“the Wolverine” was inspired by Norman Rockwell’s painting, “the Firefighter.” Although the change in subject diminishes the irony of a forgotten cigar, which if left unattended will likely lead to a fire, I felt it might still provide enough of a visual pun given Wolverine’s penchant for smoking cigars. Wolverine is either annoyed by the direct second hand smoke or that the cigar is unattended, and thus being wasted, burning away on the mantle. It is left to the viewer to decide which is truth.
See this blog post on the inspiration and creative process.