The Claws Come Out: Chris Claremont and Matthew K. Manning on Wolverine
Of the many great things the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) does—and there are indeed many—one of the most recent interesting events was a discussion held by Uncanny X-Men and X-Men Forever scribe Chris Claremont and Wolverine: Inside the World of the Living Weapon author Matthew K. Manning. Wolverine has for decades been one of comics’ most popular characters, and one of its most fascinating, so I was eager to talk more about him with Claremont and Manning…and they were nice enough to agree! Here's what they had to say about Logan and his evolution.
Chris, in the many years you were writing Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine went through a remarkable evolution, from what seemed like an out-of-control killer to a very thoughtful and moral character—or at least a character with his own complex morality. How much of that was planned from the beginning and how much came about organically from the character?
Chris Claremont: In a very real sense, the answer derives from both possibilities, in much the same way as a person grows in “real” life: The first stage was Dave Cockrum and I sitting down and working out the physical and psychological benchmarks of his existence. Who is he, what is he, how does he deal with events/react to people around him; what are his assets and his liabilities? What helps make him unique? Where does being short fit into the mix? (And where does being Canadian, for that matter?) The animalistic aspect of his nature was a key factor from the get-go—but the claws (being both metal but also a part of him) were the aspect that brought everything into what came to be a tragic focus. I mean, think of it: Here we have a man whose essence is raw and natural reality essentially being raped, having the human core of his body being ripped out and replaced by an artificial construct that will forever differentiate him from everyone else around him. And indeed, will likely survive his death. Can you imagine a more primal violation? That became the foundation—on which John Byrne and I expanded our vision of the character, and Frank Miller and I built the miniseries that coalesced all these multiple and conflicting elements into an ongoing coherent whole. To me, these are the critical elements of the man, what makes him real—both to me as the writer and me as the quintessential reader—it’s the foundation that keeps me coming back to see what happens next.
Did you like Wolverine when you first started writing X-Men? Or did he have to grow on you?
CC: Actually, both.
Matthew, do you remember your first impression of Wolverine, the first time you saw the character?
Matthew Manning: My first encounter with Wolverine was an old back issue of Marvel Comics Presents. Issue #10, I believe. I ran across it on the comic rack of an old penny candy store in Ohio when I was a kid. My brother and I were wasting time before a Saturday matinee, and while my brother was busy spending his allowance on Sour Patch Kids, I was buying yet another Marvel Comic.
Did you like him at first?
MM: Actually I was terrified of him. Well, it wasn’t quite his fault. I flipped through the comic, which also featured a Man-Thing story involving a man having bone-like protrusions coming out of his skin. The image scarred my admittedly easily disturbed second-grade mindset, and I put the comic down then and there, never to read it for years. Even though the story that bothered me wasn’t the Wolverine portion of the comic, I found Logan guilty by association, and moved on to other characters. Obviously, I found my way back, and now Wolverine is easily one of my favorite Marvel heroes.
You’re now the writer behind Wolverine: Inside the World of the Living Weapon. How did you come to be involved with this book?
MM: I’ve written for a few books for DK Publishing in the past, so when I heard that a Wolverine movie was in production, I emailed my editor and asked him if DK was thinking about releasing a Wolverine guide at about the same time. It turns out they were, and a few months later, we started working on the book.
What’s inside it and what will readers learn about Wolverine?
MM: The book covers everything from Wolverine’s birth to his various deaths in possible future realities. We 
pretty much touch on all the bases, including supporting characters, villains, and even Logan’s wardrobe. There’s also a handy timeline included, to help readers navigate through the confusing terrain of Wolverine’s rather lengthy life.
After all the years of Wolverine stories, all the many different takes on him, how do you distill down to the essential root of the character? Did you find that he had always been handled consistently?
MM: Wolverine is an extremely popular character, and as such, he’s appeared in hundreds of comics. So there have been a few examples of mischaracterization over the years, but for the most part, Wolverine’s personality hasn’t strayed too far from what Claremont and company established years ago.
Chris, were you surprised to see Wolverine become the most popular character in the X-Men? Did he start to take on a life of his own that you hadn’t anticipated?
CC: The fascinating thing about the X-Men way back in the day is that we had no idea how things would turn out. The goal was to have a good time, tell great stories, play with these fantastic characters. The fun wasn’t so much that Logan seemed to move inevitably center-stage—I think, by the way, that’s one of the things that makes Hugh Jackman so right for the role, despite the “height” thing; they’re both natural stars; all Jackman has to do is walk on-screen and you can’t take your eye off him. Same goes for Logan. Pure character magic. All you can do, as writer and audience, is go with it and have fun watching what happens next. Anyroad, the fun was watching Logan grow in the process. But part of that growth was having him interact with the rest of the X-ensemble: the balance/contrast between him and Ororo, the friendship between him and Kurt, the “paternal” relationship that grew over time between him and Kitty. He may have become the spoke around which the others all seemed to revolve but that in no way diminished their strength and impact. In fact, their assets made the experience all the richer because Logan came forth as first among a set of truly impressive equals, rather than someone standing alone on a flat landscape. I actually feel they all grew together, with him becoming first among an “A”-list of equals.
What do you see as the key traits of the character? Why do you think he’s become such a pivotal character in comics and endured for well over three decades?
MM: Wolverine is s a scrappy fighter with a hair-trigger temper and a bit of a chip on his shoulder. But underneath it all, he has a strict moral code and is constantly battling the beast within. Wolverine’s life is an eternal struggle with his baser instincts, and he’s always striving to become something more than just an animal. I think it’s this internal conflict that really appeals to the readers. This desire to be something better than what nature or society dictates. Wolverine isn’t just a two-dimensional tough guy. He’s a complex hero who we just can’t help rooting for.
CC: For me, the key trait is his sense of honor linked into his lifelong quest to become truly, lastingly human. Logan wants to defeat the animal in his soul; he wants to grow into something better. But the animal is a quintessential part of him; it refuses to be expelled or ignored. He can’t back off from that primal struggle but as yet he’s found no way to win. Likewise, he refuses to lose. Sabretooth, by contrast, is perfectly happy with the way he is; he thinks Logan’s being a total butthead with these ongoing attempts to make himself something that he’s not. Therein lies the essence of their age-old conflict. For readers, I suspect, there’s the yearning to be as free—and fearless, and effective—with the violence as Logan is, but also to be on with his struggle to make himself something better, despite all the odds. His greatest adversary isn’t any of the villains he fights; it’s himself. Which also happens to be the one adversary he can’t escape. Which ultimately makes for some fun conflicts.
How did you decide to give him the tie-in to Japanese culture?
CC: I love the culture—but more importantly, to me the Samurai ethic represents the most extreme attempt to structuralize, and brings under control, the wild, violent side of human nature. To properly, if you will, “cage” the beast supposedly within us all. It is an expression of conscious control, which is what Logan yearns for.
Have you seen the new Wolverine movie yet? What are your thoughts on it?
CC: Yes, I’ve seen it. And my primal response when it was done—much like Wolvie’s creator, Len Wein, I suspect—was to wonder “What the hell’s going to happen next?” And be incredibly frustrated that I’ll have to wait however long it takes for Fox to make the film so I can find out. I’m a child of comic-books; I want the next issue now! In short, I loved Hugh Jackman, I loved Liev Schreiber, I loved Stryker and Gambit. I want to see more.
MM: I haven’t gotten a chance to see the movie yet, but I plan on it. With a history as complex as Logan’s, I’m not expecting an exact adaptation. Things have to be altered and changed when you’re looking to cram 35 years of comics into a two-hour time frame. If the result is a good movie that stays true to the core of the character, I don’t really care what they change.
Chris, was there ever anything you wanted to do with Wolverine as a character that you couldn’t?
CC: Of course—but you’ll have to read X-Men Forever to find out what. (The series launches—biweekly and ongoing—the second week in June and from issue 1, it’s chock full of surprises and revelations.)
A lot of people cite the moment in Uncanny X-Men #133 when Wolverine takes on the Hellfire Club guards as their most influential Wolverine story. What do you consider to be the definitive Wolverine issue or scene?
CC: That arc of Uncanny was certainly fun, but to my mind, the key Logan story is the miniseries by myself and Frank Miller—followed by the two-part coda in Uncanny by me and Paul Smith, as the X-Men gather in Japan for the wedding. There are a lot of other good stories in my canon, but that’s the crest of the mountain.
Which Wolverine costume do you prefer: The brown one or the blue and yellow one, and why?
MM: Easily the brown and tan. That was the color of my Secret Wars toy when I was a kid, so that’s the costume I most closely relate to all things Wolverine. In fact, there’s a new Marvel Universe brown and tan Wolverine action figure perched on my desk as I type this. He’s currently locked in battle with Iron Man, so I’ll let you know how that turns out.
CC: I’ve never thought in terms of costume, per se. I like the man. I like to see his face. I don’t so much like him behind a mask. I think that’s one of the reasons I like Hugh Jackman’s presentation of him in the films; he makes the jeans and the leather jacket—and the belt—work as an effective costume, far more so to my eye than the black skin-suit the team wore in the X-movies. It looked great on Jackman, but I think he looked just as great in his rough civvies. (Mind you, what I’d love to see—speaking purely as a writer—is him working through the quiet scenes as well, presenting the friendships being built up between him and the others. Him and Ororo, for example, or him and Kitty. But that’s just me. I’m sure others have their own preferences, sigh!) As for Logan in the comics, the fun for me is surprising the readers—say, by putting Logan in a tux and making it work. The beauty of a guy like him is that he’s such a strong character he can challenge preconceptions.
