With so many live action-appearances from Hugh Jackman's Wolverine (over 16 years and 9 films), it's clear to see that the character is very popular among X-Men fans. Even in the comics Wolverine is a member of almost every popular superhero team at some point and seems to star in as many books as possible with every new relaunch.
This can even be seen in the animated world, as Wolverine has not only starred in every iteration of the X-Men that we've seen adapted to the small screen but is also a frequent guest star on other shows and has even starred in a couple of Marvel's animated films. So today we are going to take a look at Wolverine's many animated appearances to see which Wolvie truly is the best at what he does.
10 PRYDE OF THE X-MEN
While Wolverine's first animated appearance was technically on an episode of Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends voiced by Neil Ross, his most well known animated debut came with the rest of the X-Men in the pilot episode Pryde of the X-Men.
Wolverine's portrayal in the animated pilot was almost the same as his appearance on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, right down to his odd Australian accent, though he was voiced by Patrick Pinney. He appeared in the brown and tan version of his costume in Pryde of the X-Men.
9 THE SUPER HERO SQUAD SHOW
Wolverine is a fairly violent character with a dark past, and while he has become one of the Marvel Universe's premiere heroes, he still carries his dark past with him. So his inclusion on Marvel's The Super Hero Squad Show always seemed to be out of character for the former Weapon X.
This particular kid-friendly animated series was based around a kid's toyline, so we can obviously see why Wolverine would be included as the high-selling hit that he is, but watching him play nice while still sporting his claws in every episode was a little hard to watch. Wolverine was voiced by Steve Blum, and he appeared in his blue and yellow costume.
8 MARVEL DISK WARS: THE AVENGERS
Steve Blum returned to voice the English-dub of the character for Marvel DISK Wars: The Avengers, which basically took the Avengers and made them high-tech Pokemon by storing the heroes on experimental DISKs that their young teen characters would have to call out when needed in battle.
While the premise sounds a little silly the show can be surprisingly entertaining and features a wide array of characters from the Marvel Universe. Wolverine wears a darker variation of his Astonishing blue and yellow costume in his few appearances in the series, though he is featured as a member of the X-Men instead of the Avengers.
7 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
DisneyXD's Ultimate Spider-Man was based on the comic line of the same name that modernized the stories of various Marvel characters. The show follows that same premise, though features mainstream versions of Marvel characters like Wolverine when they appear on the show, who was again voiced by Steve Blum.
Logan made four appearances in the series while wearing his brown and tan costume, the most memorable of which adapted the "Freaky Friday" type story from Ultimate Spider-Man that saw Peter and Logan switch bodies. This version of Logan would also appear on Hulk: Agents of S.M.A.S.H. which was set in the same animated continuity as Ultimate Spider-Man.
6 WOLVERINE ANIME
Marvel has often experimented with its characters and anime over the years, with the previously discussed DISK Wars: The Avengers serving as only one example. Marvel released four anime series based on the X-Men, Blade, Iron Man, and Wolverine. Logan's solo outing explored his history in Japan and was basically an updated adaptation of his first solo comic series.
Logan was actually the only character who appeared in every series and was voiced by Steve Blum in X-Men Anime, but Milo Ventimiglia took on the role for every other appearance. Logan wore his civilian clothing, except for a modified black and yellow leather outfit in X-Men Anime that was inspired by his New X-Men costume.
5 HULK VS
While DC has taken the lead with their feature-length animated adaptations, Marvel attempted their own animated film releases for a few years, which saw some successes and some failures. Hulk Vs. featured two separate unrelated stories that featured epic battles between the Jade Giant and two of his most frequent sparring partners, Thor and Wolverine.
Wolverine and Hulk have an extensive history, considering Logan's first-ever appearance came in the pages of The Incredible Hulk. Their animated battle also featured an encounter with Weapon X and other popular characters like Deadpool and Sabretooth, which took a bit of the spotlight away from Hulk and Wolverine. Steve Blum again voiced the ol' Canucklehead.
4 THE AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES
Wolverine had a couple of awesome appearances in the equally impressive yet frightfully short-lived The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes animated series. His first appearance came in a flashback episode to World War II, which showed Logan/James Howlett working alongside Captain America as a member of the Howling Commandoes.
He would appear later as X-Men member Wolverine alongside other Marvel heroes like Spider-Man, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist as they stepped in to fill in for the missing team as the New Avengers, which mirrored Wolverine's first time joining the team in the comics. As Wolverine, Logan wore his classic blue and yellow X-Men costume.
3 X-MEN: EVOLUTION
The X-Men have starred in a few animated series over the years, with Wolverine playing a big role in each of the various series. His position on the team was slightly altered for X-Men: Evolution, which re-imagined the X-Men as teenagers in high school, which didn't really work for Logan.
Instead, he was one of the adult members of the team who also worked at the school, and while many of his storylines were faithfully explored in the series, his relationships with the rest of the team were lacking due to the new age difference. Wolverine wore versions of his brown and tan and Ultimate X-Men uniforms and was voiced by Scott McNeil.
2 WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN
While X-Men: Evolution failed to showcase Logan's relationships with his teammates, the same can't be said for Wolverine and the X-Men, which moved Logan into the leading role of the team following a disaster that broke up the X-Men. The series explored multiple storylines from Logan's history as a solo hero as well as with the X-Men.
Logan's animated portrayal in Wolverine and the X-Men not only stayed true to his character but also seriously explored why he does what he does, and why he needs the X-Men as much as they need him. Wolvie was voiced by Steve Blum and appeared in his Astonishing X-Men blue and yellow costume.
1 X-MEN: THE ANIMATED SERIES
The best animated version of Wolverine and any of the X-Men for that matter will always be the version seen in the iconic 90s Saturday morning hit X-Men: The Animated Series. The series was based on the character designs from Jim Lee and Chris Claremont's best-selling X-Men comic in the 90s, and that popularity carried over to the animated series.
Over five seasons Wolverine and the X-Men explored the various characters of the team while dealing with some of the best X-Men villains and even great animated adaptations of great comic storylines like the Dark Phoenix Saga. Wolverine was voiced by Cal Dodd, who would also voice this version of the character on Spider-Man: The Animated Series.