# Whoa Whoa...Wolverine is a girl? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 28, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597 "2012-06-28T16:22:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/41 "2012-06-29T21:20:43Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Or any of [these ones](http://images.wikia.com/marveldatabase/images/2/24/Exiles_Vol_1_86.jpg). That cover is awesome. But why the hell is Spiderman 2099 there? ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/42 "2012-06-29T21:27:16Z")
Nevermind. I went and did a bit of research and got my question answered. ---
**Author:** ![sco3tt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@sco3tt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sco3tt)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/43 "2012-06-29T22:38:25Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > **X-23** isn’t anywhere near as cool a name as **Wolverine**. Hmm. How about Vulvarine then? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/44 "2012-06-29T23:04:10Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > That cover is awesome. But why the hell is Spiderman 2099 there? It’s a team drawn from more than one dimension. The same reason there are a hundred-odd Wolverines. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/45 "2012-06-29T23:11:27Z")
> [@sco3tt](#): > > Hmm. How about Vulvarine then? That conjures imagery of _vagina dentata_. Which would be an interesting super villain, though I suspect only in Hentai. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/46 "2012-06-30T00:30:13Z")
Also, variant covers frequently have nothing to do with the comic they appear on, and frequently promote a movie or a character’s anniversary. Neither of those would apply to X-23, but a sense of disconnect needs to be considered. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/47 "2012-06-30T00:31:12Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > I’m not the only one who did a Google image search for x-23 cosplay, am I? > [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Not anymore… [This one’s my favorite.](http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/310/0/b/my_cosplay_laura_kinney___x_23_by_michela1987-d4fa8gq.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/48 "2012-06-30T01:09:11Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > That would be the best comic character ever. …and Squirrel Girl would still beat her. Somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/49 "2012-06-30T01:12:04Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > That’s not Wolverine. I forget who that is because I don’t read comics any more, but Wolvie has three claws in each hand not two. I’m pretty sure Wolverine doesn’t have a vagina either. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/50 "2012-06-30T01:33:01Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’m pretty sure Wolverine doesn’t have a vagina either. You’re at the intersection of Comics and Internet. Gender swaps are much more common in these parts than changes to iconic weapons. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/51 "2012-06-30T04:27:20Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > You’re at the intersection of Comics and Internet. Gender swaps are much more common in these parts than changes to iconic weapons. True. We’re talking about the only genre of fiction where the question “how long you figure he’s going to be dead?” is a legitimate topic of debate. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/52 "2012-06-30T06:39:25Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’m pretty sure Wolverine doesn’t have a vagina either. He’s had his package shot off in recent years by the Punisher and the Hood. He’s actually gotten philosophical about it: “Maybe it’ll grow back bigger.” ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/53 "2012-06-30T16:38:59Z")
It’s an interesting thing - both of Wolvie’s kids have their middle claw migrate elsewhere - X-23, despite being a direct clone, aside from the doubled X chromosome, has them in her feet, and Daken, his more naturally conceived son, has them popping out under his wrists. One wonders what makes that claw’s location that unstable, since the kids’ opposite sexes kills the idea that the Y chromosome carries the information… ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/54 "2012-06-30T20:12:45Z")
Aren’t the claws an after market add-on? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/55 "2012-06-30T20:17:56Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Aren’t the claws an after market add-on? Originally - Yes Currently - No ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/56 "2012-06-30T20:32:06Z")
No. The adamantium coating that Wolverine and X-23 have (though _only_ on her claws in her case) is not natural, but the claws themselves are, on all 3 of them. (And Daken’s aren’t coated.) The adamantium on his bones was removed in 1993, revealing the bone claws (and a whole lot of weirdness). ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/57 "2012-07-01T05:57:32Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > [Anyone care to explain this?](http://comicsworthreading.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Komen_Wolverine_315_Cover.jpg) the Capt. America and the Thor covers aren’t females…did I miss something here? Just in case you didn’t know there are female equivalents to Captain America and Thor: [American Dream](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream_(comics)) and [Valkyrie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valkyrie_(Marvel_Comics)#Valkyrie_.28Samantha_Parrington.29) ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/58 "2012-07-01T23:25:45Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > It’s an interesting thing - both of Wolvie’s kids have their middle claw migrate elsewhere - X-23, despite being a direct clone, aside from the doubled X chromosome, has them in her feet, and Daken, his more naturally conceived son, has them popping out under his wrists. One wonders what makes that claw’s location that unstable, since the kids’ opposite sexes kills the idea that the Y chromosome carries the information… Fanwank: Wolverine’s genome actually codes for claws/spurs in multiple locations, maybe as many as 5 on each extremity, corresponding to fingers and toes, split between top and bottom of wrist, and front and back of foot. Which claws actually manifest is a function of prenatal conditions. Some of the required conditions may be mutually exclusive. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/59 "2012-07-02T04:18:31Z")
> [@Bakhesh](#): > > Not to be confused with Wolverina… > > [http://marvel.wikia.com/Logana\_(Earth-89923)](http://marvel.wikia.com/Logana_(Earth-89923)) Or his evil great-great…great-granddaughter from the 31st century, Rancor. [http://marvel.wikia.com/Rancor\_(Earth-691)](http://marvel.wikia.com/Rancor_(Earth-691)) ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597/60 "2012-07-02T12:52:55Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Or his evil great-great…great-granddaughter from the 31st century, Rancor. > > [http://marvel.wikia.com/Rancor\_(Earth-691)](http://marvel.wikia.com/Rancor_(Earth-691)) Good grief. Forget the genetics of the damn claws. His _hairstyle_ can be inherited? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whoa-whoa-wolverine-is-a-girl/626597.md?page=4)