Claim: Wolverine appeared in a comic in 1974.

Wolverine -LRB- born James Howlett commonly known as Logan and sometimes as Weapon X -RRB- is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics , mostly in association with the X-Men . He is a mutant who possesses animal-keen senses , enhanced physical capabilities , powerful regenerative ability known as a healing factor , and three retractable bone claws in each hand . Wolverine has been depicted variously as a member of the X-Men , Alpha Flight , and the Avengers .   The character appeared in the last panel of The Incredible Hulk # 180 before having a larger role in # 181 -LRB- cover-dated Nov. 1974 -RRB- . He was created by writer Len Wein and Marvel art director John Romita , Sr. , who designed the character , and was first drawn for publication by Herb Trimpe . Wolverine then joined a revamped version of the superhero team the X-Men , where eventually writer Chris Claremont and artist-writer John Byrne would play significant roles in the character 's development . Artist Frank Miller collaborated with Claremont and helped to revise the character with a four-part eponymous limited series from September to December 1982 which debuted Wolverine 's catchphrase , `` I 'm the best there is at what I do , but what I do best is n't very nice . ''   Wolverine is typical of the many tough antiheroes that emerged in American popular culture after the Vietnam War ; his willingness to use deadly force and his brooding nature became standard characteristics for comic book antiheroes by the end of the 1980s . As a result , the character became a fan favorite of the increasingly popular X-Men franchise , and has been featured in his own solo comic since 1988 .   He has appeared in most X-Men adaptations , including animated television series , video games , and the live-action 20th Century Fox X-Men film series , in which he is portrayed by Hugh Jackman in nine of the ten films . The character is highly rated in many comics best-of lists , ranked # 1 in Wizard magazine 's 2008 Top 200 Comic Book Characters ; 4th in Empires 2008 Greatest Comic Characters ; and 4th on IGN 's 2011 Top 100 Comic Book Heroes .