What is Wolverine Crush?

Wolverine Crush is a two-panel exploitable comic where Wolverine stares longingly at a framed photo, with the picture swapped out for whatever the creator wants him to pine over.

Where did Wolverine Crush come from?

The source is a scene from Season 1, Episode 5 of the X-Men animated series, which aired on January 30th, 1993, showing Wolverine jealous of a photo of Cyclops and Jean Grey.

What does Wolverine Crush mean?

The format uses Wolverine's wistful stare to signal obsessive affection for a subject, which is why niche subreddits swap the photo for their own in-group fixations like Nicolas Cage or Valve's Gabe Newell.

How do you use Wolverine Crush?

Keep the two-panel comic layout and only edit the content of the picture frame, typically matching the swapped image to the community or inside joke you are posting about.

Is Wolverine Crush still popular?

The template is a Reddit classic that still gets referenced; Hugh Jackman himself recreated the pose on X on July 28th, 2024, drawing more than 284,000 likes.

Wolverine Crush

2011exploitable image macroclassic

Published October 8, 2026

Wolverine Crush is a two-panel exploitable comic built from a 1993 X-Men cartoon scene where Logan jealously stares at a photo of Cyclops and Jean Grey2. Redditors began swapping the picture for celebrity selfies, gaming icons and inside jokes starting in 20111, turning the clawed mutant's longing gaze into one of Reddit's longest-running image macro templates.

exploitable templates marvel two panel memes subreddit origin memes retro cartoon memes

Overview

Wolverine Crush, also called Wolverine Staring At Picture or Wolverine Remembers, is a two-panel exploitable comic that pairs a shot of Logan holding a framed photograph with whatever subject the creator wants him pining over3. The first panel shows Wolverine looking down at the picture with a wistful expression; the second panel reveals the swapped-in image, which can be anything from an attractive celebrity to a bag of weed to a game developer1.

The joke works because the original scene is already drenched in melodramatic longing. Edits usually keep the character art untouched and only replace the contents of the frame, letting the setup carry the emotional weight while the punchline sells itself through contrast4. Niche subreddits adopted the template as shorthand for in-group obsession, which is why posters kept porting it to subs about Nicolas Cage, Valve, and marijuana6 7.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

X-Men animated series (source) / Reddit (viral spread)

Creator

Jamy18

Date

2011

The source footage comes from Season 1, Episode 5 of the X-Men animated series, which aired on January 30th, 1993, and shows Wolverine jealously staring at a photo of Cyclops and Jean Grey2. Marvel and the series producers created the scene; no single person is credited as the meme format's inventor.

The earliest documented edit was posted by Redditor Jamy18 to /r/funny on September 18th, 2011, swapping the Cyclops and Jean photo for a lewd Scarlett Johansson selfie1. That submission picked up more than 1,000 upvotes and 20 comments before being archived3.

How It Spread

The template moved beyond /r/funny in April 2012 when BuzzFeed highlighted a version featuring Ridiculously Photogenic Guy4. One day later, on April 11th, 2012, Redditor xchaos posted a Wolverine Crush edit of Valve founder Gabe Newell to /r/gaming5, establishing the pattern of swapping the frame's contents for a community's running obsession.

Subreddit-specific versions kept the format alive through 2013. On July 8th, Samisneat posted a Nicolas Cage edit to /r/onetruegod that pulled in more than 1,700 upvotes and 15 comments6. Two months later, on September 10th, dinojoe uploaded a version with a photograph of marijuana to /r/trees that cleared 2,800 upvotes and 45 comments7.

The meme got a mainstream nod on July 28th, 2024, when Hugh Jackman himself recreated the pose on X to thank fans after Deadpool & Wolverine opened at number one worldwide. His post pulled in over 284,000 likes and 37,000 reposts within hours8.

Timeline

1993-01-30

X-Men animated series Season 1 Episode 5 airs the source scene of Wolverine staring at a photo of Cyclops and Jean Grey[2].

2011-09-18

Redditor Jamy18 posts the earliest known exploitable edit to /r/funny, using a Scarlett Johansson selfie[1].

2012-04-10

BuzzFeed features a Wolverine Crush edit of Ridiculously Photogenic Guy[4].

2012-04-11

Redditor xchaos posts a Gabe Newell version to /r/gaming[5].

2013-07-08

Samisneat posts a Nicolas Cage edit to /r/onetruegod, hitting over 1,700 upvotes[6].

2013-09-10

Redditor dinojoe posts a marijuana version to /r/trees, clearing 2,800 upvotes[7].

2024-07-28

Hugh Jackman recreates the pose on X after Deadpool & Wolverine opens at number one, drawing 284,000+ likes[8].

How to Use This Meme

The format typically keeps the two-panel comic layout intact and only edits the content of the picture frame. Posters commonly match the swapped image to the subreddit or community they are posting in, so the Wolverine Crush becomes an inside joke about that group's favorite subject6.