The Evolution of Wolverine (Animated)

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Wolverine’s live-action costuming hasn’t always lived up to his potential, but how has he evolved on screen? Let’s find out now...animated!


warning: spoilers ahead!

In the first X-Men film, Logan – aka. Wolverine – often wears a Canadian Tuxedo and a yellow-striped brown jacket, while his hair is double-quaffed. This lone wolf joins the X-Men and sports a black suit with circular X-emblems, along with ribbed sections outlined with golden accents. His strengths include regenerative healing, an adamantium-enhanced skeleton, and retractable claws. In this film, Wolverine helps take on immoral mutants to save a friend.

The sequel, X2, shows Wolverine in his trademark white tank top and his hair is exaggerated. His hero suit is refined, has a giant X on his chest, tapered ribbed sections, a higher belt, and the yellow piping is brighter. He takes out Lady Deathstrike to get to Stryker, the man who previously experimented on him.

In “The Last Stand” his hair is poofier and his suit has a duller yellow. This time he helps de-power Magneto with a mutant cure and then prevents his love interest from going nuclear.

In his origin film, a young James Howlett’s claws appear for the first time. When older, his hair is less quaffed and he joins multiple wars through many decades, wearing period-accurate suits and weaponry. Along with his brother, he's enlisted to join a mutant special-ops, but in the 70s Logan takes up lumber-jacking and settles down. All this is shattered when his brother seemingly murders Logan’s wife. He then agrees to add adamantium to his bones and acquires his classic leather-jacket look. Wolverine goes after his brother and is later shot with a memory-stealing bullet.

Taking place a decade prior, in “X-Men: First Class”...Wolverine opts out of the action.

Following X-Men 3, in his second solo film, The Wolverine, a now hobo-Wolverine is cleaned up and brought to Japan. He mostly wears a pure black suit, paired with an overcoat, and is at his muscular peak. He protects his departed friend’s granddaughter from the Yakuza and an Adamantium Samurai. While Logan loses his metal claws in the fight, the Samurai turns out to be his not-so-deceased friend who wants to steal Wolverine’s healing powers. But Logan gives him a long overdue death instead.

In “Days of Future Past”...Logan’s metal claws somehow return! His suit is tactical, has added yellow and blue colouring, protective plating, along with additional straps. Logan’s hair also has a touch of grey. He agrees to send his consciousness into his 1970s self, to reunite Charles Xavier and Magneto to prevent a robot uprising.

In a quick cameo for “X-Men: Apocalypse”, a feral Wolverine is unleashed from experimentation. He’s wearing torso straps and a wired headset. After having the best action scene in the movie, he’s generously gifted some of his lost memories.

In his final solo film, Logan is ageing thanks to adamantium poisoning. His hair lacks its trademark styling, and he mostly rocks a full beard. He wears a fitted limo-driver suit, and later on, dresses casually, with a blue dress shirt and a light brown coat. Also featured is the young Laura, aka. X-23, created with Wolverine's DNA. She can deploy two retractable claws in each hand and singular foot spikes. Along with Professor X, Wolverine sets out to bring Laura to a Mutant-safe haven. On the way, they encounter a young Wolverine clone, X-24. This model wears dark pants, a grey muscle shirt, has a buzzcut, and golden eyes. X-24 takes out Professor X and later defeats the original Wolverine. Although, Laura is able to bring down X-24. She then mourns the loss of her adopted father.

But in Deadpool & Wolverine, a variant Logan wears a yellow suit, with blue and black accents, blue boots, gloves, shoulder pads, and gauntlets, along with a red X-belt. He occasionally dons a comic-accurate mask with pure white pupils and ditches his sleeves to show off his true weapons. This film also features many, many, different Wolverines that comic readers are sure to recognize. Plus, X-23 also makes a reappearance. The main Logan is plucked out of his timeline, and teams up with a fellow Mutant to get out of a multiverse dilemma.

So bub, which Live-Action Wolverine look is your favourite? Let us know down below!

There are many more Superhero Evolutions on the channel and we’ll be covering more X-Men in the future and possibly the cartoon Evolution of Wolverine. So hit like, subscribe, and tap that little bell!

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