Are Wolverine’s Claws Actually Bone (And How Did He Find Out)?

Wolverine is known for having some of the most lethal powers in Marvel history. He’s not the guy you want to make angry, and you certainly don’t want to be on the wrong side of his six claws. However, it took a long time for Wolverine to realize that those claws were actually bone and not just strong metal.

The Hugh Jackman portrayal shows a different version of the character and his arc, but many of the same elements are present. Unfortunately, the realization in the comics was far more immediate and painful. Let’s examine the history of Logan’s claws.

Marvel’s Most Timeless Mutant

The first thing to remember about Wolverine is that he goes by the name Logan. This name is one that he was given long before the horrible stress of the Weapon X program. However, before that, he was born James Howlett in the late 19th century. James was a young man who grew up in a broken home where his birth father, the gamekeeper of the family estate, was a mutant with bone claws. In a fit of rage, young James mortally wounds his father with his own claws. This was the first time he ever knew they existed. This experience causes him to undergo extreme stress, at which point he suffers amnesia and is given the name “Logan” as a placeholder. However, this name stays with him going forward.

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Wolverine then used his claws and healing factor to fight during various wars, including World Wars I and II. He was unkillable, and the claws were simply another weapon for him to use. This led to him being drafted by Taskforce X, where he used not only his mutant abilities but also his time as a soldier to carry out clandestine missions with other skilled soldiers.

This was when Logan was taken by the Weapon X program. His healing factor meant that he was the only one who could survive their radical surgical program. Against his will, a liquid form of adamantium, one of the strongest metals on earth, was leeched into his body and fused to his bones, making his skeleton indestructible. However, this procedure caused him to forget his past, leading him to believe that his claws had always been metal. Eventually, he was drafted by Professor Xavier onto his X-Men team.

Wolverine Realizes the Truth Behind His Claws

After decades with the X-Men, Wolverine’s past was still more of a secret. The team was aware of Weapon X and the fact that Logan had undergone a horrific surgical procedure. However, it was not until the events of Fatal Attractions (1993) that Logan was suddenly confronted with the truth behind a life of lies.

The X-Men travel to Asteroid M to confront Magneto for what they believe to be the last time. They go as an act of mercy for the rest of the world, which Magneto has attacked en mass, killing hundreds of thousands by reversing the earth’s polarity. However, Magneto is waiting for them, furious and prepared to kill. When Wolverine takes his chance, Magneto does the unthinkable. He uses his power over metal to forcibly pull all the adamantium out of Wolverine through his skin. With the metal gone, Wolverine’s body must work overtime to heal itself from such a horrific trauma. But this moment, seemingly the end to Logan’s days as a fighting member of the X-Men, was merely the beginning.

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The Soldier Never Stops

Following his recovery, Wolverine decides to enter the Danger Room. The team wants to stop him, but he insists he can still fight. Yet, when the machines seem to be about to kill him, he falls to his knees and, with a scream, pops his claws. These bone claws, ones that he did not realize were organic, rip through his skin, causing blood to rain down his arms. The moment shocks the X-Men and Logan himself. He realizes that he must have been born with his claws as the adamantium had been leeched into his body by Weapon X.

The Various Versions of Wolverine Through Comics, TV, and Film

X-Men

Release Date

July 13, 2000

Runtime

104

After he loses the adamantium, Wolverine goes through a strange phase. We find that the adamantium somehow prevented him from becoming a feral version of himself. He becomes more beast than man (and, in one infamous run, seems to have evolved to be noseless) until he once again has the adamantium restored to his body. This return to form means that he can rejoin the X-Men and continue to be a mentor to the other occupants of Xavier’s mansion.

More recently, writers have given Logan an even longer backstory involving the original origins of humanity, actual mutations from wolverine’s thanks to the High Evolutionary, and a suit of armor made of the adamantium material that makes him almost completely invincible.

The Movies and TV Shows

It should be noted that in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and X-Men: Days of Future Past, we see Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine with bone claws before his time in Weapon X. We also see these bones broken only to heal thanks to his healing factor. More recently, in X-Men ’97, Magneto is seen pulling the adamantium from his bones just as he does in the comics. It is a pivotal moment meant to show the lengths to which Magneto will go when he believes he is truly in danger of being attacked.

Ultimately, Wolverine remains one of the most popular Marvel characters because of his claws and the fact that, for a long time, many readers assumed either his claws were a part of his costume or simply a side effect of the Weapons X program. It turns out we were learning right along with the character. The latest iteration of Wolverine, seen in X-Men ’97, is streaming now on Disney+. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine will be seen once again in Deadpool & Wolverine, hitting theaters on July 26, 2024.