Wolverine and Jean Grey’s relationship in Fox’s X-Men franchise was finally fixed by Marvel after 18 years in X-Men ’97. Fox’s X-Men franchise adapted the titular heroes into live-action on the big screen for the first time in 2000 with X-Men, where it introduced Wolverine as a de facto protagonist of the sprawling series of movies that were to follow. After Marvel reacquired the rights to the mutants, this franchise would draw to a close in 2020 with The New Mutants before Marvel’s first attempt to adapt the characters came with the celebrated X-Men ’97.
Deadpool & Wolverine appears poised to bid a final farewell to many of the Fox franchise X-Men, as many have appeared in the trailers.
The first three movies adapted the love triangle between Wolverine, Jean Grey, and Cyclops, with Wolverine being characteristically smitten by Jean after their first meeting. This is a well-established story in Marvel Comics, where Wolverine’s love for Jean provides a compelling dynamic between the three as they navigate myriad storylines. Unfortunately, while Fox’s X-Men franchise has earned praise for faithfully adapting certain parts of the comics, this pivotal relationship was not one of them.
Fox’s X-Men Movies Never Convinced Me Of Wolverine & Jean’s Love
While fans of Marvel Comics could predict a romance between Wolverine and Jean Grey on-screen, X-Men was under pressure to depict the complexities of their relationship within the space of a single movie. Unfortunately, this did not pan out convincingly, instead feeling contrived and kind of out-of-the-blue. This would continue even within the space of three entire subsequent movies, culminating in what was supposed to be a heartfelt goodbye as Wolverine is forced to kill Jean – but the scene felt unearned – particularly after occurring in the wake of Cyclops’ unjust death and sidelining.
To say that Wolverine was supposed to be the protagonist of the movie, his interactions with Jean were among the scenes that made him incredibly unlikable. Portraying Cyclops as little more than an obnoxious boyfriend was heinous enough, but Wolverine’s apparent disregard for their relationship as he immediately starts fawning over the unavailable Jean Grey doesn’t sit right, no matter how abrasive Scott Summers is. The whole debacle instead leaves a sour taste in the mouth, which leaves it up to Marvel to reestablish how Jean and Logan’s relationship is supposed to be done.
X-Men 97 Did Jean Grey & Wolverine’s Love Triangle Perfectly
Right off the bat, X-Men ’97 had the benefit of longevity when adapting the relationship of these two beloved characters. Instead of cramming in a romance in the space of under 2 hours, X-Men ’97 was a continuation of years of established lore in X-Men: The Animated Series, with Wolverine’s love for Jean being developed over several episodes. As a result, the tragedy of Wolverine’s pining for Jean carries an added sting when it comes to a head in X-Men ’97 and Wolverine turns down Jean Grey’s advances as she struggles with Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor’s relationship.
Moreover, Wolverine in X-Men ’97 comes across as a more honorable figure. Whereas Fox’s Wolverine seems all too happy to muscle in on his rival’s relationship, X-Men ’97‘s Wolverine is well aware of the boundaries that he cannot cross and simply admires Jean from afar, despite being open about his feelings for her. The relationship between the two X-Men feels overall more convincing and infinitely more tragic and helps cement X-Men ’97‘s status as the best X-Men adaptation so far.
