Wolverine’s 12 Most Impressive Displays Of Power In All 8 Hugh Jackman X-Men Movies

Hugh Jackman has been Wolverine for over 20 years, resulting in some impressive displays of power across the X-Men franchise. Also known as Weapon X, very few Marvel mutants have had quite as long or tumultuous a journey as James “Logan” Howlett. To that end, there are multiple on-screen instances in which Wolverine is at his most lethal and powerful.

Hugh Jackman was cast as Wolverine back in 2000 for the very first live-action X-Men movie. Since then, Logan has made eight different appearances in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men universe, and his next will be coming soon in 2024’s Deadpool 3 from Marvel Studios. While teaming up with Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson will likely be one of Jackman’s most exciting and brutal appearances, Wolverine already has some truly epic moments on-screen. To that end, here are 12 of Wolverine’s most impressive power displays in the movies.

12 Wolverine Fighting Throughout History

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Thanks to Logan and his half-brother Victor’s shared healing factor, the mutant siblings have fought in several major wars throughout history. As seen in an action-packed montage at the beginning of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Logan and Victor (Sabretooth) fought on the side of the North during the Civil War, the Western Front during WWI, stormed the beaches of Normandy during WWII, and also fought during Vietnam before they were recruited by William Stryker. It’s a true testament to Logan and Victor’s mutant powers, keeping them healthy and young for nearly two centuries across Wolverine’s vast timeline.

11 Wolverine Survives Nuclear Blast In 1945

The Wolverine

In 1945, Wolverine was a POW in Japan during the Nagasaki bombing. Thanks to his healing factor, Logan was able to save both himself and Ichirō Yashida, a young officer in the Imperial Japanese Army whom Wolverine covered with his body. Although his entire body was burned, Logan was able to heal from the massively destructive effects that would have ravaged a normal person.

10 Wolverine Survives And Escapes Weapon X

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

As seen in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Logan was experimented on by William Stryker as part of the Weapon X program. Thanks to his healing factor, Logan was able to survive the violent procedure that covered his retractable bone claws with indestructible adamantium. However, Logan then escaped the military facility before his memories could be erased, resulting in a face-off with Stryker’s Agent Zero. This served as the first time Logan officially wielded his new metal claws as “The Wolverine” with a truly spectacular ending as he walked away from a helicopter explosion.

9 Wolverine Decapitates Weapon XI Deadpool

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

For all the controversy surrounding Ryan Reynolds’ original Deadpool seen in X-Men Origins, his demise provided a very cool moment for Wolverine on Three Mile Island. Having the combined powers taken from Wolverine’s healing powers, Cyclops’ optic blasts, Wraith’s teleportation, Bolt’s technopathy, and Wade Wilson’s own twin swords as retractable blades from his arms, Weapon XI was quite a force to be reckoned with (even though he was nothing like the comics’ Deadpool). Nevertheless, Wolverine successfully decapitated Wilson thanks to his superheated adamantium claws, courtesy of the optic blast he blocked from Wilson himself.

8 Wolverine Defends The X-Mansion

X2: X-Men United

In X2: X-Men United, Logan was tasked with watching over the X-Mansion while the other X-Men were out investigating the mutant who attacked the President. In the middle of the night, William Stryker sends soldiers to attack the mansion and abduct students, resulting in Logan entering a berserker rage as he picks off the soldiers, at one point even launching himself at an entire squad and taking them out in quick succession. Logan also had some help evacuating the younger students thanks to Colussus (in his first live-action appearance).

7 Wolverine vs Lady Deathstrike

X2: X-Men United

X2 also saw Wolverine facing off with Stryker’s newest weapon Lady Deathstrike who also had an accelerated healing factor with five adamantium claws on each hand. Deathstrike proved to be more than a match for Logan as they continued to stab each other in the very Weapon X lab Logan was experimented on years prior. Realizing that they were in a stalemate due to their respective powers, Logan ends up injecting Deathstrike with more molten adamantium, completely immobilizing and killing her as it hardened within her body. Such an unconventional tactic shows just how powerful Wolverine’s healing factor truly is and how desperate he was to end this brutal battle.

6 Wolverine’s Fastball Special With Colossus

X-Men: The Last Stand

Training in the X-Mansion’s Danger Room at the beginning of The Last Stand, Wolverine has Colussus do their classic move from the original Marvel Comics. Known as the “Fastball Special”, Logan has Colossus throw him straight into the danger, allowing Logan to behead and take down the killer robot they were fighting single-handedly. Although it was counter-intuitive to the training of students at Xavier’s school, it was still impressive nonetheless and a great nod to the classic comics.

5 Wolverine Survives And Kills The Phoenix

X-Men: The Last Stand

The end of The Last Stand is particularly brutal in that Wolverine was the only one who could get close to Jean Grey who’d been corrupted as The Dark Phoenix. Even as her immersive power continually ripped him apart, his healing factor allowed him to keep going until he was close enough to stab and end the massive danger she posed to the world. Although he loved Jean, Logan’s determination to stop her is truly heartbreaking while also being a prime example of just how powerful Wolverine’s mutant ability truly is.

4 Wolverine’s Bullet Train Battle

The Wolverine

In The Wolverine which reveals Logan’s time in Japan following the events of The Last Stand, Logan finds himself taking on a group of Yakuza assassins looking to take out Mariko Yashida, granddaughter of Ichirō Yashida aka the Silver Samurai. This leads to one of his most visually stunning battles ever on-screen as it takes place on top of a bullet train. Using his claws to keep from flying off, the entire sequence is a testament to the classic line that Wolverine is “the best at what he does”.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Logan’s incredible healing abilities put him in the unique position to save all mutantkind as seen in Days of Future Past. Living in a dark present where mutants are hunted down by lethally efficient robots known as Sentinels, Wolverine’s mind was sent back in time to his younger body in the 70s so he could rewrite the past and create a better future. Likewise, Logan’s mind was the only one that could be sent back due to his healing factor, seeing as how any other mind would have been ripped apart due to the strain involved.

2 Wolverine Goes Berserk As Weapon X

X: Men: Apocalypse

In the new X-Men timeline following the successful rewriting of history in Days of Future Past, Wolverine does make a cameo in X-Men: Apocalypse which is set in the 80s. Still a prisoner of Stryker’s Weapon X program, this timeline doesn’t see Logan escaping during his procedure. Instead, Logan was given his claws and subsequently turned into a mindless living weapon until he was released by a young Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler. To that end, this new version of Wolverine’s Weapon X is just as brutal and lethal (if not more so).

1 Wolverine Saves His Daughter (While De-Powered)

Logan

From taking on the thugs who tried to steal his limo to protecting his daughter Laura aka X-23, the entirety of Logan is one big display of Wolverine’s incredible powers. Even as they’re starting to fade, Logan is still just as brutal and capable as ever. This includes his bloody showdown with X-24, the feral clone of himself created by Transigen who was also responsible for Laura’s creation as well. Although Logan did end with Wolverine’s death, the majority of the movie is simply one great display of his impressive power from one scene to the next.

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