Considering the current popularity of superhero films, it’s hard to believe the genre was once considered a joke. That began to change with the firstX-Menmovie way back in 2000. It was a genuinely good movie that told its own story while respecting its comic book origins. Even better, in one ofthe best superhero castings of all time,it gave audiences Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine.
Jackman has done anawesome job bringing Wolverine to life, aided by some excellent writing. Wolverine is usually the strong, silent type, but when he does have something to say, he doesn’t mince words. More than any other superhero in film, Logan has had some fantastic quotes — some funny, some biting, many tragic. These are some of his best, spread across his best appearances in film.
X-Men Origins: Wolverineisn’t the most popular X-Men movie for lots of reasons. The film took liberties with established continuity and made questionable decisions, like sewing shut Deadpool’s mouth and giving him laser vision. But it did do some things right.Its characterization of Wolverine and his long-running rivalry with Sabretooth one of those.
The filmdigs into their brotherly relationshipand how Sabertooth, aka Victor Creed, killed Wolverine’s lover, Kayla Silverfox. When Stryker offers Wolverine a chance to go after his old enemy (and get an Adamantium skeleton in the process), Logan accepts, but gives this iconic warning. The gloves are off, and he’ll indulge his most brutal instincts in going after Sabertooth.
9"What They Did To Me, What I Am, Can’t Be Undone."
The Wolverine (2013)
Logan’s second solo movie,The Wolverine, was much better received. Critics gave it a much easier time, and it ended up being one ofthe highest-grossing X-Men films. The filmfocused on what makes Wolverine such a tortured heroand his struggles after so many years of fighting.
This shows when he reunites with Yashida, whose life he saved during the events of the 1945 Nagasaki bombing. His old acquaintance claims he can cure a failing Logan of what has been done to him, but Logan doesn’t trust anyone. Logan isn’t just referring to the experiments done on him, like his Adamantium skeleton. The terrible things he’s been through can’t be undone either.
8"You Picked The Wrong House, Bub."
X2: X-Men United (2003)
Wolverine makes a big deal out of the fact he isn’t a team player and only watches out for himself. Despite this, he’s spent much of his screen time protecting others. One of the coolest examples comes inX2,when he’s left to protect Xavier’s school while the other X-Men go off to chat with an incarcerated Magneto. Logan might be a little gruff, but no one messes with his cubs.
William Stryker’s men learn this the hard way. Arriving at the school to abduct some of the young students, Wolverine informs them they have the wrong house and proceeds to slaughter them with his claws. The scene highlights that when it comes to his charges, Wolverine is a softie at heart. It also shows how confident he is in his abilities and how far he’ll go to protect those he cares about.
7"Go F*** Yourself."
X-Men: First Class (2011)
It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing a live-action Wolverine other than Jackman. The actor has owned the role for over two decades and has given someamazing performances as Wolverine. Impressively, one of his best was a one-line cameo in a bar.
InX-Men: First Class, a young Professor X and Magneto seek out a jaded Wolverine and ask him to join their fledgling team of misfits. Instead, Wolverine tells them succinctly where they can go. Besides being hilarious, the line shows that Wolverine isn’t ready to join a team, nor is he prepared to be controlled by someone else again.
6"We Lost Scott. We Lost The Professor. If We Don’t Fight Now, Everything They Stood For Will Die With Them."
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
The original X-Men film series was one ofthe best superhero movie series ever,but the third installment was one of its weakest. Not only did it try to conclude the long-running Magneto storyline, but it also featured a power struggle within the X-Men after Xavier’s death and tried to cram in the famous Pheonix storyline. That’s a lot of plates to keep spinning.
However, Wolverine is in top form throughout. He has to do some serious growing and, with no one else left to step in, must lead what’s left of the X-Men. This is Logan at his most heroic, ready to become the team leader comic fans know he’s capable of being. The movie might have been disappointing, but this line sent shivers down the spine.
5"You’re A D***."
X-Men
Wolverine can be brilliantly blunt. The first X-Men film had to introduce a large cast of characters and portray their personalities as quickly as possible without the pacing crawling to a halt. It wasn’t an easy task, but Vaughn nailed Wolverine’s demeanor and his relationship with Cyclops in three words.
Wolverine has plenty of friends,but Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, has never been one of them. The two can work together and might have developed a mutual respect, but their personalities clash. At one point, the X-men are paranoid that Mystique may have infiltrated their ranks, leading Scott to ask Wolverine to prove he’s not an impostor. Logan does so in the most Logan way possible. Not only is it one of the funniest lines in a serious film, but the fact Scott accepts it shows how well the two understand each other.
Logan (2017)
One ofthe best R-rated superhero films ever made,Loganis a treasure trove of great Wolverine quotes. The film introduced audiences to a Wolverine they hadn’t seen before: a broken man who has lost everything. He’s failing physically and mentally, and fans had never seen a superhero like this on film before.
Logan has lost everyone he’s ever cared about and is scared of losing Laura, aka X-23, too. He urges her to save herself and leave him before he gets her killed, but she won’t.It’s painful to see Wolverine blame himself for the deaths of those he fought so hard to save.
3“So… This Is What It Feels Like."
It was clear going intoLoganthat the lead character probably wasn’t coming out of the movie alive. That didn’t make its ending hurt any less. Throughout the film, the aging Logan’s healing factor isn’t working thanks to years of Adamantium poisoning, and the film’s events take their toll on the once unkillable hero.
Following the film’s final battle, Logan lies dying as he offers Laura some sage advice. After years of fighting and suffering, Logan is ready to die. It was a beautiful moment and the kind of ending rarely seen in superhero movies.Deadpool and Wolverinemay have brought everyone’s favorite clawed mutant back from the dead, but that doesn’t change the factLogangave us his perfect ending.
2“No Wonder The Avengers Didn’t Take You. Or The X-Men, And They’ll Take Anyone.”
Deadpool And Wolverine (2024)
Considering how well-respectedLogan’sending is,Deadpool and Wolverinehad to make it clear that this film’s Wolverine was a similar but distinct variant.Deadpool & Wolverine’sLogan is just as glum and self-pitying, but has his own tragic backstory. This also allows this film’s Wolverine to make references to the Marvel Universe that OG Wolverine wouldn’t be familiar with.
Like this one. Wolverine spends a lot of time berating Deadpool, but this is one of his best. He points out that the perpetually needy Deadpool is unfit to serve on either hero team. Little does Logan know how deeply this actually hurt Deadpool. One of the film’s major themes is Deadpool’s search for a place to fit in, and Logan effectively dashes that hole with one funny but cutting line. Deadpool might be the merc with a mouth, but Wolverine can be a real jerk.
1“It’s One Of God’s Best Jokes You Can’t Die, Except That’s On All Of Us.”
Deadpool and Wolverine spend a lot of their film verbally jabbing at each other, which culminates in one epic fight after Logan goes too far. Logan underestimates Deadpool, thinking he can say what he likes without setting off his annoying counterpart.
This line is incredibly well written. It shows a Logan who is at the end of his tether with Deadpool and is ready to strike the lowest of blows. It’s also the turning point in their relationship. While the two spend much of the film bickering, it’s after the brawl that this line helps to spark that the two finally start to work together.Deadpool and Wolverinefeatures a Logan who has completely lost his filter, and this line is Logan at his gruffest and least kind.
