The most hardcore of all the X-Men, Wolverine, is still completely defined by the first words he ever uttered in Marvel Comics continuity. But while they may be threatening on the surface, they speak volumes to his self-sacrificing nature and heroism as much as they do to his gruesome brutality.
Wolverine made his official Marvel Comics debut in the final panel of The Incredible Hulk #180 by Len Wein and Herb Trimpe. While fans don’t get to see Wolverine in action until the next issue, this one sets the stage for his arrival in a big way. In this comic, the Hulk is battling the Wendigo; a ferocious humanoid beast who matches the Hulk in both strength and aggression. While the Hulk fights Wendigo, Wolverine waits for the perfect time to strike, allowing the furious creature to weaken the Hulk just enough for Wolverine to come in and finish him off.
When Wolverine makes his presence known, he snarls at the pair, “All right you freaks -- just hold it! If you really want to tangle with someone, why not try your luck against the Wolverine!” In this issue, Wolverine says this to be intimidating, essentially saying that no one is tougher than he is, so if the Hulk wants a real fight, he’s the one to go after. However, over time this sentiment has only deepened, as Wolverine has continued to be defined by his willingness to throw himself head first into a fight to protect those who can't handle as much abuse as he can. Logan proves this to be true throughout his many years in the X-Men, explicitly stating on several occasions that he sees it as his role to be injured so others are not. Rather than allowing more vulnerable heroes to be hurt, or even killed, while battling powerful foes like Magneto or Apocalypse, Wolverine consistently steps up and puts himself on the front lines, not to prove how tough he is, but to keep those he cares about safe and out of harm's way. In other words, if villains really want to tangle with someone, they have to try their luck against the Wolverine.
Wolverine’s self-sacrificing nature also potentially explains his choice of costume, more specifically, its color scheme. In Return of Wolverine #1 by Charles Soule and Steve McNiven, a woman Logan encounters theorizes that he wears a yellow and blue costume to draw the attention of his enemies towards him and away from anyone else. Since Wolverine has an adamantium skeleton and a healing factor, there are few things on the planet that can kill him, so he ensures that he takes the brunt of any attack.
When Wolverine said his famous first words, he was basically calling both the Hulk and Wendigo wimps who were nowhere near as tough as he was, and if they wanted to prove that they were stronger, then he’d be happy to tangle with them. Since then, however, the words he uttered have grown to mean something so much more heroic than a macho threat. Instead, Wolverine's first words in Marvel Comics continuity define him to this very day as a hero who will gladly put himself in harm’s way to protect those around him.
