When Did Wolverine's Yellow Suit First Appear In Marvel Comics?
With countless appearances across Marvel comics, movies, TV shows, video games, and more, Wolverine and his costume have seen many redesigns over his decades-spanning career. But arguably none are as familiar as his classic yellow-and-blue suit. While it's yet to properly make its way to film, production photos for "Deadpool 3" tease that we're finally going to get Wolverine's definitive look in live-action. But when exactly did fans first see Logan in his colorful ensemble? It turns out Wolverine has been rocking yellow and blue since the moment he first hit comic book pages.
Wolverine makes his debut in the final panel of 1974's "The Incredible Hulk" #180, interrupting a fight between the titular Green Goliath and Wendigo. With no explanation, he's already sporting the now-signature yellow-and-blue suit, albeit a slightly different version. His original costume has somewhat of a feline design to the mask, complete with a black nose and what looks to be accompanying whiskers. The suit's ears are also slightly shorter than they are today, but otherwise, his first appearance has become more or less the template for the character's look.
While that book only gives readers a glimpse of Wolverine, "The Incredible Hulk" #181 provides a proper introduction, as well as the first brawl between Wolverine and the Hulk. Despite the garish outfit, this first throwdown would prove seminal in establishing Wolverine's defining rage, so much so that the book's cover art was given a modern reimagining in 2022 in the form of an Arthur Adams variant cover for "Hulk" #4.
But why yellow and blue?
While Wolverine never explains the reason for the color scheme himself, a 2018 comic suggests a possible inspiration. In "Return of Wolverine" #1, a woman Logan had previously rescued suggests the flamboyant colors are an intentional choice meant to draw the attention of his enemies. By making himself such an obvious target, she reasons, villains will pay less attention to any innocents caught in the fray when battling Wolverine.
This explanation would actually be somewhat in line with the character. Wolverine isn't exactly subtle in his actions — he is famous for his Berserker Rage, after all. This flashy color scheme almost reflects his approach to conflicts. Wolverine isn't a character who lurks in the shadows, patiently waiting for the perfect time to strike. He's a violent, explosive force of nature. His actions, much like his suit, are impossible to go unnoticed. As he's proven time and again, Wolverine is willing to suffer greatly to save others, so the idea of him turning himself into a walking distraction to protect bystanders makes sense.
The closest thing we've seen to Wolverine's classic look in live action, at least so far, was in an alternate ending of "The Wolverine," which sees Hugh Jackman's Logan presented with a comic-accurate costume. However, the color scheme is more akin to the yellow-and-brown suits seen in later iterations and we never get to see him put it on. But with set photos from "Deadpool 3" already showing off Hugh Jackman in Wolverine's yellow-and-blue suit, it won't be long until Weapon X's original look comes to life.