Why Is Wolverine Called Logan?

There aren't many Marvel superheroes who are quite as well-known or beloved as Wolverine. The character's gruff personality and equally cutting superpowers have made him a fan-favorite for years, and his role as one of the primary members of the X-Men has only made it easier for him to stand out that much more from the crowd. There is, of course, also a lot of buzz surrounding Wolverine right now, thanks to Hugh Jackman's upcoming reprisal of the role in "Deadpool 3." The actor's appearance in the highly-anticipated, Ryan Reynolds-led superhero film will mark the first time that he has played Wolverine since he seemingly said goodbye to the character in 2017's "Logan."

Jackman's previous big-screen adventures as Wolverine have helped him become someone even casual Marvel fans know a little bit about. That said, what not even certain comic book readers may know is why the character, whose birth name is actually James Howlett, is frequently referred to as "Logan" on both the page and screen. Those same fans may be surprised to learn that there's actually a two-part answer to that question.

Firstly, it's worth noting that the name "Logan" is a reference to Wolverine's biological father, Thomas Logan, a crass groundskeeper who had a secret affair with the X-Men hero's mother, Elizabeth Howlett. When he was born, Wolverine was named James Howlett in honor of Elizabeth's husband, the wealthy John Howlett. Later, after he and his son, Dog, were eventually expelled from the Howlett estate, Thomas returned with a shotgun and killed John in front of both Elizabeth and James. The sight caused the latter's mutation to finally manifest, including his violent spirit, which led to him killing his biological father.

Beyond just the connection that it has to his biological father, it's additionally worth noting that Wolverine didn't take on the name "Logan" himself. Instead, it was given to him by a childhood friend named Rose O'Hara. After the deaths of both of his fathers, Wolverine fled the Howlett estate with Rose and the two ended up wandering through the Canadian wilderness together. It was during this period, when Wolverine was suffering from partial amnesia, that Rose began calling him "Logan" in order to help him leave his true identity behind. Logan, unsurprisingly, latched onto the new name, and he hasn't let go of it since.

Unfortunately, like a lot of people in Wolverine's life, Rose didn't get to live as long as she should have. She was ultimately killed in a frenzied rage by none other than Wolverine himself, who did so out of pure instinct when she tried to stop him from killing Thomas Logan's other son, Dog, in a fight. Despite her death, Wolverine has continued to go by Logan, the name she gave to him. Rose, in other words, ended up being just the first of many comic book characters to refer to him by that moniker.

Outside of 2009's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," none of the live-action films featuring the hero have truly explored his childhood or the comic book origin story of his "Logan" nickname. Right now, it seems unlikely that "Deadpool 3" will touch on any of that, either, especially given the older age of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine in that film. However, fans will just have to wait until its release to see how extensively, if at all, the blockbuster actually explores its co-lead's past.