They have become synonymous with the X-Men movies, appearing on every poster, box cover, promotional tie-in, and collectable toy. By the third movie in the series, X-Men: The Last Stand, they joined the X-Men logo, blocking out the "X" itself. Wolverine's Claws, those three razor-sharp retractable blades on each of his hands are as now as iconic today as Superman's "S", Batman's "Bat Signal", and Spider-Man's red and blue mask. It can be argued that Wolverine is the only super hero created within the last 35 years to have reached the same status as the classic heroes of the 1940's and 50's.

When Twentieth Century Fox decided in 1991 to create the very first movie based on the X-Men comic books, they turned to Canadian special effects artist James Gawley, now affectionately known as "Jimmy Claws", to bring the adamantium blades to a physical reality.