Wolverine’s Hygiene Habits Revealed in Marvel’s Campy Swimsuit Issue

Wolverine, known for his toughness and enhanced senses, may have a surprising blind spot: body odor. In a humorous twist from the early 1990s, Marvel Comics revealed in “Marvel Illustrated: The Swimsuit Issue” #1 that Logan, despite his heightened sense of smell, may not be aware of his own scent—or simply doesn’t care.

Published in 1991 as a playful spoof of Sports Illustrated’s iconic Swimsuit Editions, the comic featured various Marvel superheroes and villains sporting summer swimwear. Among its pages was a spoof advertisement for “Macho speed stick deoderant,” with Wolverine awkwardly endorsing the product.

The ad humorously quipped, “It’s a fact: When you exert yourself, you sweat, and when you sweat, you stink.” Despite their extraordinary abilities, it suggested that even superheroes, like Wolverine, could benefit from using deodorant. A tongue-in-cheek jab at Wolverine’s personality followed: “And though our product could help Wolverine with his body odour problem … We’d rather not be the ones to tell him.”

“Marvel Illustrated: The Swimsuit Issue” #1 wasn’t a one-time joke. It spawned several yearly “Swimsuit Specials” from 1992 to 1995, each featuring Marvel characters in unconventional and revealing outfits. In the 1992 special, Wolverine was even seen modeling swim trunks alongside heroes like the Thing, the Hulk, and the Beast.

Despite his rugged persona and mutant powers, Wolverine’s obliviousness to his hygiene became a humorous footnote in Marvel’s playful parody series. Whether he addressed this oversight remains a mystery, but it added a quirky layer to his already complex character in the Marvel Universe.