Wolverine has become one of the most, if not the most, popular X-Men and Marvel Comics characters ever conceived. Logan Howlett has shown tremendous staying power in the comics and in the X-Men films thanks to his gruff but caring personality and incredible powers. However, after he was first introduced, Wolverine was going to have a very different mutation that would have made him a much different X-Man - that he was actually a mutated Wolverine.

Wolverine first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #180 (#181 was his first full appearance) and was co-created by Roy Thomas, Len Wein, and John Romita Sr. The mutant is known for being one of the premier members of the X-Men, as his mutation has given him enhanced abilities, a healing factor, and retractable bone claws that would later be coated in adamantium. Wolverine is about as unkillable and cool as a hero gets. Originally though, artist Dave Cockrum said he was supposed to be the mutated animal he was named after.

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In The X-Men Companion, Cockrum, who helped popularize Wolverine alongside Chris Claremont in Giant-Size X-Men #1, said that Logan was intended to be a mutated Wolverine. He added that Marvel's legend Stan Lee found the concept disgusting and the idea never made it into his origin.

Wolverine

As far as his origin goes, originally we had intended to have him be a mutated wolverine,” artist Dave Cockrum revealed in The X-Men Companion.

There were remarks in the storyline at one point where somebody was assessing Wolverine and saying, “I’m not even sure if he’s human,” or something like that (in X-Men #98, 1976), which would have led up to it,” Cockrum added in Wizard Tribute To Wolverine. “But Stan Lee found the concept disgusting.

It's not too surprising the origin was nixed as making Logan a literal mutated Wolverine would have been incredibly silly, even for Marvel. Wein, who helped co-create the character, said he never intended on Wolverine being a mutated wolverine, saying that he only writes stories about humans and not animals. On his own personal blog, he said that the idea Wolverine was going to be a mutated animal came after introducing the character in The Incredible Hulk and when he was no longer involved with the character. So, it appears the idea of Wolverine's different mutant origin was first thought up when the hero's origin was being fleshed out between Cockrum and Claremont.

There are few superheroes in comics who's powers and origin are as exciting and heartbreaking as Wolverine. Marvel made the correct call by pivoting (or abandoning) the idea that Logan was actually a mutated Wolverine and instead opted to make him a human with a mutation. It's amazing to think how much Wolverine and the X-Men as a whole would be perceived differently today by readers if his intended origin from Cockrum actually happened. Thankfully, Lee stepped in and the Wolverine fans are familiar with now wasn't made into an mutated animal.

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