I know a lot of us here mention quite a bit how Wolverine is sometimes overused/overexposed. There's also been a bit of contradiction ( or at least it feels that way) in the writing of his character with so many writers and all. But my question to everyone is..... what role do you think suits Wolverine the best?

I see a lot of fan-made ideal teams for X-force that don't include him. Some don't think he should be leading an X-team. What are your thoughts? Is he best suited in X-force or as a leader in Xmen or as a 2nd in command type?

@hawk2916: he was always good as a wild card, but lately he's been good as

The comic relief head of the school, out-of-his-element guy.

Personally I don't want him in any other X books. I like Logan, I just don't want to have to read him in every X book I pick up.

He works best in the second command role right under Cyclops along with people like Storm, etc. I have enjoyed seeing him being knowingly pushed out of his element leading people, and knowing that he is doing a less than optimal job. Some nice character developing stuff.

I like him as the head of the school right now. Normally I think he works best as 2nd in command guy though

Wolverine should be the tough anti-hero wild card, 2nd in the command. I like Cyclops best as the leader of the X-Men

I've always enjoyed Wolverine most in the grizzled mentor type role, personally. From his big brother type relationship with Nightcrawler and Colossus, to mentoring Kitty (in the 80's), Jubilee (in the 80's and 90's), Armor (in Astonishing X-Men), or even being in charge of the school (in All-New X-Men), I've always felt that it was this role that defined what was most interesting about his character.

I don't see him as a character who wants to lead so much as a guy who feels responsible for those around him, as Storm says of him (in the classic The Uncanny X-Men Annual #11 - Lost in The Funhouse), he is their protector, "..as worthy the X-men's champion ..as he is his lady Mariko's".

I like the classic vision of him, a loner, with bestial rage he learned to overcome thanks to samurai honor code and training. He is best when he is an anti-hero, a man without past. Anyone with so much blood on their hands cannot be a well accepted Avengers, this is just ridiculous. A man that had "nothing against" a murder of a child, CANNOT be around children like he's in this WATXM bull.

Today, his character is at his really worst. Nothing makes sense around him.

Joss Whedon's Wolverine.

None of that "keep the children out of it" crap. Yeah sure, maybe being tricked into murdering his kids did a number on him, but i still prefer him when he was more COMMANDO than KINDERGARTEN COP.

I found his Wolverine to be extremely superficial and lacking in any character, but that's just me.

Didn't you hear? Anyone can be an Avenger nowadays :D

This is the Avengers World man, what can we do. You're right. :)

Definitely a second in command type. That way he can be rebellious to who ever is in command.

Wow. Nobody has mentioned Wolverine running xforce as the role he should be in. Though I guess strictly speaking when Wolverine ran xforce he was still second in command I guess since Cyclops was ultimately calling the shots.

He was really good in X-Force vol.3, Remender's Wolvie is ok as well, actually. But, this is still his worst era, this is exactly why he has become a hypocritical and inconsistent character he is now.

See Cornell's Wolverine.

A loner, but when he is on a team, it should be The X-Men.

NO.

I've always liked him as the wild man. The killer standing in the back of the team. Seldom heard or seen until......rrrrrggghhhhh, berserker barrage!

I thought it was a problem when he had a leading role in the X-Men, but then I went and re-read when he took over for Storm in the 80's and he was amazing! I hated the idea of Wolverine in the Avengers, after reading the Bendis stuff, but now reading Uncanny Avengers, I think he fits well. I thought being solo, like the Millar stuff, he was boring not having anyone to bounce off of, but then you read Wolverine by Claremont and Miller, and it's fantastic. It's just writing. It's kind of like me wanting to use the "Well it's a kids movie" excuse, when there's movies "for adults" where the writing is far more immature and poorly written, and forgetting the amazing shows written for children that are very mature and good for all ages. I hate how Bendis is writing him right now, but like Remender, so you just have to find someone who you feel is true to how you see the character.

Oh sorry, I don't think I answered the question! Definitely second in command. Never the face of the team, but behind the scenes and keeping the team in check. That's my favorite role for Wolverine and the one that never gets boring for me.

He workes best as the loner but that begrugingly cares for people, samurair who struggles for with his murderous rage. I remeber as a kid always thinking that him and sabretooth were the same, expect that wolverine tried to control his rage and despite having to do horrible thigns he dealt with the guilt. There was always the notion that if he had to kill a kid, he would be really struggle with it both down the road and at the moment. It made him relatable. Plus his healing fator now is just on overdrive - In some annual Sabretooth talks about Caliban breaking his back, and how long it takes a healing factor to heal a broken back - we dont see this anymore, there is no more "humanity" in that sense. Yea he can live forever, that's fine his cells regenerate etc. but give him some time to heal and not just walk around like a wound is nothing. This also killed the part where the character used martial arts to hone his rage, a man who has spent years, maybe decades (pre-orgins) becoming a world class unarmed fighter, now cant fight because he has no healing factor.

The worst part, is knowing his past both as a character and as readers.

I still think that with his skill set I want him in Xforce. Maybe as a second in command to Cable. The man has blades coming out of his hands, thats only good for one thing imo.

@hawk2916:

He is kinda pacifist now, making him run another X-force is just to make his character look even worse (!!!!), and this would be really hard to accomplish.

I want X-force without Logan, we had two runs with him, and that's enough for now.

Claremont Logan is the best. Leader Aaron Wolverine is the worst.

@adamtrmm: I can understand that. It's just that when you breakdown his skills and what he is and what he does, it just lends itself to him being on a team that doesn't pull its punches. I hate his pacifist attitude it goes against everything he's been from the get-go. I know some people look at it as character development but I disagree. In my opinion its an easy fix, though. Just have him basically say that he cant protect mutants by being the leader of a school or and avenger. That he needs to go back to being proactive and doing what he does best. Thats actually not far-fetched, considering how he's been feeling the strain of trying to run the school and with the recent loss of Rogue and all. Also I wouldn't have him running Xforce, just a member of the team, with Cable running it and Wolverine second in command at best

Nice. This is what I enjoy as well.

*nods*

@lykopis: Haha, thanks for agreeing with me :) I think in regards to how Wolverine currently leading a team/being a headmaster, I notice a lot of people who go "Wolverine can't lead a team or be a headmaster! He's a loner who rebels against authority!" While I can see where that perspective comes from, but I think Wolverine can be written superbly as someone leading a team or being headmaster. All that needs to be done is to show that in these 120+ years he has been walking this Earth, and been an X-Man, he has grown upand developed as a person to the point where he wants to actively help other mutants and give them that support while they are young that he couldn't receive when he was growing up as a mutant himself. Show that he sometimes feels he isn't leaving up to the standard other X-Men leaders like Professor X left behind, and makes mistakes (Particularly with getting his hands dirty), but still wants to make an active effort to help. I think the main problem with how Wolverine is written in his current role as leader/headmaster is that some writers go about his position all wrong. They show him undergoing a noble cause, but they also make him extremely unpleasant person at times. Instead of what Wolverine is doing coming off as a person growing up and just wanting to help and showing that he is a truly a caring person deep down inside, he can at times come off as someone with a sanctimonious "I'm perfect" attitude when he's confronting his other peers who make mistakes like Cyclops. I think this in particular happens when Brian Michael Bendis or Jason Aaron pen Wolverine in their All New X-Men and Wolverine and the X-Men series. It is kind of funny considering how Aaron was able to write a pretty good Wolverine solo for a while. In short, I think current Wolverine is decent, but can be done a bit better.

Hehe, sorry for the ramble :) I'm passionate about my Wolverine :D

You deserve that username. You do.

Why oh why do we have writers like Bendis thinking they can pigeon-hole these well developed characters to fit their story? It's so painful. Then I get little moments of beauty in the unlikliest of places (Remender's rendition of Wolverine in the latest UnCanny Avengers issues - just some moments mind you) and I continue to stay hopeful we'll have our Wolverine back. You've just laid out why we love the character so much - tell me you're gunning to be a Marvel writer one day. :)

@lykopis:

You deserve that username. You do.

I'm flattered :D

In regards to Bendis, this is kind of the norm for him. He can write beautifully solo character stories. His works with things like Daredevil and Ultimate Spider-Man show this, but when he is put on writing teams or other large groups of people, he just seems to forget, or really give a damn about established characters and their consistent behavior. Characters will do whatever no matter if it fits with what they believe to move along the story. I couldn't really stand to read All New X-Men anymore after a few issues od his utterly horrible Wolverine. His Logan is just so petty. He acts like an egotistical alpha male who wants to prove he is right all the time and show his dominance over his rivals (Cyclops). I mean, he's had Wolverine going crazy and attacking Young Cyclops and a group of teens just when he thought he smelled Cyclops, running around chasing after Young Cyclops like a complete douche, and even asking for the X-Men's approval to execute Young Cyclops in front of a group of people. It's just completely ridiculous and it makes me think if Bendis wants to make Cyclops a victim, or just genuinely can't write Wolverine. Then with Jason Aaron having James say recently at the end of the Battle of the Atom that Cyclops "Killed the only man that mattered" in Professor X, I'm not sure if the Marvel editorial wants us to dislike Logan.

I do agree that despite Remender having some iffy spots in his Uncanny Avengers run (He is writing a particularly bad Rogue right now), he seems to have a decent handle on James' voice, and has given him some great moments. I just hope more Marvel writers can do the same.

@wolverine08:

This is getting creepy. Get outta mah mind, mister. I literally dropped the comic in my hands when I saw/read Wolverine lunge at young Cyclops.

As for Rogue -- my mind stutters in incomprehension. It's a tough time for X-Men fans right now.

@lykopis: We will valiantly persevere towards better times! :D

@hawk2916:

I actually had a thought, that Marvel try to make Wolvie look better and less bloody, bc of how popular he has become, I mean the idea of a "ripper" representing (he's THAT popular, isn't he?) the company (among others, but still) may be not supported by Disney bosses and then we have what we have. I know what you mean, his whole character is about how good he at "what he does best" with these claws, but I can't say I would really mind this "better person" development, if it was handled better. I mean he made Schism in one book, over we know what, and justifies a child-murder in other, all in the same time pretty much, and every other flaw we all know well and talked really much about. The point is, it could be better, and it wouldn't be completely out of place if done right. It could be even interesting.

I hate Bendis/Aaron Wolverine, but X-force Logan was really nice to read, K\Y handled him perfectly, Remender did a decent job as well and made a much better road to redemption than Aaron's pathetic out-of-nowhere attempt to do so. But, generally, I'm sick of him :) Too much of his presence in the X-books, which doesn't allow other characters to shine just a little brighter. A younger me was a huge fan of him, 90s TV-show and the movies with dominating Wolverine were like a gift to me, but what they did to him in comics? I feel like writers force him down our throat, and things like this were always my problem, even in the army :)

I like him best as a semi-rebellious team member, not in any leadership position but able to direct less experienced team mates due to his greater experience.

kamikaze. go and kill something even more powerful than himself, burn and disintegrate in the process to heal later.

i feel like Wolverine's roll in the Avengers, the ready to scrap but seldomly talking in the background, i think that's a good representation of Wolverine. It almost feel like they took the Wolverine from the 90's x-men and stuck him in the Avenger's book.

@adamtrmm: I know what you mean. This is one reason why I liked his Age of X character and even the Old Man Logan stuff, where he couldn't or wouldn't pop the claws.

If they want to do some form of character development, make it so in some way everytime he pops his claws he inches closer to death or uses up his healing factor or something. Maybe he's injected with nano-sentinels or some biochemical bomb which starts to shut down his heart when he pops the claws. This could make him just use his tracking, animal empathy and enhanced speed and agility, since I think his strength and stamina are directly tied to his healing factor. I'd even spring for the loss or suppression of his healing factor resulting in the adamantium poisoning and him having to be placed in stasis in order to keep him alive, similar to the condition Kitty was in when she was stuck in phase. He could be just used in an advisor/mentor role. Or even put him in a coma to preserve his life since he's slowing dying as a result of the poisoning and only awaken him in extreme instances in a way similar to how Rogue and her team used Sabretooth in Supernova's. He could be released for only a short amount of time and then its a race to get him back in stasis or in an induced coma. Slowly this could start to get old for him and he would contemplate and possibly even attempt to escape and run off letting whatever will happen, happen. Beast of course would working to find a cure.

That would be huge change to him imo without sacrificing or contradicting what he has been and making his character be so hypocritical.

@hushofthewind said:

Its a role I find Wolverine suits much better on X-men than Avengers. The man is redundant on the Avengers that has members that has spilled blood so his status as "I'll pull trigger so one else can" is useless. On the X-men he still gets to be written as the guy who trains the next wave of students. But as leader, no it goes against who he is and enters more of the realm of fan fiction.

The Loner era for him is over. The berserker era for him is over. The no memory era for him is over. At this point in his character history, after all he's been through, i'd say he works best as a leader/second in command type to Storm or some other veteran x-man,(The whole Cyclop's right hand man thing he had going on worked fine Pre-Schism, now I don't see that happening again for quite a while) or as a teacher.

My favorite role of Wolverine is @wolverine08 :P

That and -- The usual Cyclops in command, Wolverine 2nd command, standard thing. Though I really did love the "new" X-Force/Uncanny X-Force with Wolvie…

@arturocalakayvee: I ain't second in command to you, bub!

I like Wolverine when he's not leading anything, he's not really an official member of any team but what he is is the X-Men's problem solver, when the fhit has hit the shan and the X-Men really need it sorted out they call the Wolverine to do the dirty work, he doesn't live at the school but instead is a drifter, traveling the world doing what he does best and only occasionally makes appearances at the school and is NEVER an Avenger, infact the Avengers treat him the same way the do the Punisher.

I prefer when hes written like he was in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. As the guy you go to when your being chased by assassins. Wolverine should always be portrayed as a dangerous character, but not downright psychotic and free of morals. More as someone who has an extensive knowledge of many things like a really wise and experienced veteran of war.

I think wolverine fit in anywhere...X-Men, X-Force, 2nd command, head of the school, and even leadership, cause I think he did good in Wolverine and the X-Men.

He's the guy that always stands up for the little guy. The thing that made me like wolverine when I was younger, he was antisocial, he'd get a phone call or message of some kind and be off leaving the X-men to work without him but it feels like that's more Gambits place now.