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A brief guide to Wolverine
"I'm the best at what I do... and what I do isn't very nice."
The above line has, over the years, become the seminal Wolverine quote, and adequately nutshells the cigar-chomping mutant's brash, no-nonsense attitude towards his brutality. The dude is clearly the sort who never backs down from a fight.
We all know Wolverine has a pretty neat set of claws, but with Wolverine: X-Men Origins all set to release in India, here's a closer look at the most popular X-Man of all.
Origin
Real name: James Howlett
Nationality: Canadian
Height: 5'2" (Yeah, Hugh Jackman is a little taller, ha.)
Age: Over a hundred years
Best known as: Wolverine/Logan to friends
Why is he called Wolverine: Initially grew up in the Canadian wilderness, apocryphally raised by wolves before he finally returns to civilisation and becomes an ace soldier.
Powers
Primary mutant power: Wolverine has an accelerated healing factor, which means wounds of all kinds heal within instants, even severe flesh and body wounds.
It is this healing factor that makes sure age affects him very marginally, and so while he is over a century old, he's as fit as a man at the height of his physical powers.
Secondary ability: Wolverine has extremely heightened sensory powers, making him capable of seeing, hearing and smelling out things most humans would be unable to.
The claws: He has three retractable claws on each forearm which cut through his flesh every time he retracts them.
The skeleton: Weapon X, a secret government organisation in the Marvel Comics universe, captured Wolvie and fused his entire skeleton with adamantium. Due to this coating, his claws can cut through almost anything.
Style
Wolverine is a gruff loner who likes working by himself and dislikes too much strategic planning, preferring to rely on his primal instincts in crunch situations.
Romantically, he has great affection -- mostly unrequited -- for fellow X-Men icon Jean Grey, who is in turn linked to Scott Summers, best known as Cyclops. This results in a constant terseness between the two men.
He likes cigars, motorcycles and big, big mutton-chop sideburns.
The movie
The new film, X:Men Origins: Wolverine, features a look at Logan's backstory, right from Canada in 1845 through the Vietnam War right up to the point when Professor Charlex Xavier offers him a place in his institute for mutants.
The cast includes Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Leiv Schreiber as Victor Creed, later to be known as Sabretooth, Taylor Kitsch as Gambit, and Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson, best known as Deadpool.
The film hasn't gotten great reviews in the US, but who cares? We just want to see them claws.
Bring it on, Wolverine!