The character known as Wolverine is one of the most popular characters in all comics and he's been a mainstay of the X-Men ever since they were 'all-new' and 'all different' in Giant Size X-Men #1. His history was for many years a total mystery, but writers have been slowly filling it in to the point where he is pretty well known to fans. Much of the earlier work fleshing out the character was done by Chris Claremont in his legendary run on X-Men, and his collaborator John Byrne filled in some details in his run on Alpha Flight, Canada's super-hero team. Since then the list of people who have worked on the character is longer than Julia Roberts' Oscar® speech.

Wolverine was born in the 19th Century (which means the 1800's) as a very sickly boy named James. As adolescence hit he discovered his 'gifts', meaning his animal instincts, mutant healing ability and those pointy claws when his father is killed in front of him. James's claws are first snikted at that moment, and he used them to kill the murderer (and disgruntled former employee). Later he flees into the wild, though he eventually takes on the name of Logan (which matches the man he killed).

Logan has had a whirlwind career in various secretive and military organizations over the years. Eventually his body was artificially altered to lace his skeleton with adamantium (the strongest metal in the Marvel Universe). He originally took on the name Weapon X but choose Wolverine later, and it was more appropriate and much easier to defend in court as a trademark. He joined with the X-Men and has stayed with them over the years, first as a seemingly untamed member, then later he grew into a leader. Along the way he's had his hard times, including falling in love with Mariko Yashida and having his adamantium removed by Magneto in a non-licensed feat of medical wizardry. He still serves as an active member of the X-Men and he's always had the hots for Jean Grey. Haven't we all...

In terms of the costume, the cover art and an issue that shows off the character and his abilities, it would be nigh impossible to find a better choice than Uncanny X-Men # 133. This issue is knee-deep in the Dark Phoenix Saga as told by longtime X-Men scribe Chris Claremont, Marvel Legend Artist (and co-plotter) John Byrne, and the final piece of the triumvirate - inker Terry Austin. The saga would eventually reach some conclusion in four issues (with 137), but for now things look dark for the X-Men. The Dark Phoenix Saga is one of the best stories in comics and is available in trade paperback form and is well worth the read.

The end of the previous issue showed a glimpse of the payoff for this issue, and that was Wolverine cutting loose. The issue starts with the wild one ripping into several Hellfire Club guards (who return years later to harass the X-Men), and from there the plot thickens. Wolverine does have a few more fights, and along the way he uses stealth, his healing powers and even enhanced sense to track his teammates. The issue does end with a cliffhanger of sorts for Wolverine, but considering the number of appearances he's made in the last ten years alone, you get the feeling he'll come out of it okay.

Wolverine isn't the only character to fill the pages of this issue, and his fellow X-Men abound. You have Colossus, Storm, Cyclops and Nightcrawler as prisoners of the Hellfire Club, though at least Cyclops is able to do more than look on helplessly like the rest of his team. The bad guys are the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club, a group of powerful and ruthless people out to rule the world and all that. They are aided and abetted by Jean Grey in a decidedly sexy outfit as the Black Queen. Jean usually spends her time working with the X-Men but her mind has been clouded by Brotherhood of Evil Mutants alum Mastermind.

Over the years the character of Wolverine has left the shrouds of mystery and become more defined and less mysterious. Through appearances in the pages of X-Men and Wolverine comics he's had a slew of writers and artists leave their marks on him, and even more from the numerous guest appearances in other books. His first appearance was in The Incredible Hulk # 180 (cameo) and 181 (full appearance), written by Len Wein and drawn by Herb Trimpe. His last appearance is constantly changing, and will likely stay that way for the foreseeable future.

Thor gets his start back in the day. Really back in the day, when he was worshipped not by fanboys but by the Norse culture. Thor was the son of Odin, the All-Father and the god of thunder. His half-brother, and ever his rival, was Loki. Loki was the god of mischief and constantly schemes to best Thor. It's your basic case of supernatural sibling rivalry. All the Norse gods call Asgard home, and they sometimes (very often in Thor's case) travel to Midgard, better known as Earth.

The mighty Marvel manner in which Thor ends up on mediocre Midgard involves a lesson that Odin was trying to teach Thor. It seems Thor needed some humility so Odin decided to trap him in a mortal body (and a crippled one at that) until he happens upon Thor's hammer in a cave in Norway. Once he gets that he can change from Dr. Donald Blake (his alter-ego) to Thor. In typical comics fashion he is given the weakness that if he loses touch with his hammer (Mjolnir if you must know) for one minute he will change back to his vulnerable mortal self. And another kicker with the hammer is that unless you are truly worthy you can't pick up the hammer, regardless of your strength. The Hulk can't pick it up but Captain America and Beta Ray Bill can.

From there Thor engaged in adventures ranging throughout the cosmos. Thor was a charter member of The Avengers and his half-brother was directly responsible for getting the group started. Over the years Thor has been on again/ off again with the secret identity and the time restriction on his hammer was released once Odin felt he had learned humility. He's worn battle armor and had a beard, though the long locks of golden hair have always remained. He currently has a dual identity that he shares with Jake Olson, an EMT.

Thor was created by the Norse people, and re-interpreted for the present by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Stan's kid brother Larry Leiber. He made his first official appearance as a super-hero in Journey Into Mystery # 83 by Stan Lee, Larry Leiber and Jack Kirby. Later that book was changed to The Mighty Thor and this is the current nomenclature for the book. Through the years many writers have worked on the god of thunder, though Kirby's work stands out as does Walt Simonson's incredible run where his first issue had Thor lose his hammer due to a foe who was just as brave and worthy as Thor, then later turned the thunder god into a frog. He was responsible for the beard too!

Thor includes a copy of the very recent Mighty Thor # 541 (or # 39 to those who are used to the newer numbering system) that was the September 2001 issue. The cover imagery is by Barry Windsor Smith, and this was likely a reason for the issue's inclusion. The story is by Dan Jurgens (who spent some time working on another godlike character for DC when he wrote Superman) and the art was done by Stuart Immomen and Wade Von Grawbadger.

This issue isn't a complete tale and ends up being more something to move the plot along than a stand-alone. The story starts with Thor in his current alter-ego (EMT Jake Olson) seeing Jane Foster to get some medical attention. The cause of his injuries were from a battle that took place the previous issue and Jake has a broken arm and jaw. It turns out the arm is easily healed by changing to Thor, but the jaw was broken as Thor so it needs time to heal. Now the Nordic hero speaks broken classical theatrical English. You can thank Stan Lee for his elocution, and his odd accent (for a Norseman) has stayed with him ever since. Like Arnold Schwarzenegger, it's his trademark.

From there, Thor needs to go to Asgard to have his jaw repaired by the healers in Asgard because there are no doctors on Midgard (Earth) that are members of the Asgard Blue Cross HMO. Since healing a broken jaw instantly is beyond the powers of the Magical Gods of Asgard who can fly, are immortal and can split Thor into two beings (Thor and Jake Olson), Thor needs to go off into a special chamber. This effectively gets him out of the way and Jake goes back to Earth to make sure he doesn't miss work. While Thor is tied up the fire demon Surtur is starting up trouble, so the legions of Asgard head out to fight him. And from there the issue abruptly ends...

The inclusion of this issue is odd. The issue does feature a very nice cover image of Thor, but most issues of Thor are adorned with big, full-color images of the Thunder God on them since Journey Into Mystery # 83. In a way that shows how well the classic armor and outfit has held up over the years in that it remains relatively unchanged for forty years much like Spider-Man. Otherwise the issue doesn't spotlight Thor in any action at all, and is more a story that moves a bigger plot along than shows off Thor.

Every hero has a primary nemesis, one opponent that stands out more than others as a foe. Usually this opposite is also intertwined with the hero in some ways, and this makes for a more personal battle. If they were once friends, so much the better - they will fight bitterly. And the best adversary is one who not only matches intensity, but is diametrically opposed through philosophy and not just a desire to be evil. The leader of the X-Men is Professor X, and his opposite is Magneto - his friend and enemy.

Eric Lehnsherr is the man who became Magneto, and his mutant power first manifested itself when he was a child. His first use of his powers was to deflect a bullet meant to kill him, fired by Nazis in the concentration camp where he was a prisoner. Being persecuted and hounded for reasons only of his birth affected him much as an abused child who becomes an abuser. The lesson was reinforced later when his family was attacked for being with him, and he made the choice to use his powers to ensure that normal men would never dominate mutants. Instead he would lead them to dominate Homo sapiens with other mutants, to prevent the persecution he had experienced in his life.

He became acquainted with Charles Xavier and they naturally found points in which they agreed. They also found times of disagreement, with Charles favoring a peaceful and idealistic solution while Eric favored something more militant and direct. They went their own ways, but later were fated to meet as Magneto and Professor Xavier. When they met, each had cultivated a team of mutants to fight in their stead - The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants for Magneto, and the X-Men for Professor X.

The X-Men have fought Magneto time and again and he has proved to be their greatest enemy. His attitudes have changed drastically over the years, from his single-minded rhetoric when he ran the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, to a softening attitude. His views had changed so much that for a time he ran Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters as headmaster. These views changed again, and he swung back to a hostile attitude towards humanity and the X-Men.

Magneto has two mutant children, both of whom have been members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and the Avengers. It seems that moodiness is just as genetic as their mutations. The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are Magneto's children, and Quicksilver's daughter Luna is his grandchild.

Magneto is the self-styled Master of Magnetism, and he's demonstrated remarkable powers. He has been able to keep an asteroid in orbit (Asteroid M) and even grab a submarine and lift it out of the water from half a world away. He has shown ability to 'fly' by riding magnetic fields and even ripped the adamantium bonded to Wolverine's skeleton from his body. Needless to say, it hurt Wolverine like hell.

Magneto made his first appearance in Uncanny (though it was just called X-Men back then) X-Men #1, very prominently on the cover. He was the first test for the X-men, and even though he lost that battle he would be back in short order. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created the magnetic mastermind, and he was a mutant just like the X-Men. Magneto was appropriately chosen as the primary villain in the X-Men feature film, played by Sir Ian McKellan (who plays Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films).

To show off Magneto and this particular costume a copy of X-Men # 2 is included with the figure. Originally the figure was to have a copy of Magneto Rex, and the early ads (even the ones in the comics included with Legends series three) show this, but it was changed. The issue was created by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee (who would later leave Marvel to help form Image comics). The issue is part of a continuing storyline that helped launch the second book in the X-Men line (as a companion to Uncanny X-Men) and Magneto features prominently.

This story picks up right after issue one, where Magneto has forced a showdown with the X-Men on the island nation of Genosha, a nation that used mutants as slaves. Naturally, Magneto would find issue with the Genoshans, and creates his own brand of havoc which brings in the X-Men. After capturing one of the X-Men teams he takes them back to his base of operations (Asteroid M) where he can plan his next move. Along with Magneto are his Acolytes, who live to serve him and his vision of what should be.

While on the asteroid Magneto is routinely scanned for medical aid, and the scan reveals some issues with his DNA. He determines the cause of this problem to be Moira McTaggert, and associate of Prof. X who runs a mutant research center. To get the answers straight from her he goes down to earth and captures her along with Prof X and takes them back to his lair.

Meanwhile, the UN decides that what Magneto has done to Genosha is illegal and they put into action the 'Magneto Protocols'. Basically, it authorizes the great powers of the world to go to war with Magneto using weapons of mass destruction. Russia (one of the great powers at the time) readies a plasma weapon to attack Asteroid M. Nick Fury (from SHIELD) lets the X-Men know they are going to blow Asteroid M up (and everyone inside it) so they can have a chance to save their friends who've been captured. The issue ends with them committed to saving their teammates. Will they rescue them? There were issues after this, and it's still being published today. So, yeah, they do.

There are always things that you want to inherit from your ancestors (like money) and things you don't (like male pattern baldness or a last name like Cox). For the descendents of Noble Kale they got something far better (or worse, depending on your point of view) than eyes or hair. They got demonic powers, a cool motorcycle and the desire to mete vengeance upon those who spill the blood of the innocent. Maybe money would have been better, but the family that kept the power of Ghost Rider within it didn't have that option.

The legend of Ghost Rider started in the 18th Century with Noble Kale, the son of a pastor. His father was a bit disappointed that his son fell in love with a black woman (not very well accepted at the time) and since this was a burning offense, they burned her. But not before she put a curse on the Pastor, which basically forced him to make a deal with a devil (Mephisto to be exact) to save his town. All he had to do was sell his son's soul to make everything okay. Long story short, he made the sale and Noble was transformed in the demon Ghost Rider.

Noble, being a noble guy, eventually killed himself, and that's where his troubles began. Dying has never been that permanent in comics, and this is no exception. He got better, sort of. Whenever one of his descendents called upon him he would return, to protect innocent life. The fact that he has descendents means that adultery was another of his transgressions. You know how preacher's kids are!

One of his descendents who wanted to spare her children from the Ghost Rider was Naomi Kale. She abandoned her children, and they later grew up ignorant of their other relations. John (who later became Johnny Blaze) was separated from his siblings Danny and Barbara (who took on the name Ketch). Who would get the Ghost Rider powers? Both of the brothers, as it turns out.

First, Johnny (being the older brother) got the power. He was a motorcycle stunt driver and when his foster father was deathly ill he turned to the occult (aka, looked in the want ads for 'soul wanted, wish granted in exchange') and eventually made a deal with Mephisto (here he is again) to save his father from the disease. Of course, being the devil (or a devil) means you play dirty, and Blaze's father died in a motorcycle crash. When Mephisto came to get his prize he was stopped by a spell from Blaze's stepsister (who we only mention now because it is convenient), so he can't get the soul he wants, but he ends up grafting a demon (Zarathos) onto Johnny.

Since Blaze didn't know he had the Ghost Rider gene, when he turned into a flaming vengeance seeker he naturally blamed it on the demon that shared his body (as most people would). Blaze maintained control, so Ghost Rider could remain a force for good, which bugged Zarathos. He wanted to be bad, so he fought for control of the Rider persona, only to lose and have his essence removed from Blaze by an American Indian (who we only mention now because it is convenient). So now Blaze figured he was free to live a normal life.

Confused yet? It gets better...

Danny Ketch (Johnny's brother in reality) was in a cemetery in Brooklyn with his sister (on Halloween eve) when they came across something that scraed them (though not the way they intended). They came across two warring mobs (the Kingpin and Deathwatch) and got caught in the crossfire. Barb took a crossbow bolt (carried by most modern henchmen as it is inconspicuous) and went into a coma. Her innocent blood being spilled awakened the spirit of the Ghost Rider, and since a new motorcycle was nearby he got a spiffy ride too. The gangs were fighting over an attach� case and then Ghost Rider vowed to get to the bottom of things.

This might be the end for a regular tale, but not for Ghost Rider. Eventually Johnny Blaze learned of the new Rider and figured it was his old demon buddy in someone else. So he went to check it out and captured the Danny Ketch Ghost Rider, and they eventually figured out it wasn't Zarathos. Further, Blaze got some ghostly powers out of the deal and they worked together for a time.

Now it gets weird. Ketch was killed a few times, and always came back. Eventually he and Blaze figured out the relationship and still later Ghost Rider was given his own body back. Of course, he still worked with Ketch and later with Blaze, as Ghost Rider again in the Marvel Knights series. Who's really Ghost Rider? Take your pick, because either way you can't be wrong!

Ghost Rider was originally going to ship with a copy of Ghost Rider # 2 from the Marvel Knights line (which would be volume three) but instead it was changed to Ghost Rider #2 from the second volume of stories. The fact that the issue was changed does cast doubt as to which version of Ghost Rider they were making, but the inclusion of the issue from the second series makes this lean towards the Danny Ketch version. However, the cardback clearly states that this is Johnny Blaze, so that leans away from Danny Ketch. In truth, it could be either one, since they both wore the same outfit later in Ghost Rider's career.

The issue that was included is part of a larger story that started in issue one of the series where the origin of this version of Ghost Rider was told. Details of the origin have been covered above, and this issue follows up as Ghost Rider investigates the mysterious attach� case.

The case belongs to a villain called Deathwatch, who likes to watch people die through a psychic bond he can share, so he can experience the killing first hand. His instrument is Blackout, a man who absorbs any light near him and who is a ruthless killer. Alone the way Ghost Rider and Blackout naturally clash, with Ghost Rider winning the upper hand this time. But next time...

One of the things that stand out in this issue is that people are killed. Many comics tend to work around actual murder and stick to other crimes and schemes, but Ghost Rider is filled with death, meted out by hero and villain alike. You say vengeance, I say murder; it's all a matter of perspective. Since Ghost Rider is the good guy, and we know that the bad guys are guilty (we see them commit or admit their crimes) this must make it okay.