Roughouse

Not to be confused with roughhousing.

Roughouse
Roughouse from Wolverine (vol. 2) #4. Art by John Buscema.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Wolverine vol. 2, #4 (Feb 1989)
Created by	Chris Claremont (story) and John Buscema (art)
In-story information
Species	Asgardian
Place of origin	Asgard
Abilities	Superhuman strength, stamina, and durability Formidable hand to hand combatant Many criminal underworld connections

Roughouse is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the occasional enemy of Wolverine. His first appearance was in Wolverine vol. 2, #4. The character was created by Chris Claremont and John Buscema.

Fictional character biography

Roughouse is one of the most mysterious opponents that Wolverine has come across. Little is known of his past beyond the fact that Roughouse is descended from one of the races that inhabit the dimension of Asgard, the mythical home of the Asgardians. He is also known to have been abused by his father as a child, ^[1] with some writers explaining that his long hair hides his scars.

Roughouse travels to the island nation of Madripoor along with his partner, the "pseudo-vampire" Bloodscream. They begin working as enforcers for General Coy, one of the island's most powerful crime lords, and eliminate any threats to his operations.^{[ volume & issue needed ]}

General Coy grows tired of Roughouse's failures and sells him to Geist. By the time Roughouse meets him, Geist is financing himself through the illegal drug trade and needs a subject to test a new drug on. Geist's men give Roughouse a dose of this experimental version of cocaine, which drives him mad. ^[2]

Wolverine holds back in his ensuing fight with Roughouse, since Roughouse is not fully aware of what is happening. After helping Roughouse escape, Wolverine encounters Sister Salvation, a nun who possesses the ability to cure physical and mental injuries via contact. After several sessions, she is able to fully purge Roughouse's body of the drugs.^{[ volume & issue needed ]}

Roughouse eventually returns to villainy and is hired by Kimura to guard a group of children. A colleague tries to bribe Roughouse so as to gain access to the children for exploitation. Roughouse kills the man, proclaiming that he will not tolerate allowing the children to come to harm. ^[3]

Powers and abilities

Roughouse possesses superhuman physical abilities and cannot be harmed by standard weaponry. ^[4] He is additionally a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, utilizing fighting techniques that take advantage of his immense size and strength.

In other media

Roughouse makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the X-Men: The Animated Series episode "Whatever It Takes".

References

1. Wolverine (vol. 2) #22 (March 1990)
2. Wolverine (vol. 2) #18 (December 1989)
3. All-New Wolverine #16-18 (March - May 2017)
4. Wolverine (vol. 2) #6 (April 1989)