Summary

• Hugh Jackman's portrayal of Wolverine in the X-Men franchise is iconic and showcases his ability to bring humanity, humor, grit, and power to the character.
• But not everything matched up to the quality of Jackman's performance.
• Looking back, there were issues with the CGI in the X-Men movies, and Jackman rarely got to really go of the rails, and there are other harsh realizations when you return to Wolverine's movie appearances.

Hugh Jackman will return as X-Men franchise. Hugh Jackman's performance as Wolverine is eternally iconic, with Jackman bringing humanity, humor, grit, and power every time he has portrayed Logan on screen. Moreover, Jackman is an absolute master of bringing out Wolverine's berserker rage whenever he has been called upon to do so, with Jackman roaring and slashing through his enemies like the true beast that Wolverine is.

Of course, even the greatest of superhero portrayals will have a few blemishes, and Jackman's Wolverine is subject to that too. Looking back at the X-Men movie timeline, Jackman himself never dropped the ball, but flaws could still be found in the X-Men and Wolverine movies he was in. Indeed, sometimes Jackman's performance as Wolverine was so good as to highlight areas weaknesses in the X-Men franchise. Here are 10 biggest shortcomings of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine roles before his return in Deadpool 3.

10 The CGI Is Hit & Miss

The X-Men franchise is famously known as one of the earliest chapters of the modern age of superhero movies, and with so many mutant powers to bring to the big-screen, every X-Men movie is heavy on CGI. Unfortunately, while there have been moments of true visual effects splendor in the X-Men movies, the franchise's CGI is not stellar across the board. Much of the CGI in the first X-Men movie looks quite dated over two decades later, while the effects on Wolverine's healing factor and adamantium claws have had their share of regrettable moments, most notable in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

9 The X-Men's Costumes & Wolverine's Hair Are Hard To Get Just Right

The first X-Men cracked a fondly ed one-liner about trading the "yellow spandex" from the comics for black jumpsuits, but while these were a good choice for the X-Men's intro, the franchise didn't do much to make their suits more interesting in future movies. Indeed, Dark Phoenix's attempt to bring the suits closer to the comics would instead make them into an outright regression. As a parallel issue, Wolverine's very distinctive hairstyle is one the X-Men franchise often struggled to perfect in live-action, with 2013's The Wolverine finally striking just the right balance.

8 Wolverine Never Found A Way To Counter Magneto's Powers

The adamantium coating Wolverine's skeleton and claws may make him into a much more formidable fighter, but it also comes with a major disadvantage whenever Logan is up against the master of magnetism, Magneto. Occasionally, Wolverine found a way to turn this to his advantage, such as when he distracts Magneto long enough for Beast (Kelsey Grammer) to hit him with a "cure" for mutant powers in X-Men: The Last Stand. Still, Wolverine sadly never found a way around Eric Lenscherr's magnetism, even if it were to come down to a team up like this.

7 X-Men: Day of Future Past Left A Big Unanswered Wolverine Question

X-Men: Days of Future Past is widely regarded as one of the best X-Men movies, but the X-Men franchise still left the movie's big cliffhanger unresolved. Specifically, after an unconscious Wolverine is pulled for Washington D.C.'s Potomac River, he's seemingly taken into the custody of a young Major William Stryker (Josh Helman), only for his eyes to glow, revealing he is actually a shape-shifted Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence). While it could be inferred that she was partially involved in Logan being placed into the Weapon X program in X-Men: Apocalypse, the X-Men movies still never provided a clear-cut answer for what was obviously intended as a big tease.

6 Deadpool In X-Men Origins: Wolverine Is Still Awful

Few elements of the X-Men franchise are more infamous or hated than the version of Deadpool first seen in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. While Scott Adkins brings plenty of flashy moves to Wolverine and Deadpool's generally well-done final showdown, sewing Wade Wilson's mouth shut was simply inexcusable, especially to Ryan Reynolds himself. The Deadpool movies make constant punchlines out of the mute version of Wade, with Deadpool even assassinating this version of himself in Deadpool 2. Even though X-Men Origins: Wolverine did help the Deadpool movies in some key ways, it would hardly be surprising if Deadpool 3 cracks more jokes as the expense of Weapon XI.

5 Wolverine Had A Better Intro Than The Rest Of The X-Men

2000's X-Men gives Wolverine exactly the kind of introduction a character of his scarred, gruff nature warrants, with Logan pummeling opponents in a cage fight before unsheathing his claws against a knife-wielding attacker in a bar. Unfortunately, no other member of the X-Men ever arrived on-screen with quite the same level of build-up and eye-popping reveal of their powers. ittedly, Nightcrawler runs Logan a close second with his unforgettable White House intro of X2: X-Men United. Nevertheless, the champion of mutant intros in the X-Men franchise still stands as Wolverine, unveiled as a no-nonsense bruiser who gets the job done with no muss and no fuss.

4 Wolverine Himself Is The Most Consistent Thing About The X-Men Movies

A common criticism of the original X-Men franchise is that the increasingly buff Wolverine was always the focal point, and looking at the whole franchise, the X-Men franchise didn't always do its character roster justice. Mutants like Alan Cumming's Nightcrawler and Taylor Kitsch's Gambit were given strong origins, only to completely vanish from the series, while James Marsden and Tye Sheridan's Cyclops never truly became the leader of the X-Men he's known as. While other characters like Professor X and Magneto maintain a strong screen presence, Wolverine is the only mutant the X-Men movies always hit the bullseye on.

3 Jackman's Wolverine Is The Best Part Of The Weakest X-Men Movies

An interesting corollary to Hugh Jackman's Wolverine being the most centralized character of the X-Men movies is how much he elevates the franchise in its less warmly-received entries. For as ill-received as X-Men Origins: Wolverine was, Jackman's performance as Logan was still highly praised, while his claw-shredding Weapon X action scene in X-Men: Apocalypse was one of the movie's biggest highlights. Naturally, that is testimony to how much command Jackman has over the Wolverine role, showing how much he brings even to the weakest X-Men films.

2 Wolverine & Sabretooth Never Had A Final Showdown

One of the greatest hero-villain rivalries in all comic book lore is that of Wolverine and Sabretooth, the latter sharing Logan's healing factor and claws, but wielding them in a far more unrestrained, feral way. X-Men understood the importance of Wolverine and Sabretooth's enmity, establishing them as enemies in multiple fight scenes, while X-Men Origins: Wolverine retconned them as half-brothers. Despite the significance of their rivalry, Wolverine and Sabretooth were never given a chance for a third battle to the death before Logan concluded Jackman's Wolverine tenure. Then again, with Deadpool 3 bringing Jackman's Wolverine back, the potential for Wolverine vs. Sabretooth round three is back on the table.

1 Logan Only Got To Cut Loose Once (In Logan)

James Mangold's hard R-rated Logan finally gave Wolverine fans what they have dreamed of for ages - a Wolverine solo movie full of F-bombs and unhinged claw-slashing battles. While Logan stands as arguably Hugh Jackman's finest performance as Wolverine, it also came right as he was retiring from the role, with the hashtag #OneLastTime being heavily used in Logan's marketing. This means that Logan remains the only movie in the X-Men franchise let Wolverine really take the gloves off, but hopefully, the R-rated Deadpool 3 will be the second serving of unrestrained Wolverine berserker rage fans have craved since Logan.