Wolverine's Best Friends

[weaponx23]

Please describe Logan's friends of how close they are to him.

His friends I know of are:

Beast
Gambit
Pyslocke
Jubilee
Rogue
Jean
Cyclops
Kitty
Colossus
Storm
Nightcrawler
Capn't America
Spider-man

But I can't describe how close they are to him. Some of you might know.

[Mark Caringer]

Wolverine is friends with all the ladies and Nightcrawler, everyone else on the list I would see are more as people he knows. Alot of the x-men he respects and sees them as a form of family, families have fights.

[CongoJack]

Logan's best buddy is Kurt. Also evident in recent UNCANNY X-MEN issues is that he's pretty close to Colossus, which seemed to have been forgotten for a good few years. Logan's always respcted Xavier - even if he didn't show it.

Kinda had a mentor relationship with Cannonball for a while, and was the first person that Maggott trusted enough to tell about himself. Loeb's awesome VICTIMS turned Gambit and Wolvie into allies if not quite friends.

Claremont had a pretty good surmation of all the important ladies in Wolverine's life: From the X-Men - Jean Grey, Rogue, Psylocke, Jubilee and Kitty Pryde. From his own adventures - Yukio, Tyger Tiger, Jessica Drew, Black Widow. Quite suprising to me that Claremont didn't include Storm in that troupe. Maybe because of Whedon Armor could be added to that list.

[Megalictis]

Pretty accurate and consise summation. I'd add James and Heather Hudson (well, mostly Heather), and Carol Danvers (Ms. Marvel), to the list of people Logan was close to. And Logan and Nick Fury go waaaaaay back, though they don't exactly like each other.

And in Xavier's case I'd add gratitude (both for helping him recover lost memories and for taking him in and giving him a chance in the first place) to respect, plus the fact that when Wolverine joined the X-Men Xavier and Banshee were the only two he didn't think of as "kids."

As to those on the list:

Beast - of all the original X-Men Logan is probably closer to Hank than the rest. This became more apparent after they spent time in prison together in The Raft. Their mutations are similar (right down to the hair style until Hank went all "Tony the Tiger"), but they simply don't have much else in common.

Gambit - he tolerates the Cajun, but doesn't exactly trust him. They were rivals in a way since Gambit joined the X-Men and Logan's protectiveness of Rogue puts them at odds ("You break her heart an' yer' gonna' have to deal with me.")

Pyslocke - a good friend, a trusted comrade, and in some ways a kindred spirit. I don't recall any conflict between them since Hong Kong. He trusted her and stuck up for her after the body-switch and she hasn't forgotten.

Jubilee - this one's complicated. "Surrogate daughter" is close enough for shorthand, but that doesn't even cover it. "Lifeline" came closest. She's the last person on earth who would ever abandon him. This is the only character he's ever admitted he "needed" (GenX #6). Remember when Logan was "Death?" He was ready to kill Kitty and Kurt, but when Jubilee refused to fight him he couldn't touch her. Don't get me started, because I'll go on for several pages.

Rogue - in the beginning, when Rogue came to the X-Men at seventeen, Logan carried a grudge because Rogue had stolen all Carol Danvers' memories, but during a fight with Silver Samurai and Viper he began to give her the benefit of the doubt. She even tried to flirt with him. They both have a wild side, which I think Logan appreciates in her. And he encouraged her self-confidence when she first considered leading an X-team.

Jean - he's probably still in love with her. I don't think anything in Phoenix: Endsong changed that. Although to the extent Jean and Phoenix are now inseperable that may change things (he loves the woman, not the cosmic entity). What I'd like to see is an introspective story where Logan examines how much of his feelings for Jean originate in his feelings for Rose.

Cyclops - begrudging respect. It began way back during the Proteus story where Cyclops picked a fight with Wolverine to pull him out of his funk. It seemed to grow during the post-"Cyclopalyse" period, and shot up a notch when Cyclops assembled X-Force. It's just that... "sometimes Cyclopse can be a real douchebag." There'll always be some conflict there.

Kitty - Surrogate daughter. For years I didn't fully understand how Kitty had grown so close to Wolverine that 1) she actually proposed to him just to keep him from marrying Viper (Wolverine #125) and he could sense when she was in danger when she was nowhere around (God Loves, Man Kills II) - both Claremont stories. I had to assume the events of the Wolverine and Kitty Pryde mini-series meant a lot to her. Wolverine: First Class is finally filling in the blanks.

Colossus - friends, but not as close as Kurt. At 18, Petey was the "kid" on the team before Kitty showes up. Logan has a tendancy to take "the kid" under his wing (as with Kitty, Jubilee, Cannonball and Armor, and to some extent Chamber). It's a function of his age and disposition. Two events have placed some distance between them: when Peter "dumped" Kitty because he had fallen in love with an alien healer in Secret Wars, and when Colossus joined the Acolytes.

Storm - like a sister. He has tremendous respect for her. She's one of a handful of people who can pull him out of a berserker rage. He's attracted to her but he always figured it would never go anywhere. She's a goddess, he's an animal. She's tranqility and dignity, he's conflict and rage. When they're on a team together and she's in charge (and he'd side with her over Cyclops) they almost act as "mother and father" to the rest.

Nightcrawler - best friend, and often moral compass. What started out as taking the young misfit under his wing (Kurt was 20-21 when they took that first trip to Canada) developed somehow into his closest frendship on the team. Kurt's just a real good guy. And very understanding and forgiving, which counts for a lot when you're trying to get close to Wolverine. Plus Logan's Canadian and Kurt is German - they both love beer. (I'm really enjoying their excursion in "divided we Stand" in Uncanny - I hope Kurt's not a Skrull!) Dammit, I want more Wolverine and Nightcrawler stories! How about: "Oh, by the way, Elf, I stabbed your mom and left her to die in the desert in Iraq. Sorry, but you're an orphan." That could be an interesting starting point.

Capn't America - like Cyclops only more so. They often disagree, but Logan respects the hell out'a the way Steve always takes the moral high-ground (even when it isn't the best idea) and never gives an inch. You can't get more honorable than Captain America.

Spider-man - he may be a wise-cracking, pain-in-the-butt, every-man, loner, antihero - but he's just too likable for Logan to hate. He's a stand-up guy and Logan admires that. They may not agree on means but their ends are often the same. And when they're not at odds they nmake a pretty good team. ('Course it doesn't hurt that they're Marvel's most popular characters). Heck, he knew Perer's parents, and he's even been to dinner at Aunt May's house.