Real Name: James Howlett (bka "Logan")
First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 1) #180, October 1974
Powers: Wolverine’s mutant power is accelerated cellular regeneration which gives him two abilities: His senses are superhumanly acute, boosting his vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. His sight is greater than 20/20, is specially adapted to function at night, and may even extend partially into the infrared spectrum. His sense of smell allows him to detect, organize, and differentiate between thousands of different scents, recognize people by their individual odors, and track them over miles of distance. Logan can act as a human lie detector, reading subtle changes in scent, heartbeat, and pupil dilation in other people. His sense of touch can detect minute changes in temperature and wind direction in his immediate vicinity, allowing him to feel the body heat of other people and the motion of nearby objects in his environment.
The second ability is a fast-healing factor that regenerates damaged or destroyed areas of his cellular structure almost instantaneously. The speed of his healing ability varies in direct proportion to the severity of the damage that he has sustained. Unlike ordinary human adults, Wolverine can actually regenerate cells of his nervous system and even entire organs. He can also regenerate his bones. His healing ability makes him immune to poisons and most drugs. For example, it is nearly impossible for him to become intoxicated from drinking alcohol. He also has limited immunity to the fatigue poisons generated by his own body and hence, has greater stamina then an ordinary human being. This also affects his other abilities, heightening his strength, speed, agility, and reaction time. His healing factor also suppressed his aging process, keeping him vital and youthful-looking even past his centennial. Wolverine also has various feral aspects to his mutation, including pointed canine teeth and he suffers from increased bestial instincts, causing him to go into a feral state with “berserker rages” when greatly angered or pained.
Wolverine's claws are foot long blades comprised of jagged bone, three in each arm. Stored in his forearms, the claws pop out through his wrists to rest on the backs of his hands. Each claw is triggered on an independent mental circuit, meaning he can release anywhere from one to all six claws at once at mental command. The Adamantium bonding process fused the indestructible metal to his skeleton at a molecular level, giving Logan unbreakable bones and making his claws even more lethal than before, allowing them to slice through virtually any substance. Normally, the claws had to break through the skin and knuckles to extend, leaving an open wound for his healing factor to close instantly. The bonding process came with metal channels on the backs of his hands that kept the skin open to prevent him from tearing open his flesh each time.
Wolverine is familiar with and experienced in virtually every fighting style on Earth. He speaks fluent English, Japanese, Russian, French, Chinese, Cheyenne, Lakota, Spanish, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese. He is also an accomplished pilot. Due to his extensive training as a C.I.A. operative, a Samurai, and as a member of the Weapon X program, Wolverine is a master of multiple forms of martial arts, tracking, weapons, and vehicles. He is also a trained expert in computers, explosives, and assassination techniques.
