WOLVERINE

Originally conceived as a villainous means of giving Hulk a bit of a workout, but swiftly retooled as a conflicted hero, Wolverine?s always been a character comfortable with shades of grey, and it?s his contradictions and complications that enable him to be all things to all geeks.

So he has an unmatched capacity for violence (even berserkery) and finely honed animal instinct, but is capable of tempering his highly emotional reactions with cold-blooded calculation where required. And he?s no mere thug: his studies in Japan and long history of travel, espionage and trouble-finding have given him a knowledge of differing cultures, he speaks a number of languages, and has a deep appreciation of ice-cold beer (see, for example, Joss Whedon?s Astonishing X-Men, where beer brings Wolverine back from a hypnotised state). Also, he has the sort of facial hair that generations of young men have grown up aspiring to.