*James Howlett was born in the 1880s in Alberta, Canada. He was the child of an affair between his mother and Thomas Logan who worked for her husband. During the tragic events that followed, James' father was slain by Thomas, Thomas was in turn killed by James, and James' mother passed away from injuries sustained. He fled with his childhood nanny, Rose, to a mining colony. He takes the name of Logan.
*Eventually James is tracked down by his half brother, Dog Logan. During the conflict that ensued Rose was killed. James left into the wilds of Canada to live with the wolves. Then eventually James began to live with the Blackfoot Native Americans, even going so far as to take a wife, Silver Fox. Supposedly she was killed by Sabretooth, pushing Logan to seek revenge as well as to forget once again. He left the Indians.
*Now at the time of World War I, Logan fights against the Germans. After the war he spends some time travelling the world, primarily Madripoor and Japan.
*War breaks out again, Wolverine joins the Canadian military and fights. He meets and teams up with Captain America as well as beginning some intelligence work for the CIA. He is adopted into several black/special ops groups, Team X being the final one.
*After the war Logan continues to work for the intelligence community and Team X. He volunteers for several special procedures and operations to become more effective. He is given false memories and conditioning. He leaves their service to try and work more closely with the Canadian military.
*Team X/Weapon X eventually recapture him and begin experimenting upon him in earnest. It's during this time that he's given a stronger mindwipe as well as injected with adamantium into his skeleton. This turns back upon them and he escapes.
*Logan is discovered in the Canadian wilderness by the Hudsons. They're able to help him recover something of himself despite his near total amnesia and loss of mental bearing. He repays them in the only way he knows how, by working with Department H. He rejoins the intelligence community.
*Logan is deployed as the Wolverine, one of Canada's first superheroes/soldiers. He battles Hulk, Wendigo, and is brought to the attention of Charles Xavier.
*Logan is approached by Xavier to join the X-Men. Logan resigns from Department H and joins. He battles the island Krakoa with the X-Men, meeting for the first time Jean Grey.
*With the X-Men, Logan fought many villains and set foot on the long path to trying to reclaim his humanity. He returned to Japan to marry his love, Mariko Yashida, who died in his arms. He also helped Kitty Pryde overcome Shingen's posession. He gained an adopted daughter named Amiko while on one of his many adventures with the X-Men. He overcame many foes and travelled across the universe several times.
*At one point, the X-Men retreated to Australia faking their deaths and becoming invisible to most electronic surveillance equipment. He operated from a compound there for a time until he and Rogue were abducted by the Genoshans. Having lost his powers he retired for a brief time from the X-Men in an attempt to return to nature. Eventually he sought to return but was kidnapped by the Reavers after he found the compound empty.
*Logan was captured, tortured, and crucified only to be saved by a new young mutant named Jubilee. The two became friends and eventually teammates.
*Later, the Shadow King sought to free himself from his prison and did so by taking over Logan's body while he and the team were on Muir island. Luckily Psylocke was able to banish the Shadow King back to his prison before too much damage could be done.
*Of late he has had to come to terms with some elements of his past, as well as facing the repercussions of his actions. He is responsible not just for those he cares for, but for a new daughter of sorts. His return to the X-Men promises to be eventful, at the very least.
Honorable.
If there is one aspect of his personality that defines him, then for Logan it is his sense of honor. It has served him in the past as a life preserver that he's clung to when trying to maintain his humanity, at others it provides him the strength of conviction to present him with the proper course of action in trying times. He is an honorable man to a fault. If he gives his word he will move heaven and earth to maintain it, and if it is broken it is not through lack of effort. We all have an image of ourselves in our heads, or the self we wish to be. For Logan that image is that of the noble samurai standing tall in the armor of his honor.
Wild.
Almost in perfect counterpoint to his honorable nature, Logan has been called a creature without humanity. He is a man who has lived with feral animals and led them, a man who is in touch with his primal side and always with the danger of it overwhelming him. This manifests in many ways for him, how he works, how he plays, and that subtle edge of danger that's always there when he's in the room. Of late he has gained more of a handle on this aspect of his personality, but it is still there on the edge of his awareness.
Rough.
If anyone spends any amount of time with Logan, they quickly realize that he's a man that's definitely rough around the edges. He doesn't take much time for manners or ettiquette, oftentimes offends people around him with his choice of words and abrupt speaking of what he perceives as the truth. Yet this does not mean he's incapable of decorum, it's more that he restricts the times when he chooses to hold himself in check.
Pragmatic.
There is a reason that Logan has been so successful working in the position that he's in, as well as for the intelligence agencies that have employed him. Not simply because of his natural gifts, what is more is the mentality that he holds. He is an utterly pragmatic man, and when faced with difficult choices he does not shy away from them. He is the man that they call on when they need to make the harsh decisions and he is able to do so instantly.
Determined.
Some would call it bull-headedness, or simply being stubborn. The truth of the matter is that Logan is utterly determined. When he sets his mind towards a task or a course of action then he gives fully of himself to see it to its completion. This has at times caused difficulty for even very strong telepaths in the past. When Logan makes a choice it is very difficult to dissuade him.
Heroic.
Going far back into Logan's past, he has a history of always hurting or failing those he cares about. Despite the many changes to his mind that he's suffered, he still on some levels carries this mental baggage with him. He feels a heavy amount of guilt that he shoulders for having caused the deaths of so many good people that he is not one to shy away from sacrificing of himself to try and save those near him. In some ways it's almost self-destructive how he throws himself in the path of danger for those he loves, but he keeps getting back up.
HEIGHTENED SENSES:
One of his natural mutations, Logan has a heightened sense of smell, sight, and hearing. He can see almost perfectly at an order of magnitude greater distance than a normal human being, able to focus his eyesight to perceive detail at an extreme distance, even during night time or darkness.
Logan also has increased ability to hear quiet sounds and to hear them carrying a greater distance than a normal human being can perceive. He is also able to hear a greater spectrum of higher and lower frequency sounds more akin to a canine's sense of hearing.
Finally, Logan has a powerful sense of smell. He can detect someone's identity purely from their unique odour, can track someone with a trail that's old and damaged by time an elements. He can pick out someone trying to impersonate another individual purely on their smell. Logan is also capable of detecting if someone is lying, or nervous simply by their changed scent and heartbeat.
MENTAL SHIELDING:
Not so much a mutant power as a result of his lifetime of mental damage and injury as well as the time spent with Xavier, Logan has developed a form of Mental Shielding. It's not that he's able to stop people from affecting his mind, though most telepaths find it difficult to access his mind and confusing. It's more that Logan's mind has been altered so much that it is convoluted, scarred, and difficult to navigate. He can still be manipulated somewhat, but maintaining control or forcing suggestions upon him are difficult even for the most powerful of telepaths.
HEALING FACTOR:
Logan's primary mutant ability is his healing factor. It is such that Logan is a very difficult individual to kill. He is capable of recovering from the most traumatic injuries and wounds, even able to regrow limbs and organs. The amount of time this takes depends on the severity of the injury and invasiveness. A cut or slash he's able to recover from within seconds. A shattered organ could be several minutes. Over time his healing ability has grown more powerful, what could stop him years ago just takes some time now.
His healing factor also has the side effect in that it makes him almost entirely immune to poisons and disease. It takes large amounts of strong liquor for him to feel even the slightest buzz, and he's overcome the most deadly genetically created diseases in moments.
Also, Logan's healing factor directly negates the fatigue toxins that exercise generates and so can never effectively become physically tired. He is also granted an elongated life due to his healing factor countering the aging process and keeping him fit and healthy.
PHYSIOLOGY:
Logan, being a mutant, operates under a different physiology than a normal human being. The main point of departure is that his skeletal system is different. He has a trio of claws hidden within each forearm that can be extended and retracted at will. These claws slice forth from between his knuckles and cause him physical injury when they emerge, then disappear back into their sheathes with the wounds healing almost instantly.
Logan also has a pair of fangs that can be seen at times when he smiles, as well as a denser skeletal structure.
ADAMANTIUM LACING:
As a result of the experiments the Weapon X program subjected him to, Logan has had his entire body's skeletal structure laced with the ultra-rare metal known as Adamantium. This means that his bones cannot be broken by anything even approaching normal means. Also this means that his claws are capable of cutting through most materials that are not as strong as Adamantium, which is just about all the materials known to man save for Vibranium. Also, due to his bones being laced with Adamantium he weighs much more than someone his size would, as well as it making it very difficult for him to get through airport metal detectors.
ENHANCED MUSCULATURE:
Perhaps due to his denser skeleton or his more compact nature, Logan has a stronger muscular system that gives him enhanced speed as well as strength. He is much stronger than a normal man, capable of lifting five hundred pounds over his head and throwing it, and this can be pushed even higher to a thousand pounds should he go berserk. He is also faster than a normal person, his reflexes seemingly keyed up to a greater extent and his ability to run and move enhanced as well. He is no Quicksilver, but he is capable of running as fast as a wolf for an extended period of time.
X-PEOPLE:
As a member of the X-Men, Logan has access to a broad spectrum of equipment and resources. He has access to the team's expense accounts, training facilities, vehicles, and information. He is capable of contacting a wide network of mutants and mutant-friendly individuals to get aid should he need it. He is capable of getting an automobile, motorcycle, or the Blackbird. Though the latter would have to be an important situation for its procurement. He also has access to the underground facilities beneath the X-Mansion.
ALPHA FLIGHT:
Despite having resigned from his role with Department H, Logan is still on mostly good terms with the Canadian Superhero team known as Alpha Flight. They would most likely give him aid should he ask for it, though it would have to be a dire situation for him to ask them for such help.
CAPTAIN AMERICA:
Having fought in World War II together, Captain America and Logan go way back and are on good terms. Though Cap doesn't know the details of Logan's past, he has recognized the man before and knows they've fought together. There's still a good sense of camraderie between them.
BLACK WIDOW:
Early in her life, when she was a child, Black Widow was rescued from an island in Madripoor by Captain America and Wolverine. Though he does not have these memories, Black Widow does and she remembers him as well as the doubt she owes him. They are on good terms and should he need help, Black Widow would most likely aid him.
CAROL DANVERS:
During the height of his time working in the intelligence community, Logan often worked with Carol Danvers. They were teamed together repeatedly by Nick Fury and even battled Sabretooth together. They became close friends and both would come to the aid of the other if bidden.
PATCH IDENTITY:
While the X-Men were believed dead, Wolverine felt the need to still operate at some level with a measure of anonymity. To that effect he created the Patch identity and began operating out of Madripoor. He had many adventures under this identity and built up his own network of intelligence and contacts. He still has most of these available to this day, though his identity is not quite as secret as it once was. He primarily worked with Jessan Hoan. He also encountered Viper and Spider-Woman during that time.
BERSERKER:
Wolverine has struggled all his life with his darker nature. He is the very model of a man warring with himself. This is best exemplified in his berserker madness that can be triggered in dark or trying times. When a battle becomes too wild, too dangerous, then he can lose hold of himself. It's during such a time that Logan can go berserk, giving fully into his wild nature and indulge purely in the wild abandon of battle. He becomes almost as dangerous to his allies as his enemies at times like this, though he becomes a true machine of destruction. He has at times come out of his berserker madness only to realize that he's standing in a pool of blood from an ally, a friend, or even a lover.
SHORT:
Hey, it's a tall man's world. A short guy is looked on negatively by a good segment of the population. Sure he makes up for it, but if there is a posterboy for Short Man's Disease, then Logan's it. It's almost as if he had to take up motorcycles, karate, and smoking if only to make up for the societal impact of not being tall.
VICE:
For someone who works as hard as he does, who lives life so intensely, Logan plays just as hard. He is a man who indulges in many forms of vice. He smokes like a chimney, drinks like a sieve, and sleeps around like a... well he just sleeps around. If one were to ask him why, he'd most likely reply that life's too short. But on some level Logan often dives into the moment and the now in an effort to avoid thinking about the past.
ENEMIES:
Logan has a talent for making enemies wherever he goes. He could almost be considered the Bizarro Dale Carnegie. If there's a way he can offend someone he usually finds it.
This, combined with his intelligence work, and being an X-man has led him to make more than his fair share of enemies. He has a long... _long_ list of people who would like to see him dead or worse. He has Sabretooth who pursues him mercilessly, seeking to kill someone close to him each year on his birthday. He has clans of Ninja who have devoted themselves to his undoing. He has government organizations that make their life's work unlocking the secrets of his abilities and looking forward to dissecting him to do it.
If you were to flip open the Great Big Book of Evil People and point a finger at a name listed in there at random chances are really really good that you'll land on someone who has a beef with Logan.
VULNERABILITY TO MAGNETISM:
Due to his body being laced with ferrous metal, Logan is subject to being affected by magnetic fields. He is susceptible to individuals who can control magnetic waves, but what is more people have at times used industrial magnets to affect him as well as at times restrain him. Also people can attach notes to him like a refrigerator.