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Untamed Sample file This page intentionally left blank Sample file Untamed The Psychology of Marvel’s Wolverine S`aW\W E. F[]^X_ Foreword by PW`[ JX\ZY\_ Sample file McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Names: Flores, Suzana E., 1973– author. | Jenkins, Paul, 1965– writer of foreword. Title: Untamed : the psychology of Marvel’s Wolverine / Suzana E. Flores ; foreword by Paul Jenkins. Description: Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018024726 | ISBN 9781476674421 (softcover : acid free paper) Subjects: LCSH: Wolverine♾ (Fictitious character) | X-Men (Fictitious characters) | Marvel Comics Group. Classification: LCC PN6728.W5984 F57 2018 | DDC 741.5/973—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018024726 Sample file BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE ISBN (print) 978-1-4766-7442-1 ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4766-3319-0 © 2018 Suzana E. Flores. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Front cover images © 2018 iStock Printed in the United States of America McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com To the creators: Roy Thomas, Len Wein, John Romita, Sr., and Herb Trimpe—“muchas gracias” for creating one of the most inspirational comic book characters of all time. To Hugh Jackman for capturing the complex persona of Wolverine like no other, and for bringing him to life on the big screen. To the billions (yes, that’s with a “B”) of Wolverine fans around the globe—an emotional “thank you” for the pas- sionate personal investment you’ve found so compelling in the modern mythology of Marvel. And to one of those fans in particular, my friend Al Padilla—thank you for your support and encouragement and for standing by my side no matter what. Sample file A profoundly heartfelt thank you is offered to the late Len Wein and Herb Trimpe, who devoted their lives to Wolverine. Len and Herb—your vision and influence has secured Wolverine’s place in the pantheon of mythology for all time. Wolverine embodies suffering more than other X- Men because he is built to withstand it; to survive it; to endure it. Logan has natural aggression tempered by the extraordinary humanity he so desperately tries to hide. He’s always trying to keep the beast in check. I think this is what makes him so interesting. Logan represents very real themes of trauma and resiliency. And what keeps him going is his search for answers. He wants to know more about himself; to evolve— which is what we all do. If I could say one thing to Logan, I’d tell him to chill; to take it easy. Everything’s going to be okay. Logan’s a little crazy, but then again, so are we. —Len Wein, legendary comic book writer and co- creator of Wolverine Sample file Table of Contents Acknowledgments viii Foreword by Paul Jenkins 1 Introduction 3 One g Who Is Wolverine? 9 Two g Origin 18 Three g Weapon X 34 Four g What Does Trauma Have to Do with It? 55 Five g When the Claws Come Out 72 Six g The X- Men: Oppression and the M- Word 93 Seven g The One That Got Away 119 Eight g TheSample Myth Behind file the Claws 137 Nine g Wolverine’s Last Stand 156 Epilogue 168 Chapter Notes 173 Bibliography 179 Index 185 vii Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank my agent, friend and greatest advocate, Elizabeth Kracht. Your wisdom, support and enthusiasm have been valuable beyond measure. Thanks are also extended to Wolverine’s legendary godfathers: Roy Thomas (who conceptualized the character), Len Wein (who wrote the character), John Romita, Sr. (who first designed the character’s look), and Herb Trimpe (the first artist to draw him for publication). Although I speak for myself here, I am certain that I also speak for the billions of Marvel fans worldwide when I once again say “thank you” for the vision and creativity you have crafted and shared. Listing every Wolverine illustrator and writer who has contributed to and inspired the character’s development and evolution would be nearly impossible. However, each of them has invested an inestimable slice of their talents, their skills, and indeed their own selves to this character. I admire their immense talentSample and would likefile to thank them all. Thank you to Hugh Jackman for his holistic, humanistic, and horrific portrayal of a wounded antihero with generational mythology within his grasp. To the Wolverine creators, writers, and illustrators who agreed to be interviewed for this book—Roy Thomas, Len Wein, John Romita, Sr., Joe Rubinstein, John Romita, Jr., Adam Kubert, Tom DeFalco, and Paul Jenk- ins. To Virginia Romita for giving me the courage to share my pain and my truth—proudly and without apology. To Patricia Trimpe (wife of the late Herb Trimpe)—I thank you for shar- ing the inspiration behind the vision of the Wolverine character. To Chandler Rice and Sharon Richardson of Desert Wind Enter- prises—this work would not have been possible without you. The best viii Acknowledgments ix fortune of my life was meeting you at the Great American Comic Con: Las Vegas. Thank you for connecting me to Len Wein, Joe Rubinstein, and John Romita, Sr. and Jr., among others. Thank you also for your guid- ance, your support, your amazing sense of humor that kept me going on this project, and your friendship. Thanks to J. David Spurlock and John Cimino (The Mego Stretch Hulk) for your assistance and insight into the creative inspiration behind Wolverine. An immense thank you to Janet Poggendorf for your amazing talent with copyediting, as well as your immeasurable support and patience as we tackled this work together. I could not have done this without you. Thank you especially for your brilliant contributions to the X- Men chapter. I do believe that this chapter welded our friendship together for life, because we both know all too well that “Magneto was right!” Thank you to the mental health clinicians who shared their insights and suggestions for this work either through interviews or via consulta- tions: Dr. Clive Hazell, Dr. Lisa Gaudet, Dr. Vijay K. Jain, Dr. Jon McCaine, Larry Yarbrough, Max Stoltenberg, Roumen Bezergianov, Ed Ottesen, Tehrina Billi, Joel Terry, and Janelle Otero. Thanks to Dr. Eric Snyder for consultation on genetic mutations and for clarifying that all of us are mutants in one way or another! A most outsized thank you to Doug Kline, comic book enthusiast and author of The San Diego Comic Con Survival Guide, and to Elliott Serrano, comic book writer and geek culture expert (a.k.a. Chicago’s “King of Geeks”). I am eternally gratefulSample for your expertisefile in imparting the wit, wisdom, and melodramas of comic book history and for providing many hours of consultation and support as you helped me navigate more than eb years of Wolverine and X-Men comic book history. A magnificent hat tip and emotional low bow to fellow authors and friends who reviewed my work and offered invaluable feedback and sug- gestions: Joe Clifford, Danny Gardner, Garrett Box, Charles Lemoine, Jonathan Maberry, Jill Sherer Murray, and Peter Hogenkamp. To comic book fans who offered ideas and recommendations—Gene Lewis, Enrico Mowatt, Bert Branson, David Loh, Steven Serrano, E.P. McFarlin, Aaron Gabbard, Rob Fritzsche, Lynn Patterson, Lyndsay Wag- oner, Jason Howell, Zachary Smith, Brenden Smith, and others—a pro- found “muchas gracias!” Thank you to Joe Garcia, Larry Yarbrough, Gerald Newport, and Joseph de la Rosa, who contributed their insights as military personnel and first responders. As you know, Logan also served in the military and x Acknowledgments faced danger every day—just as you have. You are all heroes. Thank you for your service. Thank you to Ben Millard for providing much- needed IT and emo- tional support during a writing crisis, and to Tara Goodyear for her remarkable copyediting work. To my parents, Jose Mario and Rosa Flores, my aunt Elena Segura, and all my family members whom I love eternally—thank you for being my greatest cheerleaders. Thank you for your love and reassurance, and for putting up with me as I spent too many hours working on this book and far too much time away from you. To Al and Nicole Padilla—thank you for believing in this book, for believing in me, and for believing that I was the one to write it. After all that you have done for me, you are more than friends; you are family. Thanks are likewise extended to my dear friends who always have my back and who offered their assistance through either reading certain chap- ters or offering emotional support along this journey: Derrick Ryce and Nellie Tehrani, Niranjani and Dr. Narayan Prabhakar, Dr. Robert Bright and Luc Bouchard, Robert Wray and David Jensen, Dr. Ruth Yoash- Gantz and Dr. Frank Gantz, Patti Vasquez, Cortney and David McCormick, Dr. Leslie Waite, Joe Neal, Roberta Grasseschi and Christopher Doman, Dr. Michelle Katz Jesop and Matthew Jesop, Dr. Matthew Clark, Keith Dukavi- cius, Lynn Stanton, Dontae Latson, Julio Soto and Joe Roos, Sue Miller and John Davis, Richard Baukovic, Natalia Derevyanny Burns, Christina Scott, Nathan Israileff, Jill Ronzio, Scott Perry, Michaelene Tracey, Tina Ellis, and Ricardo Molina.Sample file I am also grateful for the immense support from my fellow clinicians, who put up with me talking about Logan for hours on end: Dr.