From Panel to Play: Wolverine

CP40Wolverine

Welcome back to another installment of Atomic Mass Transmissions. Today, we’re taking a look at the background, miniature, and stat card for someone who is the best there is at what he does, but what he does isn’t very nice. It’s Wolverine, bub.

Born in the late 1800s in Alberta, Canada, James ‘Logan’ Howlett is a mutant who possesses an extraordinary ability to regenerate wounds, heightened senses, and retractable claws. The power of Logan’s healing factor has given him an extremely long life, much of which he has spent in combat. He served beside Captain America in the Second World War, a mercenary fighter, and a CIA operative.

Logan was recruited by Team X, a secret black ops unit, that tampered with his memory before he was abducted and put into the Weapon X program. During this time, he was experimented on and ultimately had indestructible adamantium fused into his bones to make him a living weapon. Professor X eventually found and recruited Wolverine to join the X-Men, where he uses his abilities to fight for good.

Wolverine’s miniature wears the classic blue and yellow costume, and the angry Canadian is ready to unleash berserker rage on some poor sap. The miniature captures Wolverine the moment he roars a challenge to his opponents, ready to put his adamantium-coated claws to work.

Wolverine is one of the best-loved characters in the Marvel Universe, with countless stories depicting his combat prowess and incredible mutant abilities. Translating someone so iconic to the tabletop required careful consideration.

Let’s start with the basics. Wolverine’s stat line has much of what you’d expect. He’s got a rock-solid 7 Stamina, putting him above average, with a decent Physical defense of 4. He suffers a bit in the Mystical defense category since magic and mental manipulation have never been his strong suit—just ask Professor X.

As for attacks, Wolverine has two solid options. His Adamantium Slash attack is on par with Sabretooth’s Claw Slash at Strength 5 with Bleed and Pierce, and his Berserker Barrage is an interesting attack that has Wolverine hurling himself at an opponent, slicing at them with his claws for Strength 7, and throwing the target Short range away.

That might not seem like the worst thing in the world to face until you look at Wolverine’s superpowers. The Best at What I Do… is where the former Weapon X really starts to shine. Drawing on centuries of combat experience, this power lets Wolverine make a move action followed up by his basic attack. Each wild result in the roll counts as two successes instead of one, for a potential 10 damage, or more with Criticals involved, on the strike with a Bleed condition, just for icing on the cake.

Of course, Wolverine’s most impressive ability is the hyper-fast regeneration of his healing factor. He is almost impossible to kill, as many former foes have discovered the hard way. Wolverine’s Healing Factor innate power lets him remove 2 damage at the end of each activation. An opponent unlucky enough to Daze him gets to experience the Wild Rage within Logan, as he goes on an unstoppable, frenzied assault.

If you’re hungry for more, be sure to check out the Wolverine & Sabretooth character expansion when it hits shelves, and check back for the next From Panel to Play as we examine your favorite characters who make the transition to Marvel: Crisis Protocol.

Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off!