Some of the most memorable and quotable lines in the X-Men’s live-action and animated history have been delivered by Wolverine. In the years since his Marvel Comics debut in 1974’s The Incredible Hulk #180, James “Logan” Howlett, a.k.a. Wolverine, has become one of the most popular mutant superheroes to adapt into Marvel’s live-action and animated media. Two of these adaptations have become hugely popular, with Cal Dodd voicing Wolverine in the 1990s’ X-Men: The Animated Series and Marvel Studios Animation’s MCU revival, X-Men ’97, and Hugh Jackman achieving international acclaim for portraying Wolverine throughout 20th Century Fox’s live-action X-Men franchise.
Hugh Jackman previously portrayed Wolverine in nine live-action movies between 2000’s X-Men and 2017’s Logan, helping the character to become one of the most well-known and beloved members of the X-Men team. Jackman will be returning in Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine, with the MCU Phase 5 project set to give Wolverine even more brutal action sequences and memorable quotes. Wolverine’s wit, humor, sarcasm and vulnerability have contributed to some of the most quotable lines in Fox’s X-Men franchise and Marvel’s other X-Men-focused projects, bringing depth to the clawed hero that will be brilliant to see replicated in the MCU.
2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, despite being one of the most hated installments in Fox’s X-Men franchise, uncovered new details about Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine’s backstory. This included the development of his brotherly relationship with Victor Creed’s Sabretooth, who ultimately ended up apparently killing Wolverine’s partner, Kayla Silverfox. When William Stryker proposes a deal with Wolverine, allowing him to hunt Creed if he undergoes a procedure to graft adamantium onto his skeleton, Wolverine delivers this iconic line.
At the core of his character, Wolverine is an animal, though he battles with this side of himself continuously. This quote seems to suggest that Wolverine will give into his more brutal tendencies in battle with Creed, “coming for blood” rather than showing his brother mercy. Wolverine can be an incredibly brutal character, making him one of the most controversial members of the X-Men, and this brutality was put on full display at this moment.
James McAvoy’s Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender’s Erik Lehnsherr built the first X-Men team in 2011’s X-Men: First Class, exploring the origins of Professor X and Magneto’s rivalry, and the birth of the X-Men in the 1960s. One potential recruit that the pair scout is Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, whom they find drinking at a bar. Upon approach, however, Xavier and Lehnsherr are quickly dismissed by the mutant, four decades before he would eventually cross paths with them again.
Wolverine’s regenerative healing factor gifts him an elongated lifespan, allowing him to appear as a young man despite being born in the 1830s. This enabled Hugh Jackman’s brief cameo in X-Men: First Class, solidifying the project as a prequel to Fox’s original X-Men trilogy, and providing a hugely entertaining moment. This line also perfectly sums up Wolverine’s thoughts about being drafted to a team and potentially controlled, though these philosophies would change.
When Storm and Jean Grey head to Boston to find Nightcrawler, and Professor X and Cyclops speak to the imprisoned Magneto in 2003’s X2, Wolverine is left as the only responsible adult at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. William Stryker and his soldiers choose this moment to invade the school and abduct some of the mutant students, while others manage to escape. Wolverine approaches some soldiers by declaring they “picked the wrong house,” before proceeding to slay several men.
Wolverine being left in charge of a number of young mutants could seem like a bad idea. However, Wolverine is fiercely protective of the students at Xavier’s School and, more than that, knows what they are capable of. Declaring that the soldiers “picked the wrong house” proves Wolverine has faith in his own ability to protect the young mutants, and in their ability to defend themselves, hinting at his parental instincts.
2013’s The Wolverine marked a huge shift from Hugh Jackman’s previous solo movie. The Wolverine sees Logan travel to Japan to bid farewell to an old friend from Nagasaki, Ichirล Yashida, but becomes embroiled in a plot to kill Yashida’s granddaughter, Mariko. After having her life saved repeatedly, and forming a romantic bond with the mutant, Mariko urges Wolverine to stay. In response, he notes that he has been “hiding too long,” implying he will instead return to the X-Men.
The Wolverine explored Logan’s mental state following Jean Grey’s death, which prompted him to go into hiding in the Canadian wilderness. Wolverine’s admission that he is a soldier, and his time in hiding is over, proves that he has finally moved on, and has stopped running from his responsibilities. This would lead to Wolverine rejoining the X-Men for the coming war, and the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine acted as the audience’s eyes and ears in 2000’s X-Men, as he was introduced to the X-Men team for the first time. Wolverine’s then-inability to work well as part of a team was evident, particularly during this exchange with Storm, in which Wolverine questioned whether Professor X’s philosophy was right. Wolverine would eventually team up with the X-Men to take down Magneto and save Rogue, but only after finally choosing a side.
As well as putting Wolverine’s difficult personality front-and-center, this quote provided the first mention of the now-iconic phrase, “Magneto is right,” in Fox’s X-Men franchise. This phrase rose to prominence after Marvel Comics’ E is for Extinction event in 2001, as many began to empathize with Magneto’s view that humans are bad and mutants should be superior. This belief informs most of Magneto’s villainous actions, so it was great to see it reborn in live-action.
While Logan suggesting he’d been “hiding too long” in The Wolverine implied his X-Men return, another quote saw him finally move on from carrying responsibility for Jean Grey’s death. Throughout The Wolverine, Logan is plagued by dreams of Jean Grey, but at this moment, he finally explains his actions in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand. Wolverine noted that he “had to” kill Jean to stop her from hurting anyone else as the Dark Phoenix, letting himself off the hook.
It was incredibly cathartic to see Wolverine finally let go of the past and stop holding himself accountable for Jean Grey’s death. Her actions as the Dark Phoenix threatened the lives of everyone on Earth, mutant and human alike, so Wolverine was right in taking her out. This was a very emotional moment in The Wolverine, but cemented his love for Jean Grey, as well as his commitment to his heroism.
Prior to Jean Grey losing control as the Dark Phoenix in X-Men: The Last Stand, Professor X explained to Wolverine that he had spent years building walls inside Jean’s mind. This saw Wolverine provide a foreshadowing warning to Xavier that, when the beast is caged, it “gets angry.” Ultimately, this is exactly what happens, as Jean Grey unleashing the Phoenix leads to Professor X’s death, and the deaths of many others during the final battle on Alcatraz Island.
While Wolverine is talking about the beast inside Jean Grey’s mind at this moment, he is also referring to himself. Many have tried to cage Wolverine over the years, most notably William Stryker, but this only made him more angry and brutal. The fact that Wolverine relates to Jean on a deeper level in The Last Stand cements his love for her, and makes her demise at his hands even more tragic.
2017’s Logan marked the end of Hugh Jackman’s career as Wolverine, as the adamantium bonded to his skeleton was revealed to have been slowly poisoning him over the years. Luckily, Dafne Keen’s debut as Laura, a.k.a. X-23, presented the opportunity for Wolverine to be replaced, with Logan exploring a road trip for the father and daughter to get the latter to safety. This speech, however, saw Wolverine use his own experience to ensure his daughter knew what the future held.
Wolverine surely wanted to tell Laura that she wouldn’t need to hurt people, or that it would become easier over time, but this simply wouldn’t have been true. Instead, he passes on the only advice he can, a simple proclamation of, “you’re gonna have to learn to live with that.”Since Laura likely has the same elongated lifespan as her biological father, this is tragically true for the young mutant.
X-Men: The Last Stand marked tragedy for the X-Men team, as Professor X was killed by Jean Grey, leaving them without a leader. This led to Wolverine and Storm stepping up to the plate, creating the opportunity for Wolverine to deliver a powerful speech, rousing the younger members of the team who were frightened to head into an actual battle. Declaring that they need to stand together as X-Men, Wolverine’s story in Fox’s original X-Men trilogy came full circle.
Wolverine had initially not been interested in joining the X-Men team back in 2000’s X-Men, even suggesting that Professor X’s side of the fight may have been the wrong one. However, in X-Men: The Last Stand, he cemented his dedication to the team and to Professor X’s cause. This was a beautiful full-circle moment for the clawed mutant, which would continue into his subsequent adventures, both solo and with the X-Men.