While Logan is preparing to don an all-new, all different outfit for the upcoming Hellfire Gala on Krakoa, Wolverine has one of the deepest closets in the Marvel Universe. From his striking blue and yellow outfit that first appeared in Incredible Hulk #180 by Len Wein and Herb Trimpe, to his sleek black and grey X-Force costume, first appearing in X-Force #1 by Craig Kyle and Chris Yost, Wolverine always stays stylish. One of his most iconic suits is Logan’s brown and tan style uniform. He wore this costume through the majority of the ’80s, and into the early ’90s before retiring it. While Logan’s brown suit may not be as flashy as some of his others, its origin dates back to the classic “Phoenix Saga.”
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X-Men #107 by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum shows the X-Men teleporting to another galaxy. The X-Men traveled to this galaxy to retrieve the alien, Lilandra, who had been abducted by Erik the Red. Lilandra’s brother, Emperor D’Ken tasked Erik the Red with retrieving his sister in order for her to be sacrificed. Cyclops demands the return of Lilandra from D’Ken. D’Ken scoffs at Cyclops’ demand and orders his Imperial Guard to kill the X-Men, which sends Wolverine into action against the bestial Fang.
Fang is essentially a codename for members of the Lupak species that join the Shi’ar Royal Elite Imperial Guard. During the battle, Wolverine takes a fireball from Starbolt that completely scorches his costume. Now completely devoid of a costume, Logan sets his sights on Fang. Wolverine tackles the foe out of sight and reappears moments later, wearing the villain’s costume. This would not be the last time these two would meet. In Wolverines #8 by Ray Fawkes and Juan Doe, it is revealed that Fang would team-up with Logan once a year to fight a dangerous opponent.
Incidentally, Logan and Fang were not the only heroes to wear the costume. Logan’s clone/daughter, Laura Kinney also wore the Fang suit in Uncanny X-Men #450 by Claremont, Alan Davis, and Mark Farmer. While X-23 does not wear the costume into battle, she is seen wearing it while working at a super-being-themed nightclub.
Wolverine did not wear the Fang costume for long after his return to Earth. Its most significant appearance takes place in Claremont and John Byrne’s Iron Fist #15, since Logan returned to a more traditional costume shortly after returning to Earth.
While Logan has not worn his Fang costume in some time, his brown and tan look seems to have taken inspiration from the forgotten outfit. John Byrne made the decision to alter Wolverine’s look from the classic blue and yellow to a more monochromatic brown and tan. Byrne did away with the flamboyant yellow and blue that Wolverine was famous for and changed it to something more muted. This gave Logan a more gruff look, matching more similarly to his personality. The tiger stripe was also removed, giving Wolverine a sleeker look.
With the Hellfire Gala approaching, it looks like Wolverine will set his costume aside for a tux. While he can still be just as dangerous in his tux as in one of his costumes, there is no doubt that Wolverine looks much better in tan.
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