... and friends

I've come to the conclusion that Wolverine is the Elmo of Marvel comics. He just kind of showed up as another character in this big (already established) world, but he quickly grew in popularity. He is a minor character with unknown origin, but everybody loves him because he has cool sideburns. So they continue telling stories of this big world but with more focus on the minor character, who shows up and mindlessly kicks ass after Big Bird has worked out the kinks and solved all the riddles. I do tip my hat to Marvel for showing us the reality of Cyclops' struggle for leadership in the shadow of Logan. But if you depend that heavily on one character (no matter who it is), your world is bound to collapse, especially if you try to place him in 37 different countries at one time and give him superpowers he doesn't even have (like singing and hugging). Anything for a buck.