Wolfsbane (character)

Rahne spends some time motorcycling across the United States following the loss of her powers, having developed a new, less introverted persona.

Rahne begins working full-time for X-Factor, reuniting her with a former love interest and New Mutants teammate Rictor, now depowered.[29] Many aspects of her previous persona return, including her close-cropped hairstyle and Scottish accent. She attends church meetings each week and her devout Presbyterian religiosity remains a central aspect of her character. She is instrumental in stopping a riot in what was known as 'Mutant Town', a section of New York once dominated by mutants.^[30] She threatens to kill anyone who attacks it. Threats were then made against the police who objected to her actions.^{[volume & issue needed]}

She helps rescue new teammate

Rahne gets herself together. She is seen helping her friend Guido Carosella confront personal problems of his own that have arisen from confrontations with the evil Damian Tryp.^[34]

Later in the series, Rahne attempts to comfort Rictor, who is distressed about the loss of his powers again, which results in a burgeoning romance between the two,^[35] this concludes when she leaves X-Factor to join X-Force.^[36]

It is later implied that

When Cyclops decides to reform X-Force after the events of "Messiah Complex", he brings Rahne along to meet with Wolverine. She determinedly accompanies him on the assault on the Purifiers' base, only to be captured by Matthew Risman who shoots her in the knee when X-23 makes a move against him.^[39] While her teammates make an attempt to rescue her, they fail and Rahne is taken to an undisclosed Purifier base where she finds out that Reverend Craig has joined the ranks of the Purifiers.^[40]

The rest of the X-Force manage to rescue her but discover that she has been injected with a near-lethal dose of heroin. She is immediately taken to

Josh's name is the second word Rahne says as she awakens from her brainwashed state and finds herself in a dark room somewhere in the facility. She realizes that she can't use her powers thanks to the handcuffs she is wearing. She then remembers being brainwashed by Reverend Craig. After Reverend Craig tries to kill her, she escapes, but not before admitting that the only thing she wanted was her father's love.[42]

Rahne regroups with her teammates, and they begin their assault against Bastion, the Choir, and the Purifiers. As everyone is distracted in the bloody battle, Rahne is shot by her father who follows her blood trail into the room where Angel's severed wings are held. Reverend Craig condemns Wolfsbane again, which triggers her to knock him into the ground, stating that she only wanted to save him but after everything that's happened, she doesn't care for him any longer and walks away, turning her back on him. Craig screams and prepares to shoot his daughter in the back and as he moves, Rahne turns and sees Angel's wings behind her father, giving him the appearance of an angel. Her brainwashing kicks in once again as she mutters "kill the angel" and she enters a feral state, attacking her father. Her teammates find her at the epilogue of the battle in her human form, praying and surrounded by blood and clothes, but no corpse of her father is found. Her teammates hope that she will never recall the memory of apparently devouring her father which would only trigger a deeper psychological shock.^[43]

Following the death of Risman, the team reconvenes at Angel's Aerie to recuperate and plan their next move. Rahne's sleeper programming is still active, and she violently charges Angel when she sees him, provoking him to transform into Archangel in retaliation. X-23 calls in the Stepford Cuckoos to help undo the damage done to Wolfsbane, prevent her from attacking her teammates, and overcome the guilt of her actions.^[44]

Before they can erase her memories, they are interrupted, and X-Force is sent on a mission, leaving Rahne alone.^[45] While alone, she notices someone outside; after running away, it is revealed to be Hrimhari, the Wolf Prince from Asgard.^[46] Since then the Cuckoos began searching for her but Cerebra could not detect her, mainly because she was in her wolf form.^[47] She was at Angel's Aerie with Hrimhari, still conflicted over her experience with the Purifiers. Hrimhari states that the gods of Asgard have reunited them for a reason and if they can forgive her, then she can do the same for herself.^[48] After having sex, the two were attacked by a trio of Frost Giants. Hrimhari wanted to fight them off alone, but Rahne refused to leave him and stated that she was no longer afraid of what she is. The two managed to defeat the Frost Giants and although seemingly unharmed, Rahne fainted right afterwards.^[49]

Secret Invasion

Rahne is among the several

The character returns on the last panel of X-Factor #207, obviously pregnant, and walks in on Rictor and Shatterstar in an intimate embrace.^[53] In issue #208, she is flabbergasted at first of Rictor being with Shatterstar (just as Rictor is about her being pregnant). After a short moment of confusion, she attacks Shatterstar and throws him through the window, landing on the streets where she claims that Shatterstar must be mind-controlling Rictor. After both are stopped by Longshot, Rictor tells her that he is not mind-controlled, to which she asks how he could be with Shatterstar when he was with her before. Rictor answers that it is complicated and demands that Wolfsbane tell him whether he is the father of her child. After hesitating to answer and after another demand from Rictor and looking at Shatterstar, Rahne states that she was not with anyone but him seven months before and then throws herself into the arms of a bewildered Rictor.^[54] After Madrox asked about whether she wants to cover her body while still in bed, she stated that she will do it to protect his sensibilities and that she has been running around naked so often lately that she had lost her blushes.^[55] Later on, when Rictor (believing himself to be the father) accompanied Rahne to a physician specialized in 'super-types', it was revealed that although the heartbeat could clearly be heard, the ultrasound examination did not show any picture on the screen. The physician, who at first had trouble believing Rictor to be the father, stated that not even ultrasound can get into Rahne's womb and that this seemed to be a kind of protective function, a mystical one rather than biological.^[56] Shatterstar, simultaneously, made the discovery that Hrimhari was the child's father.^[57] By this time, Rictor had already figured out that he was not the father due to the child's mystical nature. Layla Miller stated that Rahne had not lied to anybody and after Rictor found her again, Rahne revealed that her pregnancy happened a lot faster than a human one due to Hrimhari's and her lupine nature. She also stated that she was still worried that Rictor 'became' gay because she left him and that she wanted to bring him back to 'her team' because she believes that gay people go to Hell, although she does not want that to be true. Rictor reassured her of their friendship and the two reconciled.^[58]

Later, as she left the office to go to church, she ran into Shatterstar, who wanted to mark his territory over Rictor and make peace with her. At the church, they encountered a powerful Sin-Eater demon seeking Rahne's child; it fled after a battle, shortly before

Rahne is guilt-ridden following her abandonment of her son, and comes to fear that her soul will go to Hell. Terry and Lorna take Rahne on a road trip to Vermont, where they meet Father John Madrox, a dupe of Madrox who has become a priest. Rahne reveals to Father John her repressed memories of being on X-Force and was brainwashed into eating her own father. Though shocked, Father John counsels her to let go of her self-pity and judgmental attitude, in lieu of a more positive outlook, which prompts Rahne to resolve to search for her son.[63] Rahne, Rictor and Shatterstar find her son, Tier, and decide to leave X-Factor Investigations to live safely with him and Jack Russell, Werewolf by Night.^[64]

Shortly after, the "Hell on Earth War" storyline brings both Tier and Rahne away from Jack Russell and again involved with X-Factor, with Tier as the focal point of a competition for power among six Hell Lords: Mephisto, Asmodeus, Satannish, Satana, Pluto, and Hela.^[65] Tier dies by the conflict's conclusion, while Rahne is stranded in the Arctic wilderness but eventually rescued. When last seen, Rahne has agreed to train for a role of deaconess in John Madrox's church.^[66]

Secret Empire

When Hydra takes over the United States and displaces mutants to New Tian, Rahne joins a strike force assembled by the New Tian government. It is also revealed that she underwent a secondary mutation that allows her to split into five smaller wolves.^[67]

New Mutants: Dead Souls

Rahne joins Magik's team of New Mutants. She also forgives Strong Guy, who also joins the team, for killing her son. She is later infected by the Transmode Virus and manipulated by an insane Karma.^{[68][volume & issue needed]}

Last X-Men and Death

Rahne and the other New Mutants are taken prisoners by O*N*E.^{[volume & issue needed]} She and Magik are able to resist the Transmode Virus' effects, which she theorizes that it may be because of their shapeshifting abilities.^{[volume & issue needed]} She joins Cyclops's team of X-Men.^{[volume & issue needed]} Eventually, she realizes that she doesn't want to act like a monster anymore and quits the team.^{[volume & issue needed]} However, not long after, she is approached by some young men who realize that she is a mutant and beat her to death. She is mourned by her teammates.^[69]

Dawn of X

Rahne is resurrected on Krakoa by The Five and rejoins the New Mutants.^[70] After going on several missions with the team, bringing more Mutants to the island,^[71] training the islands youth at the Akadamos Habitat and getting help for her trauma with Dani.^[72] She began wondering why her son Tier had not been revived yet, but when she asked The Five about it they told her Cerebro was still picking up copies for him implying he's still alive. Upon being told they wouldn't resurrected Tier without proof of Death, she went back to Dani to cry.^[73]

The Shadow King later took advantage of her grief to get close to her and then controlled her, using her to bring her student Gabrielle Kinney Scout to him so he could kill her to stop her from interfering with his mentorship of her friends.^[74] The next day she saw No-Girl trying to control The Five into resurrecting Gabby and after revealing she had no memory of the conversation they'd recently had, realised the Shadow King manipulated her.^[75]

After getting Gabby revived, Rahne and the New Mutants went to confront the Shadow King who trapped them in the Astral Plane, after being rescued by their protégé's The Lost Club. They were able to find the consciousnesses of the real Amahl Ferouk, and free him from the malevolent entity that had been controlling him since childhood.^[76]

Rahne and Dani objected to Magik planning to hand over rulership of Limbo to

Wolfsbane is a

Wolfsbane's human form is normal in appearance, originally with the exception that her hair never grew more than a few centimeters long; this limitation has since been removed by a temporary biological change into a "mutate" by the Genengineer on the island of Genosha during the X-Tinction Agenda storyline. The artificial mutation process Wolfsbane underwent caused her to act with animalistic savagery in her lupine and "absolute" forms. Rahne was shown to exhibit her keen sense of smell while in human form,^[82] sensing traces of blood and spittle on teammate Strong Guy's hand, (identifying who the fluids belonged to) despite him having already wiped it clean. This was followed by Siryn's sonic-scream, leaving Wolfsbane's "doggy-ears...ringing for a week" implying her hearing is also enhanced in human form. Rahne mentions to Rictor that she indeed has her wolf senses in her human form but changed the subject before explaining further.^[83]

While a member of the second X-Factor team, Rahne wears a special uniform made of "

• In 2014, Entertainment Weekly ranked Wolfsbane 50th in their "Let's rank every X-Man ever" list.^[84]
• In 2018,
  CBR.com ranked Wolfsbane 18th in their "20 Most Powerful Mutants From The '80s" list.^[85]
• In 2018,
  CBR.com ranked Wolfsbane 17th in their "X-Force: 20 Powerful Members" list.^[86]

In the alternate reality seen in the 2011 "Age of X" storyline, Wolfsbane is briefly sheltered from the government by the Fantastic Four, but her presence is betrayed by the Invisible Woman after she accidentally attacks Franklin Richards, resulting in all of the team but Invisible Woman being arrested.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Days of Future Past

An alternate future version of Rahne from the timeline originated by the 1981 "Days of Future Past" storyline appears in Excalibur #94. She spends much of her time viewing recorded images of death and destruction. She, along with a few surviving friends, participates in a raid on a Black Air facility.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Mutant X

In the alternate reality of the 1998–2001 series Mutant X, Rahne works alongside many of her New Mutant counterparts, making a living as thieves, living in the sewers and calling themselves "Marauders." She and her friends barely survive a mission in which they steal container that unbeknownst to them, contains Dracula.^[87]

Mys-Tech Wars

An alternate universe version of Rahne, along with alternates of her X-Factor teammates, appears in issue #3 of Mys-Tech Wars to fight alongside the Earth-616 heroes. She does not survive through the violence that follows.^[88]

Ultimate Marvel

The Ultimate Marvel version of Wolfsbane makes cameo appearances in Ultimate X-Men. She is seen on a viewscreen in her human form and receives passing mention in Ultimate X-Men #43, during the selection process for Emma Frost's Academy of Tomorrow, in which the President of the United States says "No to the wolf girl." In issue #50, she is seen in her hybrid form at a Coney Island freak show. In issue #95 however, it is revealed that the Ultimate Alpha Flight member Sasquatch (who first appeared in issue #94) is in fact Rahne Sinclair, making it her first official named appearance. She and the rest of her team use a power enhancing drug known as Banshee, the Ultimate version of Mutant Growth Hormone, which can induce a secondary mutation, or further an existing mutation, for example turning Angel into a large anthropomorphic eagle. While using the drug, Rahne can still revert to a more human appearance that resembles a Sasquatch. Later in the same issue, she is injured by Nightcrawler, who, while trying to teleport her away, severs half of her right arm.^[89]

What If

Rahne appears in some What If? stories:

• In "What If the X-Men Died on their First Mission?" Yet a
  Hank McCoy, they learn from him about the X-Men's secret and their deaths on Krakoa, during the events of the 1975 book Giant-Size X-Men #1. They remain at the Xavier institute to look after the Professor, who has grown despondent over the loss of his students. When Count Nefaria and his Ani-Men later attempt to blackmail the United States government, Beast hastily assembles a mutant hero team to engage them, but Rahne is accidentally taken along as well. When Beast's team is brought into dire straits by the Ani-Men, Xavier telepathically awakens Rahne's latent shapechanging potential, which allows her to rescue her friends. Afterwards, Rahne joins the newly formed X-Men as a "charter member", although she is last seen wearing her own personal costume.^[90]
• In "What if Some of the X-Men Had Stayed in Asgard?", Wolfsbane's actions diverge from those she committed at the end of The Uncanny X-Men Annual #9 (1985), deciding that she cannot be separated from Hrimhari. Although Hrimhari later dies in battle, he leaves her with three children (depicted as a wolf cub, a human baby, and a wolf-human hybrid baby) and the rulership over his wolf people.^[91]

Wolverine: Rahne of Terra

An alternate reality version of Rahne, named Princess Rain, appeared prominently in the 1991

In the alternate future of the 2004-2006 X-Men: The End storyline, Wolfsbane is one of the staff at the X-Mansion. She makes brief telepathic contact with the long-lost Danielle. When Skrulls impersonating old X-Men enemies attack the mansion, Wolfsbane sacrifices herself to save many of the surviving children.^[94]

In other media

Television

• Wolfsbane appears in the X-Men: The Animated Series episode "Cold Comfort" as a member of X-Factor.^[95]
• Wolfsbane appears in X-Men: Evolution, voiced by Chantal Strand.^{[citation needed]} This version is a member of the X-Men's junior team, the New Mutants, who lives at the Xavier Institute and displays a close bond with Sunspot.^[96] Later in the series, she is forced to leave the institute after the world discovers the existence of mutants, though she eventually rejoins the New Mutants in a flash-forward depicted in the series finale.^[97]
• Wolfsbane makes non-speaking cameo appearances in Wolverine and the X-Men.^{[citation needed]}

Film

Rahne Sinclair appears in The New Mutants, portrayed by Maisie Williams in her human form,^[98][99] and trained wolf Chuck in her wolf form. This version enters a relationship with Danielle Moonstar over the course of the film.

Video games

Wolfsbane appears as a playable character in Marvel Puzzle Quest.^[100]

Miscellaneous

• Wolfsbane is discussed in the nonfiction book The Great Women Superheroes.^[vague][101]
• Wolfsbane appears in the Wolverine versus Sabretooth motion comics, voiced by Kathleen Barr.^[102]

References