Wolverine's True Comic Book Origin According to Roy Thomas

This article was submitted for publication by former Marvel Editor-in-Chief, Roy Thomas, and his manager John Cimino, and curated by CBR staff.

While there have been many articles and books written on the origins of Marvel's most popular mutant over the years, there is also a lot of misinformation.There has been so much, in fact, that fans, historians and even comic creators alike are not fully aware of who was truly behind the creation of arguably the most popular X-Man of all time: Wolverine.

That's why the co-creator of Wolverine, Mr. Roy Thomas, is here to help put an end to the confusion once and for all. No more false information. No more exaggerations. No more bogus claims. Here are the facts -- and nothing but the facts on the true history of Wolverine, according to the one and only Roy Thomas.

The idea and concept of Wolverine was birthed by Thomas, who was then Marvel editor-in-chief. Being the direct successor to Stan Lee as the head-honcho editor of the company presented some pretty big shoes to fill. Even still, Roy understood the dynamics of the comic-book business pretty well. He had been a fan since he was a young man, so to him, the job was pretty simple: make captivating and interesting stories to sell a bunch of comics.

In 1974, it occurred to Roy that something like 5% or so of Marvel's readers were Canadian, so it seemed well past time that there should be a Canadian superhero in a Marvel comic. And why not base that character on a tough and fearsome Canadian animal? A... wolverine perhaps?

Roy also briefly considered the name The Badger, but the connotations included pestering, bothering being annoying. While a wolverine was not only a fierce little beast that was known to attack animals far larger than itself, it was also known as a solitary animal, with a reputation for ferocity. All of these elements would of course become integral to the character.

Here's Roy explaining the creative process of creating Wolverine:

I told Len Wein to write the character because I had liked the accent he had given Brother Voodoo earlier (Jamaican for a Haitian character, but at least it had character, and Len did it well). I gave it to him because he was one of Marvel's best writers, and because I was busy just being editor and writing the various Conan comics.

I had only three requirements of the Wolverine, all of which I gave to Len in my office: (1) He was Canadian, and announced as such right away. (2) He was short, because a wolverine is a small animal. (3) He had a quick temper, because wolverines are known for being fierce and taking on beasts far bigger than they are.

That was the blueprint. The idea. The concept. The groundwork. But where did the creation of Wolverine go from there?

Next Page: Who really created the Wolverine?

The advertisement Roy Thomas used to promote The Incredible Hulk #181 features the coming of the deadly Wolverine that was seen in three issues: Daredevil #115, Marvel Premier #19 and The Mighty Thor #229. These comics came out a month after The Incredible Hulk #180 that had Wolverine appear in the last panel of that issue.

Len Wein went off to write and develop the Wolverine into a three-part Hulk story. The costume and look of the character was designed by John Romita, who was the Marvel art director at the time. It was John who added the claws; ironically though, the metal Len wanted the claws to be made from was Adamantium, which was also created by Roy back in Avengers #66 (July, 1969), with art by Barry Windsor-Smith.

romita wolverine — John Romita Wolverine Sketch

Roy Thomas again:

Since art director John Romita remembers me asking him to design a wolverine costume, I may have looked at it once or twice before Herb Trimpe drew it into the story. I didn't have any special contact with Len or Herb about the character after that. I had done my job by coming up with the general concept and name of the character called the Wolverine, who would be introduced as a villain.

Of course, at Marvel, that didn't mean he wouldn't be a hero, and I wouldn't have bothered conceiving a Canadian super-character who was ONLY going to be a villain. That might just annoy Canadians, when I was trying to give them an extra reason to buy Marvel comics.

After that, Len did his part, which included developing the Wolverine. I consider that I, Len Wein, John Romita, and Herb Trimpe are all the co-creators of the Wolverine, in that chronological order.

Artist Dave Cockrum may or may not have shown me his notion of a character called the Wolverine, one of a number of Legion of Super-Heroes types he'd created... I don't recall... but I already knew what a wolverine was. If I had taken the name from Dave, then I wouldn't have been debating in my mind for a short time, before the meeting with Len Wein, about whether to call the hero Wolverine or Badger.

I chose Len because he was a good writer, but if Len had preferred not to do so, there would've still been a Marvel Wolverine who was Canadian, short and vile-tempered... but he would've lacked Len's particular virtues.

Herb Trimpe drew what Roy, Len and John formulated in The Incredible Hulk #180-182 (October to December, 1974). And as much as Roy Thomas personally would also like to credit Herb as an "official" co-creator of Wolverine, Marvel does not consider him one. He got paid for the job and that's all he was legally entitled too. Even Herb himself stated he had nothing to do with Wolverine's creation. Roy, however, insists:

I have always considered Herb a co-creator of Wolverine. If he isn't, then neither is George Tuska a co-creator of Luke Cage (which I do consider him to be), because he, too, "just drew the story" of a character written by Stan, Archie Goodwin and myself, and visually designed by John Romita.

So there you have it, the definitive Wolverine origin story, according to Roy Thomas. It is unknown where Wolverine will show up next in the mainstream, but the story of his return to comics -- after being dead for four years -- is currently ongoing at Marvel.

Roy William Thomas, Jr.

Roy Thomas is a legendary comic-book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is known for co-creating some of comics' greatest characters including Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Iron Fist and Morbius. He introduced the pulp magazine heroes Conan and Red Sonja and sci-fi fantasy Star Wars to Marvel Comics, and had lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron and Infinity, Inc., among many other titles, books and a couple of movies. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2011.

John Cimino

John Cimino is a Silver and Bronze Age comic, cartoon and memorabilia expert that runs a business called "Saturday Morning Collectibles." He buys, sells, appraises and gives seminars on everything pop culture. He contributes articles to ALTER EGO, RETRO FAN, BACK ISSUE and THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR from TwoMorrows Publishing, runs the Roy Thomas Appreciation Board on Facebook and has appeared on the AMC reality show Comic Book Men. Contact him at johnstretch@live.com or follow him on Instagram at megostretchhulk.