Even outside MCU, Marvel had some good movies. One of them is even considered by MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes to be one of the best superhero films of all time. He understood how to honor a character.
The mutants of the X-Men have always fascinated me. The animated series and the first films were an introduction to the world of the tragic Marvel group for me. The flagship of Fox’s Marvel series has somehow always been Wolverine (Hugh Jackman).
In 2017, Logan – The Wolverine by James Mangold finally premiered. To this day, I am captivated by the film. Logan surpasses most representatives of the genre not only in terms of direction, content, and acting performance. I love the film for its symbolism.
The Legacy of the Mutants
Attention Spoilers: The following section contains spoilers for the film Logan.
Logan tells the last days of Wolverine, who has to take care not only of an aging and generally dangerous Professor X (Patrick Stewart; † October 2026). A little girl with similar abilities to Wolverine also appears and is being hunted.
The film avoids the typical Marvel atmosphere and is even referred to by many as a Western. What I find so impressive: It still expands on the ideas of previous films. The sick, old Professor X symbolically represents his failed dream: A peaceful life for mutants. He is even responsible for the deaths of some X-Men.
In a world that has prevented the birth of mutants, Wolverine is a broken man. He is only alive because of his special ability. But despite how he likes to portray it: Logan has not given up yet. He takes care of Professor X because deep inside he still clings to the dream of the former X-Men leader.
Yet it is this very dream that Wolverine buries in the film after his mentor dies. Afterwards, Logan could have lived his life as a failed existence of an old mutant idea, but there is still Laura (Dafne Keen). A young girl created with Wolverine’s DNA.
She shows that Wolverine can still love despite his broken nature. He becomes a mentor like Professor X. That is why he sacrifices himself at the end of the film. Not only to save Laura as a person. He sacrifices himself so that a new hope for mutants can live on. Perhaps she will achieve the one dream that the first X-Men in 2000 preached.
Logan continues the legacy of the mutants. Despite a tragic ending, the film concludes with the most important element of any superhero:
Hope. Hope that things will eventually get better.
To this day, it moves me to tears. Wolverine as a character and the idea of mutants were honored and extended in this film. That is why I cannot forgive Marvel for what Deadpool & Wolverine has done to this legacy.
Deadpool Ignores the Legacy
I am not a big fan of the Deadpool movies. I do not think they are bad per se, but the humor is often a bit too over the top for me, and the story just drags on. That’s why it bothered me even more what Deadpool & Wolverine does to the completed legacy of Logan.
Deadpool uses the bones of the buried Wolverine to beat up the TVA at the beginning of the film. The scene is visually entertaining – and therein lies the problem! To step on Logan’s legacy like that annoys me immensely. Especially since Hugh Jackman has been brought back.
As a viewer who has already had a conclusion with Wolverine, it feels strange to see character development again. What stands out to me as a film fan, especially: Hugh Jackman is not performing here as well as in Logan. There, he showed his best side. In Deadpool & Wolverine, I find that at times it feels as if he is just “replaying” the role.
And quite simply: I simply hate it when a character is given an ending, only to bring them back again (an element that already annoys me about Avengers: Doomsday).
I hope the MCU casts a new Wolverine for the future. This is quite difficult, but with Batman, it has already been shown that new actors can also be exciting. But let Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine finally rest.
What do you think? Do you like Deadpool & Wolverine and which Marvel film is your favorite? Feel free to share it with us in the comments. If you want another recommendation with Patrick Stewart, you can find it here: A thriller with Patrick Stewart shows that the actor from Captain Picard can also be really evil
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