Wolverine And Sabretooth Originally Had A Much Different Connection

Aside from Logan (Hugh Jackman) himself, "Deadpool & Wolverine" looks to be bringing back many mutant characters from 20th Century Fox's "X-Men" films. Among them is Sabretooth/Victor Creed, Wolverine's nemesis, played once more by Tyler Mane as in the 2000 "X-Men" movie. These two are eternal rivals, but why?

Chronologically, the last we saw of Sabretooth was Cyclops (James Marsden) blasting him off the Statue of Liberty. Production-wise, Creed appeared in the 2009 prequel "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (played by Liev Schreiber instead of Mane). The movie looked to fill in the (many) gaps in Logan's backstory, such as why he and Sabretooth had a blood feud.

The movie (which is not good, don't watch it) mashes up three comic stories: 1989's "Wolverine" Volume 2 issue #10 (where it's revealed Sabretooth murdered Logan's lover Silver Fox), Barry Windsor-Smith's 1991 "Weapon X" (which revealed how Wolverine got his adamantium skeleton and claws), and Paul Jenkins and Andy Kubert's 2001 "Origin" (which revealed Logan was born as James Howlett in 19th century Canada). To that end, the movie merges Sabretooth with Dog Logan, Wolverine's forgotten half-brother from "Origin," and makes Logan and Creed into brothers. The movie's title sequence depicts them fighting through 120 years of war together, from the U.S. Civil War up to the Vietnam War, unable to die thanks to their mutant healing factors. They had a falling out when Victor fell too in love with killing.

So, that's the movies' answer. But Wolverine and Sabretooth are not brothers in the comics. With such similar powers (from claws to healing), they have to be related, though, right?

Defining "X-Men" writer Chris Claremont (who co-created Sabretooth and made Wolverine into the icon he is) says that, yes, they are. Had he gotten his way before leaving "X-Men" in 1991, Sabretooth would've been revealed as Wolverine's father.

Sabretooth was created by Claremont and John Byrne not as an X-Men villain, but as a villain for Iron Fist. Sabretooth's first appearance is in 1977's "Iron Fist" #14. He even fought Spider-Man (in "Peter Parker: Spectacular Spider-Man" #116 and #119 by Peter David and Rich Buckler) before tangling with the X-Men.

Claremont had previously repurposed Mystique (who debuted in his and Dave Cockrum's "Ms. Marvel" run) as an X-Men villain. In 1986, he did the same with Sabretooth and immediately positioned him as Wolverine's counterpart. In 2003, while answering questions on an X-Men web forum, Claremont summarized how he envisioned Wolverine and Sabretooth's relationship.

"Father and son. Sabretooth [...] always considered Logan 'sloppy seconds' to his 'original' / 'real deal.' The other critical element in my presentation of their relationship was that, in their whole life, Logan has never defeated Sabretooth in a knock-down, drag-out, kill-or-be-killed berserker fight. By the same token, on every one of his birthdays, Sabretooth has always managed to find him, no matter where Logan was or what he was doing, and come [within] an inch of killing him. For no other reason than to remind him that he could."

Sabretooth made his "X-Men" debut in the "Mutant Massacre" arc ("Uncanny X-Men" #210-213, written by Claremont, art by Marc Silvestri). He debuts as one of the Marauders, a group of mutants who hunt other mutants. In this story, they target the sewer-dwelling outcasts the Morlocks on orders of an unseen master (later revealed to be Mister Sinister.)

Wolverine and Sabretooth first fight on-panel in "Uncanny X-Men" #212, but it's clear they already know each other. "I know that voice," Logan muses when he first hears Sabretooth. "Figured he'd be here, massacres are his stock and trade." Logan was already known to have had a long and mysterious past at his point, so him knowing Sabretooth wasn't far-fetched.

As they fight, Logan declares that while Sabretooth is a killer, he's merely a man who sometimes kills (but never for fun). In his earlier days, Logan might have battled Sabretooth for the challenge, but his time with the X-Men has made him a better man and he's more concerned with saving lives. From the beginning, the core of their rivalry is there: Sabretooth embodies the vicious animal that Logan keeps chained inside himself, an animal Sabretooth wants to draw out to prove Logan isn't any better than him.

Marvel Comics

The pair soon get a rematch in "Uncanny X-Men" #213 when Sabretooth attacks the X-Mansion, knocking out Rogue and chasing Psylocke around like a slasher villain. When the X-Men return, Wolverine again fights Sabretooth. (This issue is also the debut of Victor's go-to insult to Logan: "Runt," for he's as huge as Wolverine is short.) The battle ends with them both tumbling off a cliff; Rogue grabs Wolverine mid-air while Sabretooth falls into the ocean, down but not out.

Claremont and Silvestri pushed the Wolverine versus Sabretooth angle hard, intent on selling this as the next big X-Men rivalry. (I'd say they succeeded.) Just take a look at the issues' covers.

The cover of "Uncanny X-Men" #212 (by Barry Windsor-Smith and Danny Crespi) features in bold text: "Wolverine vs Sabretooth — Round 1!" The issue is selling readers on witnessing an Earth-moving fight. The art shows Wolverine, claws out and in a torn costume, standing on a black background where a blood splatter has formed into the shape of Sabretooth's claws. The message is that Logan will have his work cut out for him.

Marvel Comics

"Uncanny X-Men" #213 has a cover (by Alan Davis and Paul Neary) of Wolverine and Sabretooth locked together in close combat. "Uncanny X-Men" #222 also features the two rivals battling on its cover (by Silvestri and Dan Green), even though if you open the pages, the Wolverine/Sabretooth fight is just a small scuff near the end.

Wolverine was already the most popular of the X-Men, so it made sense to give him an equal and opposite villain. His rival dynamic with Sabretooth isn't the friendly, self-bettering kind you might see in a shonen manga, though — they hate each other. Why?

In "Uncanny X-Men" #213, Psylocke looks into Sabretooth's mind. She pieces together that he and Logan are old enemies, and notices one particular image of a defeated Wolverine lying unconscious in the snow. Claremont told that story a few years later in "Wolverine" #10.

In that issue, it's Wolverine's birthday — not that he's making it known. In fact, he's steering clear of people he cares for. The issue cuts between past and present. The flashbacks, set in early 1900s Canada, reveal that Sabretooth murdered Silver Fox on Logan's birthday that year. Wolverine tried to fight him afterwards and was soundly beaten. Since at least then, Sabretooth has made it an annual tradition to find Logan on his birthday and torture either him or his loved ones. Sabretooth doesn't show up in the present day scenes, but the issue ends with Logan finding the bodies of two punks who attacked him earlier, with a note reading: "Nobody kills you but me — especially today!"

Marvel Comics

If you know that Claremont was writing the two as father and son, you can feel it in many of Sabretooth's lines: "Superb boy, didn't think you had it in you!", "Time to teach the final lesson!", "Given who we are, what other ending could there be?"

#10 was the last "Wolverine" issue Claremont wrote before handing the series off. He then left "Uncanny X-Men" altogether in 1991 after issue #279 (this was a premature exit — Claremont left due to conflicts with Marvel editor Bob Harras, who gave more creative power to artist Jim Lee at Claremont's expense). Before he left, Claremont didn't reveal any more of Sabretooth's history with Wolverine.

In 1991's "Wolverine" #41 (by Larry Hama and Silvestri), Wolverine again fights Sabretooth on his birthday. (The issue includes redrawn flashbacks to their fight after Silver Fox's murder.) This time, Victor now claims to be Logan's "ever-lovin' daddy dearest!" and obviously Wolverine is not happy with the suggestion. In the following issue, SHIELD rescues Wolverine/captures Sabretooth. They run a DNA test that confirms the two are not father and son, though Nick Fury suggests Sabretooth believed they were. When Logan presses Fury for more answers, the Colonel tells him it's classified.

"Weapon X" was being published at the time and once it wrapped, Hama started building on it. (He even wrote a sequel, "The Shiva Scenario," published in "Wolverine" #48-50.) Hama suggested that Logan and Sabretooth had both been experimented on by the Weapon X scientists, who made a mess of their memories with brainwashing. It's even hinted that Silver Fox's murder, and Logan/Victor's fight afterward, may have just been a false memory crafted by Weapon X, since a woman claiming to be Silver Fox shows up alive in the present. In hindsight, "Wolverine" #41-42 feel like an acknowledgment of Claremont's plans while also closing the door on them.

So, would Wolverine being Sabretooth's son have been a good idea? Ever since I heard about it, I've always liked it. It's a straightforward answer with some built in pathos, and could've saved Wolverine's past from some convoluted retcons. It wouldn't have been Claremont's first time giving an X-Man a surprise parent, though. (i.e. Mystique as Nightcrawler's mother, space pirate Corsair as Cyclops' father, etc.) There's a reason "soap opera" is a frequent description of his "X-Men" comics.

What I'm not the biggest fan of is Claremont's idea for who Logan's mother would be. As he explained in 2022, it would've been Seraph, a person with dwarfism who founded Logan's favored Princess Bar in Madripoor. That's why Logan is 5'3 when his "father" Sabretooth is the size of a small bear. Seraph's name is no accident; she's a literal fallen angel cast out of Heaven. That's why, Claremont explains, Wolverine's soul is always at war between good and evil; he has an angel for a mother and a beast for a father.

Yeaaaaaah, sometimes more mystery is better, especially when it comes to Wolverine.

From 2009 to 2011, Claremont wrote "X-Men Forever" (picking up when he left "Uncanny X-Men" and continuing as if nothing had come after. It's not exactly what he would've written back in 1991, though, since he had almost 20 years to change). He finally got to reveal Sabretooth as Wolverine's father; in "Forever," Logan dies for real and Sabretooth takes his place on the X-Men. Somehow I don't think Marvel would've ever let that happen in the 1990s, at least not permanently.

One of Claremont's other discarded "X-Men" ideas has recently been canonized, though, even if it took retconning a retcon to make it happen. 2023's "X-Men Blue: Origins" #1 (written by Si Spurrier, drawn by Wilton Santos and Marcus To) revealed that Mystique is actually Nightcrawler's father. She used her shapeshifting to turn into a man and impregnate her wife, Destiny, who then gave birth to Kurt.

Claremont himself is also currently writing mini-series "Wolverine: Deep Cut." Set around the events of "Uncanny X-Men" #246, the first issue features Wolverine fighting Sabretooth. The story finally confirms one of the other twists that Claremont had planned: that the Sabretooth who showed up as part of the Marauders was a mere clone created by Mister Sinister, hence why Logan could beat him. For Claremont, the real Sabretooth is only the one who shows up on Logan's birthday.

Could we see another writer (or even Claremont himself) circle back to Claremont's old plans for Sabretooth? Nothing's impossible, but personally, I'd say it's too late to pull that trigger now (and has been since "Origin" carved Logan's parentage into stone). Making Sabretooth into Wolverine's father now wouldn't answer mysteries, it'd just open up more questions.

"Deadpool & Wolverine" releases in theaters on July 26, 2024.