The character of Wolverine is an icon in both comics and film. In comics, he is a symbol of unbridled ferocity and follows the story of a man who can never die due to his incredible healing factor. In films, he is the superstar mainstay that has been featured in almost all of the X-men films. Actor Hugh Jackman has portrayed him in all his film adaptions and has delivered an authentic performance in every one. Which makes “Logan” his finest hour yet.
If you haven’t seen the movie yet then you should be warned of a few things. It is a lot more brutal than its predecessors, which earns it an R rating due to harsh language and brutal scenes. But most important is the fact that Wolverine, good old Wolvy, the knucklehead, the best at what he does, dies in the end. But in truth, the end is not really that surprising. There have been rumors about this being Wolvy’s end months before the release of the movie. There has also been a talk of this being Jackman’s final portrayal of Marvel’s most ferocious superhero. But the main question though is whether it was a good end for the character. The true and honest answer is that it was perfect.
The film is set many years into the future, where the mutant population is in danger of extinction with no new mutants being born in the past 25 years. Logan has now aged and his healing factor has diminished and he is slowly succumbing to adamantium poisoning. He now works as a chauffeur and lives with the mutant tracker Caliban and Professor Charles Xavier. The X-men are no more and their dream of a mutant kind living in harmony with humanity is gone. Logan is now noticeably older and is way past his prime. In the film, he is tasked with protecting a young girl named Laura from a militant group called the Reavers. Laura is later found out to be his biological and the Reavers are affiliated with a project that breeds mutant children.
In truth, the movie has a truly different feel to it compared to other X-men movies. It looks very much like a modern western and Logan is once again being set upon by a hoard of enemies. But throughout the whole film, you could see that Logan is now struggling in his battles. He is no longer the unstoppable dervish of destruction he used to be. And every fight is slowly taking its toll on him, every fight is a struggle for him.
This struggle ends in the final battle where Logan has pitted against X-24 a feral clone that was more than his equal. During the entire fight, you could see that Logan is totally outmatched, and having been injured in a previous fight. He knew that he could no longer beat X-24. He takes on his clone in hopes that Laura escapes. And as the fight ensured he was fatally injured by his clone and would have been killed had Laura not intervened. Sadly though the damage is done and Logan dies in the arms of his daughter. Laura buries him and puts an X mark on the grave.
Sad as the ending was though it truly captures what Logan is about. His entire life was a battle and he ended his life as a warrior. And yet he died on his own terms. He did not die as a weapon for other people. He died as a man doing what he believed to be right. Even the x mark was an allusion to him dying as a true X-Men. All in all the ending of Logan was a tasteful nod to fans and is a beautiful end to a truly unforgettable character.