Hugh Jackman returning as Wolverine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a massive success. Superhero fans love Wolverine, and the character is definitely going to be a huge part of the MCU going forward, whether Jackman plays the character or not. Wolverine’s history in the comics is chock full of excellent stories, and a big reason for that is his villains. While Wolverine doesn’t have the type of well-known villains that someone like Spider-Man has, that doesn’t wake away the fact that he has some of the best villains in comics. Wolverine is the best there is at what he does, and his villains have to be able to challenge him.
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The great thing about Wolverine’s villains is that they don’t just work for the ol’ Canucklehead. Bringing Wolverine’s villains into the MCU isn’t just going to make his stories better, but these villains can easily be moved to other heroes and make a huge impact. These five Wolverine villains would be able to challenge any hero, making them wonderful additions to the MCU.
Sabretooth
Sabretooth is widely considered Wolverine’s greatest foe. Sabretooth plays into a common villainous trope in superhero stories: the evil opposite of the hero. Where Wolverine tries to hold back his inner animal, Sabretooth embraces it. Wolverine kills because it’s necessary, but Sabretooth kills because he thinks it’s fun. Sabretooth shows just how bad Wolverine could be at his darkest and this made the character into one of the most popular X-Men villains.
Sabretooth in the MCU is a no-brainer — the MCU loves the villainous opposite trope — but the great thing about Sabretooth is that he doesn’t have to just be a Wolverine villain. Even among the X-Men, Sabretooth has his own grudges against other members of the team — Psylocke immediately springs to mind (go read Uncanny X-Men #328 to see why). Sabretooth has battled many other heroes as well, with his savagery, superpowers, and decades of experience making him a difficult foe to beat. Sabretooth could show up in the stories of any street-level hero and bring so much to the story. Imagine Charlie Cox’s Daredevil having to deal with Sabretooth or Punisher or even Spider-Man. Sabretooth is exactly the kind of villain the MCU could use.
Lady Deathstrike
The MCU can fix some of Fox’s mistakes with the X-Men villains, and Lady Deathstrike definitely deserves a second look. Yuriko Oyama’s relationship with Wolverine is one of the more complicated hero/villain relationships out there. Oyama’s father created the adamantium-bonding process and she came to hate Wolverine. Their rivalry has seen her try to kill him numerous times, but her own honor as a warrior has seen her work with the mutant hero as well. Lady Deathstrike is a wonderfully complicated character, and the MCU can do wonders with her.
Lady Deathstrike is plugged into a side of the Marvel Universe that hasn’t gotten a lot of play in the MCU: the cyborgs. In order to battle Wolverine, Yuriko had her body cybernetically enhanced, eventually becoming more machine than human. Lady Deathstrike, when she isn’t fighting Wolverine, is a mercenary, so she’s a character who can show up in any hero’s adventures — 1998’s Captain America (Vol. 3) #1 is a perfect example of this. Lady Deathstrike is a formidable opponent and can be used as the first of many powerful cybernetic villains.
Omega Red
Omega Red premiered in 1992 and quickly joined the ranks of Wolverine’s greatest villains. Arkady Rossovich is a Russian mutant who was basically meant to be the answer to Weapon X. His death spore powers allowed him to drain the life out of his victims, making him stronger, and he was outfitted with carbonadium tentacles. Wolverine, Sabretooth, and Maverick were able to defeat Red in the 1960s, and his return decades later showed that he was still as deadly as ever. Since then, Wolverine and Omega Red have had some bloody battles, and Red has even beaten heroes like Cable and Iron Man.
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In the MCU, Black Widow and the Winter Soldier have shown how hard Soviet Russia worked on its supersoldier program. Bringing in Omega Red expands upon this idea. Omega Red is a brutal killer and his military training and tactical skills allow him to be a danger to any hero. With Marvel Studios going more in the black ops direction with films like Thunderbolts, Omega Red would bring a lot of danger to the table.
Ogun
Ogun has had a long history with Wolverine. The two first met in the 1930s, with Ogun asking to train Wolverine. Wolverine declined, but went back to Japan years later and entered Ogun’s tutelage. Ogun molded Wolverine, helping him learn discipline and becoming an even better fighter. After a battle with a crime lord, Ogun revealed to Wolverine that he learned to master death, surviving a sword in the stomach. Ogun became obsessed with the more magical side of the martial arts and eventually decided that he was going to use his newfound power to project his soul into Wolverine’s body and become truly immortal. This led to their falling out, and the decades would see the two of them have many knock-down, drag-out fights, with Ogun even training Kitty Pryde as a ninja in order to get close to Wolverine.
Ninjas and ninja magic are a huge part of the Daredevil mythos. With Daredevil getting his big MCU push, it’s only a matter of time before magical ninjas show up. Ogun fits perfectly into that world. His spirit has become attached to an oni mask, allowing him to possess anyone, and that makes him a very interesting foe for the MCU. Ogun opens up an entirely new avenue for MCU villains, which would make him a perfect addition.
Cyber
Most of Wolverine’s best villains have decades of experience with him, and Cyber is no different. Silas Burr’s telepathic powers allowed him to wreak havoc wherever he wanted. He was sentenced to death, but was saved by Romulus, one of the architects of Weapon X, with Sabretooth saving him from being hanged. Burr joined the Canadian military, trying to help make Wolverine into an easily controllable killing machine for Romulus. Burr would get physically enhanced, earning adamantium skin, claws that injected hallucinogens into his victims, and superhuman physical attributes. Cyber and Wolverine have had many battles over the years, with Cyber jumping bodies to gain a measure of immortality. The villain has returned in the newest Wolverine series, making a lot of Wolverine fans happy.
Cyber’s origin is very much tied up with Wolverine’s, but that’s okay. The saga of Weapon X has a lot of potential for the MCU and Cyber is one of the better parts of it. Silas Burr is a monster, driven by his hatred and greed, and that’s exactly the kind of villain the MCU can use. Cyber is yet another part of the black ops world that the MCU needs to spotlight, and he’s a villain who can run through MCU heroes like nobody’s business.
