Wolverine has had a 52 year trip to the top of the comic industry, becoming the one of the most popular superheroes in history. An argument can be made that the return of the hero to the big screen allowed the Marvel Cinematic Universe to hit a billion dollar box office again, helping to redeem a few unsuccessful years. He has become an icon, his popularity rocketing past the X-Men, a team he helped make the bestselling in comics history. The height of the team’s popularity came in the early ’90s, with the group riding high after the 1991 reboot and the premiere of X-Men: The Animated Series, which is what makes the decision that Marvel made with the ol’Canucklehead in 1993 all the more audacious.
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That year, “Fatal Attractions”, a classic of the ’90s X-Men, brought back Magneto for the ultimate battle against the team. Wolverine was on the frontline for the final battle in X-Men (Vol. 2) #25 and even almost won the day for his friends, before Magneto went at him harder than ever. The mutant master of magnetism finally showed the man with the metal skeleton how stupid it was to fight him, tearing the adamantium off his skeleton. This decision is one that wouldn’t have been made today, but without it, Wolverine may not have become as popular as he is now. Marvel destroyed one of their biggest characters ever and it made him better than ever.
Wolverine Losing His Adamantium Was Integral to His Success
One thing that people complain about in the current comic industry is the way that the comics are changed to fit the movies. Major status quo changes never last or never happen at all. In 1991, Wolverine and the X-Men were the hottest thing in comics, and the next year saw them become the hottest thing on Saturday morning TV. They were suddenly superstars, their adventures being adapted to the screen. Comics were everywhere back in the day, and the kids who loved Wolverine could get his comic adventures at the grocery store for a $1.75, and they did. Every one knew about the adamantium skeleton and the claws; they were a part of the legend of the character.
That’s why taking away his adamantium was such a weird idea. I was 12 when it happened, and it was the most shocking moment I’d ever seen. Comics didn’t make changes like this often back then; this meant something. It was wild, but from a marketing standpoint, it was even wilder. Wolverine was the face of Marvel, or one of the co-faces, and the publisher decided to massively change the character. He wasn’t going to be the indestructible hero any more; they were going to change him, shake him to his core. And it worked. Readers didn’t leave the book after Wolverine popped his bone claws in Wolverine (Vol. 2) #75; they were hooked and the sales proved it.
The change to the character was about more than making him weaker; it made him stronger. It made him rethink about how he fought, who he fought. There were suddenly stakes in the story because he wasn’t unbreakable anymore. Wolverine (Vol. 2) became one of the bestselling solo books of the era, as writer Larry Hama and artist Adam Kubert (and a lot of fill-in artists; Kubert has always been great, but he can be slow at times) changed what the character could be. Fans, many of whom had been introduced to Logan by the cartoon the year before, stayed with him after he lost the thing that made him the show’s take no prisoner’s butt-kicker. It was honestly kind of amazing.
Wolverine comics in the ’90s after the character he lost his adamantium were captivating. We got to see the character in new ways, facing new challenges, and it worked. Questions were raised, questions were answered, and readers were there for the ride. Marvel devoted themselves to the change. There’s an argument to be made that six years of no adamantium was too long, but the fact of that matter is that it’s so impressive that Marvel was able to keep it going for that long. It honestly got to the point that some figured it would never end. Wolverine had survived the greatest loss that he could and got better. We were quite shocked when it was revealed that it was back, and honestly that’s a testament to how much Marvel locked in on a change that could have been disastrous. Instead, Wolverine (Vol. 2) remained a top-selling book and he still starred in the most popular team book of the day.
Marvel Broke an Icon and Created a Legend
Wolverine (Vol. 2) #75 came out on September 14th, 1993, my 13th birthday. It was a such an insane moment. Fans had just seen Wolverine take his greatest loss ever. We had no idea where the story was going. How would his claws work? What came next? We got the shocking answer and went on a journey, as the ol’Canucklead rebuilt himself from base zero, culminating him in finally getting a true victory over Sabretooth (back then, this was actually a rare thing; ‘Tooth usually creamed him). It was an interesting change that pulled in readers, many of whom had just got into the character.
The loss of the adamantium humanized the character in a way he hadn’t been before. It did exactly what a change should do, and the fact that Marvel decided to do it at a time when the most eyes were on the X-Men will always be wild. It was a move that no one expected and it paid off in the short and long terms. Marvel had to destroy the character to move him forward, and they did it when the most eyes were on him. Nowadays, he’s a superstar, and the loss of his adamantium is one of the most important milestones on that road.
What do you think about the loss of Wolverine’s adamantium? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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