I would wager that some of these have already been done, but I love both alternate historical settings for "what if" style stories, and Wolverine, so I wanted to combine them both:
{democracy:164}
Discussion to follow!
- Steampunk England: I bet Steampunk Wolverine would not be much different than regular Wolverine, although what happens to the rest of the X-Men would probably be more interesting. But I think I'd like to see him playing Watson to Sherlock Holmes, or otherwise slicing his way up and down steam locomotive lines, giant steampunk robots, and the like.
- American Old West: Cowboy Wolverine is one of those I'm pretty sure has been done before, but reading Golden Age cowboy comics has ignited my feeling of nostalgia once again.
- Colonial America: This has sort of been done by Mel Gibson with "The Patriot", but the part that would be interesting to me would be seeing how Logan would handle rage against the British, or if he'd stay a Royalist, or just which way he'd decide to take his life.
- Pre-History (Caveman, basically): This would probably be boring, as Wolverine would crush anyone who opposed him. Even wooly mammoths wouldn't stand a chance. You'd have to wonder how he'd get adamantium impregnated into his skeleton, though. Cavemen weren't much for metallurgy.
- Nazis won WWII: Seeing Logan fight alongside the underground resistance after breaking away from Mengele's goons and their inhuman experiments would be totally awesome. Dare I hope to see an alternate history Captain America still lurking around somehow decades later as well?
- South won the American Civil War: My buddy John ran a Champions campaign based on this concept that was a lot of fun. I'd like to see Wolverine dealing with the issues a society based on slavery would raise. You'd assume mutants would eventually be lumped in with Blacks if you're going with the standard Marvel treatment of their plight, but I think putting mutants in with the masters instead of the slaves would be even more interesting.
I'd probably go with the alternate history where the Nazis won WWII, because you can never get enough of Nazis being sliced into bits. Plus the idea that Cap might show back up, maybe as the agent who persuades Logan to switch sides, would be pretty cool.
How about you, what would you like to see? Any classic alternate histories I might've missed?
(Image ©Marvel Comics.)
Wolverines claws being powered by some kind of steampunk contraption on his mits conjures up an image I think would be pretty cool.
Steampunk Wolverine got my vote.
But what about this: Wolverine as a conquistador fighting with Cortez against an Aztec Empire in a world where magic works. Conquistador Wolverine vs. necromancy-using priests!
Plus you could have neat twists like Wolverine realizing he’s fighting for the wrong side, and carving 😀 out his own little Central American empire…
Agreed. When I think steampunk Wolverine, or x-men in general I think in terms that their powers aren’t from some random gene, but from them making a contraption that would give them similar powers. Or more accurately, Prof X making the contraptions.
It was a hard choice for me between western and Steampunk, but I eventually went with the Old west. His personality is well suited to the time period.
Ooo, I like that, Imp! Aztec Wolverine has surely never been done before and it sounds awesome.
I started to click Steampunk England, but then I thought about it. Although I like the steampunk design aesthetic, I’ve yet to actually read a steampunk story I like. Of course, I’ve never read a steampunk comic, and it should all work so much better in comics than in novels.
Then I got tired of arguing with myself, and went with the old standby: WWII.
@x-stacy: Try reading girlgeniusonline.com, but only until the end of volume 6. That’s the best piece of steampunk comic I’ve ever read.
My vote went to prehistory. Its sort of fits with his arch nemesis being Sabertooth and being a bit too primal for the city.
As a major Fantasy fen however I would like to see him with the other X man in the Spanish inquisition, hunted as witches and warlock. Cardinal Magnito would be a cool concept in my opinion.
@Haxxx:
Check out Marvel 1602. No Wolverine, but the way it treats the X-Men it does show (original team, basically) is pretty much up that alley.
Wolverine vs Nazis is awesome. I have a comic where Wolverine goes into a concentration camp (he doesn’t speak in the issue but I assume he got caught on purpose in order to help the people in the camp). And the nazi who runs the camp has him shot but he just keeps coming back…its really interesting. A comic I would like to see is maybe Wolvie meeting a young Magneto in Auschwitz.
Gaul Logan (or similar tribal barbarian) during the Roman Empire might be interesting, but maybe that’s just me. After all, I’ve had a number of character contest entries where the character was clearly from the Classical Period, so that period of time is pretty interesting to me.
Having said, Nazis winning WWII is the most interesting option of the ones listed.
I went colonial, it would be cool to see it done like “last of the Mohicans” or “dances with wolves” with wolverine being a British soldier who falls for a native (silver-fox), switches sides and has to fight his platoon consisting of his weapon X buddies
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o240/watson_kaboos/watsonbradshaw-1776.png
How about Wolverine in the land of Oz?
Wolverine in the Inuit myths of his homeland would be cool, but WWII would be great because in an alternate timeline who knows how many of their crazy ass expeririments would have succeeded, and a dystopian cap would be sweet.
@Watson (11): I like that idea too. Sabretooth as Magua. (or however the nasty indian’s name is spelled)
I like colonial with a twist. Wolverine is Canadian. I think the story should be set during the French and Indian War with Logan being opposed to the colonies.
I think his attitude best fits the Old West.
Wolverine vs Spartans! It is madness.
I went WW2 too:
“You sent for me, Prime Minister?”
“I did, Logan. But it’s just Mr. Churchill, now. You know Pvt. Rogers?”
“We’ve met.”
“Jolly good. Well, we’ve got a bit of a job for you, old man. Rogers will be watching your back. There’s a Jerry we’d like you to take out of the picture, as it were. Chap called Hitler.”
“We’ve met.”
“Quite. Rogers has all the details. Feel up to it, then?”
“No sweat. No tears. Just blood.”
“Jolly good. Off you go.”
Steampunk Wolverine vs. Cthulhu… ‘Nuff dead? I think not.
(waitaminnit. what the heck DOES a steampunk-tech-made Logan even LOOK like?)
I dunno Amscray but methinks Jeffrey should create it. Sketch of the day?
You know, I’d kind of like to see Logan/Wolverine in the Crimson Skies Universe:
http://www.microsoft.com/games/crimsonskies/
Or, I think it’d also be fun to mix genres together. Combine Steampunk, American Old West, and a Civil War that rages on in the 1880s and throw in a little Lovecraftian horror to really mix things up. In short, Let’s see Wolverine (and hell, the rest of the X-Men) in the Deadlands setting:
http://www.peginc.com/games.html
They’ve already done mutants as slaves in Genosha.
Wolverine the Viking would be neat…
Prehistory could be really neat. Showing the distrust of the rest of his clan/tribe when he and a couple others are badly wounded by some critter or rival clan (or Sabertooth) and he heals instantly but his clanmates die… Maybe his clan would drive him out thinking he stole the life forces of the others in order to live, himself, or something…
A Days of Future Past minus the Sentinels could be interesting… Wolverine meets Darwin’s World… or Waterworld… Wolverine in “The Postman” or “Mad Max” type of post-apocalypse rather than Sentinels.
Wolverine in the Old West, whose exploits are so amazing and unbelievable that they become legendary. Inexplicably, everyone refers to him as Pecos Bill.
Dr. Victor Frankenstein creates the perfect weapon in his laboratory but it turns against its creator and starts wearing a mask with pointy ears.
Sir Logan du Lac is the baddest knight in King Arthur’s court, but he and Queen Guinevere finally give in to the long-standing attraction and Camelot goes to hell despite the efforts of Professor Merlynx.
Wolverine in Judea, ca. 32 BC, head of a militant anti-Roman cadre of 12 mutants, runs afoul of local anti-mutant Pharisees who get the Romans to crucify him but of course it doesn’t kill him and he comes back and causes the fall of the Roman Empire.
Young Logan Caulfield leaves his prep school and hangs around New York trying to get served drinks and getting disgusted at all the phonies, and finally visits his sister Phoebe and is eventually committed to an institution, but he breaks out and kills all the phonies like a madman. [Damn, J.D. Salinger would’ve written GREAT comics! It’s The Slasher in the Rye.]