Don’t call it a comeback; Wolverine has been here for years! Over the two decades since his big entrance onto the silver screen, Wolverine’s been accurately portrayed in some instances, yet in others — way off the mark.
With the anticipation ofDeadpool 3(2024) building, fans inevitably wonder — will they get it right this time or ruin it yet again?
Allow Wolverine to Use His Claws
Aside from the incredible reveal of his adamantium enhancement inX-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), many of Logan’s combat sequencesthroughout the media over the decadeshave shown him to rarely slice up his opponent. FromX-Men (2000)toX2: X-Men United (2003)toX3: The Last Stand (2006), Wolverine manages to cut pipes, shred walls, or puncture metal but always seems to miss his opponent.
Logan treated audiences to a very old, Clint Eastwood-esque Hugh Jackman dispatching street toughs, but most fight scenes in the early films feel underwhelming. Simple solution: have Wolverine truly damage a worthy adversary. Not showing our hero taking down more than basic foes ruins the awe inspired by his unbreakable nature.
Allow Wolverine to Heal
During Wolverine’s solo filmsThe Wolverine (2013)andLogan (2017), the drama was derived from Wolvie’s lack of regeneration capability. When on full display, his healing power was most realistically portrayed when he battled Jean Grey inX3: The Last Stand. Another instance is his conflict against Lady Deathstrike inX2: X-Men United, yet she could recover just as quickly, and thus his power was, in essence, nullified.
Wolverine mends quickly, so even his first battle way back inX-Menagainst Sabertooth (wherein he’s promptly knocked out) makes no sense as he stays unconscious for hours. Why would someone that can spit out a bullet sleep for such a protracted period? That is a missed opportunity. Not giving fans a show of Logan, say, shrugging off machine gun fire ruins the benefits of his ‘God-mode’ regeneration.
Allow Wolverine to Be a Loner
Logan’s antisocial attitude was displayed most properly inX-Men: First Class, and his only cameo opposite Professor X and Magneto say it all. Too often, Wolverine is swaddled in a romantic entanglement, from his crush on Jean Grey in the firstX-Men, to his tragic love’s death inX-Men Origins Wolverine, to his dramatic liaison inThe Wolverine, Logan always seems to have a special someone he’s worrying over.
While this is a staple of the sausage factory of Hollywood, true fans know Wolverine spent years, even decades, alone and wondering the world. If thenewDeadpool 3release stays true to the former franchise’s origins, we can expect a hard-core, rough-and-tumble canuck with a fierce attitude. It can ruin the deeper, darker, and more tormented aspects of characterization to mire Logan in constant romantic melodrama.
Allow Wolverine to Battle The Hulk
Wolverine first appearedin the much-vaunted Incredible Hulk #181. Sixty years ago, those lucky few were introduced to a beloved and long-lasting character who the creator remarked was “Inspired by a fallen Samurai.” Technically – that would be a ‘Ronin.’
This, of course, is the version of Wolverine that fans have been waiting to see for the better part of a century. Part Ronin, part adamantium, part un-killable, and all attitude – that’s our Wolvie.
Displayed inDeadpool 2(2018)were characters fromX-Men: First ClassandX-Men: Days of Future Past(2014), placing the possibility of Wolverine fitting into this largerMarveluniverse.Deadpool 2demonstrated the fantastic, funny, and freaky battle between Colossus and Juggernaut. If the new film follows this trend and lets Logan take a swipe at, say, an Incredible Hulk, fans will have satiated a desire that has been percolating since the days of Hippies and Flower Power.
Don’t Subject Wolverine to Multi-Verses
Although the current trend to display a few (Spider-Man: No Way Home) to a few thousand (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) versions of fan favorites can be a great nostalgic trick for old fans while simultaneously ensuring a new generation, this gimmick won’t serve Wolverine.
Regardless of the seeming self-referential nature of the film Logan to the physical X-Men comics, Wolverinewon’t work in multiverses. With the appearance of The Scarlet Spider inSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), fans know that Marvel isn’t above placing in an Easter Egg or a ‘Deep Cut’ for its long-suffering, pre-2000 fans.
The idea ofseeing Dark-Claw(the erratic cross between Batman and Wolverine in Marvel and DC’s dismal ‘Amalgam’ titles) show up inDeadpool 3is outlandish but not impossible. With the trademark, 4th-wall-breakingDeadpoolfranchise, this type of self-deprecating humor almost seems inevitable.
Would this ruin Wolverine? Because Hugh Jackman had implicitly stated on many occasions that he’d never pop the claws again, it’s worth a second thought. Fans weren’t expecting to see Wolverine again, so in this case – perhaps outlandish is exactly what they’re anticipating.
