Wolverine made his first appearance in 1974 in Incredible Hulk #180, and his first appearance as a member of the X-Men would be in 1975’s Giant-Size X-Men #1. Ever since, he has been an iconic member of the mutant superhero team. Also known as Logan, Wolverine has since spent time on and off the main X-Men roster, but became very popular in his own right with his own mythology and comic series. Logan would come to be the major breakout character from the Fox X-Men movie franchise, and his actor, Hugh Jackman, would propel his own career and the popularity of the character from his time in the role.

Recently announced, Jackman will be making a return as Wolverine, so now would be a good time to explore what the appeal of the gruff Canadian superhero is. Indeed, it’s fitting that Deadpool 3 is bringing back Logan, as more mature superheroes like Daredevil or Deadpool himself owe Jackman’s Wolverine a lot for bringing the idea of more adult-oriented superheroes to the mainstream. Despite some missteps, X-Men Origins: Wolverine being a major one, the famed X-Man remains one of the most beloved characters across all media. Here’s why.

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Wolverine is Cool

     20th Century Fox

Wolverine is the epitome of the grizzled, competent, experienced hero archetype. He is a mutant with a healing factor and adamantium claws, who has lived through World War II and the Civil War. He’s immortal, but he’s not undefeatable, and in fact often gets hurt a lot worse than anyone because of his healing factor.

In many ways, it’s fitting that Jackman as Wolverine was a breakout performance because Wolverine himself is so reminiscent of the classic Hollywood American action hero. He’s similar to John McClane from Die Hard in that he is a wild and loose cannon with a heart of gold. On top of this, he has a very gruff outdoorsy vibe, similar to Geralt from the Witcher; he knows how to handle himself in the wild and track people with his enhanced senses. A lot of cool and gruff heroes have their portrayals informed by Wolverine in many ways. Add on to his experience in fighting, he has an animalistic berserker rage that he can go into that occasionally comes out.

It’s impressive that, in a team with people who have godlike powers, like Jean Grey’s Phoenix-assisted telekinesis, Wolverine still presents himself as the person on the X-Men roster you definitively do not want to mess with. He’s been a part of many superhero teams like the Avengers and the X-Men, including a Canadian Hero team known as Alpha Flight.

Wolverine is Tortured

     Marvel Entertainment

Wolverine has 100 years of baggage, and it shows. As if being a war veteran and a near-ageless-immortal wasn’t enough, Wolverine was experimented on by the Weapon X program to create his signature adamantium claws. During the adamantium bonding process, where the metal was fused with his skeleton, he experienced an overwhelming and extreme pain that drove him into that mindless animalistic state he can sometimes go into. The process was so traumatic that it ended up leading him to lose his memories temporarily, with Professor Xavier having to help him through that. This process of healing Wolverine of some of his trauma is central to his character, because the X-Men help him find purpose again.

Unfortunately, Wolverine is seemingly doomed to a kind of eternal suffering. From having the adamantium painfully stripped from his skeleton by Magneto to being tricked into killing the X-Men in an alternate universe, writers throw plenty of things at Wolverine to make him feel guilt and grief (as outlined by Ranker). Add onto that the often horrible prejudice the X-Men have to face and how they themselves are defined by tragedy, and Wolverine has plenty of pain to deal with. This helps audiences sympathize with him, as we see someone, who on the surface is an unstoppable and tough hero, is, on the inside, actually scarred and damaged. While his physical wounds heal with ease, Wolverine’s mental wounds are much harder to heal.

Wolverine Always Has Room to Grow

     Nicktoons

Despite the constant trauma, of course, it doesn’t mean that it is impossible for Wolverine to heal. Wolverine is a hero because he does fundamentally care about the people around him. Often, the question of any X-Men story with him in it is Wolverine learning to open up and trust people. This is why, in the first Fox X-Men movie, Wolverine was paired with a young Rogue, and he had to learn to care about something bigger than himself in that movie.

It’s important that Wolverine has people he cares about or respects. While some “tough guy” heroes of Marvel tend to be isolated and lone wolves, Wolverine is a pack animal. Wolverine puts up a gruff and irritated exterior that hides the fact that he does really care about the people in his life. Learning to be a teacher at Xavier’s academy is also important to this, as it helps Wolverine learn that he has more to give to the world than just violence.

Wolverine is a fun character because of how cool he is, how much anguish his backstory is full of, and because of his overall personality has become iconic. However, what makes him great is that, in the hands of a good writer, Wolverine ultimately learns, changes, and grows — or at least has the capacity to do so. A storyline may convince him that his place is with the X-Men, to help them teach young mutants and protect them. Some Wolverine-focused stories have him learning to care about a younger hero whom he can mentor and act as a father figure to. Each story contributes to who Wolverine is at his core, with some tearing down some his walls between himself and people, and some building those walls back up.