10 Unbelievable Retcons That Changed Comics For The Better
6. Wolverine's Claws Are A Part Of His Mutation
Len Wein did not want Wolverine to be a mutated wolverine who was made human-like by the High Evolutionary. That is a bombshell many people like putting on Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know or random tidbit lists but it’s just not true. Roy Thomas just wanted a character who was Canadian and short, with the temperament of a wolverine. So Len Wein wrote a human to be that way, with super-strength, agility, and retractable claws - although the claws weren’t shown retracting until his addition to the X-Men lineup.
The retcon is that originally the now-iconic claws were supposed to be in his gloves! His mutation was just the speed and strength, though fighting Hulk could easily imply he had the healing factor from the get-go. Think about every story that has come about because of the claws being fused with his skeleton, and you will understand why this changed comics for the better. That is... until Wolverine became an overused character that stole the spotlight from everyone, which is also an ironic twist since editorial wanted to drop Wolverine from the X-books, only for John Byrne to stand up for his fellow Canadian.
Now this also led to the retcon of his claws actually being part of his mutation after the adamantium was stripped from his body, but that is a change that doesn't need to be on this list.