X-Men hero has become one of the most popular Marvel heroes. But, originally, Wolverine's retractable claws were going to be much different than they ultimately ended up being as writer Len Wein intended them to be part of his gloves.
Wolverine first debuted in particularly harsh moments, Logan Howlett would become a fan-favorite member of the X-Men almost immediately. Despite debuting decades after the original X-Men team, it's hard to imagine a squad of mutants with Wolverine on it. However, Wein initially conceived Wolverine's powers to be much different than they are today, as he designed his claws to be part of his gloves as opposed to his bones.
In a 2009 blog post, Wein discussed creating Wolverine and how the character's claws changed since he debuted while also addressing the rumor that he was originally supposed to be a mutated version of the animal of the same name. Wein called the suggestion Wolverine was supposed to part-Wolverine as something that made him "quite crazy," as it wasn't true, but he did confirm the fact the heroes claws were originally supposed to be part of his gloves until Dave Cockrum and Chris Claremont came on the scene (in Giant-Size X-Men #1) and improved the idea.
While I readily it that my original idea was for Wolvie's claws to extend from the backs of his gloves (I figured that since Adamantium is indestructible, telescoping claws no more than a molecule thick could fit into those casings in the backs of Adamantium gloves, which had then been covered in cloth. Dave and Chris definitely improved on that idea), I absolutely DID NOT ever intend to make Logan a mutated wolverine.
It's hard to argue with the change, as Wolverine's claws being part of his bones has become an integral part of the character and his backstory. Wein itting that making Logan's retractable claws part of his bones was a better, improved idea shows he knew the changes were for the best. It also helped make Logan seem more mutant. Going from gloves to bone claws wouldn't be the last time Wolverine's origin featured a significant change after his first appearance, as his bones being coated in adamantium would later be explained in Barry Windsor-Smith's Marvel Comics Presents. In that story, it was revealed his skeleton was altered as part of the Weapon X program, adding new layers to the character. In the end, Wolverine became a much more sympathetic hero than the man who debuted as a villain against the Hulk.
Ultimately, Wolverine's gloves were home to his claws. That's what Wein intended when he helped co-create the character. But, even Wein knew that Claremont and Cockrum were onto something when they decided to make Wolverine's claws a retractable part of his bones. It shows how collaboration and different voices can change a character forever - even one as popular as Wolverine.
