Wolverine Love

Why do we love Wolverine so much?

He’s one of the X-Men, so he’s part of an iconic team. That’s part of why we love him.

There are lots of reasons we shouldn’t. He stinks, he’s stubborn, he’s violent. He’s 5 feet 3 inches tall, maybe 5 foot 4 inches depending on who you’re asking. Either of which heights would make him unlikeable, right? You’re not supposed to like a hero who is short. Never mind that he has that hygiene problem, if he’s shorter than 6 feet, he’s a freak of nature. That’s only one of the counts against Wolverine, or as his mother liked to call him, Logan. Another strike against him is that he’s ultra-overweight for his height, because he weighs like 300 pounds. Short, overweight, with bad hygiene and a matching attitude, it’s a mystery how he’s a hero to anyone.

And yet…it could be that much of his charm is in the fact that he’s imperfect. He has anger issues, no trust for anyone in authority, and a bad habit of smoking cigars.

Wolverine would have to be something of a masochist, or at the very least have a high tolerance of pain. Showing off his blades would be painful every time he did it. And as far as prejudices go, masochist prejudice offends no one. Yet here we are, still revering this self-punishing character, after all these years, instead of holding a prejudice against him.

Probably we see ourselves in him. We see someone who does things right, when possible, but most of the time does things that are stupid and pig-headed and selfish. He’s impulsive—but so are we. He’s awnry and rude—but who isn’t?

Enough about his faults though, we know he also has quality in his character. He’s loyal, even if only to some. He has determination to spare. When he sets out to do something—to accomplish a task—he follows through. Sabertooth (a larger, less intelligent version of Wolverine) can’t stop Wolverine when he’s determined. He has keen senses: sight, hearing, smell; which may not be considered virtuous, but neither are his heightened senses a fault. The heightened senses become virtuous when we see how he uses them. He uses them to help other people.

Right there is the biggest reason we, the fans of Wolverine, like him so much. He’s someone to have helping you. He’s someone to have on your side. For a few, he’s someone to emulate, and maybe for a few others, he’s someone they’d like to be.