and attempting to murder Kitty Pride on live TV. Stryker returned following the House of M, to preach the cause that Decimation was God’s judgment on mutantkind.

 

Deadpool

Real Name: Wade Wilson
Played By: Ryan Reynolds
First Appearance: New Mutants #98 (February 1991)
Powers: A unique variation of mutant accelerated healing factor; master of multiple forms of armed and unarmed combat.
Secret Origin: Somewhat affectionately known as “The Merc with the Mouth,” Deadpool is a former recruit of Weapon X who signed up in the hopes that experiments in regeneration (using genetic material from Wolverine) would lead to a cure for his terminal cancer. His cancer was indeed cured, but physical and mental side effects were disastrous. Washing out of Weapon X, Deadpool became his own agent and frequently ran across the mutant Cable and his paramilitary team, X-Force. Recently, Deadpool registered under the Super-Human Registration Act to hunt unregistered heroes, before killing a ship full of Skrulls during Secret Invasion.

Gambit

Real Name: Remy LeBeau
Played By: Taylor Kitsch
First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 (1990)
Powers: Mutant ability to manipulate the potential and kinetic energy of any object, frequently using thrown playing cards as offensive energy weapons; enhanced strength, speed and agility
Secret Origin: Born and raised in New Orleans, Gambit was trained by the Thieves Guild, while struggling with his powerful mutant abilities. He joined the X-Men shortly after assisting an amnesiac Storm by defeating a pair of villains out to capture her. For years, Gambit was an X-Men mainstay until his past with the villain Mr. Sinister was revealed. With his loyalty in question, Gambit has found himself on both sides of the X-Men for a while now, as he continues to struggle with his place in life, especially as how it pertains to his romantic relationship with team mate Rogue.

The Blob

Real Name: Fredrick J. Dukes
Played By: Kevin Durand
First Appearance: [Uncanny] X-Men vol. 1 #3 (January 1964)
Powers: Superhuman strength and endurance; great resiliency to physical injury stemming from his genetically obese condition
Secret Origin: Starting out in a circus sideshow, Dukes is eventually recruited by Magneto to be one of the inaugural members of the villain’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The Blob has continued to serve in various iterations of the group over the years, but unfortunately for him, he was one of the thousands of depowered mutants following the House of M series.

Silver Fox

Real Name: N/A
Played By: Lynn Collins
First Appearance: Wolverine vol. 2 #10, (August 1989)
Powers: Like Deadpool, she was given superhuman healing abilities by Weapon X
Secret Origin: Silver Fox was a Native Canadian woman that fell in love with Logan. The two lived together happily in the Alberta wilderness for a number of years around the turn of the 20th century. That is until Silver Fox was killed by Sabretooth, an act that initiated the animosity between the two characters. Years later, Wolverine discovers Silver Fox alive and well, another victim of Weapon X. But before the two could truly reunite, Silver Fox is killed once again by Sabretooth. Wolverine buried her near the cabin they enjoyed so much happiness.

Agent Zero

Real Name: David North
Played By: Daniel Henney
First Appearance: X-Men vol. 2 #5 (February 1992)
Powers: Is able to absorb kinetic energy allowing him to be able to survive falls from tremendous heights, energy blasts, and being struck by superhumanly strong foes without being injured
Secret Origin: First introduced as the German operative Maverick, it’s revealed that Agent X was a Communist agent that drew the attention of the CIA, who offered him a spot on Team X alongside Wolverine, Sabretooth and others. After the team was disbanded, he worked as a mercenary until encountering Wolverine again years later with the X-Men as they infiltrated Russia to defeat the mutant Omega Red. Eventually, North traded his Maverick persona for the more inconspicuous Agent X and continued to cross paths with Wolverine and the X-Men until he was also depowered on M-Day.