History WolverinePublicity / Wolverine

* In ''VideoGame/MidnightSuns'', Wolverine is prominently featured on the cover despite joining your party relatively late in the game. Like most of the non-supernatural heroes present, the only reason he is there at all is ExecutiveMeddling to boost marketability.[[note]]Iron Man is the only "normal" hero whose presence is justified in-story, ''maybe'' Captain Marvel too if you're charitable, meaning Spider-Man and Captain America are also examples of this trope.[[/note]] But whereas Spider-Man and the Avengers at least admit to being out of their element facing a magical threat like Lilith, Wolvie just so happens to be old friends with Caretaker (he's the one who referred fellow X-Man Magik to the Midnight Suns) and is unphased by everything he sees.

* ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'' and ''Film/Deadpool2'' both {{lampshade|Hanging}} his Wolverine Publicity; in the first, he doesn't appear but Deadpool complains about it, and he appears in the second as StockFootage (unbeknownst to Deadpool, who's still complaining).

* [[https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/16470/new_avengers_2004_35 New Avengers #35]] is the perfect example of how CoversAlwaysLie.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wolverine and the X|Men2009}}-Men'' pretty much owes its existence to this trope. In fact, it was originally planned as a solo series; the other X-Men were added later. The show was also responsible for the later ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine and the X|MenMarvelComics}}-Men'' comic series, in which Wolvie leads a new splinter mutant academy.

* Wolverine, as portrayed by Creator/HughJackman, naturally figures prominently in the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries''. He's one of only two characters to appear in the first ''nine'' mainline ''X-Men'' films -- the only other one is Professor X, but he's been played by ''two'' actors (Creator/PatrickStewart and Creator/JamesMcAvoy -- unlike Wolverine, the Professor ages), making Jackman the most credited actor in the film series. His turn as Wolverine is the second most appearances by any actor in a superhero role (beaten only by Creator/SamuelLJackson as Nick Fury). Of those nine films:
** Three of them are specifically about him: ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'', ''Film/TheWolverine'', and ''Film/{{Logan}}''. At least ''Logan'' had the benefit of wrapping up his storyline, meaning he didn't appear in ''Film/DarkPhoenix'', breaking the streak -- but it also made the point of [[spoiler:killing off the rest of the X-Men offscreen]], which led even those who praised the movie to criticize it for implying the entire film series was just about Wolverine.
** Four more featured him prominently even though they were adapted from comic book storylines which didn't. Indeed, the adaptation bit became a point of controversy in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'', which critics noted adapted a storyline written for Kitty Pryde and changed the protagonist to Wolverine:
--->'''''[[http://www.cracked.com/article_22058_6-insulting-movie-adaptations-strong-female-characters.html Cracked]]'':''' Obviously the real reason for the lead character change-up is that Fox knew a ripped-to-shreds Creator/HughJackman would sell more tickets than an intangible Ellen Page.[[labelnote:TV Tropes note]]The actor is properly credited Creator/ElliotPage; this was written five years before he came out as UsefulNotes/{{transgender}}.[[/labelnote]] It was both the wrong decision for the story, and one that instantly made them $500 million. The term "Wolverine Publicity" [[ReferencedBy/TVTropes is codified on TV tropes for a reason]].
** In the last two -- ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' and ''Film/XMenApocalypse'' -- he's a OneSceneWonder, but the filmmakers absolutely know the viewers will love to see him. In the latter film's case, they were a little ''too'' excited about it; they [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil alluded to his scene in the trailer]].
** He figures into the "non-mainline" movies, too. ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'' and ''Film/Deadpool2'' both {{lampshade|Hanging}} his Wolverine Publicity; in the first, he doesn't appear but Deadpool complains about it, and he appears in the second as StockFootage (unbeknownst to Deadpool, who's still complaining). And then, even after Hugh Jackman had publicly retired from the role after ''Film/{{Logan}}'', the official announcement teaser for ''Deadpool III'' was built around the big surprise of him coming back as a major character.

** In the second season, Wolverine becomes TheLancer of the New Avengers. Interestingly, Iron Man explains that he picked each of the New Avengers based on past performance; each of the other five heroes did guest spots prior to this episode, but Wolvie just had the fleeting cameos mentioned above, and only gets accepted into the team after saving Franchise/SpiderMan. (That said, ''EMH'' was supposed to be in the same continuity as the aforementioned ''Wolverine and the X-Men'', but plans for a full crossover got scuttled after the latter's quick cancellation.)

* The audiobook adaptation of ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' has Wolverine front and center on the cover, displayed prominently next to ComicBook/CaptainAmerica and ComicBook/IronMan. Except he shows up in one chapter and then completely disappears from the plot.

* Wolverine shows up in the ''[[VideoGame/UltimateSpiderMan2005 Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' video game, as one of the boss battles for Venom.

* Wolverine shows up in the ''VideoGame/UltimateSpiderMan'' video game, as one of the boss battles for Venom.

# It's almost impossible to write him out of character. He can plausibly be both a RatedMForManly ActionHero and TheWoobie, depending on the story you want to tell. He can be a helpful teammate or a berserker [[IWorkAlone lone wolf]]. He can soundly defeat any superhuman he encounters, or underestimate them and fall victim to the WorfEffect -- a TapOnTheHead can make all the difference.

# It's almost impossible to write him out of character. He can plausibly be both a RatedMForManly ActionHero and TheWoobie, depending on the story you want to tell. He can be a helpful teammate or a berserker [[IWorkAlone lone wolf]]. He can soundly defeat any superhuman or BadassNormal he encounters, or underestimate them and fall victim to the WorfEffect -- a TapOnTheHead can make all the difference.

# It's almost impossible to write him out of character. He can plausibly be both a RatedMForManly ActionHero and TheWoobie, depending on the story you want to tell. He can be a helpful teammate or a berserker [[IWorkAlone lone wolf]] -- a TapOnTheHead can make all the difference.

!!''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}''
The Creator/MarvelComics character ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is the {{Trope Namer|s}} and the worst offender -- so bad that he has a whole page worth of examples, which in itself is an example of this trope. By the end of the 1990s, Wolverine had been paired up with practically every Marvel hero in existence, all the way down to five-year-old Katie Power of ''ComicBook/PowerPack''. Twice.

* The ''WesternAnimation/HulkVs'' double feature was released in Scandinavia [[SarcasmMode under the much catchier title "Wolverine"]].

** He figures into the "non-mainline" movies, too. ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'' and ''Film/Deadpool2'' both {{lampshade|Hanging}} his Wolverine Publicity; in the first, he doesn't appear but Deadpool complains about it, and he appears in the second as StockFootage (unbeknownst to Deadpool, who's still complaining). And then, even after Hugh Jackman had publicly retired from the role after ''Film/{{Logan}}'', the official announcement teaser for ''Deadpool III'' was built around him coming back as a major character.

* He was featured in the toy line for ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' despite never actually appearing on the show.