Wolverinemay be the X-Men’s most popular superhero, but frankly, Logan is not a good person, with some of the hero’s actions being so controversial, they should have gotten him kicked out of the X-Men decades ago. Wolverine is written to be a highly complex character, but it’s worth acknowledging thatsome of his past behaviors are unacceptable by today’s standards.
Since Wolverine’s introduction inIncredible Hulk #180, part of the appeal of the hero has been his tough-as-nails attitude, butLogan’s bad attitude has often veered into toxic masculinity, and this can be seen in how he treats his teammates and women in general.
Though Wolverine is renowned for his bad attitude, the relationships Wolverine has had, especially with young women, are particularly horrendous.
Wolverine attempts to sleep with a 15-year-old Mary Jane after he and Peter Parker have swapped bodies.
Wolverine’s Past Behavior Was So Controversial, Marvel Should Have Canned Him a Long Time Ago
Logan’s Poor Attitude Was a Major Problem for the X-Men
InNew Avengers #7by Brian Michael Bendis, it’s implied thatWolverine and Squirrel Girl used to be a couple, which is an uncomfortable age gap considering Squirrel Girl was a college student at the time and Wolverine was over a century old. This implication gets even worse when Squirrel Girl later hits on Daredevil, and he instantly rejects her because he is uncomfortable with her young age.
This uncomfortable attraction to younger women also extends beyond the Earth-616 Universe because inUltimate Spider-Man #66-67,Wolverine attempts to sleep with a 15-year-old Mary Jane after he and Peter Parker have swapped bodies. Jean Grey initially swapped their bodies to stop him from hitting her, but it backfired immensely and made Wolverine look like a creep twice over.
Wolverine is intentionally written to be deeply flawed with a difficult past, but his sad origin story should by no means validate his actions against his friends and love interests.
For a long time,Wolverine was infamous for chasing after Jean Grey, and despite her continuous rejections and her established relationship with Cyclops,Logan’s often unwelcomed advances sent a dubious message of ignoring rejection. One uncomfortable instance occurs inX-Men #98by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, showing Wolverine eagerly taking the opportunity to rip Jean Grey’s dress, making it much shorter even as she protests.
Meanwhile, inBlack Widow #5(Marjorie Liu and Daniel Acuña)Wolverine watches Black Widow change in the back of a car, despite the fact their friendship began when she was a child, with Natasha often calling him by the nickname"Little Uncle"due to their bond.
Wolverine’s Dark Origin Doesn’t Justify His Unheroic Behavior
Wolverine’s propensity for violenceoften spills over into his personal life, andLogan has injured and even killed plenty of friends and lovers. While the story is generally written to excuse this behavior, the cocktail of Logan’s inappropriate behavior to women and the constant specter of violence makes for a disturbing combination
Wolverine has existed since the ’70s, meaning the character has existed through constant shifts in societal perceptions of masculinity. Looking back at his comic history, it’s hard not to notice howLogan’s sexually aggressive and physically dangerous behavior towards women has been treated as part of his masculine credentials.
Wolverine is intentionally written to be deeply flawed with a difficult past, but his sad origin story should by no means validate his actions against his friends and love interests. In recent years,Marvel has curtailed his more unpleasant traits, such as his toxic masculinity, showing how attitudes have changed and this kind of behavior is perceived in different ways, albeit with a long road still to travel. As the examples above prove,Wolverineis lucky he wasn’t canceled years, or even decades, ago.
