X-Men fans know that Wolverine was once an intelligence operative for the Canadian government. With his adamantium claws and healing factor, there’s no doubt that Logan was an expert at battling and subduing his enemies – often with extreme prejudice. What isn’t so well documented, however, is how good Wolverine is at deduction and investigation, skills he used to gain the intelligence he was sent after in the first place.
And in this respect, Wolverine is a true master. After all, with his animal senses, Logan is privy to a ton of information that goes unnoticed by most people – as Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man) discovered much to his embarrassment when Logan discovered all of Peter’s secrets, with just a single sniff!
In the Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man series, Wolverine discovered Spider-Man’s secret identity simply by tracking his scent to the Parker home. Although Peter’s spider-sense alerted him to Logan’s presence, it was already too late – Wolverine already knew precisely who Peter was and where he lived. Fortunately, the X-Men and Spider-Man were able to sort things out peacefully and parted on good terms, but Wolverine wasn’t done with Spider-Man quite yet.
In Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man #9, Peter toyed with creating an all-new superhero identity for himself. Reasoning that the police already thought Spider-Man was a criminal, Peter and his girlfriend Chat came up with multiple alternate identities – including the garishly dressed “Agent Nine.” Although Peter managed to stop some muggers as “Agent Nine,” his debut was spoiled by the appearance of Wolverine, who beat up the crooks Peter was chasing and then casually referred to Agent Nine as “Spider-Man.”
When Peter asked Logan how he knew who he was, Wolverine casually told him that he could identify Spider-Man by his scent. He went on to say that he also knew what kind of toothpaste Peter used, what he ate for the last few days, how long it had been since Peter had last used deodorant (and what brand he used), and even what type of laundry detergent his Aunt May used. As Peter started to squirm under these revelations, Logan gleefully added that he could smell the people Spider-Man had interacted with, how much makeup they wore, and even the brand of toilet paper Peter used.
Completely unnerved by this point, Peter told Logan, “I’m feeling really uncomfortable right now,” to which Logan smirked and replied, “I know. Your sweat reeks of it.” The two then teamed up to take down Spidey’s enemy the Vulture together, but Logan’s demonstration of his olfactory skills definitely reveals what a master detective Wolverine’s animal senses make him.
Granted, Logan could have been lying since he didn’t actually state what kind of toilet paper Spider-Man used – but considering how many times Wolverine’s superhuman sense of smell has helped him locate imposters, traps, and hidden people, it’s a fair bet to say Wolverine really can know everything about you with a single sniff.
