Wolverine is the best there is at what he does and sometimes that's appearing in movies. Hugh Jackman spent seventeen years portraying the Canadian mutant in both X-Men movies and solo movies, gaining legions of fans for both himself and the character. Wolverine was popular before the movies but got even more popular after his big-screen debut, making Jackman a household name and helping the X-Men movies reach a level they might not have otherwise.
However, movie fans looking to get into Wolverine in comics will find a character who is pretty different. While he is still integral to the X-Men, there are some differences that need to be highlighted.
10 He's Worn A Lot Of Different Costumes Over The Years
This is a cosmetic difference but it's a big one. The X-Men movies pretty much eschewed the traditional superhero costume for the whole black leather look that was all the rage in the late '90s, early '00s. The costumes didn't look bad but they were nothing like what was in the comics. Wolverine had one of these black leather numbers but he also wore civilian clothes a lot in the movies, more than any other X-Man.
In the comics, Wolverine has had a whole bunch of great costumes, from the yellow and blue one he wore for most of his existence to the superior brown and orange to the highly underrated black and grey. Wolverine in the comics has had a lot of great costumes, not just the black leathers of the movie version.
9 He's Way Shorter In The Comics
Hugh Jackman is six foot three and this is a foot taller than Wolverine in the comics. It's hard to imagine now but fans were in an uproar when it was announced that he would be playing Wolverine because of how tall he was. They weren't thinking of the realities of finding an actor who was five foot three and made of muscle, they were just mad that things weren't going to be exactly comic accurate.
Wolverine being so short in the comics is mentioned often and has to do with the animal he is based on, a small yet ferocious creature. His enemies often underestimate him because of his size and quickly learn their mistake.
8 He's Something Of A Ladies Man
In the comics, Wolverine is short, hairy, and kind of gruff but this hasn't stopped him from wooing his fair share of women. In the movies, viewers mostly just saw his love for Jean Grey, with Silver Fox and Mariko being brought in for his solo films. While all three of these women were and are a huge part of his life, there are plenty of other women who Wolverine has been with over the years.
From Mystique and Storm to Captain Marvel and Viper, Wolverine has been with fellow heroes and villains, dating inside and outside of the X-Men. This is a rather large difference between him and his movie counterpart.
7 He's Actually Nicer In The Comics
Wolverine isn't exactly the nicest guy in the world in either the movies or the comics but his comic version is nicer than the Wolverine in the movies. The movie Wolverine seems mostly based on earlier versions of the character; while he does show some growth, he can still be quite unpleasant and mean. In the comics, Wolverine has grown past that sort of behavior for the most part.
While he can still be quite stubborn and gruff to his foes, Wolverine in the comics isn't the rude, sarcastic man the movie version can be. His heart of gold is closer to the surface and he's mostly stopped insulting everyone all the time.
6 He Uses More Weapons Than Just His Claws
Wolverine's claws are his most iconic weapons and they are one of the features that is most identified with him. However, in the comics, those aren't the only weapons he uses. Wolverine has been shown using all manner of weapon over the years, from guns to swords, including the Muramasa blade, a katana that can kill people with healing factors.
Wolverine's mastery of a wide variety of weapons has served him well over the years, allowing him to improvise in situations when enemies are expecting him to use his claws and giving him way more combat options.
5 He Has A Deep Love For Japan In The Comics
The Wolverine focused on Wolverine going to Japan, meeting up with Yukio and Mariko Yashida, and dealing with unfinished business from World War II. The movie made it seem like he hadn't spent a lot of time in Japan, which is quite different from the comic Wolverine. While he's probably not a manga and anime kind of guy, Wolverine loves the Japanese culture and spent years in the country.
Much like in the movie, Wolverine fell in love with Mariko Yashida and almost married her in the comics. He's also trained in a number of Japanese martial arts and has many friends in the Japanese archipelago, including his foster daughter Amiko.
4 He's Been A Member Of Every Major Team In The Marvel Universe
In the X-Men movie universe, the X-Men are the only superheroes in the world. This is quite different than in the comics, of course, where there are all kinds of superheroes and villains, not just mutants or cyborgs. Wolverine has long been one of the most popular heroes in the Marvel Universe and has teamed up with just about everybody. On top of that, he's also been a member of every major Marvel team.
He's been in the X-Men and X-Force, which is sort of expected, but he's also been a member of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. In fact, Wolverine is one of the most well-connected superheroes in the Marvel Universe- every major hero and team has a connection to him.
3 Logan And Old Man Logan Are Very Different Characters
Logan is easily the greatest superhero movie ever made, a deep story about a man at the end of his life reaching out for family and meaning while also cutting people up with his claws and cursing a lot. Logan is very loosely based on Old Man Logan, a beloved Wolverine story taking place in a dark future.
Old Man Logan, though, is much more of a superhero story than Logan, seeing Logan come out of retirement to help his friend Hawkeye and getting enmeshed in a world controlled by supervillains. Both stories have their merits but fans of Logan looking to pick up Old Man Logan and expecting it to be like the movie are in for a rude awakening and this goes double for the later Old Man Logan ongoing series.
2 He's Become A Leader Of The Mutant Race
In the movies, Wolverine may have been the most popular member of the team and the focus of the movies but he wasn't the leader of anything. This is very different from the Wolverine of the comics, who came out of his lonewolf phase and became a leader of the mutant race, starting with his time as leader as X-Force and moving forward to when he broke away from Cyclops and started his own mutant training school.
As cool as Wolverine in the movies is, it's hard to imagine him leading the team, let alone being in charge of a mutant school.
1 He's One Of The Most Important Heroes In The Marvel Universe
Wolverine has worked with everyone and while not everyone likes his methods, they all respect him. For example, there are few people out there who can sass Captain America and he'll just take it, but he does from Wolverine because he knows that Wolverine has been around a lot longer than him and knows what he's talking about.
It's hard to imagine the Wolverine of the movies as an elder statesman of the superhero community like the one in the comics is. He's spent years learning and growing, becoming someone very different than he used to be, while the movie version is similar to the younger, more angry, and impulsive Wolverine.