I (Really) Don't Like Wolverine

There's no denying that Wolverine is insanely popular- I'd be an idiot to even attempt it. When asked, most people will say that their favourite mutant is Wolverine (especially if the person you're asking is male and is probably trying to make a good impression), and he's one of the top five heroes that Marvel really markets (the others being Iron Man, the Hulk, Spider-man and Thor, though Thor is sometimes replaced by the Thing for some reason). I'm not trying to say that I dislike Wolverine because he's popular; that would be a really stupid reason to like or dislike anything- I just don't see the appeal. People all over the world find his gruff, edgy, masculine attitude charming, and I really don't understand why.

Maybe it's something about my taste in men. I know Wolverine (portrayed by Hugh Jackman) is quite popular with the ladies, actor aside, and I suppose he's a fairly attractive individual, but he doesn't seem like anything special. Sure, there's the whole 'undying, passionate devotion' angle from his obsession with Jean Grey, which is something many people find desirable and admirable. But I don't really give a damn about rude, scruffy people who exude more testosterone than a locker room full of sweaty quarterbacks. There's the 'badass' factor, I suppose, and I'm told Wolverine is very notable for this, but I'm more of the Deadpool type of badass, as opposed to the overly-masculine antics of characters like Wolverine. And while he does get some of the best lines and sometimes has some pretty decent writers, it doesn't really do much to sway my opinion.

All of what I mentioned above would usually lead to me taking a neutral stance on the character, but what actually tips the scales is Schism. Yeah, it was horrendous in so many ways that I don't really know where to start. While Wolverine has, in the past, proven himself to be kind of douchey at times (like that phase during the 90s where he called everyone 'frails'...), his sudden decision to protect the innocence of mutant children was so incredibly out of character and poorly executed that I simply lost all patience for the character. Not only does that new motivation better suit Cyclops, whose personal history would make him the logical 'defender of the innocent', but Wolverine has never really been the type of person that's oriented towards preserving the innocence of the younger generations. If anyone reading this can actually provide me with sound proof to the contrary, I will completely retract that statement.

The icing on the cake was Wolverine's decision to name his new school The Jean Grey Institute of Higher Learning. Dick move, man, dick move.

So in summary, I do not like Wolverine.

I like Wolverine

I don't like the X-Men, a lot.

I think Wolverine is one of the best characters created in the past 30 years....he just has this really great depth as a character and has so many potential stories to tell...it's rare to get a character like that

Other than the fact that I don't have a type of man because I'm a dude everything you said sounds almost disturbingly like what I think of the character, I couldn't agree more and don't like the character for your reasons among others. It's good to see I'm not alone in my character evaluation

Wolverine isn't a real character, he's a series of tropes linked together to create a pure audience-appeal avatar. Whatever is popular at the time, Wolverine reflects. His character possesses "innate contradictions", which some mistake for complexity, because he simply makes no sense. He is a totally malleable character. That's why his past wasn't filled in til recently, so that writers could just fill in what they wanted. He has no literary merit whatsoever, aside from providing a brief glimpse of what was "cool" at the time.

@FadeToBlackBolt said:

Wolverine isn't a real character, he's a series of tropes linked together to create a pure audience-appeal avatar. Whatever is popular at the time, Wolverine reflects. His character possesses "innate contradictions", which some mistake for complexity, because he simply makes no sense. He is a totally malleable character. That's why his past wasn't filled in til recently, so that writers could just fill in what they wanted. He has no literary merit whatsoever, aside from providing a brief glimpse of what was "cool" at the time.

I couldn't agree more. Wolverine is Marvel's trump card. They adapt him to whatever is popular at the moment.

When I said other reasons I meant what FTBB said, I was just way to lazy to write it out

I think it is a little unfair to base your hatred on the character for what the writers are doing to him. The guy has been around for 7000+ issues, and with that many, you start running out of story ideas and the absolutely ridiculous ones start to appear (Wolverine goes to Hell). I think that Schism was a great take on Wolverine, because he doesn't want people to become heartless killers like he was bred to be. While he himself is part of a kill-squad, he refuses to let the younger generation become poisoned with what he's been poisoned with. He respects Xavier's dream and he wants to see it flourish for the younger generation.
 
I particularly like his mentor aspect for a lot of the younger girls. I mean, look at Kitty Pryde and how she's turned out from being under Logan's wing - she's courageous, strong and independent. 
 
I understand your frustration, but I think you have to take him with a grain of salt. For example, I hate Superman. I think it is physically impossible for someone to be as morally-perfect as he is, but I take him with a grain of salt.

Wolverine was a great character until about the late 90's, then he just became the hero of Marvel....Initially, he was the first real "anti hero" to exist in comics, causing a lot of other characters to become more "gritty" and "hard edged" that had not been before
 
I like him, but only in X-books, he just seems so out of place in Avengers.....I mean really, he is basically just there because he is Wolverine and no other reason

Insert in the I don't like Wolverine fan club, I heard the president is Cyclops #1 Fan Boy

@King Quisling: @Renchamp: I've got nothing against Wolverine fans. Kinda nice that you guys enjoy him, especially since he shows up so often.

@cattlebattle: I'm told Catwoman is the first anti-hero of the comic world, actually.

@RainEffect: Yeah, and his 'respecting Xavier's dream' thing comes not only out of the blue but contrary to most of his past actions. His 'mentoring' young women is exactly what I meant when I said his recent depiction is inconsistent! He used to drag kids around with him, not try and protect their innocence by keeping them out of fights! I'm not saying that it's not a good way to develop his character, all I ask is for the change to have happened gradually.

Characters are a construct of their writers, how is it unfair to base one's opinion on how they're written?

How do you mean, 'take with a grain of salt'?

@WeaponX619: That's a lovely little bit of information, but I don't completely understand the relevance.

@FadeToBlackBolt: Wolverine was also a villain first.

i like Wolverine for one reason and one reason only....he was the inspiration for the biggest, baddest bastich this side of the Milky Way 
 
 

@Squares: This is just post of lame excuses to hate on wolverine but the fact that you took the time write about someone you "don't" like is quite entertaining

i like Wolverine for one reason and one reason only....he was the inspiration for the biggest, baddest bastich this side of the Milky Way 
 
 

Is it "inspiration" when a character is created specifically to mock you? =P

@The Stegman: Also Lobo is better at what he does than Wolverine rendering the catch phrase useless

- Over the years Wolverine has been portrayed in so many different ways, it really depends on what version we are talking about

- Overall he is a good character in the right hands, but nowhere as good as his popularity suggests

 
@The Stegman : Also Lobo is better at what he does than Wolverine rendering the catch phrase useless

I really liked Wolverine until recently, in the 80's and 90's he was great and then all of the sudden you couldn't escape him and it just got to be too much

Wolverine>>>>Your Favorite Hero.

@FadeToBlackBolt: Antagonist = villain.

@The Stegman: Oh, Lobo. What's a 'bastich'?

@joshmightbe: Sadly, Beast has also been poorly depicted recently.

@WeaponX619: If my 'excuses' are lame, then I'd really appreciate it if you told me how I could improve them.

@Vance Astro: Ah, it's you again. Please, do elaborate; exactly how is Wolverine > than 'My Favourite Hero'?

@WarMachineMarkV: For curiosity's sake, who would you say is the right hands?

first: STOP LIVING IN THE PAST PEOPLE!! times change, so do people. you cant possibly tell me all of your childhood characters remained the same.

second: let the guy grow. if he stayed the same, you would of bitched about him being the same.

third: he wasnt a villain, anti-social, never a villain.

fourth: he's awesome!!!

fifth: for someone who doesnt have a lot of interest in the guy, you bitch a lot about him. not interested move on. and nobody says they like wolverine to make a good impression. only desperate idiots say they like something which they dont for the sake of making a good impression.

@FadeToBlackBolt said:

Wolverine isn't a real character, he's a series of tropes linked together to create a pure audience-appeal avatar. Whatever is popular at the time, Wolverine reflects. His character possesses "innate contradictions", which some mistake for complexity, because he simply makes no sense. He is a totally malleable character. That's why his past wasn't filled in til recently, so that writers could just fill in what they wanted. He has no literary merit whatsoever, aside from providing a brief glimpse of what was "cool" at the time.

Ouch.

I don't like Wolverine but I'm tempted to read Aaron's run.
BB

@Vance Astro said:

Wolverine>>>>Your Favorite Hero.

even Daredevil? :o
BB

@KainScion: Actually, Wolverine was originally a Hulk villain. I'd link a source, but Google and Wikipedia are down right now.

This is the first time I've made a post about Wolverine, it's not exactly fair to say I complain about or discuss him frequently.

@Squares: he first appeared in incredible hulk 158. he was sent to take him down cuz he running wild through canada. he never was a hulk villain. he just tossed with him a lot, but it was more of an ego thing, a bromance.

@KainScion: Thank you for mentioning the issue!

So would you call Wolverine an antagonist or a protagonist?

@Squares: But he was much better for much longer and never gets the respect he deserves

@FadeToBlackBolt said:

Wolverine isn't a real character, he's a series of tropes linked together to create a pure audience-appeal avatar. Whatever is popular at the time, Wolverine reflects. His character possesses "innate contradictions", which some mistake for complexity, because he simply makes no sense. He is a totally malleable character. That's why his past wasn't filled in til recently, so that writers could just fill in what they wanted. He has no literary merit whatsoever, aside from providing a brief glimpse of what was "cool" at the time.

Ouch.

Wolverine isn't a real character, he's a series of tropes linked together to create a pure audience-appeal avatar. Whatever is popular at the time, Wolverine reflects. His character possesses "innate contradictions", which some mistake for complexity, because he simply makes no sense. He is a totally malleable character. That's why his past wasn't filled in til recently, so that writers could just fill in what they wanted. He has no literary merit whatsoever, aside from providing a brief glimpse of what was "cool" at the time.

@joshmightbe: You're referring to Wolverine? He gets a ton of credit! How much do you want him to get?

@FadeToBlackBolt: Crap, you're totally right. Sorry about that.

@Squares: No I'm talking about Beast

@joshmightbe: Oh. Um, sure, I guess.

@The Stegman:

Lobo is if Wolverine had been done correctly

@Squares: To me you're not really giving a concrete reason on why you don't like him, you say you don't understand why people don't like him. People always say his obsession with Jean but fail to mention the fact that he denied Jean when she tried to hop on it in New X-Men #117 clearly its not one sided. You can't really compare Deadpool badass and Wolverine badass, its like apples and oranges. Wolverine hasn't magically woke up and decided it want to protect the innocent, its been awhile that he hasn't wanted kids to have to kill and wants them to live their lives normally without so many responsibilities, perfect example with X-23. Scott doesn't care whether they have a childhood or not, he's a great leader but not everyone has to like his views. I don't like Scott but he's the type who deserves respect in which I do respect him cause he's not a pansy that he was with Jean, Emma levels him out to be the leader he should be. Wolverine deserves respect regardless of these half way lame excuses not to like him.

@cattlebattle: Wolverine sure as hell didn't start off as a hero, dude.

@WeaponX619 said:

To me you're not really giving a concrete reason on why you don't like him, you say you don't understand why people don't like him

I'll assume that was a typo. Are you asking me to go more in depth as to why I dislike Wolverine?

Wolverine hasn't magically woke up and decided it want to protect the innocent, its been awhile that he hasn't wanted kids to have to kill and wants them to live their lives normally without so many responsibilities, perfect example with X-23.

I'm thrilled to bits to hear that someone made at least some attempt at making his change believable.

Oh, yeah, Wolverine tried to give X-23 a normal life. That is, when he wasn't busy saying that she's 'just as bad as him' and being overly critical of her.

@Squares: yeah do need to go into more depth because your reasons were weak to me. I don't know what wolverine you're talking about he's attempting to make his change believable as if he's a villain or just joined the X-Men. In AOA, he's a villain now and but in 616 when hasn't cared about the younger generation of X-Men. He's never been the one with the squeaky clean record but you can't say he hasn't changed from only caring about himself to more of the well being of everyone else too. The whole reason he ran X-Force under Scott and continues to run it is because he doesn't want the younger generation to have to fight. And, if Wolverine didn't change than there wouldn't a lot of people made than he's gone "soft" and want the old wolverine back

@Squares:

1. Wolverine has always been a good guy kinda of a prick but a good guy(not counting back story or mind control) I am talking about the guy that wore the yellow and blue in Hulk 181 and was working for the Canadian government was a good guy and has been ever since

2. He did not drag young girls along with him on his dangers missions they took it upon them selves to tag along with him in fact Wolverine told them to go home many times and as always they did not listen.

BTW I am not trying to change your mind if you don't like him thats fine but you should get your facts strait and not all twisted up and clouded by hate.

Thank you

Haters gonna hate.

I think its because of the fact that he's showed up in so many comics that people are starting to get sick of him. I actually like him but when Marvel finally decides to stop putting Wolverine in every issue, then maybe other people'll like him more. And your comment on what happened in Schism sounds like what a lot of people were saying when it happened. I think because of how Wolverine has always been a father like figure for most girls, the writers went off from that and extended it to where he doesn't want to see other children be raised like he was, a killer.

@BloodTalon said:

@Squares:

1. Wolverine has always been a good guy kinda of a prick but a good guy(not counting back story or mind control) I am talking about the guy that wore the yellow and blue in Hulk 181 and was working for the Canadian government was a good guy and has been ever since

2. He did not drag young girls along with him on his dangers missions they took it upon them selves to tag along with him in fact Wolverine told them to go home many times and as always they did not listen.

BTW I am not trying to change your mind if you don't like him thats fine but you should get your facts strait and not all twisted up and clouded by hate.

Thank you

Well said.