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In The Wolverine, Wolverine seems to be completely lost after Jean's death. Sleeping on the hills, the bottles suggests that he is drinking.

enter image description here

What I don't get is, why? Intoxication is a state of being poisoned. Shouldn't his powers prevent him from it?

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  • 19
    Alas his skeleton is infused with adamantium, not his heart.
    – MarquisDeMizzle
    Commented Feb 16, 2016 at 19:05
  • 3
    Adamantium has nothing to do with it. Remember, Wolverine and Sabretooth were eternal long before Wolverine was infused with adamantium. That was done to make him more of a killing machine, prior to that his claws were made of bone.
    – Johnny Bones
    Commented Feb 16, 2016 at 20:01
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    He has a self-healing liver, why would he not drink alcohol?
    – unknown stuntman
    Commented Feb 16, 2016 at 21:50
  • Wolverine has increased healing abilities, not immunity to all damage. He can get drunk just like anyone else, he just wouldn't suffer the long term physical effects as severely.
    – Anton
    Commented Feb 18, 2016 at 14:25
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    @SarpSTA, Not just intoxication, all of the lingering effects of an intoxicating substance. The most obvious prevailing effect is the intoxication but its not always the only one. Organ damage for example. The point is that he can get drunk but it will have less of a physical effect on him after the initial effect which is equal to a normal person, and he will regain his constitution much more quickly than a normal person who ingested the same level of intoxicant. He is not resistant, he heals, so the damage gets done and then undone rather than prevented. Time is the major difference.
    – Anton
    Commented Feb 18, 2016 at 16:50

4 Answers 4

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From his wiki:

Wolverine's natural healing also affords him the virtual immunity to poisons and most drugs, except in massive doses. For example, it is extremely difficult for him to become intoxicated from alcohol.

So to answer your question: Intoxication is a state of being poisoned. Shouldn't his powers prevent him from it?

They do, largely.

But your first question was: why does he drink?

The fact his body makes it hard for him to get drunk doesn't mean there's no reason for him to drink. There's plenty of reasons to drink, including:

  1. Enjoying the taste
  2. Enjoying the atmosphere of the bars, as opposed to other places
  3. Wanting to be drunk, given Jean's death, even if these drunk periods are short-lived
  4. Having a "mental" addiction to the alcohol.

Ultimately, just because his body can fight off being drunk quite quickly doesn't mean there's no reason for him to drink at all.

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  • I'd go for #3, similar to Cpt. America having a drink post-transformation while knowing it wouldn't affect him. Also mentioned here: movies.stackexchange.com/questions/31282/… Many 'heroes' seem to be drinking while it wouldn't affect them. Seeing someone drinking is a way of showing the person is in pain, is trying to forget something or is destroying his own life
    – BlueCacti
    Commented Feb 16, 2016 at 13:23
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    @GroundZero The recent TV incarnation of The Flash has the same "problem".
    – Mason Wheeler
    Commented Feb 16, 2016 at 15:26
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    Not everyone drinks to get drunk. Most people just enjoy the taste.
    – algiogia
    Commented Feb 17, 2016 at 9:50
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    I think the wiki quote here is not only enough to explain how alcohol does (or mostly does not) affect Wolverine, but also to explain why there were so many bottles. If he was trying to get drunk, then he'd need a whole lot of alcohol to do it.
    – Iszi
    Commented Feb 17, 2016 at 17:29
  • @Iszi what I think.
    – SarpSTA
    Commented Feb 18, 2016 at 11:58
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From Wolverine V3 #33

enter image description here

In this scene Mystique seems to be sad that Wolverine abuses pills and drugs. It doesn't seem logical for her to be sad for they can't really hurt him. But maybe the backstory might be suggesting him having some probably romantic problems. But still, this comic shows that Wolverine can certainly drink for reasons other than taste.

In Wolverine #900, Spider Man and Wolverine go to a bar. Wolverine constantly drinks, get drunk, and get back sober right after. This is why he drinks a lot when he does.

Again, in X-Men Animated Series, we see him getting shot with tranquilizers and pass out. So even though his powers give him strong resistance and fast recovery, it doesn't mean he is completely immune to all kinds of toxications.

Long story in short, yeah he can get drunk, even though it is for a short time.

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    Is there a non-tiny version of that comic image available where the words are legible?
    – Mason Wheeler
    Commented Feb 16, 2016 at 16:03
  • @MasonWheeler Done.
    – SarpSTA
    Commented Feb 16, 2016 at 16:49
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    It would still be "logical" for someone to worry about Wolverine abusing drugs, , just because the effects wear off quickly doesn't mean he can't be addicted to something and the (negative) behaviour isn't there
    – Xen2050
    Commented Feb 16, 2016 at 19:30
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    @Xen2050 Yeah, that is pretty much what I'm saying. If she is worried even though she knows he won't get any physical damage from drugs or alcohol, it means what she is scared of is the influence. Therefore they affect him.
    – SarpSTA
    Commented Feb 17, 2016 at 1:35
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Wolverine's adamantium skeleton is toxic and a good chunk of his healing ability is constantly in use countering that effect. This is explained in more detail in the months preceeding his death as Beast invents and administers an antidote when Wolverine loses his healing factor permanently. Since his healing factor could be overloaded (Re: Post-Adamantium loss in X-Men #25 (1991)) it stands to reason that his adamantium skeleton allows him to enjoy alcohol and feel at least some of it's effects. I assume he drinks beer for the taste.

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This same basic question was asked on SE Science Fiction & Fantasy. The accepted answer stated the following:

Yes - it's possible, although very difficult, for Logan to get drunk.

Due to his healing factor, alcohol and other intoxicants do not affect Wolverine like they would a normal human. His system, even at low efficiency rates, burns the substance out of his system faster then he can feel the effects. Amounts that would kill a stout drinker from alcohol poisoning barely give him the "buzz" effect that would constitute "drunkenness".

That said, it IS possible under the right conditions for Logan to get drunk. It would require a continuous supply of the substance, and in a faster rate then what his body can burn out/consume.

Generally my reading (over many decades) is that Wolverine is trying to, and succeeding at, getting drunk -- but is usually shown with the enormous number of bottles it takes for him to succeed at it.

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