Unleash the Beast

An In-Depth Look at Wolverine

So who we looking at?

Character: Wolverine (a.k.a Logan or James Howlett)
Actor: Hugh Jackman
From: X-Men
Type: Film

I’m sure that we all watched cartoons and fantasy films as children. Back in those days, the world seemed filled with magic and Superheroes were real. However, as we aged, we started to see the limitations of life on this planet and accepted boring and controlled lives, slowly allowing the magic to leave us. However, this doesn’t need to be the case. We don’t need to forgo our heroes of yesteryear. There are many characteristics we can take from such ‘Superheroes’ and absorb them into our own lives, to propel us into kindred status (at least to the girls in your local bar anyway!) When you ask people for ‘Superheroes’ they wanted to be like, Wolverine, of the X-Men fame, normally tops the list.

What are the clips about?

In these two videos, we are given glimpse of the characteristics that make Wolverine such a great character for guys to aspire to become like. Wolverine is his own man, a pure bad-ass that lives by his own rules and does what he wants, when he wants. He’s on his own journey in life and doesn’t act like in other guy in society. He ignores the social norms and the rules of the environment and simply acts without regard for the repercussions. In my opinion, Wolverine is a true Alpha Male but we need to go further to see why this is the case.

So why should I care?

In a world where mutants stand out from humans, Wolverines attributes make him stand out from other mutants. Yet, it is the way that he lives his life that makes him a great character to look at. He’s the guy that people know not to fuck with, girls fall for him without him needing to do anything and he’s the one that people notice, even when he’s a secondary character. We may not have super powers of our own but there are aspects of Wolverine’s character that you can adapt to your own life and be more successful with.

Furthermore though, Wolverine is the personification of the things that we wish we could unleash in ourselves. The animalistic rage, the acting without thought of repercussion, the general care free approach to life he exudes in most of the film, are just some of the things he does that we all wish we could utilise in our everyday life. We can all imagine ourselves going berserk at our boss, using our own adamantium claws to clear our well of the queue ahead or regenerating instantly when we come down with the typical winter flu. In your typical cinema, most men left, after seeing the film, wanting to be Wolverine whereas most women left the cinema, wanting to bed him!

OK then, what should I watch out for?

Carefree Attitude. Wolverine first and foremost is a plain bad ass. He has no regards of your opinion on him. He does as he pleases and voices his opinion on whatever the situation he finds himself in. As you can imagine, he cares little for social norms or fitting in with the group. Yet because he acts congruent to what he believes, people accept it from him. Many of the PUA community refer to this somewhat as ‘Cocky Confident’, where you say as you think and don’t change for anyone. However, I consider Wolverine’s approach better as unlike the PUA’s, he does not have an end goal (e.g. to get the girl to like him), Wolverine simply is purely self-amusing.

He has complete faith in himself. Wolverine’s opinion of himself is not dictated by how others perceive him. He has now interest in how the others value him or even if they like him. Something many people can learn is to stop caring what others think of them and stop using someone else’s opinion to adhere a value to their life. Wolverine is a great example of this unyielding belief in himself. Even when he is getting his ass kicked, he doesn’t think of retreat and steps forward again and again. Not always a great strategy but the desire to succeed is a lessions lost on no one. We men need to realise that the only thing that stop us from anything is our limiting self-beliefs and death. The first Wolverine can help with! Watch how he just takes everything in his stride and always believes that he is more than capable of succeeding. He fights for his life many times. It makes asking for a raise or approaching the girl at the bar seem simple now doesn’t it!

He’s very resourceful. Wolverine does what he needs to survive. From cage fighting to living in his trailer, he does what he needs to get by and tries to find out his past (avoiding the Shadow Government?agents trying to kill him along the way). Wolverine learns to use his mutant powers to his advantage and ignore his weaknesses, which is something a lot of guys forget. Guys have become so focused on their self-believed weakness, that they forget to be thankful for and utilise their strengths. You may not have the strengths of Wolverine but be glad for what you do have. From having the balls to approach the hot blonde at the bar, to trying again after being rejected, we all have strengths in life we can use. What are yours?

Wolverine adapts as he goes. This is something that a lot of guys need to learn. We, as men, have gotten lazy. We all seem to be looking for the cookie cutter approach in life – where we seek the one solution that will work in every situation. However, you need to use your brains when it comes to women. A pick up line or technique may work with one girl but it won’t work with everyone just like going berserk and swinging your fists won’t work with every enemy like Wolverine found. Wolverine learns to sound out his enemies, utilising friends when needed, to reign in his impulsiveness. You need to adapt as you go and think on your feet like Wolverine. Look at what works for you and what doesn’t. Put yourself in the high-pressure situations, learn to think on your feet and adapt as if you were an unbeatable beast too. The only time you fail is when you stop trying. Life is a never-ending journey. As the band Aerosmith once sang, “Life is a journey … not a destination“, never be complete, spend every day trying to better yourself and who knows where it will lead you.

He has values. During the film, Rogue (played by Anna Paquin), a young attractive mutant begs Wolverine for help after she has run away from her family. Many guys, beta males, would have taken advantage of the situation and used it to try and seduce her. However, Wolverine follows his values and knows what he considers right and wrong. Instead, Wolverine takes her under his wing, almost becoming like an Uncle to her. Unfortunately, too many guys have forgotten the concept of adhering to values. We have forgotten that we are judged by the actions that we take by others and, more importantly, ourselves. Wolverine understands Rogue’s predicament and feelings and he is able to put aside such feelings. Yes, the drunken girl in the club may be easy to you and would be another notch on the bedpost but it kills you inside and makes you hate yourself, to sink to such depths. Become like Wolverine and aim to ensnare the girls that leave you breathless (and not needing to take a test).

He has feelings but they do not run him. In the film, the only girl that has an effect on Wolverine is the hot Jean Gray (played by Famke Janssen). Wolverine is quite taken by her, even at one point referring to her when he states “his heart is taken by another“. I’m sure we have all been there, when a girl is everything to you. However, Wolverine doesn’t develop oneitis – where your entire life is consumed by the (sometimes unrequited) feelings for a girl. One the other hand, Wolverine acknowledges that he has feelings for her but he doesn’t let it affect how he goes through life. It goes back to his values and his goal in life. Wolverine knows that he is OK by himself and that he can wait for the right girl, knowing there are millions to choose from. Losing the girl you love is hard (I’ve been there!) but ruminating for her does nothing but give you a sore head and a heavy heart. What does help is to pretend you have Wolverine’s instant healing and simply get up again and carry on working towards your goals. At one point in the film, Wolverine is literally kicked in the balls by a woman (Mystique – played by the gorgeous Rebecca Romijn) and he just gets up and carries on fighting! Being rejected by any girl feels like a ‘kick in the balls’ but it doesn’t mean that you should stay down and feel the pain and give up. Imagine your balls are made of an indestructible metal and get back up and fight again!

OK, how do I become like that?

Wolverine!

Act as if you are Wolverine. Now I know you can’t go and get an adamantium skeleton or regenerative healing powers but you can act like it when you are interacting with women or in your life in general.

Guys need to start saying as they think. We, as men, have become truly scared to say what comes into our old grey matter. We think we need to impress girls by saying things we think they want to hear. Nothing is further to the truth. People, especially girls, have an inbuilt bullshit detector where they know if you are acting and not being the person you truly are. Stop thinking that you need to use a particular line or pretend to be someone else to impress people or bed them. Instead, decide on who you are, what your values and beliefs are and never sway from them. For example, if she’s being a bitch, call her on, don’t let it pass or she’ll think you accept it. I’d rather be able to look myself in the eye than sleep with the girl who would sleep with all. You must decide what is worthy in your eyes though.

Heal like him. We all take rejection badly. We sulk, hit the drink or worse stay indoors and don’t venture out and interact with amazing new people. It’s easy to do that though when you feel that your ego has been crushed. However, guys should instead adopt the belief that they can become like Wolverine. They need to believe deep down, that you have instant healing powers. Any injury to your heart and ego is instantly healed in seconds. How could you fail when nothing fazes you? Like wolverine, it may take you a while to accept this and use it to your advantage but once you lock this down, you won’t look at life the same way. All you will need to do is heal for a few seconds and then throw yourself straight back into the fight for the girl you want.

Has a goal in life. One of the main story lines for Wolverine is his overwhelming desire to find out what happened to him in his past, how he became ‘the animal’. Throughout nearly the entire film, Wolverine is consumed by his need to accomplish his goal, sometimes almost putting himself in danger (mainly later in the movie trilogy). Putting yourself into dangerous situations without thought is stupid but the notion is something that you can use to your advantage. Too many guys nowadays have nothing to aim for, so they end up drinking or taking drugs to hide from the pain of inadequacy they feel inside. Why not pick a goal, something that you really desire in life. It needs to be something big, that you really cherish, as it will need to get you out of bed and working to achieve it. Your goal maybe doesn’t need to be to find out your past but it should consume you. Pick something and get to work, spend every day working your ass off to achieve it. All of your heroes had a goal in life, why should you be different?

“Become the animal” and Go Berserk. During Wolverine’s transformation scene, one line that really stuck out was when Stryker told Logan to become the animal. Again, in the films, he often goes berserk and forgets fear and goes for what he wants. This is something that all guys should accept. Too many guys shy away from confronting those that need it or don’t take on challenges, as they fear the possible repercussions. Instead, you need to become the animal. Like an animal, they don’t get stuck in their head, worrying about what may or may not happen, the animal simply reacts to what is happening. Imagine that you are an animal when you feel fear. Feel the fear but know that it is not as important as the payoff. Wolverine fights for his life and you need to put your goals on as important a footing as this. Condition yourself so that when you hit the club or pub, that you forget everything else and use all your energy going from approach to approach … to approach. Go berserk on the night out. Be full of energy and fun and make the girls go berserk for you!

Forget the Past. Wolverine strides to find out his past but why not flip Wolverine’s weakness into a good thing for you. Instead of ruing all the chances you had to approach and didn’t in the past, why not forget your past. We humans hate to think we have missed out on anything. Our brains think that the reminders of the missed opportunities will remind us not to do it again. However, instead it makes us ruminate and feel sad about what we think we have missed out on (which is usually never as good as you imagine) Decide today to forget your past. Simply deciding to forget it will work. Avoid over complicating things and trying to be the victim by living the story you tell about yourself. You choose to live your story; you can choose to change it to something that works for you. Decide today is the day to start afresh, forget the past and become a legend.

Fuck like an animal. Girls will love it. I don’t think this one needs expanding on!

A Final Note

Super heroes may be something of make-believe and to entertain us but who is to say you can’t take something from the movies and make it something you use in your everyday life. Movie characters can be either a distraction from the bores of your current life or they can be an inspiration for how you can live a happier and more adventurous life. Which option are you picking?

So what do you think? Have I persuaded you? Is Wolverine the sort of character that you can identify with and wish to become like? Can you relate to him as a role model for change? Let me hear your opinions in the comments below.