Wolverine

Template:Character 3

## History

*"...I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do isn't very nice."*
**―Wolverine**
### Early years

Wolverine's life began in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada, in 1832, a couple of weeks before the 19th of April. Eventually coming to be known simply as "*Logan*", he was born as James Howlett, the second illegitimate son of Elizabeth Howlett (who was married to John Howlett, the owner of a large estate) and the Howletts' groundskeeper, Thomas Logan. As a boy, James was notably frail and prone to bouts of allergic attacks. He was largely neglected by his mother, who had been institutionalized for a time following the death of her first son, John Jr., just a few years after James' birth. James was constantly under the pressure of his grandfather, Mr. Howlett, who believed that James required constant punishment by a strong hand in order to be raised properly. "Firm, but fair" was what Mr. Howlett used to say to justify any of his abusive actions.

James spent most of his early years on the estate grounds with two playmates that lived on the Howlett Estate with him: Rose O'Hara, a red-headed Irish girl who was brought in from town to be a companion to young James, and Victor "Dog" Logan, Thomas Logan's son (and James's half-brother). The children were close friends, but, as they reached adolescence, the abuse inflicted upon Dog warped his mind. Dog made unwanted advances towards Rose, which James reported to his father. In retaliation, Dog killed James' puppy, in turn leading to the expulsion of Thomas and Dog from the estate.

Thomas, in a drunken stupor and armed with a shotgun, invaded the Howlett Estate with his son and attempted to take his former lover Elizabeth with him. John, Sr. attempted to stop him and Thomas shot him in cold blood. James had just entered the room while this occurred and his mutation finally manifested; bone claws extended from the backs of his hands and he attacked the intruders with uncharacteristic ferocity, impaling Thomas to the wall. The dying groundskeeper informed James of his true parentage and then passed. Already an emotionally disturbed woman since the death of her first son, Elizabeth, now completely unhinged, drove James and Dog away, calling them freaks, and sent a search party after them. The two however managed to evade detection, and never looked back.

Rose fled the estate soon after to accompany the two, and the three of them spent the night hiding in a shed near the edge of the estate. James experiences his heightened senses for the first time telling Rose that he could smell faraway apple dumplings. The three would spend their adolescent years gallivanting around the Yukon Territories, finding work mostly in small mining towns.

After the mines lost became dry, the towns lost many of their residents and James and Dog decided to head south to the US, while Rose stayed behind. Rose eventually fell for a man who lived in one of these towns, Smitty, whose mannerisms and personality James greatly admired and would eventually emulate in his adult life.

The two brothers spent the next several years operating as soldiers, fighting in the American Civil War on the side of the Union. James took his father Thomas Logan's surname as his own, going by James Logan, or simply "Logan". Dog would similarly drop his nickname, now preferring to be called his given name, Victor. Continuing their careers in war, which they were naturally quite gifted at, Logan and Victor's lives became increasingly violent and rageful as the decades stretched on.