Wolverine Could Jeopardize Peter Parker’s Reputation in One Category That Defines Him as a Marvel Superhero
When it comes to the saddest superhero in Marvel, Spider-Man are what people usually think of. He has personal losses and a feeling of responsibility after the death of his uncle Ben. However, Wolverine can have a good reason to potentially leave behind Spider-Man for being the most tragic hero. The lives of these two characters have been filled with tragedy, though Wolverine’s past is probably darker.
Peter Parker’s tragedy begins when he loses his parents and is taken care of by his aunt May and uncle Ben. His transformation starts when he loses his uncle Ben to the robbers. That happened because he had previously chosen to spare the murderer’s life. This event sets for him the principle that with great power comes great responsibilities. Parker always attempts to strike a balance between being a superhero and a common man, but he experiences many losses and leaves many people behind.
Wolverine Might Have a More Tragic Life Than Spider-Man
Peter’s love interests, such as Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson, are also impacted by his double life. One of them is Gwen Stacy’s death, and this clearly indicates that if one is friends with or related to Spider-Man, the danger is around the corner. Also, Spider-Man’s enemies, like the Green Goblin, target his vulnerabilities and cause further losses to his close ones.
However, Wolverine’s life is a different kind of tragedy. Logan was born James Howlett, and his youth was marked by family betrayal and murder. His ability to regenerate at an amazing rate and having retractable claws come with a cost. Logan has seen many decades and the loss of his loved ones in front of his eyes.
He went through various wars and undercover missions, making him go through all sorts of violence and questions about his morality. The Weapon X program makes the tragedy even greater because he was experimented on and had adamantium fused to his bones. These experiments made him suffer physically and mentally, and they made him lose his memory and identity.
One of the stories that showed the mental pressure on Logan was when he first met a young mutant named J who had an unpredictable power to emit toxic radiation. In Ultimate X-Men #41 Logan was sent by the X-Men to handle the situation as he had the healing factor that could take the radiation, which also shows how he is allowed to suffer just because he can take the suffering.
Wolverine knew the kid had nowhere else to go and felt what the kid was feeling. However, Logan killed J to ensure that no more people would be killed, and it cost him more pain as he always wanted to be free from being a killing machine.
Wolverine has a tragic life in both the movies and the comics. His love story is always a failure. In the movie Logan, when he comes to the conclusion that X-23 is actually his daughter, he dies in her arms. Similarly, in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spidey chose to erase Peter Parker’s existence from the entire universe. As a result, he loses his identity, friends, and love. A similar thing happens in comics when Mephisto erases everyone’s memory about Parker’s identity.
Analyzing both characters’ misfortunes, it can be said that Wolverine’s suffering might be more tragic because it is long-term and severe. His prolonged life has seen many losses and constant warfare in physical and emotional forms. Logan’s internal conflict caused by the beast within him and the horror of what he has done makes his life extremely tragic.
On the other hand, Spider-Man’s tragedy is much closer and more relatable for a modern person. Young Peter Parker retains his optimism and great power but is overwhelmed by the responsibility and losses of his loved ones, which makes him a symbol of courage who always tries to do the right thing but constantly fails.
Wolverine and Spider-Man Have One of the Best Friendships in Marvel
Although Wolverine is not known to get along with anybody due to his solitary nature, he is often found teaming up with other members, be it the X-Men, Fantastic Four, or Avengers, and even taking bullets for them. Similarly, Spider-Man also likes to work solo, as he doesn’t want to reveal his secret identity in order to protect his family and friends.
Both superheroes have different sets of skills and ways of working. Wolverine has a more rugged, animalistic approach to his fights due to his mutant mentality, whereas Spider-Man always pulls his punches and likes to stay a “friendly neighborhood”.
However, in comics, both have crossed paths several times. In Spider-Man Versus Wolverine Vol 1, Logan went to Berlin to help Charlie, aka Charlemagne, who was fighting KGB spies. However, she asks Wolverine to kill her, as she knows she will be captured by the spies and will have to endure their torture. When Wolverine reluctantly went to kill her, Spider-Man intervened to stop him, as he didn’t think killing was the solution. However, while Spidey was fighting Wolverine, Charlie willingly came in front of Spidey’s attack, which eventually killed her.
Although Logan never blamed him for her death, her death had a severe effect on Spider-Man, and he even decided to stop being a crime fighter. However, Logan replied that he had faith in him and revealed the Spider-Man T-shirt under Parker’s suit. Logan even advised Parker that he had many reasons to keep living his life. Moreover, Logan always knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man, as he could identify him by his smell.
Apart from these incidents, both superheroes have teamed up multiple times while fighting for the greater good which shows the amount of respect they both have for each other even though they have completely different characters.
