FAQ

Note: For this list only the creators of the characters first appearances are listed. As with all comic book characters, the X-Men and there supporting cast have had several reinventions and different contributions from different writers. Theses include different iterations in different mediums that all have added different concepts to the overall mythology of the characters.

Theirs is James "Logan" Howlett/Wolverine, who was created by then Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas, writer Len Wein, and Marvel art director John Romita Sr.. Although Romita designed the character, he was first drawn for publication by artist Herb Trimpe. The character first made his first appearance in the comic story "And Now... the Wolverine!" from The Incredible Hulk #181 (November 1974).

Victor Creed who in the comics is also known as Sabretooth. He made his first appearance in the comic story "Snowfire" from Iron Fist #1 (August 1977) by writer Chris Claremont and writer/artist John Byrne.

William Stryker, whose character is an amalgam of various X-Men villains: Reverend William Stryker, an anti-Mutant bigot; Professor Andre Thorton, the malevolent mastermind of the Weapon X program; and Henry Peter Gyrich (whose name was used for a minor character in X-Men (2000)), a ruthless government official who dedicates his life and resources to destroying the Mutant populace. The character of Stryker first appeared in the comic book "X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills" (1982) by writer Chris Claremont and artist Brent Anderson. Whilst Thorton first appeared in the comic story "Weapon X: Chapter One" from Marvel Comics Presents #73 (March 1991) by writer/artist Barry Windsor-Smith. And Gyrich made his first appearance in the comic story "Hammer of Vengeance!" from Avengers #165 (November 1977) by writer Jim Shooter and writer/artist John Byrne.

John Wraith, who in the comics is also called Kestrel. He made his first appearance in the comic story "Counting Coup" from Wolverine Volume 2 #60 (September 1992) by writer Larry Hama and artist David Hoover.

Kayla/Silver Fox, who made her first appearance in the comic story "24 Hours" from Wolverine Volume 2 #10 (August 1989) by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Buscema.

Frederick J. "Fred" Dukes (referred to as Fred Dukes on screen), who in the comics is also called The Blob. He made his first appearance in the comic story "Beware of the Blob!" from X-Men #3 (January 1964) by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby.

Christopher 'Chris' Bradley, known as Bolt and Maverick in the comics. He made his first appearance in the comic story "First Contact" from X-Men Unlimited #8 (October 1995) by writer Howard Mackie and artists Tom Grummett & Dan Lawlis.

Remy Etienne LeBeau (referred to as Remy LeBeau on screen), in the comics he is also known as Gambit. He was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee. Drawn by artist Mike Collins, Gambit made his first appearances in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 in the comic story "You Must Remember This" from "Days of Future Present" part IV (July 1990) and the comic story "Gambit: Out of the Frying Pan" from Uncanny X-Men #266 (August 1990).

Christoph David "Christopher" Nord/Agent Zero (referred to on screen as just Agent Zero), in the comics he was also known as Maverick. He made his first appearance in the comic story "Blowback" from X-Men Volume 2 #5 (February 1992) by writer John Byrne and co-writer/artist Jim Lee.

Wade Winston Wilson (referred to as Wade Wilson on screen) in the comics he is also known as Deadpool. He made his first appearance in the comic story "The Beginning of the End, Part 1" from The New Mutants #98 (February 1991) by writer/artist Fabian Nicieza and writer Rob Liefeld.

Scott Summers, who in the comics is also known as Cyclops. He made his first appearance in the comic story "X-Men" from X-Men #1 by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby.

Travis Hudson and Heather Hudson, who are heavily adapted from the comic characters of James MacDonald and Heather Hudson. The character of James MacDonald Hudson made his first appearance in the comic story "Home are the Heroes!" from The X-Men #109 (February 1978) by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne. Whilst the character of Heather MacNeil Hudson made her first appearance in the comic story "Something Wicked This Way Comes!" from The Uncanny X-Men #139 (November 1980) by writer Chris Claremont and writer/artist John Byrne.

John Howlett, Thomas Logan & Elizabeth Howlett (Wolverines Step Father, Father and Mother). They made there first appearance in the comic story "The Hill" from Wolverine: The Origin #1 (November 2001) by writers Bill Jemas, Paul Jenkins & Joe Quesada and artist Andy Kubert.

and Professor Charles Francis Xavier/Professor X, who made his first appearance in X-Men #1 (September 1963) by writer Stan Lee and writer/artist Jack Kirby.

All other characters were created for the movie by the films writers.

Once upon a time in 1845, there lived two young boys, James "Jimmy" Howlett and Victor Creed, in the Northwest Territories of Canada. When Jimmy's father was killed by Victor's father, Thomas Logan, Jimmy killed Logan with the claws that suddenly protruded from his knuckles due to his rage. With his dying breath, Thomas told Jimmy that he was actually his father, making Jimmy and Victor brothers. Both mutants, Jimmy and Victor are forced to go on the run, swearing allegiance to each other. Now adults, Jimmy (Hugh Jackman) and Victor (Liev Schreiber) have subsisted by finding work in places where their ability to regenerate helps them survive, such as the American Civil War, the Great War, World War II, and the Vietnam War. Eventually disgusted with the team's ruthlessness, Jimmy abandons the group. However, when Victor kills Jimmy's girlfriend Kayla (Lynn Collins), Jimmy decides to ally with Major William Stryker (Danny Huston), who promises to make him indestructible by adding adamantium to his bones.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is the fourth movie in the X-Men film series, which is based on the Marvel comic book series X-Men created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962. The movie is preceded by X-Men (2000), X-Men 2 (2003) and X-Men: Der letzte Widerstand (2006), and followed by X-Men: Erste Entscheidung (2011), Wolverine: Weg des Kriegers (2013), X-Men: Zukunft ist Vergangenheit (2014), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), and Logan: The Wolverine (2017); with the Deadpool film series being loosely related. The film's script was inspired by three Marvel comic books series: "Weapon X" (originally published in Marvel Comics Presents #72-84 in 1991), Marvel's Wolverine series, and Origin (a six-issue series published from November 2001 to March 2002). The screenplay was written by American screenwriters David Benioff and Skip Woods.

Howlett/Wolverine was born a mutant possessing superhuman senses, retractable "bone claws" and a "healing factor" which allows his body to recover from any physical damage (trauma, disease, poisoning etc) more rapidly than a normal human. This same healing factor has also drastically slowed down the aging process within his body. In addition to his mutant abilities, Wolverine is also a peerless martial artist skilled in virtually all known forms of armed and unarmed combat. He is also trained in the art of espionage, military tactics and speaks several different languages fluently. He is generally depicted as a loner and considered to be an anti-hero because of his willingness to use violence (and occasionally murder) as adjuncts to his tradecraft. His long running catchphrase best sums up his personal philosophy; "I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do isn't very nice." Despite his penchant for violence, Wolverine abhors killing and adheres to a strict personal code of ethics and honor. He is loyal to a fault and an unwavering supporter of his friends and allies. Due to a combination of several traumatic events in his past and systematic memory alteration, Wolverine has functioned as an amnesiac for the better part of his career. Wolverine also has a highly volatile, beast-like nature and is often times prone to "berserker rampages". These rampages can prove fatal to his opponents. Throughout his long life, Wolverine has been a member of, or affiliated with, several organizations, including S.H.I.E.L.D., Alpha Flight, Weapon X, Weapon Plus, Department H, HYDRA, and The Hand, to name a few. His longest affiliation has undoubtedly been with the superhero team known as the X-Men. Through his relationships with his fellow teammates, Wolverine has recovered some measure of his lost humanity.

Weapon X (Weapon Ten / the Tenth Weapon) is both the codename for a clandestine government project and the designation given to Wolverine after his successful participation in the Weapon X program. The Weapon X program is an offshoot of a much larger program known as "Weapon Plus." Conceived during the earlier days of World War II, the Weapon Plus program's sole purpose was to create super-soldiers capable of fighting the wars of the future. Each experimental subject was given a number designation starting with Weapon 0 (zero). Up until the late 2000s decade in the comic books, it was believed that Wolverine was Weapon X (as in the letter X). It was later revealed that the X actually represented the number ten, making Wolverine the tenth test subject within the Weapon Plus program. To date, Weapon X is the most successful weapon to emerge from either program. Weapon X was so successful, in fact, that it became its own project with a specific concentration on employing mutants exclusively as agents. Other notable agents of the Weapon Plus program include the original Captain America (Weapon I), Fantomex (Weapon XIII), and Daken (Weapon XI). Notable agents of the Weapon X offshoot program include Sabertooth, Agent Zero, and Deadpool. Originally in the comics Weapon X (not ten) was the code name for the Adamantium infusion project developed by the Canadian Military Department H. Wolverine was called Weapon X because he was the only successful test subject (and the only one to survive).

Traditionally, it was believed that Wolverine gained his claws from Weapon X. However, at one point in the comics, Magneto pulls the adamantium off of his bones and out of his body. After this, it is revealed that Wolverine has bone claws and had them all along as part of his mutant ability. When Weapon X coated his bones in the unbreakable metal, they also covered the claws. However, a line of dialogue spoken by Stryker in X2 originally suggested that Wolverine's claws were a direct result of the procedure ("You were an animal then, you're an animal now. I just gave you claws"), rather than him already having claws made of bone. This makes it somewhat confusing when put into context in this movie, although he may have been referring to the fact that Wolverine's original claws were only pointy bones, making them more like spikes, only good for stabbing and not slashing. Therefore the sharp blades were more claw-like.

The opening of the film is subtitled "Northwest Territories, Canada, 1845", and the young James Howlett looks to be around ten or twelve. Since the climax of the film seems to be the Three Mile Island incident in 1979, this places Wolverine's age at this time at around 144 to 146 years old (Sabretooth would be a few years older, 150 to 153). Assuming that the X-Men trilogy takes place when it was made (they take place in the not too distant future as stated in the first and third films, we can assume 10 to 15 years), Wolverine would be 171 to 173 years old during X-Men: The Last Stand. In the original comic on which the movie is based, it is said that Wolverine is a child in the late 19th century, making him about 40 years younger in the comics than in the movie, also making it impossible for him to have fought in the Civil War due to his birth being about 15 to 20 years after the war ended.

Stryker shot Wolverine in the head, causing him to lose his memories. However, firing squads aim for the heart, not the head. The most commonly stated reason for this practice is that the body just looks better for the funeral with the head still fully intact. However, it is common practice in the military to shoot center mass, which means the body. This is mostly for the reason that the body is a bigger target but also because there are more organs in the trunk than in the head. Contrary to popular belief, a shot to the head is survivable even by mere non-mutant humans. Another reason may be that when Wolverine lost his memories, he had been shot in the head with adamantium bullets, as opposed to any standard bullet the firing squad may have been using. While this isn't necessarily a foolproof reason, it is possible that the clashing of the high speed projectile with his skeletal structure, which was coated in the same material, created an effect similar to running a magnet over a hard drive, not to mention that Stryker shot him twice in the head to be sure. But in X2, Wolverine gets shot in the head by a police officer and wakes up with his memory. Though in X2, the lead bullet was stopped by his adamantium skull.

Presumably a 1963 Harley Davidson DuoGlide FLH.

Scott Summers/Cyclops (Tim Pocock) can't control his optic blasts when his eyes are open. The original history of the character according to Marvel canon has always maintained that Summers lost the ability to control the beams when he and his brother survived a fall. The impact somehow permanently disrupted the control Summers would have had. When he was young, a doctor/scientist developed "ruby quartz" lenses that contain the beams, and Scott was required to wear them continuously. When Sabretooth finds him in school and chases him, the red sunglasses fall off his face, and the uncontained blast cuts right through the structure of the building.

In the first X-Men movie from 2000, there's a scene in a train station where Toad uses his tongue to snatch Summers' combat visor off his face. When he does, Scott's eyes send out a huge blast that punches through the ceiling of the station's lobby. It only stops a few seconds later when Scott closes his eyes.

In the comics and the previous three films, Cyclops' eyes shot out a red optic-blast that produced concussive force instead of heat. In this film, Cyclops shoots out a heat laser. This could be explained in the continuity of the films, that the experiments Stryker did on Cyclops either altered or significantly weakened the intensity of his power, changing it from a heat blast to a concussion blast. As the power was put into Deadpool, he is seen concentrating it on Sabretooth for quite a while and it barely affected him. A second theory is that Stryker added a heat element from another mutant to Weapon XI's eyes that Scott Summers does not have. A third theory is that Wolverine's claws could have been heated due to the mass amount of blast force concentrated on them by Weapon XI. This is supported by the fact that the blasts didn't burn Sabretooth.

The film takes place 21 years prior to the first X-Men, placing Summers in his teens. As such, it would appear awkward to have the 36-year-old Marsden playing the role. (Wolverine is played by the same actor, but no longer ages due to his "mutant healing factor".)

Tyler Mane was cast as Sabretooth in the first X-Men because of his imposing physical presence and his background in professional wrestling, which allowed him to do some of the film's stunt work himself. The character had little dialogue and was simply meant to be a henchman. In X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Sabretooth is one of the primary antagonists and has much more dialogue and fewer action scenes. As such, the producers/director wanted someone with more acting experience to take on the role. Hence, Liev Schreiber plays the part.

There might be three explanations for the change in Sabretooth's look. (1) After Sabretooth accepts his animalistic mutant abilities, he begins to evolve into a more animalistc creature, increasing his mass, height, and strength. This is what occurred in the mainstream comic continuity. The first X-Men film emphasizes this point by having him wear tattered coats and long hair, with an overall unkempt look. It is hinted that Wolverine would also become more animalistic, but Logan fights to remain stable rather than become a beast. (2) Artistic license changed between the first X-Men film and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. A new actor for the role of Sabretooth caused the new director to change his overall appearance and demeanor. (3) As he is never referred to as "Sabretooth" it may simply be a different, unrelated character in this movie.

Obviously Logan doesn't remember Sabretooth because he lost his memory. It is now known that Victor Creed/Sabretooth's mind was not blanked in this film. But given the drastic change in Sabretooth's appearance (he's much more animalistic and less human in X-Men), it's possible he "mutates" more so than he already had, becoming much more feral and leaving behind the personality and memories of Victor Creed. This would explain why Sabretooth had an obsessive fixation on Wolverine that he can't fully understand or explain in X-Men. However, it is also possible that Sabretooth does recognize Wolverine in X-Men (his retaining Logan's dog-tags as a souvenir would make more sense if he did) yet merely doesn't say anything or act on it. Since he was still well within earshot when Stryker shot Logan in the head, he should very well know that acknowledging their relationship would be pointless anyway. Whether Magneto and Prof. Xavier are aware of Sabretooth's being Wolverine's half-brother is also unknown. In the producer's DVD commentary, Lauren Shuler Donner says that, as Sabretooth got older, he became more animal-like and lost some of his humanity and memory, although there are hints that he might remember Wolverine in small parts.

The person frozen with different-colored eyes is William Stryker's son, Jason Stryker. He has the ability of illusion generation and is featured prominently in X2.

There are some substantial differences between the scenes in this movie and Wolverine's recollection of the event as seen in X-Men and X2. For instance, in X2, Wolverine remembers blood gushing from his hands when the blades slide out for the first time, and pushing a door open on his way out. In X-Men Origins: Wolverine, there is no blood coming from his hands, and he cuts through a wall on the way out. Also, in X-Men, Wolverine remembers being cut open with a scalpel, while no such device is used in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The real reason for these continuity breaks is, of course, that a different team of director/writers was responsible for the latter film, who gave their own interpretation of the events. Even the room itself (which consists of two levels instead of one) and the basin in which the procedure is done are quite different. On the DVD, the production team explains that they were not satisfied with the design as it appeared in X-Men and X2, and deliberately changed it. Maybe the room itself has seen some redecorating over the years, following Wolverine's rampage, but this seems somewhat doubtful, as Stryker and his team prepare to permanently abandon the facility after the procedure. So there is no real narrative explanation to the room discrepancy, and it should therefore be considered a retcon.

The same can be said from Wolverine's different recollection of the course of events, the screenwriters simply made up their version of this event. However, there is a somewhat plausible narrative explanation for this. As any psychologist can relate, eyewitness reports from memory can be very unreliable. This is because events are not remembered as a single unit in one region of the brain, but as fragments stored in separate parts (e.g. hair colors are stored in a different part than sounds and faces). Discrepancies can occur when people try to retrieve the memory; details get mixed up easily, and elements of different stories are inadvertently combined into one memory. Another complicating factor is that Wolverine's memory has been violently altered, leaving him with only fragments and images of the procedure, so it is in fact very easy for him to have a flawed recollection of the real event. Not to mention, when he remembers he is in fact, having nightmares. So his bleeding, being in pain, being sliced open, could all just be part of the dream, muddling with what really happened.

It is possible that Lady Deathstrike wasn't created until shortly before the events of X2. One reason for this is that, as we see near the conclusion of X2, Stryker has an adamantium-bonding unit similar to that which was used on Wolverine. Therefore, Stryker may have created Lady Deathstrike after his return to Alkali Lake. Stryker says to Wolverine in X2, "I always thought you were one of a kind, Wolverine... I was wrong." That line suggests that Lady Deathstrike was created sometime after Wolverine. Also, these movies are about introducing the character to the audience, regardless of them having anything to do with the event in the comics. For instance, in the comics Team X consisted of Wolverine, Sabretooth, John Wraith, Deadpool, Silver Fox, Mastodon, and Maverick (Agent Zero). Agent Zero was German, not Korean. The Blob, Bolt, Lady Deathstrike, and Stryker have absolutely nothing to do with Weapon X. In the comics, it's Dr. Cornelius who's in charge of the Weapon X program, while Stryker is a mutant-hating reverend who leads the Purifiers, a group of ultra-religious zealots who believe that in oder for humans to survive, all mutants must be killed. Whereas Lady Deathstrike's father was the one who created the adamantium-bonding process that Weapon X stole and used on Wolverine, with Lady Deathstrike feeling she has to kill Wolverine and take back his adamantium skeleton to regain her father's lost honor. This all being said, one should not expect any sort of continuity between this movie and the previous ones due to different writers, and the fact that very few comic book-based movies stick to the events in the comics.

It follows the basic storyline meaning it shows Wolverine's origin, however the story is significantly altered from what is in the comics. Wolverine/Logan was born James Howlett, but in the late 19th century not the early 19th century (or late 18th century), Creed and Logan have no blood relation. Wolverine did fight in World War II as a member of the Canadian special forces not in the U.S. Army. Wolverine was recruited for the Weapon X program along with Silver Fox, Sabretooth, and Maverick. Wolverine did not willingly volunteer for the adamantium infusion. The couple that found Wolverine after his escape were the leader of Alpha Flight and his wife, and he convinced Wolverine to join Alpha Flight. Wolverine did not serve in Vietnam as he was a member of Alpha Flight and then the X-Men in the 1970s. Also, Wolverine's memory loss was caused by the doctors that were involved in the adamantium infusion project, it was black ops brainwashing aimed to turn Logan into an assassin, and exacerbated due to the trauma of the adamantium bonding. However, all comic book films significantly alter their characters' origins to create their own continuities; very few movies based on long-running comic book series stay true to their roots—source materials. The films themselves are just their own interpretations of material inspired by the original comics.

The main song is called "Legend" by Groove Addicts. The opening music (playing for about a minute) is an excerpt of "Sunshine (Adagio in D Minor)" by John Murphy, from the Sunshine's soundtrack. Music written for this film was probably unfinished when the trailer appeared.

This movie is not a tie-in to the Avengers movie. Film rights for Wolverine and the rest of the "X-Men" characters (X-Force, X-Factor, X-Calibre etc. too) are owned by 20th Century Fox, while The Avengers is produced directly by Marvel Studios. Also, the Avengers movie focuses on the traditional roster of Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye and Black Widow.