For decades, Hugh Jackman has brilliantly brought the iconic Marvel Comics characterWolverineto live action, originally in the20th Century FoxX-Menfilms and now in the MCU. But, as every comic book fan knows, his portrayal (and the movies themselves) offered a decidedly unique take on the character that made some notable changes from the source material. And now, one more can be added to that list, as Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine made a dark change to an iconic piece of Marvel lore.
InX2: X-Men United: The Movie Prequel: Wolverineby Brian K. Vaughan and Tom Mandrake, readers are shown what Wolverine was doing right after he left the X-Mansion in the first film, and right before he came upon Alkali Lake in the second. As he’s riding through Canada on Cyclops’ motorcycle,Logan is attacked by Sabretooth, who Wolverine (and fans) thought was dead after he was blasted off the Statue of Liberty.
After a brief skirmish, Wolverine and Sabretooth end up having a few beers together, as they realize they may have a shared past, and neither of them remember it. Then, the bar they’re in is flooded with Weapon X soldiers, ordered to take both of them in. So,Wolverine and Sabretooth team upto take these soldiers down, at which point Wolverine tells Sabretooth to do “Maneuver 355”, which was Sabretooth launching Wolverine claws-first at the enemy.
Wolverine & Colossus’ Iconic ‘Fastball Special’ Originated with Sabretooth in the Movies
The Fastball Special was First Used inX-Men#100 by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum
“Maneuver 355” was a move that Sabretooth and Wolverine did during their days as Weapon X operatives, and while Wolverine made it clear in the prequel comic that he didn’t remember how he remembered it, the maneuver is the exact same thing as the Fastball Special. In the comics, Wolverine and Colossus came up with the Fastball Special during their time as mutant heroes on the X-Men, which means the movie-universe counterpart is much darker in every conceivable way.
Not only does Sabretooth - a known sadistic villain - replace Colossus in this alternate ‘Fastball Special’ move, but he and Wolverine learned it as Weapon X soldiers. Sabretooth wasn’t throwing Wolverine at the bad guys in a fun combo that highlights their respective strengths (like Wolverine and Colossus’ Fastball Special), he was launching Wolverine at those Weapon X marked for death, which oftentimes included innocent civilians - even children.
Wolverine Eventually Reclaimed the Fastball Special After His Team-Up with Sabretooth
X-Men: The Last Stand
While the Fastball Special (aka Maneuver 355) had dark origins in the FoxX-Menmovies, Wolverine eventually reclaimed the move with Colossus. InX3, Colossus and Wolverine (and some other X-Men) are battling Sentinels in the Danger Room, and to take the last one down, Wolverine tells Colossus to throw him at the giant robot. Fans now know that Wolverine was no stranger to this maneuver, but after doing it with Colossus, Wolverine reclaimed the classic Fastball Special, making it more in-line with the comics.
Deadpool’s Final Form Is the Opposite of His Hated WOLVERINE: ORIGINS Redesign
Deadpool’s form in X-Men Origins: Wolverine is hated by basically the entire Marvel fandom, but his final form remedies that by being the opposite.
The Fastball Special would eventually come back around to being the fun, heroic move done by Wolverine and Colossus that it was in the comics. However, that doesn’t detract from the fact that this piece of Marvel lore had a dark origin in the movies, a change ushered in by Hugh Jackman’s iteration ofWolverine.
Wolverine
The human mutant Wolverine (a.k.a. Logan) was born James Howlett, blessed with a superhuman healing factor, senses, and physiology. Subjecting himself to experimentation to augment his skeleton and claws with adamantium, Logan is as deadly as he is reckless, impulsive, and short-tempered. Making him the X-Men’s wildest and deadliest member, and one of Marvel Comics' biggest stars. He’s played in Fox and Marvel’s movie franchises by Hugh Jackman.
