Logan: Parting Is Such Sweet Slicing
A fitting farewell to Wolverine, Marvel’s greatest antihero…
“I’m gonna cut your god damn head off…see if that works.” Logan — X-Men Origins: Wolverine
It was always going to be difficult saying goodbye to a legend. Especially when that legend has single-handedly redefined the comic books and movies of the popular Marvel Comics franchise. Leaping from the comic book page to the silver screen was a daunting prospect to attempt, but the character of Logan/Wolverine had the perfect blend of anti-heroics and raw magnetism to capture the hearts of millions of adoring fans around the world. Leaping onto the screen in the 2000 Marvel movie X-Men, the character of Wolverine would go on to catapult its star, Hugh Jackman to stardom and make both the character and the actor household names in the process.
Unlike many actors of his day, jumping from film set to film set regardless of the quality of the roles they were tasked with performing, Hugh Jackman brought his devotion to the role of Wolverine, and in doing so became his custodian. Jackman has treated Wolverine with the utmost respect and in turn, the iconic Marvel comic book character has responded in kind, affording him nine successful movies in which to hone his craft. His tenure as Wolverine has spanned the better part of two decades which is second only to that of the James Bond, Star Wars and Star Trek franchises. For an actor to remain devoted to a singular role for any length of time is a rare occurrence, especially in our modern age where everything moves at a phenomenal pace.
There have been other roles for the actor to sink his teeth into, Van Helsing being the most noteworthy but none could rival the role of the adamantium clawed Weapon-X from the Marvel comic books. Therefore, the news that Jackman would be stepping down as the character following his latest offering Logan, a finale to The Wolverine trilogy, was a bitter sweet pill to swallow. The fans knew all too well that this day would come, and yet most us all hoped it never would…owing to our deep seeded love of the character.
Many of us were introduced to Wolverine either via the classic X-Men comic books or the popular X-Men: The Animated Series cartoon of the mid 90’s, a series that benefitted from the popularity of DC comics rival Batman: The Animated Series which introduced the audience to a darker tone of narratives. With Batman paving the way for a darker and more violent world of animation for fans to immerse themselves in, the timing couldn’t have been better to introduce the chaotic storylines of the X-Men universe which teased a plethora of narratives that included social segregation, discrimination, radicalism, time travel, evolutionary cataclysm and dystopia. Despite these uncomfortable subjects being brought to the forefront of our thinking for a generation of fans to consider, the message that such behaviors were and still are a bad influence on society was clear and at the head of the charge battling for acceptance was Wolverine.
Wolverine had been a tortured soul, a soldier with a dark past that ultimately ended with him being assigned to an experiment that was entering the stage of human trials. Given the codename Weapon-X, Logan was selected to undergo experimentation that would draw upon his incredible mutation that allowed him to heal any injury at a greatly enhanced rate. This remarkable evolution of his bodily cells allowed him to survive the injection of scorching liquid metal, named adamantium into his skeletal structure that, once cooled rendered his bones unbreakable. A side effect of the process included a remarkable defence mechanism that manifested in a trio of razor sharp claws that emerged at will from the skin of his hands. Any ill-fated combatant with the misfortune of encountering him during a fit of berserker rage didn’t stand a chance against his fury…or his claws!
As with all things, the series was eventually cancelled but the thirst for more adventures from the X-Men universe had not been quenched. Determined to cash in on the show’s popularity, the Hollywood studio giants gathered to bid for the rights to the material and soon we had our winner…
With 20th Century Fox acquiring the rights to the X-Men franchise, it was only a matter of time before a major motion picture was commissioned and in July 2000, X-Men was released to worldwide critical acclaim and a box office revenue of $296.3 million dollars. The movie itself cost some reportedly $75 million dollars to produce making the first Marvel effort a runaway success which came as a surprise to many following the epic failure of the Batman franchise and 1997 embarrassment that was Batman & Robin. The movie was greeted by a legion of fans both old and new, all in agreement that the character of Wolverine/Logan was the standout star of the piece. At the time of filming, Hugh Jackman was a relative unknown in the American market and the actor had some trepidation about taking on the role. A renowned stage performer, Jackman was concerned with the limited amount of speaking lines attributed to him as well as the intense emotion he would have to project through them, but after much deliberation he decided against his wife’s advice and accepted the role.
Brave man…
Taking inspiration from Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry and Mel Gibson’s Mad Max, both movies that required their leading man to say very little but convey great emotion through their words, Jackman began to mould the character of Logan. Fortunately, his charisma shined through his limited speech and within weeks of the movies opening, Jackman was propelled into the limelight becoming an overnight star and leading man in his own right. His success saw him taking on leading roles in both Kate & Leopold and Swordfish before the X-Men sequel, X2: X-Men United began filming. Jackman reprised his role in the film that, eventually went on to be regarded as one of the greatest superhero movies ever made and earned 20th Century Fox a bumper $407.7 million-dollar bounty.
Thanks, in part to his influential role as Logan, the X-Men franchise went on to dominate the Hollywood landscape long before the notion of the big screen adaptations of Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Dark Knight and Captain America were put into production. And, hot on the heels of X2 was the third entry into the franchise named The Last Stand. The movie proved to be another runaway success but unlike its predecessors, it suffered from a directorial change that altered the landscape of the franchise for several years. With the studio heads deciding to reboot the franchise with a Star Wars styled prequel called X-Men: First Class, Jackman distanced himself from the project deciding instead to pursue a solo venture starring the legendary character of Logan. The Wolverine series was born and in the summer of 2009, standing toe to toe with Paramount Pictures’ release of Iron Man, X-Men Origins: Wolverine was released to an expectant audience.
The movie held its own and despite minimal criticism from the reviewers, the project went on to earn Fox a bounty of $373.1 million dollars. The story detailed the origin of the character, including the fateful operation that transformed him into the iconic character we all know and love and demonstrated that Jackman could carry the tent pole icon into his own series. In the aftermath of the minimal critique, Jackman would maintain a level of creative control and guided the sequel titled, The Wolverine to focus upon one of the character’s greatest foes. Heading to Japan, The Wolverine would introduce the fans to the Silver Samurai, an adamantium clad ghost from his past bent on extracting his incredible mutant healing ability. The story was far darker than his first outing and afforded Jackman the chance to bring a more visceral approach to the violence presented on screen. It was a bold move, one the fans had been demanding for some time and its change of tone was reflected in its revenue which again surpassed $414.8 million dollars.
By the end of 2013, Fox had begun negotiations to bring Jackman back to complete the trilogy and soon after, director James Mangold, the man responsible for the previous outing was assigned to direct. Reprising his role of Professor Charles Xavier from the X-Men movie series was Patrick Stewart, who soon announced his involvement in the story which was to be based upon the “Old Man Logan” storyline. The popular narrative, depicted an aging Wolverine in the twilight of his life tasked with transporting fellow Marvel hero Hawkeye, (of Avengers fame) across a country controlled by the likes of Red Skull and the Incredible Hulk. Sadly, this storyline was an impossible one to convey to the silver screen given that the rights to many of the characters involved were controlled by the Disney branch of Marvel Comics and so, an alternative plot was scripted. In the aftermath of mutant extinction, an aging Wolverine tasked with the care of a dementia suffering Professor Xavier encounters a child with incredible abilities, abilities that are hauntingly similar to the trademarks of our beloved anti-hero.
Hunted by a sinister pharmaceutical company, the child stumbles across Logan’s path and with Charles Xavier reminding him of his retired X-Men responsibilities, he finds himself as a reluctant custodian of the child who is desperate to reunite with her friends on the other side of the country. Therefore, the story of Logan follows their journey across country headed for a haven where the young child would be safe. It was an exciting prospect, one that excited us all but, just as the fans allowed themselves to gain a level of expectation for another Wolverine adventure, Hugh Jackman delivered the bombshell that reverberated around the world and sent the fans into a decline of subdued acceptance.
The legendary actor, custodian of the Marvel Comics tent pole would be standing down as Wolverine…and Logan would be his final adventure with the adamantium claws.
Many were devastated.
However, given his level of commitment to the incredible character, many of us, myself included were resigned to his departure and respected his decision to stand down at the very pinnacle of his tenure. Having seen Logan, I believe the movie serves as the perfect swan song for Jackman’s farewell and as heartbroken as I am by his departure, I am thankful for all the adventures he has provided us with over the last seventeen years. From his first adventure, where he introduced us to his interpretation of the character to the stunning sequel, (and my personal favourite, X2: X-Men United) through the impressive Days of Future Past and The Wolverine, Jackman has given his heart, his soul and his devotion to not only the character, but to us the fans. He has treated the warrior with the utmost respect and responsibility which only confirms what we all knew from the start…Hugh Jackman is a true professional with unswerving character and devotion to his art.
In summary, I am going to miss Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. The character restored our faith in superheroes at a time when it was faltering and in turn set us on a path that would witness the arrival of characters like Iron Man, Spider-Man, The Avengers and Deadpool. Saying goodbye is going to be difficult for us all, especially for the actor himself who retires a piece of himself with the triumph that is Logan but, both Jackman and Wolverine have earned their retirement.
We will always carry his incredible performance with us and anytime we feel the need to remember just how extraordinary he was, our Blu-Ray players will never be too far away…
All that’s left to say is…
THANK YOU, HUGH JACKMAN
Thank you for redefining a genre with your love, commitment and devotion. We will all be forever grateful for the respect you showed us with this role and will carry the heart of Wolverine with us wherever we go.
Should a reboot of the character be in our future, then so be it. But to the clear majority of the fans, both old and new…there will only ever be one Wolverine.
The unconquerable Hugh Jackman.
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