https://bleedingcool.com/comics/marv...-of-wolverine/

This is a really bad look for Thomas.
Feels like a stolen valor type of thing.
He was in the room and maybe suggested the name.

Maybe the Inker and colorist should make a claim.

Well, Stan Lee did teach Roy everything he knows.

(Sorry Stan...I love you and miss ya!)

The sad part is Roy's legend is strong enough without now taking credits away from dead people who can't speak for themselves. He shouldn't and doesn't need to do stuff like this.

Wolverine is a really good example of how characters are created by a committee and don't really have a single creator.

Yeah, there's Wein, Trimpe, and JRSr. And then Gil Kane redesigned the costume into the iconic one we know today. Cockrum gave him a face under the mask. And Claremont and Byrne actually developed the character into something interesting. Without those two, the character probably would have been forgotten by the early 80s. (At one point early in the X-Men run, they considered killing him off.)

He'd be Thunderbird without Claremont and Byrne.

This is the weird thing to me unless there's a significant payout because of this for the new movies and he needs the money or something.

Sleazy tactic if we're all being honest. It's a bad look.

How much could he even get from this? Len Wein had talked about having made more money from Lucius Fox than Wolverine.

I was alive at the time, and I read comics, so I'm claiming partial credit for Wolverine. If I weren't buying comics there wouldn't have been a market for Wolverine.

So I'm claiming .00000000001% ownership in the character. I've got my lawyer on speed dial, and we're ready to go! Marvel - Time to pony up those pennies!!!!

Maybe Thomas wants more for his signature at cons? Co-creator of Wolverine probably commands a lot more in autograph money than saying Marvel's first editor-in-chief after Stan Lee.

Apparently this isn't a new thing for Thomas. He was complaining about a couple characters DC wouldn't recognize for him back in 2019. He posted an open letter on CBR.

https://community.cbr.com/showthread...Creator-Rights

The hazy way some characters were created invites this kind of debate. Nevermind that the initial creators may or may not have much to do with the modern character or their success.

e.g. Brubaker did not create Bucky, but Marvel's Winter Soldier is down to Brubaker. Alan Moore revived MiracleMan and rebuilt Swamp Thing, but created neither. Stan Lee wrote first appearances of dozens of characters that were probably entirely created by his artists.

Some writers are extremely thorough in formulating a new character - is it reasonable that whomever first draws the character is co-creator when they may 'just' follow a writer's instruction? In Wolverine's case, he was designed by one individual at the behest of another to be 'first' drawn by another and written by a fourth. Before becoming famous in a fifth's miniseries, while two more individuals are most associated with his defining run. And everyone thinks of Hugh Jackman before any of them..!

Sometimes the co-creators were assigned the task, sometimes it's all their idea. Sometimes the collaboration is equal, sometimes not. Etc.

Art directors and editors often have a great deal of input, but sometimes they get credit and usually not. Some co-creators came up with little more than a name and a vague idea; others flesh out an entire backstory and write a hundred issues of stories..

I have read some vintage interviews with Trimpe and Wein, and both lend some credence to Roy having enough input to warrant a co-creator credit.

It's just so hard to know for sure now, since memories are hazy, and most of those involved are gone. But those being vintage interviews (from the 80's and 90's) that certainly was closer to the time when Wolverine was created.

The thing I still don't get is why he waited until now (when memories are hazy) instead of like the peak of wolverine popularity in the 90s?

Exactly.

Because most of the other people who could dispute Roy's account are now dead. That seems like the easiest and simplest explanation. It's not like Wolverine's popularity came out of nowhere. He was Marvel's most popular character for about 2-3 decades until Disney bought them.

Because now at almost 84 years of age, he is close to death and time is of the essence. He wants to secure his legacy before he dies and possibly secure some financial security for any heirs he may have.

He's actually charging a fair bit for his signature at cons now. I believe he is at $20-$30 for an autograph now, maybe more for CGC items or anything Wolverine related. At the Big Apple Con last year, he had a limited edition (foil or holographic. I can't remember) art print of The Incredible Hulk #181 that he was selling for somewhere around $60, so he's already capitalizing on his connection to Wolverine without Marvel giving him any credit for creating him.

It seems at least plausible that he didn't 'wait' until now - he and others have been mentioning this for decades - it's just that the current situation at Marvel/Disney is reappraising claims and credits to do better.

Marvel has a horrible track record (even by comics standards) of correctly and reasonably apportioning credit.

In a loose way, that could support the benign interpretation. i.e. If it were a question of chasing greed and fame, pushing for it decades ago would make sense... especially since several interviews with notThomas from times past do seem to support his contention.

Interesting cover and description releasing in June of 2025 on the mag that Roy edits for Twomorrows...



Alter Ego 194 [Ships June 18 2025] : TwoMorrows Publishing, The Future of Comics and LEGO™ Publications.

More Roy Thomas

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/mo...ne-1235962212/

Petty fucker.

While I don't agree with any "My name should go first" statements, him being part of the creation team for Wolverine is old news. I met him at a con in 2019 and attended his after hours event. He was open talking about this and each, Wein, Trimpe, Romita Jr. and Thomas all contributed to the character we know as Wolverine.

I mean throw Claremont in there as well. But "contributing to" isn't the same as a creator credit, otherwise Liefeld would be like fourth or fifth mentioned for Deadpool...

But wasn't Thomas a paid Marvel editor at the time? He wasn't a freelancer so even if he had input why would a paid editor get creator credit?

This is Mark Waid's argument. The example he used was that he was the editor who hired Brian Augustyn to write an Elseworld special about Batman vs. Jack the Ripper in the Victorian period. That doesn't mean he gets credit for creating the Gotham by Gaslight Batman, that goes to Augustyn & Mignola. I tend to agree with you (and Waid) on this.

In a visual medium like comics 90% of a character's popularity is dictated by the artist who came up with the design. In most cases the bulk of credit should go to the artist unless the writer/editor literally dictated what visual elements would go into the character.