Hugh Jackman's 8 Appearances As WOLVERINE In The X-MEN Universe - RANKED
Following the release of that amazing first teaser trailer for Logan, we take a look back at Hugh Jackman's eight previous X-Men and Wolverine performances and rank them from worst to best.
The first teaser trailer for Logan is, to put it bluntly, f***ing awesome. While it may not be the comic book faithful adaptation of Old Man Logan some fans were hoping for, it still has all the makings of being the perfect conclusion to the story of a character Hugh Jackman first played over sixteen long years ago. Since then, the actor has gone on to star as Wolverine in eight different big screen releases.
From cameos to leading roles and his own spinoff movies, Jackman has made a huge impact as Wolverine during his tenure as the fan-favourite clawed mutant, and the fact that's coming to an end is definitely something to mourn. Before we do that though, how do the character's many appearances stack up when they're compared to each other? A ranking of those is exactly what you'll find here...
8. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
One of the worst superhero movies ever made, it should come as no surprise to see X-Men Origins: Wolverine come in at last place. While it started off fairly well by delving into Logan's childhood and delivering a pretty kickass montage, things quickly fell apart and we were left with a poorly written action blockbuster which got al lot wrong when it comes to the hero's personality and background.
Perhaps the movie's biggest crime was the decision to have Logan be the one who actually decided to undergo the experiment which bonded adamantiun to his skeleton; that completely missed the point of what makes his story - and subsequent memory loss - so poignant. The hero's rivalry with Sabretooth was probably X-Men Origins: Wolverine's only saving grace, but due to Jackman being given such poor material to work with, this was the character's weakest appearance in the X-Men Universe.
7. X-Men: The Last Stand
Another terrible movie, Wolverine was thrust into a leadership role here following the deaths and disappearances of characters like Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Professor X, and it really didn't work. His story arc was all over the place, and this felt like an entirely different Logan to the one we spent time with in the first two X-Men movies. One thing I can't fault though is the moment he's forced to kill Jean. That powerful and moving scene proved that Jackman can make even the worst material at least a little better!
His battle with Juggernaut was also pretty fun (despite being brief), but there wasn't really a fight scene in this movie where Wolverine got to shine, and that's pretty inexcusable in a movie as action-packed and exciting as this was supposed to be. A forgettable final part to the first X-Men trilogy, it's a great shame that Logan ended up fading into the background here as well.
6. X-Men
As introductions go, X-Men didn't do a horrible job with Wolverine, but I hope you can understand why the movie didn't place higher here. If I wanted to nitpick, I could point out how irritating it was to see Logan basically just wearing one of Cyclops' spare costumes, but sixteen years later, it's time we got over the hero being put into one of those damn leather costumes. No, what X-Men really did wrong was making Wolverine a complete asshole who spent most of the movie hitting on Jean Grey in an ill advised love triangle which quickly outstayed its welcome in this franchise.
His relationship with Rogue sort of worked, but felt a tad forced, and as cool as it was to see him fighting "himself" in the movie's final act, Singer missed a golden opportunity by not having him battle Sabretooth. Still, you have to give X-Men credit for both introducing the world to then unknown Hugh Jackman and the fan-favourite Wolverine.
5. X-Men: Apocalypse
Bryan Singer finally started embracing the comic books in a bigger way with X-Men: Days of Future Past, and you have to give him credit for finding a way to include this scene - which was pretty much lifted right out of the source material - in X-Men: Apocalypse (even if it was shoehorned in during reshoots). The movie may not have been to everyone's tastes, but this violent sequence put Logan in that iconic Weapon X costume and allowed Jackman to let loose in a Beserker's Rage we've been waiting to see for years.
Singer's attempt to add some substance to this cameo by having the mindless hero interact with Jean Grey felt like a mistake, but the can easily be forgiven, and it's honestly a shame this didn't last longer. With Jackman's tenure as Wolverine set to reach its end next year, I for one will probably forever be grateful that X-Men: Apocalypse at least attempted to deliver a satisfying version of his origin!
4. X-Men: First Class
Wolverine has made only two cameos, and as a result, there could only be one winner. Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class redeemed the X-Men franchise in a big way after some major disappointments from Fox, and the fact that he included this surprise in the reboot/prequel was nothing short of amazing. During a montage featuring Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr putting together their team of mutants, they attempt to add Logan to the mix and are told to go and f**k themselves; it's simple, yet brilliant.
At the time, an F-bomb in a PG-13 superhero movie was pretty much unheard of, and this cameo a) perfectly personified Wolverine's personality, and b) was utterly hilarious. I very nearly didn't include this Wolverine appearance as it's so brief, but when we're talking about such a memorable moment in this franchise, it would have done Jackman a disservice not to. More of this in Logan, please.
3. X2
While I can understand why many fans complain about Wolverine being such a large focal point of the X-Men franchise (I've been one of those whiners on many occasions), there's no denying that his story arc here really helped to elevate X2 to the point where it's still considered one of the best superhero movies ever made. Bryan Singer's exploration of Logan's relationship with William Stryker was fascinating, and Hugh Jackman really got to steal the show in this movie with some jaw dropping action sequences.
Whether it was him heading into action to save the students from Stryker's men or that epic clash with Lady Deathstrike, this was in many ways the movie which really put Wolverine on the map as a heavy hitter on the big screen. I think we could have all done without Logan's continued obsession with Jean Grey, but that ultimately became background noise for the rest of his awesome moments.
2. The Wolverine
The Wolverine may have lost its way during the final act when Logan was pitted against a Silver Samurai who was essentially a gigantic robot, but that's something which can ultimately be forgiven (even if the decision to have the hero's claws cut off was downright baffling). So much of this movie worked that it really does strike me as an underrated gem, especially when you think back to things like the bullet train sequence and Wolverine's beautifully shot battle with Shingen.
The Wolverine admittedly didn't adapt the Japan Saga in a particularly faithful way, but there was enough here to make fans happy, and it somehow even found a way of making up for the crappy way X-Men: The Last Stand ended. It's a shame that this story was ultimately wiped from continuity and we never got a direct sequel though, especially as Mangold included a deleted scene featuring the classic costume on the Blu-ray!
1. X-Men: Days Of Future Past
Look, there's no two ways about it; X-Men: Days of Future Past was pretty much a Wolverine movie. While it delivered plenty of great stuff with characters like Charles, Erik, and Raven, this "inbetweenquel" put much of the focus on Logan and his journey back in time, but that proved to be no bad thing. Seeing the hero meeting younger versions of people he had very different relationships with in the future proved to be fascinating, while seeing Wolverine go to war with Sentinels is something that will never get old.
The way his story arc wrapped up in the 1970s was a little disappointing, but the epilogue where he met back up with some familiar faces was something very special indeed. As a result, I honestly believe this was both Hugh Jackman and Wolverine's strongest big screen appearance to date, and despite all the confusing continuity changes, this movie really helped to remind us all why we love both the actor and character so damn much.
Do you agree with this ranking? Should we have ranked Hugh Jackman's appearances as Wolverine differently? As always, we want to hear your thoughts on all that and more in the usual place.
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