Wolverine's codename has a brutally honest secret meaning, as revealed by the man responsible for making the popular X-Man indestructible. The similarities between Wolverine, the beloved character from the X-Men, and an actual wolverine are plenty, but an important character from Logan's past points out the real reason he is called Wolverine.
In 2014's Death of Wolverine #4 by Charles Soule, Steve McNiven, Jay Leisten, Justin Ponsor, and Chris Eliopoulos, Logan breaks into a secure facility looking for Dr. Abraham Cornelius - the man who gave Wolverine his adamantium skeleton. Cornelius is in the process of fusing adamantium onto a few more unlucky victims' skeletons. His hope is to create true superheroes that he can control, thus redeeming himself for creating the untamable monster that is Wolverine. Dr. Cornelius tells Logan that the true reason he is codenamed Wolverine is related to the taxonomical designation of the animal. The mammal from the north is scientifically named Gulo gulo, which is Latin for "gluttonous glutton." The animal is named such for its willingness to eat just about anything, but Cornelius explains to Logan it means something more macabre for him. Cornelius tells Wolverine that he is "a glutton for death," and accuses him of being a "plague upon the Earth."
Becoming Wolverine Turned Logan Into a Ruthless Killer
If anyone is the authority on Wolverine, it would be the person who created him. Wolverine was already a possibly unkillable mutant due to his healing factor, but Cornelius turned him into a ruthless killer. The addition of the adamantium-laced skeleton that made Wolverine's claws indestructible is a pivotal moment in Logan's long life. In the classic "Weapon X" story from Marvel Comics Presents #72-84 by Barry Windsor Smith, Dr. Cornelius has Logan kidnapped and violently fuses the adamantium onto his entire skeletal system. Logan was a killer before Weapon X, but with the memory of his past lost, and such a painful rebirth, he goes on a murderous rampage until ing up with the X-Men.
Wolverine's Appetite for Death Has Softened
There is no doubt that Wolverine is the best he is at what he does, which is killing, but to consider him a glutton for death is a little short-sighted. True, even in his early days with the X-Men he is still a killer. One of the most iconic moments in superhero comics happens in Uncanny X-Men #132 by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, when Wolverine has just gotten roughed up by the Hellfire Club. The issue ends with Wolverine nearly drowned in the sewer, and with his claws popped he says, "Now it's my turn." The next issue shows Wolverine ravaging his way through all the Hellfire Club goons they could throw at him. Time, however, has softened Wolverine. Long gone are the days of berserker rages and whimsically killing anyone in his path. A major turning point is when he s the Avengers in the hit series, New Avengers (2004), as Captain America would not team up with an all-out killer. Ever since, Wolverine has been more concerned about teaching the young X-Men how to avoid danger and survive than he is sticking his claws into his enemies.
Wolverine will still kill if necessary, but it was once his go-to move. The character soared in popularity in his early days, when he was certainly a glutton for death (which might say more about the audience than the character). Wolverine is no longer a cold-blooded killer, but as a leader of the feared and hated X-Men, he is often surrounded by death.
