007: The Roaring Twenties

Version 4.00, last updated on March 19, 2011

Logan and Raven in 1921
Ron Garney, Wolverine (Vol. 2) #62

After World War I ended, it seems Logan returned to the Americas, finally reemerging as a prisoner in Mexico, circa 1921…

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #62 (Apr 2008) – “Get Mystique, Part 1 of 4”
Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: Ron Garney
Logan is on death row at a Mexican prison in the Sonoran Desert for stealing horses. Tied to a post in front of a shooting squad, Logan meets a woman with blue skin by the name of Raven (later known as Mystique) about to share the same fate. As the firing squad opens fire, Logan breaks free of his bonds and beats the soldiers to death. The two depart for a bar in Nogales, as Raven makes a pitch for the two of them to work together in Kansas City.

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #63 (May 2008) – “Get Mystique, Part 2 of 4”
Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: Ron Garney
In Kansas City, Raven introduces Logan to her team of misfit grifters – Big Pearl and Pete the Pygmy working the trolleys; Honey Pot May pinching pocketbooks; Six-Fingered Soapy dealing three-card monte; and One-Eyed Ande running the glim dropper scam. When Soapy’s scam gets unexpectedly exposed, Logan shows his worth by stepping in and scaring off the troublemakers. Later that night, Raven tries to convince Logan to help out on a big score.

Six-Fingered Soapy is an apparent homage to the legendary 19th-century conman Soapy Smith (see Alias Soapy Smith for more details) though his running of the three-card monte scam as shown in this issue is incorrect (for more details on the real scam, see the Wikipedia’s entry). As for the referenced glim dropper scam, it involves a one-eyed man and the ‘reward’ for his ‘lost’ glass eye.

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #64 (Jun 2008) – “Get Mystique, Part 3 of 4”
Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: Ron Garney
The big score is revealed to be the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (that opened its doors in November 1921), and before long Raven and her band of misfits are holding the employees hostage as Soapy cracks open the safe. Unfortunately, five heavily armed police officers are waiting inside.

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #65 (Jul 2008) – “Get Mystique, Part 4 of 4”
Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: Ron Garney
Instead of arresting the motley crew of grifters, the police officers shoot them down in cold blood. Logan, waiting outside with the getaway car, runs in and is confronted by the police. But it is quickly revealed that Logan sold the crew out for the reward money, though in the chaos, Raven escapes. Later, Logan slips aboard a boxcar leaving town and comes face to face with Raven. Logan accuses Raven of using him all along, and in response, she says cryptically, “Maybe so. But I guess we’ll never know for sure.” As Logan turns to find a different car to sleep in, Raven kicks him in the back, sending him flying off the train.

After Kansas City, Logan spends time in various locations around the world probably as a result of joining the merchant marine…

X-Men #117 (Jan 1979) – “Psi War”
Plotters: Chris Claremont & John Byrne; Scripter: Chris Claremont
Penciler: John Byrne; Inker: Terry Austin

As the X-Men navigate a tiny craft against a prodigious gale in Drake Passage, just south of Cape Horn, Wolverine notes, “Count yer blessings, bub. This is summer. In midwinter, it’s really rough.” This would suggest that Wolverine had sailed around Cape Horn in the past, probably as a merchant marine.

Wolverine: The End #3 (Jun 2004)
Writer: Paul Jenkins; Artist: Claudio Castellini
Logan mentions that he met Adolf Hitler once, “…he was a weasel.” It is doubtful Logan met Hitler at the height of his power, meaning the meeting most likely occurred during the early 1920s when Hitler was in Munich before the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. Since Logan’s recollection takes place in a future timeline, we cannot confirm these events actually happened.

Wolverine/Shi: Dark Night of Judgment (2000)
Creator: William Tucci and Beau Smith; Inker: Rich Perotta
A secret war has raged for thousands of years in Japan between two societies of warriors, the Sohei warrior monks of Kyoto and the legendary Kage Ryu’ dragon warriors. The two sides eventually agree to hold a Quarter War every 25 years, pitting one warrior from each clan against the other. Just before 1925 in Japan, Logan “…was accepted into the Dragon Clan when he played a major role in saving their leader from betrayal and assassination from within his own clan.” Logan then became the chosen warrior for Kage Ryu’ in the 1925 battle, easily defeating the Sohei warrior.

Note that as this information is from a cross-comic company storyline (Marvel and Crusade Entertainment) with characters not traditionally from Marvel continuity (Shi), the validity of this background and story within continuity is suspect.

Wolverine #183 (Jan 2003) – “…And Got Yourself a Gun”
Writer: Frank Tieri; Penciler: Sean Chen; Inker: Tom Palmer
Logan states, “Lou Gehrig was the best first baseman who ever lived. Anybody who actually saw the man play would know that.” Logan strongly implies that he saw Gehrig during his prime, some time between 1927 and 1937. Further, Logan’s tone suggests he saw Gehrig play on numerous occasions, meaning Logan was most probably in New York at some point in the late 1920s.

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #12 (May 2004) – “Dreams”
Writer: Greg Rucka; Pencils: Darick Robertson; Inks: Darick Robertson
In a dream, Wolverine claims, “During Prohibition, I ran booze from Canada along the Eastern Seaboard… We’d cross the border in upstate New York, make deliveries in Buffalo and then on down, into the City. One winter it was so cold, the beer froze in the barrels.” Wolverine further admits never to have met Al Capone. Considering prohibition ran from 1920 to 1933, we can assume these escapades took place during the 1920s.

Blade #5 (Mar 2007) – “Vendetta’s Echo”
Writer: Marc Guggenheim; Artist: Howard Chaykin
At a speakeasy, Eric Brooks (later known as Blade) is told a tale of a man in a long, black raincoat and cowboy hat who beat up a sneak thief after receiving fatal knife wounds to the chest and neck. Believing this man to be a vampire, Mr. Brooks goes hunting only to find himself victim to a real vampire. The man, revealed as Logan, saves Brooks’ life. Before he leaves, he give Brooks his long, black raincoat and adds with a smile, “You owe me one.”

Wolverine (Vol. 2) #63 (May 2008) – “Get Mystique, Part 2 of 4”
Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: Ron Garney
Wolverine notes that he has been shot by a Tommy Gun, a popular submachine gun of the prohibition era. It seems likely, then, that Logan was at the receiving end at some point during the 1920s.

Previous: The Great War <<< Wolverine Chronology >>> Next: The Thirties

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Cat
12 years ago

Can I just point out a mistake? Wolverine12 and 63 are volume 3, not 2. (Only know this because I got confused myself)

DiG
12 years ago

It’s actually even more confusing as Marvel tends to forget which volume a particular series is on, but in the case of Wolverine, the first series (1982) was treated as a Limited Series, the second series (1988) as volume 1, and the 2003 series as volume 2. To make matters worse, the current series has no volume, and I’ve tried to list it as (2010).

crazychris
12 years ago

that explains the rivalry between logan and mystique but what about her role in team x. seems like logan woulsd have been killed mystique if it was’nt for the constant brainwashing over the years. was mystique a part of the program romulus controlled too.

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