Wolverine's Biological, Adopted & Purported Family

[Glutton/Weapon X-26]

ANCESTORS

John Howlett Sr.; en.marveldatabase.com/John_Howlett_Sr_%28Earth-616%29 - (supposed grandfather, deceased)

John Howlett Jr.; www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/howlette.htm - (supposed father, deceased)

Thomas Logan; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Logan - (actual biological father, deceased)

Elizabeth Howlett; www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/howlette.htm#Elizabeth - (biological mother, deceased)


SIBLINGS & THEIR POSSIBLE OFFSPRING

White Ghost (John Howlett, III); en.marveldatabase.com/White_Ghost - (brother, presumed dead at birth in "Origins", but is discovered to be alive in "Wolverine: The End")

Dog Logan; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_Logan - (half-brother, status uncertain) {I believe Dog is Victor Creed's father, making Sabretooth a half-nephew to Wolverine. Sabretooth used Creed as his last name because Creed is his mothers maiden name. This is pure speculation, however.}

Sabretooth; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabretooth_%28comics%29 - (possible half-nephew, possible brother {could be Dog Logan})


FIANCÉS, WIVES, COMMON-LAW WIVES/MOTHERS OF WOLVERINE'S OFFSPRING

Itsu; en.marveldatabase.com/Itsu - (late wife)

Viper; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viper_%28Madame_Hydra%29 - (ex-wife; marriage of convenience)

Elektra; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elektra_%28comics%29 - (wife from one alternate future)

Gahck; www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/gahcksavland.htm - (former lover, from the Savage Land, and mother of Erista, unconfirmed as a legal spouse)

Silver Fox; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Fox - (lover, but unconfirmed as a legal spouse)

Mariko Yashida; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariko_Yashida - (deceased fiancé)

The Native; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_%28comics%29 - (a.k.a. Feral of the Weapon X program, mother of a litter of Wolverine's offspring that was removed from her womb, decease {not to be confused with Feral, formerly of the Morlocks, X-Force, and the Mutant Liberation Front})


OFFSPRING

Erista; www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/gahcksavland.htm#erista - (son with Savage Land native female named Gahck)

Unborn litter; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_%28comics%29 - (with "the Native"; a.k.a. Feral of the Weapon X program. {Do not confuse with Feral, formerly of the Morlocks, X-Force, and the Mutant Liberation Front.})

Daken; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daken - (son, with Itsu, revealed in Wolverine: Origins issue #5)

Wild Thing (Rina Logan); en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Thing_%28comics%29 - (daughter, with Elektra, from an alternate future)

Sabreclaw (Hudson Logan); en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabreclaw - (son, with unknown woman from an alternate future)

Amiko Kobayashi; www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/printthread.php?t=330 - (adopted daughter)

X-23 (Laura Kinney); en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-23 - (clone genetically altered to be female and adopted daughter)

Flex (Adrian Corbo); en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flex_%28comics%29 - (unconfirmed son with a Ms. Corbo)

Jimmy Hudson (Ultimate X); marvel.wikia.com/Jimmy_Hudson_(Earth-1610) - (Ultimate Universe-1610 son)

Gunhawk II; marvel.wikia.com/Gunhawk_II_(Earth-616)

Saw Fist; marvel.wikia.com/Saw_Fist_(Earth-616)

Cannon Foot; marvel.wikia.com/Cannon_Foot_(Earth-616)

Shadow Stalker; marvel.wikia.com/Shadow_S._(Earth-616)

Fire Knives; marvel.wikia.com/Fire_Knives_(Earth-616)


FURTHER DESCENDANTS

Rancor; marveldatabase.com/Rancor - (Wolverine's great-great-great-granddaughter from a possible future)


Can anyone think of any other possible relations to Wolverine?

[Megalictis]

This list is quite comprehensive, but the Wikia articles upon which this draws contain several errors.

First, Wolverine's grandfather was never given a first name in Origin. "Soft John" Howlett should therefor be referred to as John, Sr.

Second, this makes "John Howlett III" - the brother James never knew - John , Jr. And Wolverine: The End isn't "in continuity" so the revelations about his survival into the mid 21st century and his "White Ghost" persona aren't any more "canon" than a "What If?" story. This is not to say that these details can't become "canon" if the character makes an appearance in a story set in the present of "Earth 616," but since Romulus was introduced as the shadow figure behind the scenes manipulating Logan's life it is unlikely that the "White Ghost" will also occupy this role.

Third, "Dog" Logan can't be Sabretooth's father because that would make Sabretooth younger than Wolverine. Victor Creed was established to have been an adult long before James Howlett was born in an issue of Wolverine: Origins.

Fourth: Sabretooth is not a close blood relative to Wolverine. SHIELD long ago confirmed that he couldn't be Wolverine's father, but the status and nature of their "kinship" was finally established in Wolverine: they are simply part of the same mutant sub-species as Romulus but are no more closely related to each other than either is to Wild Child.

Fifth: while it is inferred that Logan took Gahck as a lover while in the savage land, there is only tenuous evidence that he is the father of her child. Gahck is seen holding an infant in the last panel of the story, but A) we don't know if the child is hers, B) we don't know who fathered the child, C) the gender of the child is unknown, and D) the infant's name is never mentioned - anywhere - ever - in any comic book. The name "Erista" is purely the invention of Comixfan moderator Eric J. Moreels who seems to have pulled the name out of his @$$! Unfortunately Marvel let him write the Wolverine Handbook without checking his facts, so people often take his mistake to be accurate information. Let me make this perfectly clear for all posterity: the name "Erista Logan" has never appeared in any Marvel Comics story! Eric Moreels has admitted he doesn't know where he got the name but has never corrected his mistake and it has since been repeated in a couple other handbooks and all over the internet.

Sixth: the "unborn litter" is a mistake. The Native was indeed pregnant when she was taken and her unborn fetus was removed, along with all her unfertilized ova. She was not carrying an "unborn litter."

And finally Laura (X-23) Kinney, as a genetically modified clone, is genetically closer to Logan than a fraternal twin, but slightly less similar than an identical twin, despite being 90 years younger. While the age disparity may make the father/daughter attribution logical, Logan himself introduced Laura to the New X-Men kids as his "sister."

I suppose Romulus himself could be added to the list as a possible ancestor, the first feral mutant.

[CongoJack]

Aug 11, 2008 9:14:20 GMT -5 Megalictis said:

the name "Erista Logan" has never appeared in any Marvel Comics story! Eric Moreels has admitted he doesn't know where he got the name but has never corrected his mistake and it has since been repeated in a couple other handbooks and all over the internet.

I'd really love to know how that name popped into Moreel's head. One of those mistakes that apparently has just seemed to stick. It's actually shocking that Marvel hasn't corrected this mistake considering Wolverine's profile as one of their premier characters. Are Marvel still publishing handbooks with this information on it?

EDIT: I liked the Flex idea as Wolverine's son. Give me him over Daken anyday.

[Megalictis]

According to the Official online F.A.Q. page for the Official Handbooks of the Marvel Universe, here's how it happened:

How do you go about writing each entry?

Once the list of profiles for each book has been chosen, the writers discuss the characters on it, and pick the entries they feel best suited to write. Once each writer has their list, they use a checklist of appearances our head writer, Jeff Christiansen, assembled and maintains, which lists virtually every character in the Marvel universe and where they appeared. From this point we follow similar methods to those established by the writers of the original (and Deluxe) volumes of the Marvel Handbooks (where appropriate and applicable, I will quote original Handbook scribe Mark Gruenwald's words on the subject, because he said it well, and there's no point trying to improve on perfection). The writer goes to the original comics, and reads "through the entry-subject's every appearance in chronological order, making notes of the significant data."

Like the original series (though on a lesser scale) we sometimes "look at the various gaps in the data, be it a never-disclosed real name or an unrecorded episode describing how an entry-subject got from point A to point B where we see it next. We then solicit original material from the writer and / or editor most closely associated with the entry-subject. Writers and/or editors either provide us with the material we request", give us permission to suggest options to fill that gap ourselves "or inform us that they would prefer to keep a bit of information a secret. We are proud to have certain information appear here in the Handbook for the first time anywhere." We also consider cases where there are conflicting historical accounts (inevitable in such an old and large mythos as Marvel's) or gray areas (such as who is actually a member of a team with informal membership requirements and who is just an ally who hangs around), and again, where possible, contact the original writers or original and current editors, to see if a ruling can be made to clarify the situation. Taking the information from these first two steps, an initial profile is assembled - unlike the method used on the Deluxe edition, we do not go to the previous Handbooks until after assembling the initial profile. This is firstly because we do not wish to short-change owners of the original volumes by consciously or unconsciously regurgitating what is simply an updated copy of something they bought many years ago, and secondly because any Handbook entry is a summary of the entry-subject's history, and going to the original comics may bring up relevant aspects of that history missed out from the previous summaries. We do, however, always check previous Handbook volumes where appropriate, as they can be the source of canonical information not given anywhere else; physical dimensions, true identities, names of relatives, and historical background have all been provided for the first (and in some cases only) time in those Handbooks, and must not be missed out if the new profile is to be accurate. Once any such information is added, the draft is then submitted to the writer group for comments and proof checking. Profiles will generally go through multiple drafts, with us repeating the initial steps of re-checking the original comics and querying the people who wrote and edited the character as often as required.

When we have finished our drafts, the profiles are all sent to our editor Jeff Youngquist, who likewise checks through all the profiles for mistakes and unclear information: in many cases, other editors relevant to given sections of the Marvel universe (such as Mike Marts for X-Men related entries) or writers closely associated with given entry-subjects will also check profiles; in all cases, continuity supremo Tom Brevoort scrutinizes our work, correcting anything he feels we have got wrong. Only then, once all these people have checked and double checked the work, does it gain the official Marvel seal of approval, and get sent to be put into Handbook format ready for the printers.

In other words, Moreels basically made up the name Erista, and Marvel let him.
Source - www.marvunapp.com/ohotmu/ohotmufaq.htm#write

[Glutton/Weapon X-26]

Aug 11, 2008 9:14:20 GMT -5 Megalictis said:

First, Wolverine's grandfather was never given a first name in Origin. "Soft John" Howlett should therefor be referred to as John, Sr....

Second, this makes "John Howlett III" - the brother James never knew - John , Jr.

It's been a while since I read "Origin", and I know they never said Grandpa Howlett's first name, but I thought that the tombstone for Wolverine's older brother said John Howlett III.

Aug 11, 2008 9:14:20 GMT -5 Megalictis said:

And Wolverine: The End isn't "in continuity" so the revelations about his survival into the mid 21st century and his "White Ghost" persona aren't any more "canon" than a "What If?" story. This is not to say that these details can't become "canon" if the character makes an appearance in a story set in the present of "Earth 616," but since Romulus was introduced as the shadow figure behind the scenes manipulating Logan's life it is unlikely that the "White Ghost" will also occupy this role...


I suppose Romulus himself could be added to the list as a possible ancestor, the first feral mutant.

Aug 11, 2008 9:29:12 GMT -5 Megalictis said:

While both John Jr. and Romulus occupied the role of "behind the scenes manipulator" in Logan's life they can't be the same character. Romulus is thousands of years old (possibly older than Apocalypse) - he was already ancient when he fought as a gladiator in Rome. Wolverine: The End is out of continuity so Daniel way can usurp these characteristics without contradicting "Marvel history." It is likely that if John, Jr. ever appears again he will not be depicted quite like he was in Wolverine: The End.

It also showed Wolverine and Sabretooth as gladiators in Rome, which was supposed to be way before they were both born. I just thought that was some sort of symbolism.
It is exactly that both Romulus and White Ghost are fulfilling the same role that I believe, well, really hope, they are one and the same.

Aug 11, 2008 9:14:20 GMT -5 Megalictis said:

Third, "Dog" Logan can't be Sabretooth's father because that would make Sabretooth younger than Wolverine. Victor Creed was established to have been an adult long before James Howlett was born in an issue of Wolverine: Origins.

Which issue of Origins? I have all the issues, thus far.

Aug 11, 2008 9:14:20 GMT -5 Megalictis said:

Fourth: Sabretooth is not a close blood relative to Wolverine. SHIELD long ago confirmed that he couldn't be Wolverine's father, but the status and nature of their "kinship" was finally established in Wolverine: they are simply part of the same mutant sub-species as Romulus but are no more closely related to each other than either is to Wild Child.

The whole mutant sub-species story, while having great art, sucked. There was so much symbolism with them remembering "past live", or whatever, that it didn't flow well, and I don't know what to make out of it. With Wolverine having total memory recall, I thought of the events portrayed in "Evolution" as more of a way to mess with Wolverines mind, again.

Aug 11, 2008 9:14:20 GMT -5 Megalictis said:

Fifth: while it is inferred that Logan took Gahck as a lover while in the savage land, there is only tenuous evidence that he is the father of her child. Gahck is seen holding an infant in the last panel of the story, but A) we don't know if the child is hers, B) we don't know who fathered the child, C) the gender of the child is unknown, and D) the infant's name is never mentioned - anywhere - ever - in any comic book. The name "Erista" is purely the invention of Comixfan moderator Eric J. Moreels who seems to have pulled the name out of his @$$! Unfortunately Marvel let him write the Wolverine Handbook without checking his facts, so people often take his mistake to be accurate information. Let me make this perfectly clear for all posterity: the name "Erista Logan" has never appeared in any Marvel Comics story! Eric Moreels has admitted he doesn't know where he got the name but has never corrected his mistake and it has since been repeated in a couple other handbooks and all over the internet.

Unless this becomes "corrected", I'll take it as canon.

Aug 11, 2008 9:14:20 GMT -5 Megalictis said:

Sixth: the "unborn litter" is a mistake. The Native was indeed pregnant when she was taken and her unborn fetus was removed, along with all her unfertilized ova. She was not carrying an "unborn litter."

I haven't read this issue in a while. I must have remembered wrong. I was just thinking that because Wolverine and the Native were so animalistically similar that the pregnancy was more animalistic in nature.

Aug 11, 2008 9:14:20 GMT -5 Megalictis said:

And finally Laura (X-23) Kinney, as a genetically modified clone, is genetically closer to Logan than a fraternal twin, but slightly less similar than an identical twin, despite being 90 years younger. While the age disparity may make the father/daughter attribution logical, Logan himself introduced Laura to the New X-Men kids as his "sister."

I'll agree that they should be considered siblings, but I thought Logan had officially adopted her, as well. In another light, X-23 could also be considered offspring, because she was derived from combining Logan's DNA with the DNA of Doctor Sarah Kinney.

[Megalictis]

This seems like the right thread for this, so rarther than starting a new one I'll revive an old one.



Warning: The images below contain some spoiles for X-Force #20 (Copyright Marvel Comics Group 2009, yadda, yadda, not mine, etc. Amen.)










{Obligatory spoiler space}













Judging by events and dialogue in this issue Kyle and Yost are finally pushing the peanut forward in the relationship between Wolverine and X-23.

[Glutton/Weapon X-26]

Added Jimmy Hudson (Ultimate X); marvel.wikia.com/Jimmy_Hudson_(Earth-1610) - (Ultimate Universe-1610 son).

[Glutton/Weapon X-26]

Added Gunhawk II, Saw Fist, Cannon Foot, Shadow Stalker and Fire Knives

[Megalictis]

Since you're counting alternate reality family you should add Kirika, Logan's Age of Apocalypse daughter by Mariko Yashida (AoA's X-23).

And if you want to include extended family, then Truett Hudson (aka. Prof, Andre Thornton of Weapon X) and James MacDonald Hudson of Alpha Flight, and Romulus' big blind enforcers Victor Hudson, and the man who ran the Devil's Brigade training camp are apparently all descended from Elizabeth Hudson's brothers, making them Logan's first or second cousins several times removed.