Wolverine is one of the greatest heroes in the Marvel Universe and has been a member of every major team. He's taken down some of the most vicious villains around and has legions of fans because of his exploits in comics, TV, and movies. However, as much as those fans love him, he can be pretty annoying.
There have been a whole slew of things about Wolverine over the years that even his most dedicated fans can't help but question. They still love him but that affection is stretched pretty thin sometimes.
10 All Of The Origin Retcons Have Become Overwhelming
One of the biggest character traits of Wolverine in his early years was the fact that he was a man of mystery- no one knew anything about him and he was the ultimate intriguing hero. Marvel milked this for all it was worth for years, playing out clues to who he once was and then retconning everything as memory implants to keep the mystery going.
While they eventually revealed his origin and gave him his memory back, they would still play the old "he didn't remember parts of his past" card. It's only gotten more annoying as the years went on.
9 Even When He Died, There Had To Be A Logan
2014's The Death Of Wolverine was a big deal for Marvel as Wolverine was one of the publisher's most popular characters. Everyone knew he'd be back eventually, but no one figured it would be as soon as it was. See, even though his daughter Laura took up his old mantle, Marvel decided that they still needed a Logan, so after 2015's Secret Wars, they brought Old Man Logan to the present.
While his book was excellent, the fact that Marvel had just done a big story about the character's death, replaced him with another character, and still felt the need to bring back an alternate future version of the character just in case felt weird.
8 His Constantly Changing Relationship Status Doesn't Really Fit The Character
While he's no Daredevil, he's gone around with the women of the Marvel Universe way more than anyone would expect. Now, that's not that weird when it comes right down to it- Wolverine is a hard fighting, hard-drinking hero and while he may not be the most physically appealing man, he's magnetic.
However, it's always felt weird for him to be a lothario type of character. Readers have seen him carry the torch for Jean Grey for years but also watched him sleep around. It's always been weird and never really seemed to fit the character.
7 Because Of His Popularity, He Takes The Spotlight From Everyone Else
Wolverine made his name in a team book before going solo, gaining massive popularity as an X-Man. He became one of the team's most important members but this was a double-edged sword. In later years, writers would spotlight him because he was the most popular character, causing other characters to suffer. This would go on when he'd join other teams as well, sucking all of the oxygen out of the room.
Team books are supposed to be ensemble narratives but when Wolverine joins the group, they become the Wolverine show. In some ways, this makes sense- many readers pick up books because he's in them- but Wolverine eventually gets to be the focus a little too much, hurting the other characters in the book.
6 His Relationship With Cyclops Got Annoying As The Years Went By
Wolverine and Cyclops have always had a weird relationship. It's evolved over the years into a close friendship, but for a long time it was rather antagonistic, partly because of the two men's differences and partly because of Jean Grey. The two heroes constantly butting heads became cliche after a while and hurt both characters.
It made Wolverine look bad because he was always trash-talking Cyclops even when he didn't deserve it and it served to sour a lot of readers on Cyclops. Wolverine was the cool loner and by default, Cyclops had to be the stodgy leader. It was just all too much after a while.
5 The Weapon X Rehashes Have Gotten Old
The Weapon Plus Program gave Wolverine his adamantium skeleton and made him into a weapon. For years, this was fertile grounds for stories, as creators like Chris Claremont, Barry Windsor-Smith, Larry Hama, and Grant Morrison added to Wolverine's mythos by fleshing the program and his time as a part of it.
However, as the years went by, too many writers have fallen back on using Wolverine's Weapon X days as a crutch. It was interesting the first few times or when creators like Morrison brought new facets to the table, but most creators didn't even come close to doing that and it cheapened the concept.
4 Marvel Jobs Him Out To Make Characters Look Strong
In wrestling, doing the job means losing to make another wrestler look good. In comics, there's a similar concept, as publishers will take fan favorite characters and use them in stories that introduce new characters. The fan-favorite will either get in over their head and need the new character's help or will get beaten up by the new character before they team up and defeat the big bad.
In the '90s, Wolverine became the de facto jobber. He was popular, so people would buy the book he was in and his reputation as a tough character meant that anyone who beat him had to be tough as well. However, it was always annoying to his fans to see their favorite lose to a character that no one would remember in a couple of years.
3 Calling Him Overexposed Is An Understatement
There was a time when Wolverine was everywhere. He appeared in at least one X-Men book, his own solo series, and numerous guest star appearances. The height of it was in the mid-2000s when he was in three different X-Men books, his own solo series, New Avengers, and all of his guest-starring roles.
Wolverine can seem like he's everywhere and the reason for that is very simple- he is. As intimated above, even when he was dead, there was still a Logan. There have been few characters beyond Batman that are in as many books as Wolverine is.
2 He Punches Way Above His Weight Class
Wolverine is a tough cookie. His bones are unbreakable, his claws can cut through anything, and he's strong, fast, and skilled. It stands to reason that he can stand up to all manner of foes and even pull off some surprise victories against some enemies, hero or villain, that he shouldn't be able to. However, it has gotten a bit ridiculous.
Wolverine has beaten some people who he never should have been able to. Sure, seeing him tangle with the Hulk is fun. Seeing him hurt the Green Goliath is great but the fact that he's been able to beat him when heroes like Thor haven't is ridiculous.
1 His Healing Factor Is Way Too Powerful
There was a time when Wolverine's healing factor wasn't nearly as powerful as it is now. Surface wounds would heal quickly but not instantaneously and more grievous injuries took longer, requiring him to rest for them to heal correctly. However, that's changed so that he's basically become unkillable.
Lots of characters have healing factors and Wolverine's is one of the strongest. While it stands to reason that it would get better over the years, it's ridiculously powerful, even regenerating him when he's been just about atomized. It takes away dramatic stakes and makes him a bit too OP.
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