A Long History
James Howlett is born to wealthy parents John and Elizabeth Howlett in Alberta, Canada, and grows up in the late 19th century. As a child, he’s frail and unhealthy due to his overactive mutant immune system and neglected by his mother, who’s institutionalized following the death of her first son, John Jr., in 1897. James’s mutant abilities are triggered when his father is shot by the Howlett groundskeeper Thomas Logan, whom he did not know was his real father. James kills Logan, slashes the face of Logan’s son and his friend Dog, and leaves Alberta with a childhood friend, Rose O’Hara.
His healing abilities drive trauma from his memories, leaving him partially amnesiac. He and Rose find refuge at a British Columbia stone quarry, where Rose, claiming James is her cousin, gives his name as “Logan.” Within months, Logan’s powers due to the environment around him. He becomes healthier and gains senses to rival those of an animal, but also becomes more violent. To divert some of this pent-up rage, Logan partakes in cage fights where his prowess earns him the nickname “Wolverine.” Though he accidentally killing Rose with his claws, and retreats into the woods where he lives as a feral beast, losing all of his former memories.
