Marvel created tons and vigilantes and anti-heroes in the 1970's: Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Punisher, Son of Satan, Blade, etc. But they were not Super Heroes, but something else.
You've made a mistake by including Wolverine in a list with those others. Dismiss him with an argument by all means, but I'm not convinced by the creation of a list of "non-super-heroes" that you can then discard.
He most certainly is a super-hero, and one of the truly great and popular characters. I'm not going to hold it against you because maybe you read Wolverine too late. I'd say, go back to the good stuff, with two words uppermost in your mind: Chris Claremont.