7 Most Powerful Superheroes Wolverine Has Defeated

Wolverine is the best there is at what he does — and what he does isn’t very nice, as many heroes can attest. Although Wolverine is one of the most iconic superheroes in Marvel Comics history, his bad temper and stubbornness have led him to butting heads with his fellow X-Men and other heroes. Since his very first appearance in 1974, Wolverine has been fighting superheroes far more powerful than him. Yet despite not being the physically strongest hero in Marvel, Wolverine’s incredible healing factor, indestructible adamantium claws, centuries of combat experience, and berserker rage have allowed him to prove his mettle against other superheroes.

Wolverine is a vicious killing machine who is far more likely than other heroes to abandon his humanity to secure victory. Whether intentionally or through manipulation, these are the heroes that Wolverine bested in battle.

7) Northstar

With the power to fly at near-light speed and fire energy beams, Northstar is one of the fastest and strongest members of the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight. However, Northstar couldn’t move fast enough to evade a mind-controlled Wolverine. In Wolverine #25, when Hydra and the Hand brainwashed the X-Man, they sent him to kill his former teammates. Although Wolverine tried to kill his former protégé, Shadowcat, she used her phasing ability to evade his claws. Unfortunately, while Shadowcat stayed safe by becoming intangible, Wolverine jumped right through her, impaling Northstar against a tree and killing him.

6) Deadpool

No person in the universe gets more on Wolverine’s nerves than the anti-hero Deadpool. They have tried to kill each other countless times, with their healing factors ensuring that they always recover. When the Merc with a Mouth gets depressed in Deadpool #27, his twisted idea of therapy is to goad Wolverine into fighting him. After Deadpool punches Shadowcat, he gets exactly what he wished for — Wolverine moves to tear him apart. Like all Wolverine and Deadpool bouts, their clash is prolonged and brutal, spilling through the streets as they relentlessly stab each other. In the end, Wolverine gets the drop on Deadpool by impaling him in the back with his claws, before hoisting him into the air and roaring triumphantly. At least Deadpool felt better emotionally.

5) Spider-Man

As Marvel’s two most iconic heroes, Spider-Man and Wolverine have fought several times. In 2023’s Spider-Man Annual #1, the X-Man and the Web-Head are teleported by Agatha Harkness to the hidden city of El Dorado, where they find a mystical orb. The orb manipulates Spider-Man’s and Wolverine’s minds, making them fight over obtaining it. Spider-Man’s superior strength, agility, and webs give him the initial advantage. Even so, Wolverine has learned from his previous fights with the Wall-Crawler. He slices through Spider-Man’s webs, grabs him, and swings him around. Wolverine defeats Spider-Man by delivering non-lethal cuts to the hero’s chest, allowing him to grab the orb and hand it over to Agatha Harkness.

4) Colossus

Colossus is one of the physically toughest members of the X-Men. In the alternate universe of Wolverine: Revenge, Colossus left the X-Men to join the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, who released an EMP that dismantled every machine in North America. When sent on a mission to restore power along with Captain America and the Winter Soldier, Wolverine witnessed the Brotherhood kill his comrades. Years later, Wolverine exacted his revenge by tracking down and killed every member of the Brotherhood, leaving Colossus for last. Despite Colossus’ strength, which allowed him to land some powerful hits and even rip off one of Wolverine’s arms, his metal skin proved to be no match for adamantium. In the end, Wolverine killed his former teammate by stabbing him in the head with his claws.

3) X-Men

The X-Men are virtually an army of the world’s strongest mutants. However, in the dark timeline of Old Man Logan, Wolverine is manipulated into killing the only family he’s ever known. When the villains of Earth unite to wipe out the superhero community, Mysterio uses his illusions to force Wolverine to slaughter all of his teammates and students single-handedly. Once Wolverine wakes up from his delusion, he finds that he has murdered many of the X-Men’s strongest members, including Cyclops, Storm, Jean Grey, Polaris, Beast, Gambit, Nighcrawler, Havok, Iceman, and Jubilee. While undeniably an impressive feat to kill so many heroes, the event broke Wolverine, filling him with endless shame for all the friends he had butchered.

2) Lobo

In one of the most unbelievable victories in Wolverine’s career, he somehow managed to best the Lobo, who regularly fights Superman and tow stars. Wolverine fought the Main Man in a bar in DC vs Marvel #3. Given both of these anti-heroes’ savagery and incredible healing factors, they could recover from anything the other threw at them. The victor of this fight was voted by the readers, who obviously favored the much more popular Wolverine. Probably because the writers had no idea how Wolverine could realistically defeat someone as strong and unkillable as Lobo, the deciding moments of the fight happened off-panel. Wolverine just casually walks away while smoking Lobo’s cigar.

1) Hulk

When Wolverine made his debut, his first opponent was none other than the Incredible Hulk. Although Wolverine lost their initial bout because of the Hulk’s planet-busting strength and rapid regeneration, the two have an ongoing feud that has led to the X-Man vanquishing the Jolly Green Giant several times. In the main continuity, Wolverine’s most brutal victory occurred during Savage Wolverine #5. While investigating an alien threat in the Savage Land, Wolverine encountered the Hulk, and the two immediately decided to throw down. When a giant gorilla attacks the Hulk, Wolverine uses the distraction to jump on his rival’s back. With brutal precision, the X-Man jams his claws straight into the Hulk’s brain, knocking him out. Thankfully, when the Hulk recovers, he still helps Wolverine fight a giant alien.

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7 Most Powerful Superheroes The Hulk Has Defeated