How Old Is Wolverine? Age in Marvel Comics and Movies Explained

Everyone thought Hugh Jackman had given up playing the iconic mutant Wolverine for good. With his poignant performance in Logan, fans thought that was the last time they would experience Jackman’s grandiose on screen as Wolverine. However, Ryan Reynolds entered the scene and decided to switch things up.

He convinced his real-life best friend to return to the character and also enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe while they were at it. Considering the branching timelines and expansive universes, bringing Wolverine back was a no-brainer. The confusion that did arise with his return revolved around Wolverine’s age and if he cheated death to be back alive in Deadpool & Wolverine. Let’s explore the answers to these burning questions below.

When was Wolverine Born?

According to the comics, Logan aka Wolverine (played by Hugh Jackman) was born in the 19th century somewhere between 1882-85. The exact date and year remain unknown, but it has been established that he is quite aged, definitely over 100 years old.

The trick of the trade in this question is with the variant we are talking about. With numerous dimensions and timelines, there are so many variants and versions existing of the same character that it gets tough to keep track of them.

As seen in the movies too, Wolverine does not remember much of his past except for how he was brought to the lab by William Stryker who proceeds to experiment on him and add Adamantium to his bones.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine helps answer this question when it mentions Wolverine discovering his powers in 1845. He goes on to explore the extent of his powers and even gets enlisted to go to war for the country. This is somewhat different from the comics but establishes a rough era of his birth.

Wolverine has the power to heal and recover from injuries in no time. His body regenerates tissues at a swift speed that has allowed him to remain alive for so long. Even the aging process of his body goes on differently than regular humans.

Wolverine’s Age in the Movies

The age and birth date of characters in comic books are kept vague for a reason. It adds to the overall mystery of the story as readers strive to decode the characters and know more about them subsequently. Though Wolverine is older in the movies than in the comics, we know for a fact that he is one of the longest-living mutants in the X-Men universe.

In the X-Men movies, we see Wolverine’s age move from one scale to another. When he encounters the X-Men team in the 2003 movie, we know that he is about 171. This makes him about 194 years old present day.

However, Days of the Future Past messes up the timeline and causes fans to rethink what they know and believe about the characters and their lives. The entire sequence is upended to reveal new details.

Though Wolverine in the latest MCU film appears to be from another timeline altogether, we assume he was born in about the same time period as the others we have seen in the comics and the movies.

Can Wolverine Die?

While his invulnerability and slow aging process have always made fans wonder if Wolverine can die, Logan proved that he can. The central factor in his death at that time was because of how old he had gotten.

Wolverine can technically die since his healing powers slow down as he gets older. However, with no many variations of the character in numerous timelines, it’s always possible to pick another timeline and continue the iconic mutant’s story.

Some of the ways in which Wolverine has been deeply impacted and even died in the comics are molten adamantium, drowning, or basically doing anything in swift moves that does not let his healing factor start early.

This vulnerability proves Wolverine is capable of death. At the same time, his immense powers almost make him invincible even in the face of losing limbs. Hopefully, Wolverine will return for more movies and delight his fans further.

Deadpool & Wolverine is streaming on Disney+.