Version 3.00, last updated on June 28, 2008

Mark Texeira and Steve Biasi, Wolverine #65

For twenty years the early days of Logan and Sabretooth have been the model of consistency. That is until Jeph Loeb dropped a bomb in Wolverine (Vol. 2) #52 when he revealed that Logan and Sabretooth first met in Japan and not on the Canadian frontier as previously believed. As a result, Logan needs to have traveled to the Far East right after his time with the Hudson Bay Company, perhaps to get away from a region that boasted demon worms like Uncegila or to visit the land of samurai that he had read about in the book Smitty had given him several years earlier…

X-Men #118 (Feb 1979)/Classic X-Men #24 (Aug 1988) – “Submergence of Japan”
Writer: Chris Claremont; Penciler: John Byrne; Inker: Ric Villamonte
While in Japan with the X-Men, Wolverine reminisces, “I was a punk kid last time I was in Japan. I didn’t figure on ever comin’ back.” But when Chris Claremont fleshed out these early X-Men stories some nine years later in Classic X-Men, he changed the internal dialogue to, “I was a punk kid first time I came to Japan. An’ the last time I left, I didn’t figure on ever coming back.” The updated version represented Claremont’s attempt to reconcile Wolverine’s statements about Japan before Logan’s background had been more fully considered. In any event, it is during this period of Logan’s life that he first ventures to Japan.

Kitty Pryde and Wolverine #3 (Jan 1985) – “Death”
Writer: Chris Claremont; Artist: Allen Milgrom
Logan notes that his first trip to Japan was longer ago than he cared to remember.

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #52 (May 2007) – “Evolution, Chapter Three: Blood on the Wind”
Writer: Jeph Loeb; Pencils: Simone Bianchi;
Ink & Washed Halftones: Simone Bianchi & Andrea Silvestri
Logan reveals to Storm, “I was bumming ’round Tokyo, running away from whatever personal demons I had on me at the time… when I got picked up by the Hand.” Logan is then handed a sword by a cloaked stranger who speaks Japanese with an Italian accent and is told to dispose of a foreigner who has been killing prostitutes. Under the threat of execution, Logan complies and quickly tracks down the foreigner, Victor Creed (later known as Sabretooth). Logan prevents Creed from killing another victim by cutting off Creed’s hand with his newly-acquired samurai sword, but is shocked when Creed reattaches his hand and heals it back to normal almost instantly.

Simone Bianchi & Andrea Silvestri, Wolverine (Vol.2) #52

Logan speaks Japanese well enough to notice the cloaked stranger’s Japanese is horrible and is streetwise enough to understand, “I’d met enough men like that to know you do what you’re told if you wanna keep on living.” On seeing Victor Creed in Tokyo, Logan confirms this was their first meeting, “All I thought was… that an animal or a man? …He smelled more like… me.” It is also highly probable that the cloaked figure is Romulus, the new uber-Wolverine villain introduced to connect Wolverine’s past into a cohesive story.

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #55 (Sep 2007) – “Evolution, Chapter Six: Quod Sum Eris”
Writer: Jeph Loeb; Pencils: Simone Bianchi;
Ink & Washed Halftones: Simone Bianchi & Andrea Silvestri
Emma Frost looks into Logan’s mind and sees Victor Creed attempting to kill a Japanese prostitute.

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #53 (Jun 2007) – “Evolution, Chapter Four: Insomnia”
Writer: Jeph Loeb; Pencils: Simone Bianchi;
Ink & Washed Halftones: Simone Bianchi & Andrea Silvestri
Logan continues to fight Victor Creed, impaling him with his sword when an unknown stranger stops the fight. It is conceivable that Romulus, who arranged this meeting in the first place, was also the one to halt it, merely wanting Logan and Creed to contront each other in battle.

While the finale of this first confrontation is still hidden in the mists, it seems that Logan stopped in Madripoor on his way back to Canada.

Wolverine: Origins Annual #1 (Sep 2007) – “Return to Madripoor”
Writer: Daniel Way; Artist: Kaare Andrews
Logan notes that he first met Seraph, a diminutive owner of a bar on the island of Madripoor in Southeast Asia, “…before the first World War, back in my ‘freelancin’ days.’” He later laments that “…meetin’ her was exactly what… they wanted me to do.” Logan begins to learn the ways of the world from Seraph — possibly at the behest of Romulus.

Soon Logan returns to Canada and settles down in a Canadian frontier town. Victor Creed follows, setting up what was previously thought to be their first encounter. I am presenting this sequence in the order that the stories were published, instead of a strict chronology, to give a better sense of how this portion of the storyline has evolved over the years.

Uncanny X-Men #213 (Jan 1987) – “Psylocke”
Writer: Chris Claremont; Penciler: Alan Davis; Inker: Paul Neary
During a vicious fight between Wolverine and Sabretooth, Psylocke, a telepath, extracts information from Sabretooth’s mind that suggests a much younger Logan was savagely beaten by Sabretooth a very long time ago and left to die on a bloody snowscape.

For years, fans had noted the physical similaries between Wolverine and Iron Fist villain Sabretooth. This single panel flashback represents the first confirmation that Logan and Sabretooth did, indeed, share a mysterious past.

Classic X-Men #10 (Jun 1987) – “Tag, Sucker”
Writer: Chris Claremont; Artist: John Bolton
As he walks the streets of Manhattan shortly after joining the X-Men, Logan notices he is being followed by a shadowy, but familiar figure. When a woman from a bar he was just at is murdered, Logan realizes that figure is Sabretooth. “That laugh — the way the woman was killed — this whole game of tag — strikes a chord in my memory, one I wish I could forget, and sends a thrill of pure terror through my heart.” After nearly being killed in the confrontation by Sabretooth, Logan adds, “Old hates never die.”

Chris Claremont quickly followed up with this Classic X-Men backup story, giving fans tantalizing nuggets into the past that Logan and Sabretooth shared. It would be another two years before we finally were rewarded with Logan’s first encounter with Sabretooth.

John Buscema & Bill Sienkiewicz, Wolverine #10

Wolverine #10 (Aug 1989) – “24 Hours”
Writer: Chris Claremont; Artist: John Buscema & Bill Sienkiewicz
In a time long ago on his birthday, Logan remembers carrying a murdered Indian girl, Silver Fox, into a bar, presumably on the northwest Canadian frontier. Inside, a much younger Logan accuses Sabretooth of murdering his girlfriend, an act he does nothing to deny. Angered by Sabretooth’s arrogance, Logan challenges him to a fight to the death. It seems that Sabretooth has been mocking Logan at every step recently, commenting that there isn’t enough room for the two of them. Logan attacks the more experienced and older Sabretooth, but without any real fighting style, Logan’s attack boasts only ferocity. After the fight destroys the inside of the bar, the two combatants force the action outside where Sabretooth’s superiority begins to show. Receiving a savage shot to the ribs, Logan collapses under a pile of timber, seemingly all but dead. But when Sabretooth clears away the rubble, Logan is nowhere to be found. Instead, a trail of blood leads away from the pile. Logan, scared for the first time in his life, ignores his animal instincts to give up and begins to climb the stark cliff ahead of him. Exhausted, Logan finally reaches the top of the cliff only to find Sabretooth waiting for him. Again for the first time, Logan finds himself taken by a berserker rage, but Logan is outmatched not only in speed but also in strength. Finally, completely beaten and knowing only fear and pain, Logan gives up. Yet, before finishing him off, Sabretooth mockingly mentions Silver Fox. Enraged at this final taunting, Logan throws himself at Sabretooth, knocking them both off the cliff. Sabretooth lands on top, and mistaking Logan for dead, leaves, cryptically commenting, “Shame it had to end like this. But then, given who we are what other ending could there be?”

Chris Claremont’s final issue of Wolverine gave fans what they had been hoping for. A story in days long gone of Logan’s ‘first’ confrontation with Sabretooth. Note also that Logan remembers a time before meeting Sabretooth when he climbed sheer cliffs with his bare hands for fun. “No man nor beast was my equal so I set myself against nature. Always pushing limits because it never entered my fool head that I had any.”

With the departure of Chris Claremont from Wolverine, Larry Hama soon took over the reins for more than eight years of stories, adding much to Wolverine’s past. Unfortunately, Hama seemed to relish flash over substance, and his revelations soon began to contradict what had come before and even what he himself had written. He conveniently added the dreaded memory implant to Wolverine’s past to account for any contradictory memories, further confusing Wolverine’s already convoluted history.

Wolverine #41 (Early Jul 1991) – “Down in the Bottoms”
Writer: Larry Hama; Pencils: Marc Silvestri; Inks: Dan Green
After surviving a plane crash, Logan remembers planning to celebrate his birthday with Silver Fox long ago. When Logan returns to his cabin, he finds Silver Fox butchered by a sadistic individual. Carrying her lifeless body, Logan trudges through the snow to a frontier-style bar, vowing revenge. Once inside, Sabretooth admits to killing Silver Fox, even offering Logan a slice of the birthday cake Silver Fox had baked. As Logan is about to attack, Sabretooth reveals that he is Logan’s father.

Larry Hama’s first foray into Logan’s past with Sabretooth is a bizarre tale that ties past memories with the present. As Wolverine stumbles through the sewers of New York City after a plane crash, he inexplicably comes across Sabretooth in present day just as he remembers the death of Silver Fox. Sabretooth provides further commentary including the revelation that he is Logan’s father.

Wolverine #42 (Late Jul 1991) – “Papa Was a Rolling Stone!”
Writer: Larry Hama; Pencils: Marc Silvestri; Inks: Dan Green
After a lengthy fight between Wolverine and Sabretooth, SHIELD technicians are able to prove from blood samples that Logan and Sabretooth are not related. Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD, does admit, though, that Sabretooth does seem to believe that he is Logan’s father.

Wolverine #47 (Oct 1991) – “Dog Day”
Writer: Larry Hama; Pencils: Gerald DeCaire; Inks: Don Hudson
Logan remembers owning a dog with Silver Fox when they lived in the Canadian wilderness. Old Blue had gone missing for a week, and when the dog returns to the log cabin, he is showing the telltale signs of rabies. Silver Fox hands Logan his rifle and tells him that he has to shoot the dog. When it becomes obvious that Logan cannot pull the trigger, Silver Fox takes the rifle and kills the dog herself.

Wolverine #49 (Dec 1991) – “Dreams of Gore: Phase 2”
Writer: Larry Hama; Penciler: Marc Silvestri; Inker: Dan Green & Barta
After a visit to the Weapon X facilities stirs up a host of Logan’s lost memories, Professor Xavier and Jean Grey probe Logan’s mind to assist him in recovering his past. In a flash, Logan remembers carving his name and that of an Indian girl named Silver Fox into a tree with his father’s knife during a spring long ago. However, additional memories break loose that suggest Silver Fox was a revolutionary who Logan captured while teamed up with Sabretooth during his time with the CIA.

The contradictory memories presented in this issue along with the insinuation that Logan’s remembrances of his time with Silver Fox were based on images from a calendar suggested that every one of Wolverine’s memories could be false. For life-long fans of Wolverine, this suggestion was offensive and hard to swallow.

Wolverine #50 (Jan 1992) – “Dreams of Gore: Phase 3”
Writer: Larry Hama; Penciler: Marc Silvestri;
Inker: Dan Green, Hilary Barta & Tom Palmer
Wolverine locates a Weapon X warehouse in Windsor, Canada and discovers sound stages used to create false memories in Weapon X participants. While he does find sets for where he captured the revolutionary Silver Fox and the saloon where he fought Sabretooth, Wolverine notes with a sense of relief that there are no sets for the cabin he shared with Silver Fox long ago.

Unbeknownest to Logan, Silver Fox makes a behind-the-scenes appearance, revealing herself as a leader of the nefarious Hydra organization. This was perplexing for fans since by all accounts, Sabretooth had murdered Silver Fox lo these many years ago.

Wolverine #60 (Early Sep 1992) – “Counting Coup”
Writer: Larry Hama; Penciler: Dave Hoover; Inker: Keith Williams
When Sabretooth is attacked by Shiva, a Weapon X robot designed to trigger painful memories, Sabretooth flashes back to a time long ago when he was father to a young Logan. When Logan tries to hide a Blackfoot medicine pouch from him, Sabretooth savagely beats him for having relations with an Indian from the reservation.

While we have established that Sabretooth is not Logan’s father, this flashback serves to give a better view of Sabretooth’s false memories surrounding Logan.

Wolverine #61 (Late Sep 1992) – “Nightmare Quest”
Writer: Larry Hama; Artist: Mark Texeira
Wolverine receives a similar electronic memory trigger from Shiva and remembers a mission in Cuba with Sabretooth where he fought a tentacled creature named Zora de Plata, the Silver Fox of Sierra Maestra, apparently the same Silver Fox from Logan’s past.

This storyline just gets weirder and weirder. The memory flashes continue to contradict themselves leading readers to simply wait and see how everything would be resolved. In all honesty, I was so disillusioned by this series at this point that I stopped reading Marvel Comics for several years.

Mark Texeira, Wolverine #62

Wolverine #62 (Oct 1992) – “Reunion”
Writer: Larry Hama; Artist: Mark Texeira
As Wolverine and Sabretooth dig deeper into the mystery of their lost memories, Silver Fox makes a surprise appearance, stating that they were all members of the Weapon X project. Wolverine and Sabretooth are flooded with memories of Silver Fox’s death, but she does nothing to clear up the apparent contradiction.

Aside from the revelation that Silver Fox was a part of the Weapon X team, we do learn that the reason Sabretooth ‘killed’ her was because she refused his advances. There is also a confusing memory sequence (I can’t be sure if it belongs to Silver Fox, Wolverine or both) that shows a very young Silver Fox giving an equally young Logan an Indian medicine pouch as a token of her affection.

Wolverine #63 (Nov 1992) – “Bastions of Glory!”
Writer: Larry Hama; Artist: Mark Texeira
Wolverine, Sabretooth and Silver Fox track down Aldo Ferro, a telepath who was responsible for memory suppression and memory implants of the Weapon X participants by linking false memories to pain receptors.

Wolverine #64 (Dec 1992) – “What Goes Around…”
Scripter: Larry Hama; Penciller: Mark Pacella; Inker: Dan Panosian
Aldo Ferro reveals to Wolverine that his happiest memories of living together with Silver Fox in the cabin were, in fact, real. The false memories were based on the fact that Silver Fox knocked out one of Sabretooth’s teeth when she refused his advance.

The ‘revelation’ of this issue and, in fact, this lengthy storyline is mind-boggling. We are to believe that the source of all of these painful memories was a knocked-out tooth? And the finale of the story is the death of Silver Fox (again) at the hands of Sabretooth (again). The only worthwhile piece of information comes from Logan remembering that Silver Fox sent him away from the cabin for an hour so she could surprise him for his birthday.

Wolverine #65 (Jan 1993) – “State of Grace”
Scripter: Larry Hama; Artist: Mark Texeira
As Logan prepares for Silver Fox’s funeral, former Weapon X teammate John Wraith reveals that, based on classified data, Logan and Silver Fox’s cabin did exist. Wolverine and Silver Fox’s body are secretly flown to the cabin where Wolverine finds the etched “Logan & Silver Fox” carving on the cabin wall. As Wolverine buries Silver Fox, he vividly remembers digging a hole in the ground near the cabin long ago while Silver Fox brought him cold water from a nearby stream. It was an idyllic time for the two of them, a time Logan hoped would never end.

Wolverine #106 (Oct 1996) – “Openings and Closures”
Writer: Larry Hama; Pencils: Val Semeiks; Inks: Chad Hunt & Al Milgrom
Years later when Logan takes Elektra to the cabin he shared with Silver Fox, he travels to a remote area of Canada.

Many years after Larry Hama’s disastrous version of Logan and Sabretooth’s ‘initial’ encounter, Chris Claremont returned to Wolverine for a four-issue arc, bringing to the story a little more detail and simplicity.

Leinil Francis Yu, Edgar Tadeo & Gerry Alanguilan, Wolverine #125

Wolverine #125 (Jun 1998) – “Logan’s Run”
Creators: Chris Claremont & Leinil Francis Yu; Inker: Edgar Tadeo & Gerry Alanguilan
Logan remembers living in a town bearing his name with a girl he loves, Silver Fox. On his birthday, he catches fish for Silver Fox to cook when he was young in spirit if not in flesh. But Sabretooth intervenes with the admonition, “I warned you, boy!” This is confirmed by Kitty Pryde who reveals that she researched Wolverine’s background and learned that his life with Silver Fox and confrontation with Sabretooth took place in a small town called Mount Logan near the actual Mount Logan in the Yukon. That Logan visited this location later as tribute to Silver Fox seems to confirm her research. As Kitty says, “Wolverine met a man here who couldn’t be killed. And that man took from him someone he loved.” In describing the location, Kitty expounds, “Come this way a century ago, the town of Mount Logan was booming. Fur trade to start, topped off by the Klondike gold rush. Then tastes changed, and the mines played out and there was nothing to hold folks here anymore.” The Klondike gold rush began in 1896, but Kluane Country (that includes Mount Logan) did not experience a gold rush until 1903, ending in 1904. And by 1924, the primary town supporting the gold rush, Silver City, had been largely abandoned.

Wolverine #126 (Jul 1998) – “Blood Wedding”
Creators: Chris Claremont & Leinil Francis Yu; Inker: Edgar Tadeo & Gerry Alanguilan
Logan admits that Sabretooth left him for dead after they fought and that every year after that on his birthday, Sabretooth would put his mark on him.

Wolverine #127 (Aug 1998) – “I’m the King of the World”
Writer: Chris Claremont;
Penciler: Leinil Francis Yu, Pacheco, Nord, Matsuda, Rubi and Miller;
Inker: Edgar Tadeo, Holdredge, Alquiza and Miller
Sabretooth reminds Wolverine that he offered him a chance to work with him way back when. Perhaps their animosity stems from Logan ’s refusal.

In an era where Wolverine retains full control over his memories, the idea that Silver Fox was not killed by Sabretooth seems to have disappeared. When we investigate Logan’s time with Team X, I will attempt to explain why this might not be as contradictory as it might seem. In any event, the most recent stories dealing with Sabretooth and Silver Fox show demonstrably that Silver Fox was brutally murdered by Sabretooth.

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #37 (February 2006) - “Origins and Endings, Part II”
Writer: Daniel Way; Breakdowns: Javier Saltares; Finishes: Mark Texeira
With his memories restored from the events of House of M, Wolverine dreams of Silver Fox.

Wolverine: Origins #5 (Oct 2006) – “Born in Blood, Part Five”
Writer: Daniel Way; Artist: Steve Dillon
Logan flashes back to his life with Silver Fox. “She was Blackfoot an’ her husband had died three winters before. I used to see her out in the woods when I went huntin’. Maybe it was ‘cause she didn’t have anyone else… but eventually, she became my woman. She was a beautiful woman, an’ strong—she taught me how to trap. She taught me that it was alright to love again. When I came back, she was dead. It didn’t take me long to figure out who killed ‘er. We fought. I lost.” As Logan lay on the ground in defeat, Sabretooth explained why he killed Silver Fox. “Them folks livin’ in that dirt patch of a town over there? Ones you thought were your friends? Well, they ain’t. They’re scared o’ you, boy—they don’t want ya around. So they got rid o’ the one thing that was keepin’ you here.” After Sabretooth finished filling in more details, it seems that a mysterious individual (Romulus) added a few final words. “You have no thoughts of your own. You are not entitled to them. You are not entitled to anything. You are not a man… you are a weapon. My weapon.” While Logan sensed Sabretooth was lying, he, nonetheless, used an ax that Sabretooth had left to kill everyone in the town.

Daniel Way adds another layer to the events surrounding Silver Fox’s death. We now learn that Sabretooth and Romulus convinced Logan to murder everyone from the town of Mount Logan, the first of many such mass killings revealed in the pages of Wolverine: Origins.

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #48 (Jan 2007) - “Vendetta, Epilogue: Knocking on Heaven’s Door”
Writer: Marc Guggenheim; Penciler: Humberto Ramos; Inker: Carlos Cuevas
Enduring a near-death experience, Logan has visions of Silver Fox and is haunted by her death.

Simone Bianchi, Wolverine (Vol. 2) #50

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #50 (Mar 2007) – “Evolution, Chapter One: First Blood”
Writer: Jeph Loeb; Artist: Simone Bianchi
During an especially brutal fight with Sabretooth, Wolverine blacks out and flashes back to his life with Silver Fox. “Ain’t many times in my life I could call… ‘happy.’ But… this… this was definitely one of those times… when I was in love with Silver Fox.” The story follows along similiar themes as before, but this time we are given details that in the past we could only suspect. Sabretooth rapes Silver Fox on Logan’s birthday before brutally killing her. Logan and Sabretooth fight, and after Sabretooth defeats Logan, he says cryptically, “Quod sum eris.” What this means exactly, aside from the literal translation of “I am what you will be,” remains to be seen.

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #55 (Sep 2007) – “Evolution, Chapter Six: Quod Sum Eris”
Writer: Jeph Loeb; Pencils: Simone Bianchi;
Ink & Washed Halftones: Simone Bianchi & Andrea Silvestri
Emma Frost looks into Logan’s mind and sees Victor Creed killing Silver Fox. Subsequently at the ruins of the cabin where he lived back then, Logan reminisces about Silver Fox. “I know that years later… it maybe seemed like Silver Fox was still alive… not sure if that really happened… and it doesn’t really matter. Folks who think that just because a person shows up alive after you thought you’ve lost’em… invalidates all that you went through thinking they’re dead…”

This is the first time that Silver Fox’s mysterious reappearance has been acknowledged so perhaps Jeph Loeb is building a platform to address this dangling plot thread. How this will play out… only time will tell.

Wolverine: Origins Annual #1 (Sep 2007) – “Return to Madripoor”
Writer: Daniel Way; Artist: Kaare Andrews
Logan remembers Silver Fox’s death, claiming she was killed to keep him under control.

Wolverine: Origins #24 (Jun 2008) – “The Deep End, Part 4”
Writer: Daniel Way; Artist: Steve Dillon
In a flash, Wolverine recollects killing the people of Mount Logan with an ax.

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