10 Things Marvel Wants You To Forget About Wolverine

3. He Was Nearly Dropped In The Seventies

Whilst Byrne didn€™t get a chance to make his mark with regards to Wolverine€™s origins, he did manage to save him from total obliteration on more than one occasion. Contrary to their current popularity, the X-Men weren€™t always the fan-favourite team they are today; in fact, back in the sixties, the original series was on the verge of cancellation. That€™s how low the sales were. Thankfully the introduction of Wolverine (and a bunch of other additions) to the title in the early seventies saved it, with the book eventually becoming one of the hottest on the stands. Similarly, whilst he€™s now synonymous with the series, Wolverine very nearly bowed out if it early on. Early reactions to the character were markedly tepid, probably owing to his bad attitude and - ironically - his mysterious past. In fact the editors at the time were ready to kill him off completely and move onto some new mutants, with Claremont and Cockrum preferring Nightcrawler. Byrne leapt to Logan€™s defense, being a proud Canadian who wanted one of the few Great White Northern superheroes preserved. He also invented Alpha Flight as a canuck foil to Wolverine, redesigned his costume, and generally saved his life.