The ending of Logan

X marks the spot: how James Mangold nailed Wolverine’s last stand…

‘for superhero movies, this is a ground-breaker’

On 18 February, the smug faces worn by Wolverine’s journo-fans fell. Although press screenings of James Mangold’s Logan took place the day before, it turned out the cinema release would run three minutes longer than the media-screened version. Three minutes of what? Logan in yellow, like an angry duck? A grave’s surface ruffled, like the climax of Batman V Superman?

And… think peaceful thoughts. When Logan was released days later, the surprise turned out to be nothing so cheap: a Deadpool 2 teaser. In other words, Mangold kept his promise of a fresh kind of superhero film right up to the credits. No shawarma meets. No space ducks. No sting.

Although Logan is not perfect, it never loses its nerve. Way back at the trailer, promises were made in the music (one of Johnny Cash’s late-life cover songs) and images of Logan loitering around graves. The roadmovie set-up, too, hinted that the road’s end beckoned.

For superhero movies, this is a ground-breaker. The MCU is rolling on ad infinitum, in tune with the comics’ soap-y sprawl. Chris Nolan’s otherwise daring Dark Knight trilogy ended on a note of teasing potential – Nightwing film? And even nonstudio Chronicle left plot avenues open.

But it wasn’t just the finality of Wolverine’s demise that dignified Logan. It was the way Mangold, Jackman and newcomer Dafne Keen delivered it. Mangold used the R-rating to make properly smarting wounds. The six-pack? Shredded. Although the film could plausibly work as a standalone, it accrues flayed emotional power from Wolvie’s 17-year arc. The Logan/Laura bond (Keen’s “Daddy” killed us) echoes the nurturing role Logan wrestled with in X-Men (2000). His willingness to sacrifice himself recalls the same film’s Statue of Liberty-set climax. And while using X-24 to embody Logan’s psycho-struggles with his history of violence is a bit blunt, it at least reflects the idea of living and dying by the sword. In these contexts, Logan’s final words - “So this is what it feels like” – spoke volumes. Mangold did bring something new to superhero films. And he made us feel it too.