Wolverineis one of the mosticonic members of the X-Menand is arguably one of themost iconic superheroes in the entire Marvel Universe. But, as beloved as he is, many fans may not know one important thing about him: Wolverine has a large family. Wolverine’s family is so big, in fact, that even Marvel Comics regularly ignores most of them.
Most fans know a couple of Wolverine’s more popular family members, like his son Akihiro and his daughter Laura. However, throughout Logan’s extensive Marvel Comics history, it’s been revealed thatWolverine’s family is far biggerthan that, and most of them deserve their time in the spotlight. Here are8 unsung members of Wolverine’s family that Marvel always forgets!
8Gabby Kinney
Gabby Kinney aka Scout is a clone of Laura Kinney created by Alchemax. Gabby was one of several clones created for the same purpose: to be living weapons. Gabby would eventually become emancipated from Alchemax, at which point she lived with her older ‘sister’, Laura, for a bit before joining the New Mutants, and the X-Men as an extension.
Despite living through the Krakoan Era, and even still at large in the Marvel Universe to this day, post the fall of Krakoa, Gabby is barely mentioned. For the most part, her contribution toX-Mencanon has lately only been in the form of cameos, appearing in the corner of a page to let fans know that she is still around. However, in every way that matters, Gabby has been wholly forgotten.
7Jimmy Hudson
Jimmy Hudson is the son of Wolverine from Earth-1610, otherwise known as the original Ultimate Universe. Hudson joined the Ultimate X-Men after his father’s death inUltimatum, and he would eventually be relocated to Earth-616 following the events of Secret Wars. From there, Hudson had a few stints with the classic X-Men, but has otherwise been largely forgotten by Marvel.
The last time fans saw Jimmy Hudson, he was working with the TVA to defeat a multiversal threat. Being a multiversal character, this is honestly the best use of Jimmy Hudson. Unfortunately, it pretty much guarantees that his appearances will be few and far between, as Marvel now has a multiverse-wide excuse to continue to underutilize him.
6Dog Logan
Dog Logan is Wolverine’s older brother, though for their entire childhood, the two had no idea they were related. Dog was the son of Thomas Logan. He and his father worked for the wealthy Howlett family in the 1800s, but after Thomas was fired, he and Dog murdered John Howlett Sr., leaving James Howlett (aka Wolverine) without parents or a home.
Wolverine killed his real father, Thomas, without even knowing that he was his dad, and he slashed Dog across the face without knowing he was his brother. After that night, Dog made it his life’s mission to make Wolverine pay. While he had several skirmishes with Wolverine throughout their shared history, Dog never amounted to much as a character.
The last time fans saw Dog, he was a teacher at the Hellfire Academy. But after that villainous organization was defeated, Dog’s whereabouts remain unknown, and it doesn’t seem like that will change anytime soon. Indeed, Sabretooth said it best when he said to Dog, “must be the Runt’s big brother that no one ever heard of or cared about”, as that sums up Dog’s entire existence.
5Reine du Rien
Reine du Rien is the daughter of Wolverine and sorceress Sylvie D’Arqueness, who inherited key attributes from both her parents. Reine is a skilled magic-user who also has claws and a healing factor that are nearly identical to Wolverine’s mutation. While powerful, Reine only really had one major storyline where she and Wolverine battled a demon capable of destroying the world, and that’s pretty much it.
Since her debut story arc, Reine du Rien hasn’t made much of a splash in the Marvel Universe, despite basically being a version of Wolverine with magic powers, which is a unique combination that should make her a fan-favorite.
4Gunhawk
William Downing, aka Gunhawk, is another one of Wolverine’s children, though it’s possible Gunhawk wasn’t even aware of that. Back when Akihiro was the villain named Daken and wanted his father dead, he recruited Gunhawk to join an organization that was hellbent on killing Wolverine: the Red Right Hand.
Gunhawk was trained by the Red Right Hand to be an expert killer, at which point Downing took the name ‘Gunhawk’ as a tribute to the famous gunslinger in the Old West. While an interesting character, Gunhawk faded into obscurity after failing to kill Wolverine, despite the potential for many more stories in Marvel Comics.
3John Howlett, Jr.
John Howlett, Jr. is Wolverine’s other older brother (the one whose father is John Howlett Sr, not Thomas Logan). In the prime timeline of Earth-616, John Jr. died at a young age. But in Earth-4011 (theWolverine: The Endtimeline), John lived. He was taken to an institution by his father as a boy after his mutant powers developed, which is where he was discovered by Weapon X and experimented on.
Decades later, John would reveal himself to his brother, Wolverine, and he tried to convince his brother to join him in a life of villainy and riches. Wolverine declined and eventually killed John, marking the end of John’s short-lived time in the Marvel Universe, never to be seen again. Since he exists in a separate universe, it wouldn’t be surprising if John stays forgotten by Marvel.
2Mariko Yashida
Unlike every other entry, Mariko Yashida isn’t related to Wolverine, but was actually his fiancée back during the Chris Claremont days ofX-Mencanon. Not only that, but Mariko was the short-lived leader of Clan Yashida, which is an international criminal organization based out of Japan, and even operated under the deadly alias Scarlet Samurai for a time.
Throughout her Marvel Comics history, Mariko was a wealthy crime lord, she was the Scarlet Samurai (rival to the Silver Samurai), and she was even tasked with torturing souls in hell following her death (most notably Wolverine’s). However, despite effectively being a member of Wolverine’s family, Mariko has all but been forgotten by Marvel.
1Victor Hudson
Victor Hudson is Wolverine’s first cousin once removed, which is far less significant than the role Victor would play in Wolverine’s life. Victor was the right-hand man of Romulus, an ancient mutant who claimed to be a descendant of the Lupine (a race of humanoid descendants of wolves) and believed that Wolverine was meant to be his perfect apprentice.
Romulus was obsessed with Wolverine, puppeting his entire life in an effort to force Wolverine into his clutches, and Victor proved instrumental in those efforts.
Being blind and deaf made Victor the perfect henchman, as he couldn’t reveal any information to Romulus' enemies, and his superhuman strength and durability made him a formidable opponent to his cousin,Wolverine, even if Victor was destined to be ignored by Marvel.
