10. Becoming Weapon X
Sure, Wolverine’s solo film, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, is considered by most to be as disappointing of a superhero film as any we’ve seen, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t awesome to see an entire movie of Jackman playing Wolverine. One of the highlights of that film is definitely when Wolverine is first infused with adamantium. It’s a tense scene, forcing you to wait with baited breath for what happens, and then once he emerges from the water, well that’s as close to a full-on berserking Wolverine as Jackman’s gotten to portray.
This scene was also teased and shown in brief flashbacks throughout the original X-Men trilogy. In those movies, it was one of the most compelling scenes, so getting to see it played out in its entirety is definitely a treat.
9. “I’ll Take My Chances With Him”
After Wolverine discovered his innate heroism and came to terms with the fact that he was a good man in X-Men, he went searching for his past. When X2 opens, he’s still searching, despite running into nothing but dead ends. He goes so far as to ask Professor Xavier to read his mind, only for Xavier to turn him down.
Fortunately and unfortunately, Logan’s past comes and finds him before too long. The anti-mutant activist Colonel Stryker launches an attack on the Xavier Institute, and when he and Wolverine come face to face, they recognize each other. Stryker sees the best weapon he ever created, the one he had thought lost for years. Logan sees a man who knows something, probably something vital, about his past and who he was. The two encounter each other throughout the picture, but never long enough for Wolverine to get the answers he desperately wants.
Finally, just before X2’s last heartbreaking bit of action, Logan confronts Stryker one last time. Magneto has imprisoned the vicious colonel in part of a soon-to-burst dam. Logan happens across him, carrying one of the mutant children Stryker had imprisoned. The Colonel offers Wolverine answers in exchange for his life, but can’t resist mocking the little boy Wolverine carries with him as a “creature.” Wolverine, disgusted, realizes that who he is now matters more than who he was before his memory loss. He leaves his past to die with Stryker, and is a healthier man for doing so. As thrilling as it is to see Logan go berserk, it’s even more thrilling to see him be badass by being a better man.
