Before he had his solo series i guess the time he was at his most likable was when he single handedly saved the x men from the hellfire club after being dunked in the sewers by harry leland
Before it was kind of Like oh the least powerful member of the team is Logan but he was too tough to quit or backdown . It was cool to see him going after magneto , apocalypse and people who outclassed him just by force of will now it's like he'll beat those guys
Batman in JLA under Morrison was the best at the ultra powerful villain takes out the big guns like the how the white Martians did but he's such a strategist he took down the hyper clan. People can appreciate him succeeding through brains tougheness and grit being a important cog on a team with superman or someone like Thor . But now Logan is a superbadass ladies man that everyone in marvel loves and respects