Wolverine
The Best There Is
by Phil Perich for the True Believers Blog
With only three weeks until Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine takes his final ride into theaters with the movie Logan, I thought this would be a good opportunity to revisit some of Wolverine’s great battles against some of the strongest and deadliest foes the Marvel Universe has to offer.
The Hulk
Any list of Wolverine’s greatest fights should begin with the Hulk. While both have powerful healing factors, it always comes down to tempers wielding razor sharp adamantium claws or gamma powered mega strength. Both characters are some of the deadliest brawlers of the Marvel Universe. And with Wolverine making his first appearance at the end of the Incredible Hulk #180, that also makes Hulk (and the Wendigo) his first fight (that we knew about). The two would battle off and on for years no matter what changes either went through.
Magneto
The mutant known as Magneto may be the X-Men’s must dangerous enemy, especially since he has shifted alliances several times and worked with the team on occasion, but his power over all things metal makes him especially deadly to Wolverine whose entire skeleton is covered in indestructible Adamantium. At one point, when Magneto seemed to be becoming a larger and larger threat to the Earth, Wolverine attempted to assassinate him. Heavily wounded, Magneto retaliated by ripping the Adamantium from Wolverine’s bones with his own powers which almost killed the hero.
Sabretooth
The man known as Victor Creed was truly a dark reflection of Wolverine. A product of the same Weapon X project that gave Wolverine his unbreakable skeleton and false memories, Sabretooth has all the skills of Wolverine but didn’t have his sense of honor or guilt about killing until an inversion spell made him a better man. Writer Chris Claremont originally intended to reveal that Sabretooth was Wolverine’s father, but later writers took him in other directions. Wolverine and Sabretooth’s battles were some of the bloodiest and savage of the Marvel Univere.
Galactus
That’s right! Trapped on an alien world, Wolverine attempted to save the alien inhabitants from the world devouring Galactus. As if the power levels weren't uneven as it was, this was after Magneto removed the adamantium from Wolverine’s body. Armed only with his natural bone claws, Wolverine attempted to stall Galactus until everyone escaped, but not everyone makes it out alive. The lesson of the day: There is always someone bigger and stronger.
What a variety of enemies Wolverine has faced! Who is YOUR favorite villain or hero to go toe to toe with Wolverine? Excited for the Logan movie? Share YOUR thoughts!
nightwingpdp@gmail.com & marvelroundup@gmail.com
@Nightwingpdp & @marvel_roundup on Twitter
You can hear me discussing all things Marvel (comics, movies, TV) every week with my friends on the All New Marvel Roundup, Wade’s World and Superconnectivity, all parts of the Nuff Said Podcast. I also write another blog, the Legends of DC and do a podcast of the same name. You can find all my podcasts, blogs and those of others at www.southgatemediagroup.com. You can also find all my creative endeavors at www.philperich.wordpress.com.
NUFF SAID!