RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Features
  • | Columns
  • | Guides
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
News
Meet the Characters of X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Learn all you need to know about Marvel mutants
by Greg Dean Schmitz | April 22, 2009
Discuss Article
Page | 1 2 3 4
X-Men Origins: Wolverine marks the fourth film appearance for Marvel's most popular mutant. By now, you should be pretty familiar with Wolverine and his super-powered teammates from the previous X-Men movies, but unless you're a comics aficionado, you might not recognize some of Logan's other compatriots, such as Wade Wilson, John Wraith, and Agent Zero. And although Sabertooth, Stryker, and Cyclops have been seen on the big screen already, there are new actors playing those roles this time around. That's why we've put together this rundown of the major players you're going to see in the upcoming installment of the X-Men saga.




WOLVERINE

Real Name: Logan/James Howlett

Played By: Hugh Jackman, the Australian actor/dancer/singer who rose to fame when he was cast as a then-unknown in 2000's first X-Men film. Noting that Wolverine's personality had mellowed in X-Men: The Last Stand, Jackman has been quoted as being excited about playing Wolverine during his most feral days, comparing the performance to that of Robert De Niro's in the Cape Fear remake.

Powers: Super healing, regeneration, super senses, adamantium-infused skeleton, adamantium-infused claws and a berserker battle fury.

In the Comics: For the first 25 years of Wolverine's publication in Marvel Comics (first introduced in The Incredible Hulk #181, November 1974), Wolverine's true origin story was one of comics' greatest mysteries. As in the first three X-Men movies, readers were given bits of the puzzle over the years, but Wolverine's true roots weren't revealed until the 2001-2002 mini-series Origin, which detailed the events of Wolverine's youth and young adulthood. The comics have also now depicted in many different ways Wolverine's time as part of the Weapon X program, in which both he and Sabretooth were used as part of a military program to use mutants as super soldiers.

In the Movie: X-Men Origins: Wolverine borrows heavily from several of the comics that have dealt directly with Wolverine's origin story, but reportedly also has some new or different elements, especially in the Weapon X era. This is, of course, to be expected, since the first three movies very much departed from the comics, de-aging characters like Angel and Iceman, and having Wolverine join the X-Men by himself, rather as a member of a completely new team (with Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, etc).




SABRETOOTH

Real Name: Victor Creed

Played By: Liev Schreiber, an American stage and screen actor who is not previously known for starring in action movies, preferring instead to focus on characters better known for being cerebral than brawny. Schreiber, however, threw himself into preparing to play Sabretooth, bulking up with an extra 40 pounds of muscle through an intensive diet and exercise regimen. Liev Schreiber has been for a few years now dating British-Australian actress Naomi Watts, with whom he has had two sons, Sasha and Samuel.

Powers: Sabretooth's powers (healing, regeneration, super senses) are nearly identical to those of Wolverine's, except that he lacks Wolverine's adamantium skeleton, and his claws are actually just longer fingernails, rather than claws that pop out of his arms like Wolverine's. Sabretooth is also physically larger and inherently stronger than Wolverine.

In the Comics: Like Wolverine, Sabretooth is a Marvel Comics character known to be much older than he appears, and his encounters with Wolverine go back as far as 1910. As in the movie, Sabretooth served with Wolverine in the Weapon X program, although he did not undergo the same extensive experimentation as Wolverine. After parting ways with Weapon X, Sabretooth spent the next decades working as an assassin, coming into conflict with Wolverine many times, until eventually (and controversially) becoming an X-Man himself.

In the Movie: The most obvious departure for Sabretooth from the comics is the rumor that in the movie he is actually depicted as being Wolverine's half-brother. In the comics, Sabretooth is usually depicted as having blonde hair (as also depicted in the first X-Men movie), whereas Liev Schreiber has dark brown hair.




STRYKER

Real Name: Major William Stryker

Played By: Danny Huston, the son of acclaimed director John Huston (The Maltese Falcon, The African Queen), and the half-brother of Anjelica Huston. Although Danny Huston probably could have parlayed his famous last name into movie star status, he has instead focused on a career as a character actor in mostly supporting roles in movies like The Aviator, 21 Grams and Children of Men.

Powers: None

In the Comics: Before the release of X2: X-Men United, William Stryker was a relatively obscure character who had only appeared in the 1982 graphic novel X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, as a Christian televangelist who has launched a campaign to destroy all mutants, who he sees as an abomination in the eyes of God.

In the Movie: Few X-Men characters were as changed from their comic book roots as William Stryker, who was used as the leader of Weapon X, the program responsible for giving Wolverine his adamantium skeleton, and the team that is central to much of the story of X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Next Page >>
Bookmark and Share
Page | 1 2 3 4
Comments (1-20 of 113 posts) | Reply
Mister_Prophet
Mister_Prophet writes:
on Apr 22 2009 06:10 PM

Just don't screw up Deadpool and Gambit. That's all I'm asking.

(Reply to this)
Odd Persona
Odd Persona writes:
on Apr 22 2009 06:14 PM

Word on the street is that this movie isn't so great, and by street I mean from a couple of my friends who've seen the leaked version of this film.

Not that it comes as any kind of surprise since all the X-Men films have been tedious bores in my opinion.


(Reply to this)
lestatthevampire
lestatthevampire writes:
on Apr 22 2009 06:20 PM

Cyclops.... hmmm. Scared.

(Reply to this)
sportzboy698
sportzboy698 writes:
on Apr 22 2009 06:25 PM

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for this movie...I couldn't think of anyone better than Ryan Reynolds for Deadpool's part.

(Reply to this)
Nick P.
Nick P. writes:
on Apr 22 2009 06:47 PM

In reply to this comment (#2436095)
im not going to ruin anything for you but they don't give justice to deadpool (even though i think Ryan Reynolds did a fine job) and for gambit he is really not if the movie a lot so its hard to say they screwed it up but the parts he was in i enjoyed.

(Reply to this)
Tyrant
Tyrant writes:
on Apr 22 2009 07:03 PM

Gambit is gonna be awesome, i know it.

(Reply to this)
toats m.
toats m. writes:
on Apr 22 2009 07:07 PM

i swear deadpool can teleport because in ultimate alliance he teleports and has a number of teleporting combos i dont no why



(Reply to this)
toats m.
toats m. writes:
on Apr 22 2009 07:14 PM

odd persona do realize that the leaked version is an unfinished version of the film, meaning visual and special effects arent fully done and you can see the wires in the seens that there used in. and your friends are prolly idiots and worship tdk like every other comic newb. dont get me wrong tdk is a great movie but so so overrated,besides joker obviously

(Reply to this)
Derek P.
Derek P. writes:
on Apr 22 2009 07:26 PM

sorry to burst all your hopeful bubbles... but this movie is no better than any of the other 3 disasters. as i once heard somewhere, "do it right, or dont do it at all"... i wished and hoped and PRAAAAAYED that they would do gambit and deadpool justice. unfortunately, they are actors thrown into a few random scenes, the only thing in common between these actors and their portrayed characters are the names given. calling some actor "gambit" does NOT make him gambit. if you liked any of the other x-men movies, you'll love this random cash grab....otherwise, prepare to be truly disapointed, TRUE X-MEN fans.

(Reply to this)
WallEField
WallEField writes:
on Apr 22 2009 07:29 PM

Screw Deadpool, would've rather not seen him in the movie at all. Just don't screw up Gambit, that's all that matters to me. *chucks Deadpool in the overrated comic book character along with Batman*

(Reply to this)
Astacius
Astacius writes:
on Apr 22 2009 08:17 PM

***** Gambit and Deadpool...neither they are the other muties [minus Sabertooth of course] needed to be added to this film and from what I'm hearing, I'm pleased they get little screen time. Makes my day.

(Reply to this)
Chris B.
Chris B. writes:
on Apr 22 2009 08:36 PM

omg!

(Reply to this)
rorylikesgoodmovies
rorylikesgoodmovies writes:
on Apr 22 2009 08:37 PM

word on the street, this movie is the best of all the x-men movies, aparently it was leaked and some people talked about it online aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, yeah so deadpool has about 10 minutes of screen play between being wade and deadpool, two seperate entities.... anyway don't wanna spoil it but gambit was pretty bad ***, would have liked to see more from him but over all really good movie.

(Reply to this)
ledawg1138
ledawg1138 writes:
on Apr 22 2009 08:49 PM

In reply to this comment (#2436095)
Same here.

(Reply to this)
Odd Persona
Odd Persona writes:
on Apr 22 2009 08:59 PM

In reply to this comment (#2436175)
Yes indeed, my friends are 'prolly idiots' and every night they slather themselves in paste and role around in Batman comics incanting the Jokers lines from The Dark Knight.

Christ, you don't think I realize the "special effects" aren't finished? Effects don't make a compelling narrative or memorable characters. All the computer generated effects in the world amount to nothing if the script is a dud.

In any event I won%u2019t personally pass judgment on the film until I see it in theaters. (If I even do.)


(Reply to this)
woundedmakers
woundedmakers writes:
on Apr 22 2009 09:08 PM

Sorry guys but Deadpool isn't in this movie. There is a b@st@rdized Mortal Kombatish-looking superhuman boss guy that is called Deadpool, though.

(Reply to this)
jokerboy1991
jokerboy1991 writes:
on Apr 22 2009 09:24 PM

LOL Ryan Reynolds has even said he's not playing Deadpool but Wade Wilson, so yeah, don't get any of your hopes up for Deadpool.

(Reply to this)
ledawg1138
ledawg1138 writes:
on Apr 22 2009 09:50 PM

In reply to this comment (#2436355)
Oh God...

(Reply to this)
Solonik -.
Solonik -. writes:
on Apr 22 2009 11:23 PM

This is...not a good movie.

(Reply to this)
crackr
crackr writes:
on Apr 23 2009 03:02 AM

In reply to this comment (#2436369)
yeah it was weird and they phuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked up Gambit

(Reply to this)
Read More Comments
Page | 1 2 3 4 5 6
Post Your Comment
You must be registered to post comments. Login or Register.

Related Links

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
  • Pictures
  • Posters
  • News
  • Forum

Related Articles

  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film (28)
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel (28)
  • Win Exclusive Wolverine Prize Packs (0)
  • Does X-Men: First Class Have Its Cyclops? Opens in new window (32)
  • RT on DVD: Wolverine, Next Day Air, And Lots Of Horror (31)
  • Fox Hires McQuarrie for Wolverine Sequel Opens in new window (9)
  • Jackman Talks Wolverine Sequel Opens in new window (23)
  • Cannes 2009: Exclusive – Taylor Kitsch Takes Gambit Forward for Wolverine 2 (8)
  • Weekly Ketchup: Wolverine in Japan, Family Guy movie planned (84)
  • Fox Begins Development on Deadpool Spinoff Opens in new window (104)

Most Discussed

  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes (129)
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records (110)
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle? (96)
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers (74)
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog (50)
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors (50)
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Star Trek, Bruno, and Cheaper Sopranos (32)
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more! (31)
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview (8)
  • Ho, ho, ho! It's RT's Great Big Gift Guide! (0)

Latest News

  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records (110)
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors (50)
  • Ho, ho, ho! It's RT's Great Big Gift Guide! (0)
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more! (31)
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes (129)
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers (74)
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle? (96)
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog (50)
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview (8)
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Star Trek, Bruno, and Cheaper Sopranos (32)

Latest Interviews

  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview (8)
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary (19)
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview (6)
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview (15)
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus (16)
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview (8)
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film (28)
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel (28)
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute (14)
  • Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview (41)

Latest Features

  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary (19)
  • Five Favourite Films with Ang Lee (34)
  • 10 Movies That Changed The (End Of The) World (32)
  • Ho-ho-horror! 10 Scary Christmas Movies (38)
  • 12 Facts About 2012 (135)
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus (16)
  • Five Favourite Films with 24's Carlos Bernard (33)
  • Six Horrible Part Sixes (32)
  • Christopher Smith's Favourite Cult Horror Films (14)
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel (28)

Sponsored Links

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.