DR.
MICHAEL CARLING
Real Name: Michael Carling
Identity/Class: Human (World
War II era
to post-World War
II era) (see comments)
Occupation: Scientist
Group Membership: Landau, Luckman and Lake (Chang, Logan/James Howlett, others)
Affiliations: Rose Carling, Jhet, Landau, Luckman and Lake (Chang, Logan/James Howlett, others)
Enemies: Kimora,
Oracle, Shadow Walker (Mahog)
Known Relatives: Jhet
(wife, deceased), Rose Carling (daughter)
Aliases: "Old Man" (insult from Kimora)
Base of Operations: Tokyo, Japan;
formerly Kageumbra
First Appearance: Logan: Path of the Warlord (February, 1996)
Powers/Abilities: Dr. Michael Carling had no superhuman powers but he was a skilled and knowledge scientist, having developed technology to traverse dimensions.
He was also extremely
strong-willed and honorable, at one point refusing to yield even under
intense torture.
Dr. Carling was relatively skilled
in the use of a sword.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'10")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 155 lbs.)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Gray
History:
(Logan: Path of the Warlord
(fb) - BTS / Wolverine: Weapon X Files - Kimora entry - BTS) - In the
1940s, Dr. Michael Carling created technology that could open a doorway
between worlds, using it to access the extradimensional realm of
Kageumbra. Spending years in Kageumbra experimenting with
interdimensional travel, Dr. Carling met a woman named Jhet, fell in
love and fathered a daughter, Rose.
(Logan: Path of the Warlord (fb) - BTS) - Eventually,
his work came to the attention of Kageumbra's ruler, the conqueror
Kimora, who opted to acquire Dr. Carling's technology for himself in an
effort to extend his rule into other dimensions. Dr. Carling resisted
Kimora, who ultimately killed Dr. Carling's wife, forcing Carling to
flee back to Earth with his daughter. Kimora pursued Carling to Earth
but the disorientation caused by his travel to another world allowed
Carling to escape Kimora, who continued his pursuit of Dr. Carling for
years. Following years of unwanted association with the relentless
Kimora, Dr. Carling sought out the Landau, Luckman and Lake (LL&L)
organization for protection.
(Wolverine: Weapon X Files - Landau, Luckman &
Lake
entry - BTS) - Dr. Michael Carling officially joined Landau, Luckman
and Lake in exchange for continued protection.
(Logan: Path of the Warlord (fb) / Wolverine: Weapon
X Files - Kimora entry - BTS) - In the mid-1950s, LL&L sent their
agent Logan to meet with Dr. Carling and his daughter Rose in Japan and
arrange transportation back to LL&L. As part of his assignment,
Logan arranged the meeting with Dr. Carling and his daughter as
ordered, keeping the location of the meeting a secret even from his
handler Chang at LL&L. Moments after the meeting, however, the duo
was attacked by Kimora's assassins and Dr. Carling was trapped in a
net. While Dr. Carling was still trapped in the net, Logan attempted to
fight off the assassins but his gun was soon knocked from his hands and
despite him pulling out knives to continue the fight, Dr. Carling and
Rose were captured by the assassins.
(Logan: Path of the Warlord (fb)) - A short time
later, Logan met with his handler Chang and demanded answers from
Chang, threatening Chang's life if he didn't tell Logan who the
assassins that took Carling were and what they wanted with him. When
Chang refused, claiming the information was "need to know" only, Logan
decided to track Carling down himself, at which point Chang told Logan
that the assassins that took Carling were working for Kimora, warning
that Kimora would be waiting for Logan. Logan nonetheless went on his
way as Kimora tortured Dr. Carling, demanding the device Dr. Carling
had once crafted. Dr. Carling refused, claiming that no amount of
torture could make him betray his entire world and he continued to
refuse even when Kimora threatened the life of Dr. Carling's daughter,
Rose. Logan soon interrupted the torture session, cutting Dr. Carling
free with a sword and confronted Kimora. During the ensuing fight,
while Kimora was bragging to Logan about being a conqueror, Dr. Carling
used a sword to decapitate Kimora, suggesting Logan forget everything
Kimora had spoken about as nothing more than the ravings of a madman.
(Wolverine: Weapon X Files - Landau, Luckman &
Lake entry - BTS) - Landau, Luckman and Lake evidently had Dr. Michael
Carling design dimension-warping technology for them.
(Logan: Path of the Warlord) -
Years later, Kimora, somehow surviving decapitation, returned and
kidnapped Dr. Carling anew, leading to Chang recruiting a retired Logan
to again help rescue Dr. Carling, promising to explain everything to
Logan if he succeeded. Logan reluctantly agreed and as he prepared for
his mission, Chang explained Dr. Carling's origins and his connection
to Kimora, and how Kimora had been traveling back and forth between
Kageumbra using a "pinhole" dimensional rift. Once Chang and Logan had
crossed through the dimensional rift into Kageumbra, Logan was attacked
by the Shadow Lover and her ally, Shadow Walker, only to be rescued by
the now-adult Rose Carling, who later reintroduced herself to Logan and
noted how he had rescued Dr. Carling years ago. As Chang, Logan and
Rose prepared to take down Kimora, Kimora himself was torturing to Dr.
Carling, insisting that he planned to break Dr. Carling before killing
him. Kimora gloated that the telepathic Oracle had already taken the
information he desired from Dr. Carling's mind but admitted being
impressed by Dr. Carling's willpower, offering to end Dr. Carling's
pain and spare his daughter Rose if Dr. Carling would supervise the
opening of a full-sized portal to Earth. After Oracle announced that
Rose, Logan and Chang had entered Kimora's citadel and a battle between
Kimora and Logan would occur, Kimora ordered the Shadow Walker to
capture Rose and do whatever he wanted to Logan and Chang before
continuing his torture of Dr. Carling.
As Rose,
Logan and Chang made their way through Kimora's citadel, Rose admitted
that while she had come to see Logan as a shining knight that had once
come to her father's rescue, she was beginning to think otherwise due
to Logan's gruff nature. When the trio discovered a rift device being
constructed within the citadel, Chang questioned whether Dr. Carling
might have already succumbed to Kimora's torture but Rose assured him
that her father would never give in, noting that there had been rumors
of a mind-reaper among Kimora's hordes. The trio eventually made their
way to Kimora, who noted that Dr. Carling was in no position to
interfere with their battle before leaving the trio to the Shadow
Walker. Logan flew into a berserker rage, violently downing the Shadow
Walker despite Rose's reminder that they needed to save her father and
Logan continued his swath of rage up the stairs to confront Kimora.
Making his way to Kimora, the enraged Logan saw Dr. Carling strapped to
a torture table as Kimora gloated about how the dimensional rift was
beginning to open. Kimora admitted Dr. Carling's fortitude, noting that
through all of the torture and threats on his and Rose's life, Dr.
Carling never wavered. Proclaiming Dr. Carling to be a great warrior,
Kimora informed that he had used Oracle to gain the secrets from Dr.
Carling's mind before using a blade to kill Dr. Carling, remarking that
all of Dr. Carling's pain was for nothing and that he was giving Dr.
Carling a warrior's death. Having followed behind Logan, Rose Carling
witnessed her father's death and the act prompted Logan to fire a gun
at Kimora. As Dr. Carling died, he asked Chang to shut down the
dimensional rift and take care of his daughter Rose. Witnessing the
berserker rage Logan was in during his fight against Kimora, Rose
begged Logan not to kill Kimora, commenting that if he followed
Kimora's path, he would be lost to them. Rose also remarked that
killing Kimora would not bring her father back and Logan ultimately
Kimora into the dimensional rift. He then hurled his bokken sword into
the rift machine, destroying it and trapping the undying Kimora in
between dimensions. Three days later, Logan attended Dr. Michael
Carling's funeral, where Chang mentioned that Dr. Carling was a great
scientist and man, and that the world had suffered a tragic loss with
his death.
Comments: Created by Howard Mackie, John Paul Leon and Shawn Martinbrough.
Dr. Michael Carling was most
likely alive prior to the World War II era since he was an adult in the
1940s, but we have (so far) never been shown anything or his life prior
to the 1940s...
The Wolverine: Weapon X Files
OHotMU entry on Kimora established the timeline of Dr. Carling's
activities, having created the dimension-crossing technology in the
1940s and decapitated Kimora in the mid-1950s. It also oddly refers to
the character of Shadow Lover, who is explicitly identified by that
name in Logan: Path of the Warlord, as "Shadow Dancer." Additionally,
the Landau, Luckman & Lake entry in that same issue inaccurately
seems to combine the two encounters with Kimora together into a single
encounter and it incorrectly mentions that LL&L the company was
also abducted, which is not true in either encounter with Kimora.
This profile was completed on
9/30/2025 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the
Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Dr. Michael Carling should be distinguished from:
| --Logan: Path of the
Warlord (fb) - BTS (Logan: Path of the Warlord (fb) - BTS /
Wolverine:
Weapon X Files - Kimora entry - BTS, |
Appearances:
Logan: Path of the Warlord (February, 1996) - Howard Mackie (writer),
John Paul Leon (pencils), Shawn Martinbrough (inks), Mark Powers
(editor)
Wolverine: Weapon X Files (2009) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer,
coordinator), Stuart Vandal, Madison Carter (coordination assistants,
writers), Mike O'Sullivan, Sean McQuaid (coordination assistants), Mike
Fichera (writer, art refurbishment), Ronald Byrd, Eric J. Moreels, Chad
Anderson, Michael Hoskin, Markus Raymond, Jeph York, Jacob Rougemont
(writers), Paco Diaz Luque, Thomas Mason (select character art), Pete
Woods, Walter McDaniel (Landau, Luckman & Lake entry art), Jason
Lewis (art refurbishment), Rodolfo Muraguchi (art reconstruction), Jeff
Youngquist (editor)
First posted: 09/04/2026
Last updated: 09/30/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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