Image via Complex Original
Wolverine. Logan. Patch. James Howlett. Whatever nom de guerre he happens to be going by, he remains one of Marvel's most iconic and enduring characters.
It's fairly easy to understand the reasoning behind the character's ubiquitous presence in the world of video games and comics. Loner, prone to fits of berserker rage, shadowy past, former government agent, masterless samurai, X-Man, and pretty much the embodiment of Clint Eastwood in The Outlaw Josey Wales. Saying Wolverine is your favorite X-Man is the same thing as saying you enjoy pizza. Everyone loves pizza.
You're supposed to love Wolverine. He's designed that way (we can thank Chris Claremont for that). The Wolverine opens today and we are hoping beyond hope that one of Marvel's most notable properties will finally get the respect he's due in a feature film (breathe no word of X-Men Origins to me).
His appearances in video games have been..mixed. His last solo outing was in 2009, and amazingly there's no tie-in game for The Wolverine, but the fans must feed. Here's the Complete History of Wolverine Appearances in Video Games.
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31. X-Men: Destiny
Year: 2011
Platform: Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii
Man, this game was a 64oz Big Gulp of horseshit. To think we actually looked forward to this release. Wolverine is in the game, technically. He's not even playable. He appears to send you on missions and growl life advice at you. He feels like he's phoning it in, like Al Pacino in the Devil's Advocate phoning it in. The game was a bland mess and was very quietly swept under the rug. Wolverine deserves better than this.
30. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Year: 2011
Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
The most popular mutant with adamantium (sorry X-23) makes the roster for Capcom's third dogpile beat down of a fighter.
29. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
Year: 2009
Platform: Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii
A watered down cash grab hoping to get a slice of the Civil War event happening in the Marvel Universe. The game is inferior to the first Marvel Ultimate Alliance in pretty much every way, but Wolverine is there and that's some measure of comfort.
28. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Year: 2009
Platform: PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo DS, Wii, PSP
This is the most perfect iteration of Wolverine ever found in video games. Shh, no talking. It's true. It's bloody, Wolverine actually sounds like Wolverine (compared to the voice we gave him in our heads when we were 12), and it seems like an apology note for brining Origins into existence. Heads and limbs come sailing cleanly off as Wolverine eviscerates everyone on screen. The gold standard for all future Wolverine titles.
27. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Year: 2006
Platform: PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Xbox, Xbox 360, Game Boy Advance, Wii
This game came out on every platform and boasted pretty much the entire roster of the Marvel Universe as playable. Wolverine was there, of course, being sassy to Captain America the whole time. RPG/dungeon crawler with Wolverine and Ghost Rider? What's not to love?
26. X-Men: The Official Game
Year: 2006
Platform: PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, PC, Game Boy Advance
The game tie-in to the second X-Men film, this brawler followed Iceman, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine as they, um, brawled their way through Marvel Universe D-listers.
25. Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects
Year: 2005
Platform: PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, DS, and PSP
Fuck everything about this mini-series and this game. EA and Marvel manufactured The Imperfects as characters to sell their terrible fighting game and then had Marvel retro-fit them into the Marvel Universe. Wolverine is here, but he's certainly not proud of it. Hot garbage.
24. X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
Year: 2005
Platform: Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2, PSP, PC
More mutants, more alternate costumes, more Apocalypse. Oh right, a second helping of 'snikt' and healing factor. Wolverine was always a member of the party.
23. X-Men Legends
Year: 2004
Platform: Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2
Hot damn an X-Men flavored RPG? Two scoops please, these are my fat pants. Wolverine was, of course, one of the most powerful characters in the entire title. This game was actuall pretty fucking great for how much fan service they packed into it. Deep canon trivia and the like. Still like this game.
22. X2: Wolverine's Revenge
Year: 2003
Platform: GameCube, Game Boy Advance, PC, Xbox, PlayStation 2
Featuring a Grant Morrison era New X-Men uniform, biker jacket and massive leather boots, Wolverine is also voiced by Mark Hammil in, still, one of the best Wolverine titles ever made. The use of his heightened tracking ability in this game gave the whole outing a much deeper experience. Points were shaved off because of the clearly stapled on stealth missions that aped Metal Gear.
21. X-Men: Next Dimension
Year: 2002
Platform: PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube
Another 2D/3D fighter that is most fondly remembered for Wolverine being able to jump kick Jean Grey through the X-Mansion walls. If that puts and end to all of the Phoenix bullshit, we're on board. As a game, completely forgettable otherwise.
20. X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse
Year: 2001
Platform: Game Boy Advance
This game was not half bad for a hand-held release. Wolverine guns for Apocalypse in this side-scroller that dabbles in the Age of Apocalypse timeline.
19. X-Men: Mutant Academy 2
Year: 2001
Platform: PlayStation
A half-assed attempt to create a sequel to the first Mutant Academy. The game was a cluster-fuck and reminded us of the ungodly Star Wars fighter, Masters of Teras Kasi. Bad for everyone involved.
18. X-Men: Wolverine's Rage
Year: 2001
Platform: Game Boy Color
Ok, so maybe this GBC release has the most succinct title for a Wolverine game. A hand-held platformer that had Wolverine, ya know, cutting stuff.
17. Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes
Year: 2000
Platform: Arcade, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox
Wolverine was never our first choice as a fighter in MvC2 (Magneto and Dr. Doom for life), but he was here in all his nerfed glory. He was even voiced by the same guy who did Wolverine in the Fox Saturday morning cartoon.
16. X-Men: Mutant Wars
Year: 2000
Platform: Game Boy Color
This title managed to steer itself head first into the shovel-ware strewn shit pile of forgotten comic games. Wolverine was here, but it wasn't his finest moment.
15. X-Men: Mutant Academy
Year: 2000
Platform: PlayStation, Game Boy Color
Dated would be the first word we'd use for this guy. A 2D fighter with 3D backgrounds, the game was actually a commercial success. When Wolverine gets to gut the entire staff of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, we all win.
14. Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes
Year: 1998
Platform: Arcade, Dreamcast, PlayStation
The first of what would become a fighting franchise dynasty, Wolverine was one of the most popular characters on the roster.
13. X-Men: Mojo World
Year: 1996
Platform: Game Gear
Yeah, we didn't want to play an entire title set in the Mojo-verse either, but that didn't seem to be a problem for Sega.
12. X-Men vs. Street Fighter
Year: 1996
Platform: Arcade, Saturn, PlayStation
Yeah. Think everyone here is fairly familiar with this title. Wolverine was nearly unstoppable in this title, forcing Capcom to nerf the hell out of him in the following titles.
11. Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems
Year: 1996
Platform: SNES
Sweet Yeezus, can we just stop with the Infinity Gems already? It was cute in the 90s and now they just exist as a plot device whenver the Marvel Universe need a ret-con. Wolverine, The Hulk, Iron Man, and Spider-Man all team up to make sure the Infinity Gems aren't used to re-write history. Again.
10. X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse
Year: 1995
Platform: SNES
We always loved any of the story arcs that had to do with Genosha. A metaphor for South African apartheid, the island of Genosha was where being a mutant was a crime and they were a brutally abused minority. Wolverine uses his claws to come to an amicable politcal solution.
9. X-Men: GamesMaster's Legacy
Year: 1994
Platform: Game Gear
This is more of a Storm and Cyclops road trip with Wolverine showing up as an unlockable character. Still, he's shows up and we're all grateful for it.
8. X-Men: Children of the Atom
Year: 1994
Platform: Arcade, Saturn, PC, PlayStation
And fighting games would never be the same. Wolverine appears in the first of Capcom's cross-liscensed titles and makes ripping combos seem easy.
7. Wolverine: Adamantium Rage
Year: 1994
Platform: Genesis/SNES
There has never been a title of a game that has been more accurate than this. Wolverine is filled with both adamantium and rage to unhealthy degress. The game is another solo outing for Wolverine in the 90s blue and yellow uniform.
6. X-Men 2: Clone Wars
Year: 1995
Platform: Genesis
Another Genesis title that perfectly captured the indulgent 90s comic book aesthetic. It did give us one hell of an experience as Wolverine, bloodlessly running other mutants through. Neutered, but a good showing all the same.
5. X-Men
Year: 1993
Platform: Genesis
Featuring the X-Men Gold and Blue team re-boot introduced by Marvel in 1991, the Genesis title is still probably worth more than X-Men #1 by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee. Comic book politics aside, this game featured the first time that Wolverine would slip into his patened 'berserker rage'.
Good to know Gambit still looks like a well-coifed douche-fire on the title screen.
4. X-Men Arcade
Year: 1992
Platform: Arcade
God damn this game is stll so fucking playable. The port just dropped for XBLA and a game that was released in 1992 managed to capture the team at the height of their 80s pop-culture dominance. Wolverine, in classic brown and tan, is easily the strongest character.
3. Spider-Man - X-Men: Arcade's Revenge
Year: 1992
Platform: Genesis, SNES, Game Boy, Game Gear
Definetly an ensemble outing, Wolverine is cast in a support role with the other X-men as they team-up with Spider-Man to battle Marvels most embarassing, and that's saying a lot, villain Arcade. That guy is the fucking worst and intimidates no one.
2. Wolverine
Year: 1991
Platform: NES
A straight forward platformer that capitalized on Marvel's most valuable property, the X-Men. NES era mainstays like pools of lava, swinging blades, and hamburgers as health items all make an appearance.
1. The Uncanny X-Men
Year: 1989
Platform: NES
The first appearance of Wolverine in a video game. This NES title will always make the list of 'this game is literally impossible without cheating'. Take a good look, that brown square up there is the first time Wolvie graced a home console.