Version 3.03, last updated on January 18, 2008

Humberto Ramos and Carlos Cuevas, Wolverine (Vol. 2) #48

After the death of Silver Fox and the subsequent massacre in the town of Mount Logan, Logan is taken, perhaps by Sabretooth, to train in a Canadian military camp…

Wolverine: Origins #15 (Aug 2007) – “Sweet and Terrible, Part 5”
Writer: Daniel Way; Artist: Steve Dillon
Cyber reveals that Logan was already at a secret Canadian military training facility in the spring of 1912 when he arrived (the date is stated in the previous issue).

…During his training, Logan meets the man who will later be known as Cyber. As with other significant events that have unfolded over extended periods of time, Logan’s interactions with Cyber will be revealed in the order they were published…

Marvel Comics Presents #85 (1991) – “Blood Hungry, Part One: First Scent”
Writer: Peter David; Artist: Sam Keith
When a Cyber, a psychotic assassin, arrives in Madripoor, Wolverine catches wind of him, quite literally. “A scent just entered the air… faint. Can almost taste it. A scent… just beyond memory.” With Wolverine’s remarkable ability to place smells, it seems reasonable to believe he hadn’t encountered Cyber for a very long time.

Marvel Comics Presents #86 (1991) – “Blood Hungry, Part Two: Two Scents Worth”
Writer: Peter David; Artist: Sam Keith
Cyber, claiming to have psionic powers, recognizes Wolverine from his brain patterns and states, “I’d thought I’d left him for dead.” When Wolverine comes face-to-face with Cyber, he tells him, “You don’t know how many years I’ve waited for this!” To which Cyber responds, “Yes I do. I was there, when you tried to kill me last time.” It does seems odd, though, that Cyber is not surprised to find Logan dressed as Wolverine. Considering he thought Logan long dead, perhaps Cyber was familiar with Wolverine and quickly realizes that Logan and Wolverine are one in the same. Similarly, Wolverine is not surprised to find his old foe with adamantium skin. Again, it is possible that Wolverine knew of this transformation and confronts his old foe under his new guise.

Marvel Comics Presents #87 (1991) – “Blood Hungry, Part Three: Three Scents Worth”
Writer: Peter David; Artist: Sam Keith
After getting disemboweled by Cyber in a fight, Wolverine endures feverish dreams of his past with Cyber. While they don’t seem to make much sense on the surface, we can piece together that at one time, Logan and Cyber were rivals of a sort over a girl named Janet.

Marvel Comics Presents #88 (1991) – “Blood Hungry, Part Four: Four Scents Worth”
Writer: Peter David; Artist: Sam Keith
Wolverine’s feverish dreams continue suggesting that Cyber was a teacher or trainer of sorts for Logan and their rivalry over Janet ended in her death. Further, it seems that Cyber challenged Logan’s courage.

Marvel Comics Presents #89 (1991) – “Blood Hungry, Part Five: Five Scents Worth”
Writer: Peter David; Artist: Sam Keith
As Wolverine’s feverish dreams of his past with Cyber come to end, it becomes apparent that Cyber manhandled Logan in a fight.

Marvel Comics Presents #90 (1991) – “Blood Hungry, Part Six: Six Scents”
Writer: Peter David; Artist: Sam Keith
Logan reveals to Tiger Tyger that Cyber was “…an old associate. Someone I looked up to in my misbegotten youth. Then we had a falling out. A woman was involved. It got ugly. Things were said. Things were done. Scars were left… He beat me.” It seems that Cyber beat him so badly that he can barely remember the events, noting that Cyber left him for dead without working up a sweat.

Marvel Comics Presents #91 (1991)
“Blood Hungry, Part Seven: Seven (and a Half) Scents”
Writer: Peter David; Artist: Sam Keith
Cyber taunts Logan noting, “You always were a slow learner.”

Marvel Comics Presents #92 (1991) – “Blood Hungry, Part Eight: Eight Scents Worth”
Writer: Peter David; Artist: Sam Keith
While Cyber and Wolverine fight, Cyber asks, “Remember the old days? Remember what I did to you, Logan?” Wolverine responds by cutting out Cyber’s eye, adding “An eye for an eye… It’s more than a metaphor… You took something from me, and finally — finally — we’re even.”

Marvel Comics Presents #134 (Early Aug 1993)
“Brothers in Arms, Part 3: Chain Reaction”
Writer: Dan Slott; Artist: Steve Lightle
Cyber reminds Wolverine that he was Logan’s teacher and confirms that he killed Logan’s girlfriend.

Wolverine #79 (Mar 1994) – “Cyber! Cyber! Burning Bright!”
Writer: Larry Hama; Penciler: Adam Kubert; Inker: Mark Farmer and Mike Sellers
In a hallucinogenic dream, Cyber reveals his true name is Silas Burr. The suggestion, however, that Silas Burr worked with William Burke and William Hare (infamous for the West Port murders of 1827-1828) seems farfetched, though clearly he does possess some ability to overcome aging.

Wolverine: Origins #12 (May 2007) – “Sweet and Terrible, Part 2”
Writer: Daniel Way; Artist: Steve Dillon
A newly resurrected Cyber explains that he used to be known as Silas Burr and “…train bad guys to be worse. Not many people liked me back then. Especially the ones I trained. One, in particular, took it very personally.” Cyber’s memory flashbacks confirm that person to be Logan, and judging from the artwork, it would seem that Cyber, as Silas Burr, was Logan’s drill sergeant from the World War I era. It also seems that Silas Burr murdered Logan’s girlfriend Janet and ripped out Logan’s eye when they fought after her death.

Steve Dillon, Wolverine: Origins #12

Wolverine: Origins #14 (Jul 2007) – “Sweet and Terrible, Part 4”
Writer: Daniel Way; Artist: Steve Dillon
Cyber tells Logan, “You never were afraid to take a beating,” and confirms he was transferred to a military base in Canada by Sabretooth in 1912 after committing a series of brutal murders as a Pinkerton agent in Sioux City, Iowa.

Wolverine: Origins #15 (Aug 2007) – “Sweet and Terrible, Part 5”
Writer: Daniel Way; Artist: Steve Dillon
Cyber relates more of his time in Canada, confirming that a man by the name of Hudson was responsible for bringing the two of them together and ordered him to kill Janet. As Hudson explained to Silas Burr about Logan, “We don’t want him to be under control — we want him to be what he is: an animal, born and bred to kill. The only measure of control we want to establish — the one thing we want him to learn and never forget… is that if he ever stops being the predator he is meant to be, if he ever tries to be anything else, like a man… if he ever tries to reach out to anyone… that person will die.”

Wolverine: Origins #17 (Nov 2007) – “Our War, Part 2”
Writer: Daniel Way; Artist: Steve Dillon
Logan admits that after Cyber killed Janet and ripped out his eye with such ease, “I threw my mind away an’ ran from it,” in this case to the familiar comforts of the Canadian wilderness. Sabretooth eventually hunts him down, and Cyber is able to redirect Logan’s anger and vengeance towards the growing European conflict of World War I.

Wolverine: Origins #31 (Feb 2009) – “Family Business, Part 1”
Writer: Daniel Way; Pencils: Yanick Pacquette; Inks: Serge LaPointe & Michel Lacombe
Wolverine remembers mourning the loss of Janet after losing an eye in a fight with Cyber.

…After his overly melodramatic training in Canada comes to a close, Logan is deployed to Europe as part of the Canadian contingent fighting in World War I…

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #25 (Apr 2005) – “Enemy of the State, Part 6”
Writer: Mark Millar; Penciller: John Romita, Jr; Inker: Klaus Janson
Wolverine tells Rachel Summers that he is not afraid of death, “…it would be a relief after two World Wars.” This is the first confirmation that Logan did, in fact, participate in World War I.

Civil War Files (2006)
Head Writer: Anthony Flamini; Writers: Stuart Vandal, Ronald Byrd, Madison Carter, Michael Hoskin, Chris Biggs, Mark O’English, Mike Fichera
According to Tony Stark’s dossiers for the President’s daily intelligence briefing, “Wolverine… was a decorated soldier in… World War I.”

Uncanny X-Men #165 (Jan 1983) – “Transfigurations!”
Writer: Chris Claremont; Penciler: Paul Smith; Inker: Bob Wiacek
Logan explains he tried religion in the army. “A mistake. I believe in nothin’… never have, never will. What matters is what I can see, hear, smell, taste, touch… tangible things, physical things, reality. The rest is imagination.” Perhaps his experiences on the battlefields led to his loss of faith.

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #48 (Jan 2007) – “Vendetta — Epilogue: Knocking on Heaven’s Door”
Writer: Marc Guggenheim; Penciler: Humberto Ramos; Inker: Carlos Cuevas
After a series of near-death experiences, Wolverine tells of a confrontation in purgatory with a mysterious figure named Lazaer. “He’s always there. Tryin’ to kill me. To pull me into the abyss. Not that I blame him. After all, I’m the one who killed him.” From a series of flashbacks, it seems that Logan killed Lazaer on the battlefields of World War I.

Howard Chaykin, Wolverine (Vol. 2) #57

Wolverine (Vol.2) #57 (Nov 2007)
Writer: Marc Guggenheim; Artist: Howard Chaykin
On April 22, 1915 in Ypres, Belgium, Logan fights the Germans as a Canadian soldier in World War I. His rifle out of ammunition, Logan kills a German soldier with his bare hands, noting “…for the first time ever, I feel I’m where I belong.” But a cloud of chlorine gas wipes out his comrades and Logan, healing fast, finds himself alone on the battlefield facing a host of German soldiers wearing gas masks. Desperate for a weapon, Logan breaks off the blades of two bayonets and attaches the blades to his forearms with the aid of barbed wire.

There was an actual battle that took place on April 22, 1915, the Second Battle of Ypres. It was Canada’s first taste of the Great War and the first large-scale use of chemical warfare by the Germans, some 5700 cylinders of chlorine gas. Logan is shown to be a soldier in the 1st Canadian Division, though his reference to Germans as Bosch should actually be Boche, a French insult for the Germans borrowed by the English (and the anachronistic use of klik, or more commonly klick, is a term from the Viet Nam era, not WWI).

Wolverine (Vol.2) #58 (Dec 2007) – “Curaetar”
Writer: Marc Guggenheim; Artist: Howard Chaykin
With bayonet blades sticking out of his forearms, Logan slashes his way through the German army until he confronts a lone cloaked figure (later revealed to be Lazaer) bearing a long sword. The two begin a long silent fight, the cloaked figure slowly gaining the upper hand. Finally, the stranger impales Logan with the sword, but Logan pulls the bloody sword from his own body and kills the shocked stranger by stabbing him through the chest with said sword.

The concept of Logan snapping bayonets in half, jamming them forcefully into his forearms and binding them with barbed wired in order to go into battle is beyond ludicrous. Why? Aside from the obvious, WWI bayonets were designed with handles (as clearly shown in the artwork itself), so soldiers could use them in combat when they ran out of ammunition. Further, Logan’s comment that Lazaer “…doesn’t smell like Nazi Bosch” does makes sense, I guess, since, you know, Nazis didn’t show up until the 1930s. And it is also revealed in this issue that Lazaer is, in fact, Azrael the Angel of Death.

Wolverine (Vol.2) #59 (Jan 2008) – “Logan Dies (Part 3 of 5)”
Writer: Marc Guggenheim; Artist: Howard Chaykin
Logan quickly realizes that his fallen opponent was no mere human, as his ethereal form appears briefly, stating, “I haven’t been bested in combat for centuries.” Logan finds himself battling severe depression after the fight and begins to drink heavily, before finally attempting suicide.

Logan opines that he “…shouldn’t be alive. Screamin’ in my ear like a coach to a lazy quarterback.” This is another anachronistic statement as Logan is Canadian and the year 1914, well before football became popular in the United States.

Wolverine (Vol.2) #60 (Feb 2008) – “Logan Dies (Part 4 of 5): Wake the Dead”
Writer: Marc Guggenheim; Artist: Howard Chaykin
The ethereal form of Lazaer appears again as Logan puts his gun to his head, urging Logan to end the despair, “the punishment for defying the natural order of things.” Logan instead attacks, but fails to make contact as Lazaer notes, “…because you defeated me on this plane of existence I cannot vanquish you here,” ominiously adding, “But our time will come.”

Logan’s commanding officer calls him a hoser, but this well-known Canadian term did not come into use until the Depression, referring to one who stole gas by sucking it through a hose.

Wolverine (Vol.2) #61 (Mar 2008) – “Logan Dies (Part 5 of 5): Soul Survivor”
Writer: Marc Guggenheim; Artist: Howard Chaykin
Logan remembers “…years ago, during the War, the first of many wars in my life… I killed a guy. Turns out, he was the Angel of Death. You get a prize for doin’ that kind of thing. Seems it’s a chance to free your soul from the afterlife.”

…Eventually Logan is transferred and reunites with Cyber…

Wolverine: Origins #17 (Nov 2007) – “Our War, Part 2“
Writer: Daniel Way; Artist: Steve Dillon
Logan talks of his time with the Devil’s Brigade and Cyber during World War II, but admits, “…just like in the First World War, we did the devil’s work. Also just like in WWI, Cyber was my commanding officer.” Whether this brigade was officially called the “Devil’s Brigade” during WWI is up for debate as there was an actual Devil’s Brigade in World War II, a joint American-Canadian Special Forces group.

…After his time with Cyber, it appears that Logan may have been captured by the Germans….

WildC.A.T.S./X-Men: The Golden Age #1 (Feb 1997)
Writer: Scott Lobdell; Artist: Travis Charest
Nazi Colonel Eikert recognizes Logan in Paris during World War II, commenting that, remarkably, Logan had not aged since their previous meeting many years ago. This could be a reference to World War I. The evident familiarity would suggest some sort of relationship between the two, possibly at a prisoner of war camp.

X-Men/WILDC.A.T.S: The Dark Age (May 1998)
Writer: Warren Ellis; Penciller: Mat Broome; Inker: Sean Parsons
In the year 2019, in an apocalyptic future dominated by the evil alien Daemonite race, a group of mutants (including Logan) and former members of the covert action team WILDC.A.T.S. succeed in altering the distant past, thereby eliminating the Daemonite influence from Earth’s history. So while the events in the previous entry did occur, they are no longer a part of current continuity.

…When World War I ended in late 1918, it seems Logan returned to the Americas, finally reemerging as a prisoner in Mexico, circa 1921…

Ron Garney, Wolverine (Vol. 2) #62

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #62 (Apr 2008) – “Get Mystique, Part 1 of 4”
Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: Ron Garney
Logan is on death row at a Mexican prison in the Sonoran Desert for stealing horses. Tied to a post in front of a shooting squad, Logan meets a woman with blue skin by the name of Raven (later known as Mystique) about to share the same fate. As the firing squad opens fire, Logan breaks free of his bonds and beats the soldiers to death. The two depart for a bar in Nogales, as Raven makes a pitch for the two of them to work together in Kansas City.

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #63 (May 2008) – “Get Mystique, Part 2 of 4”
Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: Ron Garney
In Kansas City, Raven introduces Logan to her team of misfit grifters – Big Pearl and Pete the Pygmy working the trolleys; Honey Pot May pinching pocketbooks; Six-Fingered Soapy dealing three-card monte; and One-Eyed Ande running the glim dropper scam. When Soapy’s scam gets unexpectedly exposed, Logan shows his worth by stepping in and scaring off the troublemakers. Later that night, Raven tries to convince Logan to help out on a big score.

Six-Fingered Soapy is an apparent homage to the legendary 19th-century conman Soapy Smith (see Alias Soapy Smith for more details) though his running of the three-card monte scam as shown in this issue is incorrect (for more details on the real scam, see wikipedia’s entry). As for the referenced glim dropper scam, it involves a one-eyed man and the ‘reward’ for his ‘lost’ glass eye.

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #64 (Jun 2008) – “Get Mystique, Part 3 of 4”
Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: Ron Garney
The big score is revealed to be the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (that opened its doors in November 1921), and soon Raven and her band of misfits hold the employees hostage as Soapy cracks open the safe. Unfortunately, five heavily armed police officers are waiting inside.

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #65 (Jul 2008) – “Get Mystique, Part 4 of 4”
Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: Ron Garney
Instead of arresting the motley crew of grifters, the police officers shoot them down in cold blood. Logan, waiting outside with the getaway car, runs in and is confronted by the police. But it is quickly revealed that Logan sold the crew out for the reward money, though in the chaos, Raven escapes. Later, Logan slips aboard a boxcar leaving town and comes face to face with Raven. Logan accuses Raven of using him all along, and in response, she cryptically says, “Maybe so. But I guess we’ll never know for sure.” As Logan turns to find a different car to sleep in, Raven kicks him in the back, sending him flying off the train.

…Logan spends time in various locations around the world probably as a result of joining the merchant marine…

X-Men #117 (Jan 1979) – “Psi War”
Plotters: Chris Claremont & John Byrne; Scripter: Chris Claremont
Penciler: John Byrne; Inker: Terry Austin
As the X-Men navigate a tiny craft against a prodigious gale in Drake Passage, just south of Cape Horn, Wolverine notes, “Count yer blessings, bub. This is summer. In midwinter, it’s really rough.” This would suggest that Wolverine had sailed around Cape Horn in the past, probably as a merchant marine.

Wolverine: The End #3 (Jun 2004)
Writer: Paul Jenkins; Artist: Claudio Castellini
Logan mentions that he met Adolf Hitler once, “…he was a weasel.” It is doubtful Logan met Hitler at the height of his power, meaning the meeting most likely occurred during the early 1920s when Hitler was in Munich before the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. Since Logan’s recollection takes place in a future timeline, we cannot confirm these events actually happened.

Wolverine/Shi: Dark Night of Judgment (2000)
Creator: William Tucci and Beau Smith; Inker: Rich Perotta
A secret war has raged for thousands of years in Japan between two societies of warriors, the Sohei warrior monks of Kyoto and the legendary Kage Ryu’ dragon warriors. The two sides eventually agree to hold a Quarter War every 25 years, facing off one warrior from each clan against the other. Just before 1925 in Japan, Logan “…was accepted into the Dragon Clan when he played a major role in saving their leader from betrayal and assassination from within his own clan.” Logan then became the chosen warrior for Kage Ryu’ in the 1925 battle, easily defeating the Sohei warrior.

Note that as this information is from a cross-comic company storyline (Marvel and Crusade Entertainment) with characters not traditionally from Marvel continuity (Shi), the validity of this background and story is extremely suspect.

Wolverine#183 (Jan 2003) – “…And Got Yourself a Gun”
Writer: Frank Tieri; Penciler: Sean Chen; Inker: Tom Palmer
Logan states, “Lou Gehrig was the best first baseman who ever lived. Anybody who actually saw the man play would know that.” Logan strongly implies that he saw Gehrig during his prime, some time between 1927 and 1937. Further, Logan’s tone suggests he saw Gehrig play on numerous occasions, meaning Logan was most probably in New York at some point in the late 1920s.

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #63 (May 2008) – “Get Mystique, Part 2 of 4”
Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: Ron Garney
Wolverine notes that he has been shot by a Tommy Gun, a popular submachine gun of the prohibition era. It seems likely, then, that Logan stumbled across the mob at some point during the 1920s.

<<< Previous: Sabretooth and Silver Fox | Next: The Thirties >>>