Wolverine's Jeep In X-Men '97 Has A Sneaky Reference To His Marvel Comics Debut

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As originally seen in the 1992 show "X-Men: The Animated Series," Cal Dodd's Wolverine (when he wasn't punching Cyclops) would tool around town in a red jeep. The "X-Men" cartoons have always been notable for their depictions of superheroes on their days off, so we frequently saw the X-Men in their civvies on "X-Men: The Animated Series," hanging around the X-Mansion without any pressing missions at hand. As such, we also got to know their off-duty fashion sense, what their hobbies might be, and what kind of cars they drove. Wolverine, being a rugged individual, likes to drive out into the wilds of the U.S. in an all-terrain vehicle like a jeep.

Wolverine's jeep reappears in "X-Men '97," a revival show that's made to look like "X-Men: The Animates Series" was never canceled. Indeed, the show's versions of the X-Men are designed to appear practically identical to their 1992 counterparts, and many "X-Men: The Animated Series" voice actors reprise their roles. Dodd even plays Wolverine on "X-Men '97," almost 30 years after the fact. And, yes, Wolverine still drives a red jeep, specifically while he's taking a pregnant Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale) to the hospital in the second episode.

In the book "X-Men '97: The Art and Making of the Animated Series" by James Field, it's revealed that Wolverine's red jeep even features a little bit of a fun Easter egg for Marvel fans. The book contains a great deal of production art and design concepts, among them a closeup of Wolverine's jeep that reveals its license plate number: INHLK180. (Vanity plates in select U.S. states can have up to eight characters, so we'll merely assume he owns one.) This is clearly coding for "Incredible Hulk" #180, the issue of Marvel Comics in which Wolverine made his debut appearance.

The below picture was included in James Fields' book, and one can see Wolverine's license plate in close-up. In case one felt there was any ambiguity, the artist included a note on the page to denote that, yes, the code "INHLK180" was a deliberate reference to "The Incredible Hulk" issue #180. 

As many Marvel fans could tell you, Wolverine was originally a guest villain in "Hulk" comic books and turned up in the final panel of an "Incredible Hulk" issue published in October 1974. Mind you, certain comic book fans make a distinction between a character's first appearance and their "first full appearance," so some would argue Wolverine made his proper debut in "The Incredible Hulk" #181. That issue featured a full-blooded fight between Wolverine and the Hulk, although it declined to explain who he was beyond a mysterious agent working for the Canadian government. His more elaborate backstory (involving biological experiments, memory-wiping, and extensive mutant healing powers) wouldn't be explored until after Wolverine became more popular. In fact, the writers of "Incredible Hulk" #180 never expected for Wolverine to become as big as he did on his way to joining the X-Men in May 1975's famed "Giant Sized X-Men" #1.

One can also see that the "X-Men '97" creatives included a similar Easter egg in Wolverine's dog tag, attached to his car keys, accounting for the "full appearance" nitpick. The numbering there is TIH181 – 111974. This is clearly a reference to "The Incredible Hulk" #181, as well as the date of its publication: November 1974. All of the above details are pretty well-known to X-Men fans, however. They were even visually quoted in "Deadpool & Wolverine."

You can stream "X-Men '97" on Disney+.