Hugh Jackman’s forgotten Wolverine performances (and why they’re worth remembering)

When people think of perfect comic book character movie castings, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine is at the forefront. Despite being considerably taller than the Marvel Comics version of the character (and not a Canadian, either!), Jackman excelled at bringing Logan’s ferocity, dry wit, and raw emotion to the big screen.

Jackman will again don those adamantium claws for the highly-anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine. At long last, Marvel fans will get to see him and Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool team up for all kinds of blood-soaked, fourth-wall-breaking fun. Though it stands to reason that this version of Wolverine isn’t the same as the one seen in the 20th Century Fox X-Men franchise, given his costume and the fact that that character’s story is over, now is still as good a time as any to look back on Jackman’s previous Logan performances.

At this point, Jackman’s work as Wolverine is well-documented. He featured in a bevy of X-Men titles: X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X-Men the Last Stand, X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and X-Men: Apocalypse. Along the way, he found time to star in his own trilogy, consisting of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine, and the aforementioned Logan. While one might think this is where the story ends regarding his past performances, he’s actually portrayed the character twice more and two often overlooked projects that are both worth remembering.

Jackman’s Wolverine gaming debut came in X-Men: The Official Game

As the wait for X-Men: The Last Stand wound down, Activision released a video game tie-in. X-Men: The Official Game, the story bridges the gap between X2 and The Last Stand, splitting up the titular team as individuals and groups go on different missions. It all culminates in the X-Men battling Sentinels created by William Stryker to destroy all mutants. The villainous HYDRA faction is also a persistent threat throughout the game.

The game allows players to control three different X-Men: Nightcrawler, Iceman, and, of course, Wolverine. Jackman voices Wolverine here and delivers a strong performance throughout the game. His line reads breathe life into the otherwise pretty lifeless cutscenes, and everything from his grunts and groans as he takes damage to his quips as he mows down enemies are delivered perfectly. Gamers also get to explore a bit of his past, learn more about his foes like Lady Deathstrike and Sabretooth, and battle the Silver Samurai long before his movie debut in The Wolverine.

Though the game isn’t the strongest X-Men title out there and has largely fallen into obscurity over the years, the lore, the strong graphics for the era, and the performances like Jackman’s make it a worthwhile play. Not to mention, the game features Wolverine’s comic costume as an unlockable. Seeing as the character model features Jackman’s likeness, this game technically beat Deadpool & Wolverine to the punch in putting the actor in such a suit.

Jackman voiced Wolverine in the X-Men Origins: Wolverine tie-in game

After being the X-Men film series’s focal point for almost a decade, Wolverine finally received a spotlight all his own in 2009. X-Men Origins: Wolverine promised to tell Logan’s tale from long before he joined the X-Men. Unfortunately, the film was a bloated, inconsistent nightmare that remains one of the most widely-maligned superhero flicks of all time. Thankfully, the video game tie-in of the same name performed much better with the general public and is fondly remembered by those who played it.

As one would imagine, the X-Men Origins: Wolverine video game covers similar narrative ground as the movie, albeit with some additional and revised material to make it stand out. Jackman voices Logan perfectly yet again, making players feel like the character more than the hack-and-slash combat and copious amounts of bloodshed already do. Further sweetening the deal, the game includes Wolverine’s classic comic book outfits. Once again, the gaming world got Jackman’s Wolverine in yellow and blue before Deadpool & Wolverine was even so much a thought.

With these two games in mind, and including Deadpool & Wolverine, Jackman has portrayed Wolverine an impressive 11 times. Only time will tell if he’ll make that total grow beyond his Deadpool adventure or if that feature will be his true send-off this time around.