Wolverine‘s co-starring role in Deadpool & Wolverine was a redefining moment for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hugh Jackman started playing the character with 2000’s X-Men, and Wolverine on the big screen is inextricably linked to Jackman. This massive reception for Wolverine showed that the character — whether it be the Jackman version or another Wolverine — would have fame and success waiting for him in the MCU. Wolverine has been around for a little over fifty years and in those decades, Wolverine has become one of the most well-defined characters in Marvel, growing and changing in stories that thrilled fans for decades.
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Wolverine comics don’t get the attention of some of Marvel’s other solo superstars, but they can stand with the best of them. Marvel Studios would do well to look into Wolverine’s library of comics because they would find multiple tales worthy of the big screen. However, not every Wolverine story is fit for the MCU; some of the most infamous ones should stay in the comics.
These 5 Wolverine stories don’t ever need to see the big screen.
“Hunting Season/Drowning Logan”
“Hunting Season/Drowning Logan” is a four-issue story followed by its two-part conclusion that kicked off volume five of the Wolverine comic series, and began the run of writer Paul Cornell. Cornell was joined by legendary British artist Alan Davis, who had drawn some amazing Wolverine stories in his time as the series regular artist, with Mirco Pierfederici handling art for “Drowning Logan.”
The stories see Wolverine get pulled into a hostage situation that is much bigger than it seems (pun), involving a Microverse invasion, with only Logan standing in the way of humanity and destruction. In order to end it, Wolverine is forced to give up something integral to his mission as a hero. These two stories are excellent (although underrated); however, they also involve Wolverine giving up his healing factor. The MCU doesn’t really ever need to do this story, especially since it was important in building up the next entry on this list…
Death of Wolverine
Death of Wolverine, by Charles Soule and Steve McNiven, is a strange beast. On the one hand, it’s a perfectly serviceable way to end the life of the greatest X-Man of them all. It hits all the right points, hearkens back to Wolverine’s past, and forces him to deal with his own mortality and the role his past plays in his death. On the other hand, there’s something soulless and paint-by-numbers about the story, as if it is merely checking off boxes on a list of things to do in a death of Wolverine story.
A healing factor-less Wolverine has to deal with a price on his head, which leads him to Madripoor, Japan, and finally to the last place anyone would expect, where Wolverine is forced to make a fateful choice. Death of Wolverine is the definition of “just fine,” and if the MCU ever wants to kill Wolverine, they can hopefully do better than adapting this mediocre story.
Wolverine (Vol. 2) #91-100
Wolverine’s Bone Claw Saga is pretty good (despite what some naysayers would say), especially issues #91-100 of Wolverine (Vol. 2). These ten issues are written by Larry Hama, one of the best writers to ever work on Wolverine, with regular artist Adam Kubert, another creator who has become a legend thanks to his work with the character. Kubert was a bit slow, so there’s quite a few backup artists who pitch in, but his work is especially good on the issues he does draw.
This story arc deals with Wolverine finding out the truth about his mutation — that his adamantium was holding him back from mutating to a more feral form — something he now has to deal with full-on. What follows are ten issues of Wolverine fighting for his humanity, spending time with his friends in the X-Men, and getting enmeshed in a sinister scheme to give him his adamantium back at a terrible cost. There are some fine Wolverine stories in this bunch, but they are honestly too good for the MCU. The MCU would never be able to do them credit, so it’s better they never even trty.
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“Evolution”
“Evolution” is an infamous story in Wolverine’s history. Written by Jeph Loeb and Simone Bianchi, it baited readers with a classic setup for a Wolverine/Sabretooth fight before taking them in a new direction, one that led them to the origins of Wolverine and other mutants like him, all while introducing a deadly new foe: the ancient conqueror known as Romulus. “Evolution” isn’t a bad story, it’s more of a mystifying one. It introduces a lot of stuff that doesn’t get resolved until years later (in another series to boot), and introduces a retcon so bad that it was eventually re-retconned. There are some excellent fight scenes, and the art is gorgeous, but the story never really becomes what it is trying to be. It’s not really a story that needs to be told on the big screen, and there’s a huge chance that the MCU would just do it worse.
“Old Man Logan”
“Old Man Logan” by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven is often listed among the best Wolverine comics of all time. Millar took the basic plot of Unforgiven — a former killer turned pacifist coming out of retirement for one last job — and welded it to a dark Marvel future where the villains had won and Wolverine had done something ghastly enough to make him swear off killing forever. However, his debt to the Hulk Gang forces him to accept a job as a bodyguard for Hawkeye – a gig that takes him across the hellscape the United States has become under the rule of the villains, to a surprising, and bloody, ending. “Old Man Logan” is a supremely entertaining tale, one that does an amazing job of building its dark world. It’s a near-perfect Wolverine story, and that’s why the MCU should stay far away it: the franchise will never do it justice. Besides, moviegoers got their version of “Old Man Logan” with the fantastic Logan.
