Back in 1974, a clawed little Canadian man appeared as an antagonist in an issue of The Incredible Hulk. One year later, he popped up as a new recruit in the X-Men. Overall, he wasn’t that interesting in those days. He was almost written out of the book in favor of giving more panel time to Nightcrawler. Eventually, however, writers, artists, and readers alike fell in love with him. He became the central character in many stories, and was even given his own solo comic book.

In case you can’t tell, I’m talking about Wolverine.

Then a new age came along, and with it a series of movies. The X-Men movie made a star out of Wolverine, as portrayed by ruggedly handsome and charismatic Aussie actor Hugh Jackman. Its sequel, X2: X-Men United, catapulted both the character and actor into superstardom. I loved him. You loved him. He was everywhere. What could have possibly gone wrong? He was everywhere!

Ain’t it a cwyin’ shame?

With the start of the early 21st century, Marvel Comics made Wolverine into their new mascot. With that, he was placed into more and more comic books. The X-Men comic book franchise has grown so much since its original 1963 incarnation, that it now needs no less than three ongoing titles to keep track of its glut of protagonists. Within the context of the comics’ stories, the X-Men had divided into multiple squads that went on separate missions. In 2004, Wolverine was the only character on all three squads. In 2005, he joined the New Avengers. In 2006, his teenage female clone joined the New X-Men student squad, and Wolverine himself was given a second solo comic: Wolverine Origins. In 2007, he was once again written as the male lead in an X-Men movie. In 2008, he was given two new comics named Wolverine: First Class and Weapon X: First Class, and the animated series Wolverine and the X-Men premiered. In 2009, his solo movie will debut.

I’ve been reading X-Men comics for so long, and have read so many stories about Wolverine. I’m just… tired. I’m so tired. I don’t hate Wolverine. He’s a very profitable character. It only makes sense that Marvel would put him on the front lines. He’s right there with Spider-Man in terms of popularity. I just don’t find myself caring about the character anymore. I saw the trailer for his upcoming movie, and I felt nothing. No excitement. No anticipation. I can’t even bring myself to watch his animated series, even with the rest of the X-Men co-starring and getting supporting roles. I’m just so… tired.