Yeah, I think that did more damage to the character than the wolf-man thing. Wolverine has always been defined by his lack of every social privilege short of his maleness, and his debatable whiteness. Making him a rich, which guy was such a terrible choice. I also tend to think it'll be harder to ignore or retcon than the wolf-man thing, because who hasn't, at one time or another, fantasized about having the lifestyle his family enjoyed during that story.

This way writers can indulge in two fantasies for the price of one - they get their dangerous outsider, and their poor-me, tragic nobleman.

I think that a good writer could do salvage something out of it, but they'd have to be very conscious of the hinky class and race issues that are bound to crop up in any story of falling off the privilege tree.

"So then Logan learned from the noble savages that it was better to like, live close to nature, because then you're more in touch with what man really is, and..."

Eugh.