2. I’ll Take Care Of You
One of Wolverine’s defining traits is his tendency to mentor and protect the young women and men who end up in his care. Over the years, he’s taken Kitty Pryde, Jubilee, Armor and most recently every single teenage X-Man under his wing. He does this both to help them survive a world terrified by their very existence and to let them be the children they so rarely get to be. When written well, Wolverine’s relationship with a younger mutant he’s looking after is a surefire way to bring out his compassion and warmth from underneath his usual snarling cynicism.
The very first X-Men movie has just such a moment, when Logan finds a traumatized Rogue and offers to look after her. Magneto and Mystique’s manipulations have left Rogue convinced that she’s nothing but a monster and completely unwelcome at Xavier’s school. Logan, the man who has sneered, snarked and generally belittled his way around Xavier and his students, reaches out to her. He tells Rogue that Xavier, for all that he’s a “geek”, wants to help her. He doesn’t condescend, he doesn’t bully and he doesn’t insist that he knows what’s best for Rogue. He just promises her he’ll take care of her. It’s a sweet, gentle moment from the former assassin, and one of the key moments of his character arc in the first film.
1. A First Class Cameo
When Jackman wasn’t billed to appear in X-Men: First Class, a lot of fans were very disappointed. Matthew Vaughn wasn’t about to let all those fans stay let down though, and he snuck Wolverine in for one of the best cameos in any superhero film. Erik and Xavier are going around contacting all the mutants, but when they approach Wolverine, we all know there’s little chance he’d be interested in joining up. Without even giving them a chance to explain why they’re there, he informs them of that position in the most Wolverine-like way, dropping the series’ first F-bomb. When first watching First Class, it was an excellent surprise to see Jackman pop up on screen. Although his appearance is short, if the character is going to get a cameo, Vaughn definitely did it just right, making for as memorable a Wolverine moment as possible.
Well, those are our picks. Are there any great Wolverine moments you think we missed? Be sure to check out The Wolverine this weekend and let us know if there are any moments from that movie that deserve a spot on this list.