The End of An Era: On Logan And Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine

[****WARNING**** THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE CONTAINS HEAVY SPOILERS FOR “LOGAN.”]

How do you say goodbye to something that has been one of your most significant childhood idols? I have been watching Hugh Jackman portray Wolverine, also known as Logan, for as long as I can remember. In many ways, he was even more of a role model for me than Batman. When I was a kid, sometimes I called people “bub,” one of Wolverine’s catchphrases. In one of the earlier X-Men movies, I heard Jackman say “take it off or I’ll break it off” when someone put a hand on him. I started repeating that in an effort to fend off bullies. (It didn’t always work out so well, but I digress.) As a kid, I watched Jackman walking around rocking a leather jacket, and I’ve wanted one ever since. He was the definitive badass! I'd look at Wolverine saving the day and I would think, "man, I want to be that guy." Of course, as a kid, I didn't have an appreciation for the depth of Logan's character, or of his story. This is a man that has lived a lifetime (technically, multiple lifetimes) full of loss and pain. He's seen villains kill his loved ones and, many times, Logan has had to kill them himself to save everyone else. With that understanding, I can say that it's a fate that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Nonetheless, Jackman has consistently portrayed the character perfectly, and it's so difficult and painful to acknowledge that it's over.

Seventeen Years. Nine films. It’s been a truly remarkable run and, at least in the superhero genre, unprecedented. In my opinion, it will be impractically impossible to accept another actor when it’s time to bring the character back to the big screen. Jackman has made it increasingly clear that “Logan” is his final ride as Wolverine. Jackman could not have gone out on a higher note. "Logan" is, undoubtedly, the best film I have ever seen. I believe that, very quickly, it will become the new "Dark Knight"; it'll be the new cornerstone for superhero movies. Director James Mangold translates an incredibly well written story to the big screen, and Jackman represents the titular character better than ever before. The film is an emotional rollercoaster that spans the two hour, fifteen minute run time and an immeasurable amount of time spent afterwards processing the emotional impact that the film leaves. It made you laugh, cry, and everything in between. Afterwards, I felt a response to a movie unlike any I had ever experienced.

In the film's first significant gut punch, Charles Xavier is killed by X-24, an enhanced clone of Logan. The suddenness of that moment left me stunned. Seeing Logan holding the dead body of Xavier, his mentor and the man that always believed in him, was jarring. Xavier was the last thing that Logan had to remind himself of the way life used to be; life with the X-Men, saving the world and being a hero. By the time "Logan" starts, our hero has lost the will to live. He's tired of battling his demons and his past, and he knows he's dying. Xavier motivates Logan to rescue Laura and take her to Eden, the promise land for mutants. Xavier tells Logan, after everything they have both been through, that he still believes his pupil can be a hero and a leader. When Xavier dies, this motivation, and this connection to the world, go with him. Logan finds a new reason to live in Laura, his "daughter," which is why he keeps fighting.

Logan dies. The delivery of this scene and its aftermath are phenomenal. First, Logan is killed by X-24. The visual of a younger Jackman killing the present day version is so poetic; Logan's past has finally caught up to him and there's no healing ability that will allow Logan to recover this time. When X-24 impales Logan on a collapsed tree, I hoped that he'd recover and walk off into the sunset. But as Laura desperately frees her father from the weapon, I sensed that the end was nigh. At that moment, I realized that Logan, the character and the movie, was never going to have a happy ending. Then, the scene becomes even more heartbreaking.

Just before Logan dies, he tells Laura "this is what it feels like." Logan has finally found a sense of unshakable love that he thought he was unworthy of. He dies to save Laura The movie ends with Laura burying him and a moment that will open the waterworks after you've already started crying when Logan bites the dust. Laura takes a cross made of tree sticks that's been placed over Logan's grave and turns it sideways so that it forms an "X." The image of the X standing over Logan's grave as the screen fades to s hands. black is absolutely amazing. Logan is the last X-Man. His death marks the end of an era for mutant-kind. The future has arrived, and it is in Laura's clawed hands.

I saw the film on the day it technically came out (March 3.) It's now Monday, March 6, and I still haven't fully processed the film's impact on me. However, I can certianly say that it is the perfect sendoff to Jackman's Wolverine, and Logan's story could not have ended any more perfectly.