Respect Wolverine (Marvel, 616)

"I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do isn't very nice."

     - James "Logan" Howlett, The Wolverine

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Table of Contents

I.    Introduction

II.   Strength

III.   Speed and Mobility

IV.  Healing and Damage Resistance

V.  Adamantium

VI.  Senses

VII.  Combat

VIII. Other Skills, Intelligence, Experience

IX.  Bone Claws/Skeleton

X.  Appendix

 

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I. Introduction

A. Bio

Wolverine is James "Logan" Howlett, a mutant and a core member of the X-Men. Prior to joining the X-Men, Logan lived a long and violent life. He was born James Howlett to a wealthy family in Alberta, Canada. As an adolescent, his family was brutally destroyed one night. James fled his family home and went on to walk many different paths as the decades passed, now known as Logan. He has been a samurai, soldier, outlaw, covert government agent, and more. Tragically, outside forces have often manipulated Logan, twisting him into a tool of murder and destruction.

After joining the X-Men, his sprawling adventures with the team led him across Earth, space, time, and parallel dimensions. These adventures proved Logan to be a leading member of the mutant race, and he eventually joined various Avenger teams and later, he became the Headmaster at a resurrected Winchester school for mutants.

For a detailed account of Logan's history check out his wiki page.

 

B. Powers

Wolverine's powers and enhancements include

• enhanced physical abilities--strength, speed, senses, etc;

• a healing factor;

• dense, razor sharp bone claws; and

• (often) adamantium-bonded bones, making his skeleton virtually unbreakable and his claws superhumanly sharp.

 

C. Note on Update and Organization

I've swapped a lot of feats (quality, selection); added more albums of particular types of feats; and reorganized and expanded Section VII. I added a section for his bone skeleton in the comments; bone skeleton feats in the main RT are marked "B" in superscript. I also removed the use of bold text to distinguish Wolverine's "high-end" or "career best" feats. The RT still follows a (rough) best-to-good organization with his more extreme feats at the top of each section, but there are high-end feats throughout (thus the removal of bolding).

As always, many scans and scenes have been edited for conciseness; let me know if you'd like the issue numbers or fuller context for any particular scenes.

Special shout out to jay_z94 from Comicvine for his input on feats, organization, etc.

 

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II. Strength

A. Lifting, Pushing/Pulling, Throwing

• Catches and holds an elevator with two people in it

• Throws dumpster at attacker^^B

• A truck fleeing from the Hulk hits him and he stops it dead

• Throws a shark onto a boat with little leverage

• Enemies lock him in heavy restraints, but he later shatters them to rip free

• Snaps thick chains forged from the "hardest steel money can buy"

• Swings Dragon Man into wall by his tail (Note: Dragon Man is listed at 3.2 tons)

• Swings Colossus into Juggernaut to stagger him (Note: Colossus weighs 500 lbs)

• Picks up six men and then throws them through a wall

• Easily snaps overlapped links of chains

• Pulls open and crumples elevator doors (Note: this was in a Danger Room simulation)

• Throws Omega Red into prison bars hard enough to break them (Note: Omega Red is 425 lbs)

• Men try to restrain him, but he launches them into the air

• Two ninja throw chains around his arms and he swings them into the air^^B

• Swings two robots into the wall so hard they explode^^B

• Snaps his chains and throws a male lion into the bars of a cage hard enough to break them^^B

• Throws a motorcycle hard enough to break someone's back^^B

• Periodically damages or destroys materials, objects--metal chains, doors, wood, etc.

• Hauls a grand piano through a forest, a river, and then up a mountain; continues for three days without supplies

• Hanging on the outside of a 747, he reaches in and and throws a suicide bomber clear of the plane

• Often lifts, carries, throws, etc. hundreds of pounds with relative ease

 

B. Striking and Grappling

• Can stagger, stun, or send super strong beings smashing into things

• While underwater, punches a man so hard his head creates a hole in the pool wall

• Uses a large pillar as a club and shatters it against a mutant monster

• Berserking, he punches Vanguard a distance, then breaks Ursa Major's hold and throws him

• Kicks a large rock hard enough to shatter or KO two people

• Use the body of a ninja to knock a metal door of its hinges

• Cuts off a sentinel's head with enough force to send the head flying into a wall

• Has often fought fairly evenly with Roughouse and even KO'd him on occasion (Note: RH is super strong -- 1, 2)

• Beats down Caliban (Note: Caliban has super strength and durability)

• Catches Sabretooth's punch and later, absolutely smashes him^^B (Note: earlier, ST showed strength to break a forcefield that could "hold an elephant")

• Encounters a huge, demon-possessed grizzly bear strong enough to swat other bears around, and punches it out^^B

• Ragdolls Lady Deathstrike and slams her head through an oven door^^B (Note: Here, Lady DS was strong enough to tear through walls and smack around Alpha Flight)

• Shatters a sword with a single chop

• Gets slammed and held by Guardian but then sends him flying despite having little leverage^^B

• Sends Spider-Man flying with a backhand

• Drags two cyborgs and kicks a third's head off^^B

• Breaks a dinosaur's neck

• Often one-shots humans, breaks their bones, or tosses them about

 

C. Limits

• Rarely shows a huge strength advantage against other street-tier characters

• Often gets overpowered by characters with moderate to high super strength

 

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III. Speed and Mobility

A. Striking, Running, Leaping

• Soldiers aim at Wolverine but he attacks so fast, they don't see him rush past and slash their guns apart

• Faces a highly trained ninja and kills her before she registers it

• Often strikes faster than his opponent can register

• A man fires a gun at his back; he then closes the distance in a blur, disarming the shooter before a second shot

• Kills four men before Mr. Sinister can finish saying "what?"^^B

• Moves from sitting on a fence to the middle of a fight so quickly that a man hardly registers he left the fence

• Quickly shreds a techno-organic monster

• Leaps through a distracted sentinel

• Falls onto a runway but is still able to catch a plane as it takes off (Note: this damaged his muscles)

• Evades heavy gunfire and tears through a group of guards

• Runs five miles to rescue Jubilee in a short period of time (minutes?)^^B

• Leaps to push two people out of the way of gunfire (Note: the distance he leapt is unclear--possibly as little as 2-3')

• Men have guns pointed at his back from several feet away, but he turns and attacks before they get shots off

• A monster moves FTE to citizens, and too fast for Alpha Flight members; Wolverine is the only one able to fight it^^B

• While walking, detects ninja on a building across the street and appears behind them in a moment

• On occasion, leaps large heights/distances

• Rushes a giant baboon and kills it on its feet

• Rushes and takes down two helicopters while avoiding gunfire and missiles

• From the floor below his enemies, he stabs a foot and then climbs to the higher floor so quickly he virtually appears

• Bishop has his finger on a button, but Wolverine slices him before he can push it (Note: Bishop RT)

• Characters, like Spider-Man and Kaine, have said or implied that he's fast

• Spider-Man won't let go, so Wolverine turns and slams him into a tree before he can react

• Blitzes two Brood disguised as policemen before they get shots off

• Thinks and acts at the same time, which is often too fast for telepaths who predict opponents' moves

• Gets shot at with Beast, and then flanks and attacks while Beast is still in the air

 

B. Reflexes and Agility

• Intercepts a guasse-gun rocket

• Shields a girl from gunfire, potentially after the shots were fired

• Ghosts in a hail of gunfire, and later, he dodges fire from gunmen who say he was too fast to see earlier

• A tank shoots at him point blank, but he seems to avoid the explosion^^B

• Slices a section of table to block shotgun fire

• Dodges automatic fire while running straight at the shooter

• Dodges point blank fire with a back flip

• Blocks and then dodges Cyclops' optic blasts

• Blocks a volley of arrows

• On a theater stage, Deadpool throws a sword at a woman, but Wolverine bursts in and intercepts the sword^^B

• Dodges Nuke's automatic fire and ghosts around him in the forest

• Spider-Man attacks from behind, but Wolverine dodges twice

• Avoids gunfire from AIM guards, causing them to shoot one another^^B

• Crosses the room in time to block fire from a dart gun

• Cuts a shield for himself before an energy blast hits

• Dodges Omega Red's tendrils (Note: At times, OR is fast enough to block bullets)

• Dodges Venom's attacks and stabs him and later counters Venom's charge (Note: see full fight In VII. C. Notable Fights)

• Frequently dodges various projectile attacks

• Often blocks or catches projectiles with his claws/hands

• A Brood throws Colossus and Wolverine times a leap to and then from Colossus's body in midair

• Hears a gun cocking, and avoids the gun fire

• Reacts to a leaping Mr. Fixit despite his his back being turned

• Blocks a skilled ninja's (Yukio's) attack at the last second

 

C. Limits

• Often gets hit by attacks that aren't that fast

• Different Spider-Men conclude they are faster

• Often seems to have comparable speed to his peers

• Notes:

  • He may take hits because he doesn't need, or even want, to avoid them. He heals, so he can press the attack and land hits, even if he takes hits in return. He may even like getting hit at times or use it to pump himself up.

  • Another explanation may be that he exerts himself in sudden bursts but doesn't maintain those speeds or have comparable reactions.

 

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IV. Healing and Damage Resistance

A. Impact

• Often withstands a few hits from super strong characters like Hulk, Namor, etc.

• Jumps from a plane, smashes through a Hydra base, and seems fine; he immediately dodges shooters and attacks

• Withstands nerve attacks more than once (Note: Elektra used nerve stabs, but he was up when her blades came out)

• A stealth jet hits him at speed, but he is barely fazed

• Crushed by car but seems mostly unharmed

 

B. Piercing

• Has his heart torn out but recovers and defeats his enemy

• Venom impales him multiple times through vital organs; he's still quickly on his feet

• Has a brutal, prolonged fight with Sabretooth (Note: in this comic, ST KOs Rogue, a 50 tonner)

• Shot through his eye, then has his HF is turned off; X-23 has to save him, but he returns to the fight

• Sometimes withstands heavy gun fire without major issue (Note: this is not always consistent; see Limits below)

• Often keeps fighting through non-critical piercing wounds; injuries to vitals can affect him more seriously

• Small caliber and conventional guns don't do much

• A Fury android impales, chops, and shoots him with huge weapons; he goes down, but eventually recovers

 

C. Energy and Mixed

• Winged by a gun that disintegrated people, but heals in minutes; later takes a direct shot and still heals in a short period

• Survives the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima^^B

• Quake detonates his heart, but only moments later, he is on his feet

• Fights Thor's clone and gets hit with powerful lightning and hammer strokes

• Pushes through Weapon Omega's energy blast

• Fights through Bastion's energy blasts

• Often withstands ~wall level energy emissions without becoming incapacitated

• Takes heavy damage from Silver Samurai II, and heals almost instantly

• Hypnotized X-Men attack him, but he manages to fight back all morning

• Survives an airplane crash with extreme injuries, but is okay to fight in moments

• Seems okay in temps and winds that could "freeze a body in...seconds"

 

D. Corporeal Conditions--disease, drugs, etc.

• Over a period, resists assimilation by Spore, a living disease that overpowered Eternals (Note: He did have help at points from a person with healing powers)

• (NSFW) An extremely virulent mutant tortures him with horrible diseases, including one that attacked his very DNA; eventually he develops resistances and recovers

• Has recovered from vampirism and lycanthropy

• Resists Omega Red's death spores which KO other X-Men

• Poisoned with enough blowfish toxin to kill 20 men, but laughs it off^^B

 

E. Psychic

• Has received psychic training and defenses from various X-Men

• Resists Emma Frost's mental command

• A telepath enters his mind, and bad things happen

• Q. Quire telepathically abducts his psyche, and his body goes feral to hunt Quire down

• Can resist low level psi-attacks via his feral nature, strong will, etc.

 

F. Limits

• General: cumulative or severe injuries can overload his healing; at that point his healing factor may short out momentarily, and he can go down.

• Believes certain things can kill him, such as the Muramasa Sword, incineration, reality warping, etc.

• Presumably, asphyxiation can kill him and he killed his son, Daken, by drowning him (Note: it might take 15 minutes+)

• Moderately powerful attacks (~wall to building level), drugs, etc. can incap him, especially pre-1995

• Genocide blasts him, putting him in critical condition for a while

• Namor beats him down; he's still conscious and reacting but in bad shape

• Spider-Ock briefly KO's him after a short fight

• Heavy or powerful gunfire can briefly incapacitate him

• Small caliber head shots can stagger him; larger caliber head shots can stun or KO him

• Often brainwashed

• Overload/Cumulative:

  • An assassin, familiar with Wolverine, wears him down over a few comics and his healing "reaches its limit"^^B

  • His HF burnt out and remained at a low level for ~13 comics afer his adamantium was ripped out

  • After a few days of non-stop fighting, he gets put to ground by the X-men and finally KO'd by Cap

  • X-Men shoot him with disease inducing bullets to overload his HF

• Notes:

  • His healing speed/resilience seems stronger when he's angry /raging^^B

  • His healing got stronger in the mid to late 90s after he lost his adamantium^^B, and adapted to those levels even when he got adamantium again

 

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V. Adamantium

A. Claws

• Can pierce people with very high durability, including the Hulk, Thor, Gladiator, etc.

• Cuts through chains that were strong enough to bind Hercules

• Slices through a foot-thick door of omnium steel as if it were "paper" (Note: Fixit and Hercules fail to bend omnium bars alone; a net "laced with omnium" restrains Ghost Rider)

• Cuts through every material Department H was able to test

• Often cuts through his enemies' weapons

• Shreds advanced battle armor that resisted Cyclops' blasts

• Breaks armored window that can withstand "titanium jacketed, depleted uranium 30 mm cannon fire"

• Open sesames a bank vault

• [NSFW] Slices through less durable enemies

• Limits:

  • Can't cut super metals like Cap's shield, other adamantium, or certain magic swords

  • Certain forms of energy, like forcefields or magic, can resist his claws

  • On occasion, has failed to cut people, or had more difficulty doing so

 

B. Skeleton

• World War Hulk says he can't kill Wolverine and his skeleton remains intact after repeated blows

• Hulk can't tear him apart

• Banner says Skaar can't kill him because of his unbreakable skeleton

• Ba'al can't tear him apart (Note: Ba'al listed as a 70-100 tonner (he has few feats)

• His tissue, muscle, and tendons have often been destroyed, but his skeleton remains intact

• Punched into orbit with no skeletal damage

• Lady Deathstrike says his adamantium prevents her from tearing him apart

• Armored guards use an adamantium saw blade on his neck but his skeleton stops it

• With no healing factor, he gets hit by Thor and survives with no skeletal damage

• Gets kicked from Westchester, NY to the country of Georgia

• Silver Samurai's tachyon energy field can't cut through him

• His skeleton can harm objects that strike it; his blows have added force

• Limits:

  • Matter, magic, and reality warping can affect his adamantium

  • Nightcrawler seems to break his neck while he was possessed

  • Has a dislocated shoulder and damaged tendons after a fight with super gorillas

  • A biker with brass knuckles dislocates Logan's jaw

 

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VI. Senses

A. General

• In the undercarriage of a flying plane, he is able to perceive the location of enemies in the cabin above despite ambient noise

• From high above New York, locates the scent of his target emanating from the sewers

• Daredevil wonders if his sense of smell is better and guesses it might be in DD Annual #5

• Detects the scentless Fantomex from the lack of scent in a sewer

• Picks up Nitro's scent at an explosion site days after Nitro was there

• Says he functions as well in pitch darkness as he does in broad daylight

• Inside, he is able to identify the sound of a martial arts kick on the roof of another building

• While imprisoned in a flying castle, he hears a flying car approach outside

• Frequently detects tails, surprise attacks, impostors, invisible opponents, and more

• Often uses his senses to read people--detect lies, emotions, etc.

• Limits

  • Surprised fairly frequently

  • His senses aren't infallible--he can fail to detect things; other smells and noises can interfere; etc.

 

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VII. Combat

A. General Knowledge and Ability

• Has extensive knowledge and training in different fighting styles; spent countless hours in the Danger Room; and helped train skilled fighters like Kitty Pryde, Storm, Black Widow, etc.

• Knows pressure point, nerve, and other attacks; most notably he gives Cap a hematoma that eventually TKO's Cap and requires medical attention (Note: see full fight in C. Notable Fights below)

• Forge analyzes his brain during Danger Room combat equates his abilities with "an Olympic gymnast doing a gold medal routine while simultaneously defeating four chess computers in his head"

• Has a reputation for being extremely deadly and experienced

• Refreshes his kung fu, and stomps metahumans who had nearly killed him

• Refreshes his swordsmanship with Silver Samurai and in 5 days, can defeat him in multiple ways (Silver Samurai RT)

• Has better martial arts than Yukio, whose skills "defy description"^^B

• Says his instincts, reflexes, training, and experience allow him to fight at a high level without thinking

• Captain America admits he has great moves; he also saves a young Cap from Hand ninja during WW2

• Lord Darkwind says Daredevil and Wolverine are "nearly perfect in [their] techniques"; also beats six men to DD's initial four

• Casually beats a Danger Room exercise on max settings

• In a rite of combat, he repeatedly avoids attacks from men that could "kill him with just one blow"^^B

• Unarmed, he takes on eight armed martial artists and beats them

• Weakened from being in a power negating prison, he still easily incapacitates Crusher Creel, saying he can kill him in 43 different ways; Creel is a skilled boxer and was easily beating Beast

• Beats several swordsmen while blindfolded^^B

• Breaks various holds and pins

• Daredevil surprise attacks him, but he recovers and gets DD in a hold

• Disarms and quickly KO's Bucky with a chokehold^^B

• Times a strike on Speed Demon

• Has projectile weaponry skills and accuracy from throwing weapons to firearms)

• Gen X ambushes him, but he easily handles their attacks^^B

 

B. Berserker Rage

• Goes berserk, does "days of non-stop combat compressed in minutes"; the effort exhausts him

• Forge implies that his berserk rage is an emotional pattern only, and says he maintains his "highly sophisticated combat skills and is capable of complex strategic decisions in a decompressed timeframe"

• Able to push past physical limits, briefly making him faster, stronger, etc.

• A demon lord, Kierrok, nearly defeats the X-Men, but Wolverine goes berserk and stops him; years later, he slaughters Kierrok's forces and injures him again^^B (Note: in an earlier comic, a single demon showed impressive physicals)

• Goes "maximum damage" on a horde of Limbo demons

• Loses an initial fight to Mr. X, but in a second fight, he gains the upper hand as he goes berserk; in a third fight, he intentionally berserks and beats Mr. X (Note: Mr. X RT)

• Overwhelms Captain America while in an ensorcelled berserker state

• Ogun, a master martial artist, schools young Logan, but then Logan goes berserk and quickly beats him^^B

 

C. Notable Fights

• Defeats Murderous Lion, whom he calls one of the most dangerous fighters in the world (Note: ML said he defeated 1000 people in another comic; Wolverine was also not at his peak, having lost skills after brain damage)

• Fights the Angel of Death and an animated warrior 1v2 (Note: these characters are extremely skilled, fast, etc.)

• Puts up a tough, but losing effort against Gorgon (Note:Gorgon RT--he easily beat Elektra in this series)

• Often shows more skill than Sabretooth--RT--and has won some notable fights against him:

  (1) W/out adamantium, he beats bone-Sabretooth^^B and does it again against an adamantium-ST^^B;

  (2) Authoritatively beats Sabretooth;

  (3) Wins without a healing factor

• Temporarily takes down Mr. Fixit during an escalating fight

• Beats Shang Chi in a skirmish^^B (Note: just prior, Shang-Chi demonstrated "preternaturally swift reflexes"; "liquid-lightning" fast ninjas "might as well be motionless" to him)

• Beats Iron Fist in a sparring match

• Fights Captain America fairly equally more than once

• Takes on Namor and the New Invaders and nearly kills Namor before they flee (Note: he was brainwashed)

• Defeats an energized Omega Red using skill and tactics--Omega Red RT

• Brawls with Venom--Venom RT

• Takes down numerous D-list villains using stealth and ferocity

• Routinely dominates groups of less powerful enemies; he sometimes kills large numbers of people

• Scraps with the Black Panther

• Duels Silver Samurai II while blindfolded and does decently

• Wins a fighting tournament, beating Speed Demon, Toad, Puma (while drugged), and Mr. X (a pre-cog)

• Holds off Alpha Flight until reinforcements arrive

• Over a couple comics, fights and temporarily beats Tiger Shark, whom he claims has Namor-level strength

• Beats an Atlantean Royal Guard right after getting blown up (Note: Atlanteans have 4-5 ton strength)

• With the help of a Sentinel and later Elektra, he takes down a mystical stronghold of the Hand

• Defeats 11 undead samurai, said to be "brutal killing machines" and among the "most deadly samurai to ever live"

• Beats Shatterstar on two occasions (Note: Shatterstar is skilled and fast)

• Recovers from poison and quickly beats Zaran

 

D. Tactics, Strategy, Preparation, Equipment

• Executes a perfectly timed strike on the Japanese PM's motorcade

• Prepares traps and ambushes on the run to take out spec-ops mercs with advanced versions of his powers

• Makes an elaborate plan to capture his son

• Lures mutant villains into a trap and kills them with sentinels loaned from SHIELD

• Experienced with various tech--able to plant/arm/disarm various devices, access computer systems, etc.

• Recognizes Ord's strategy

• Immediately picks up on Bucky's stategy

• Draws out special-ops assassins and sneaks up on them

• Doesn't usually use equipment, but at times has access to notable resources like the Muramasa Blade, high-tech gear, etc.

 

D. Limits

• Shingen poisons him and then defeats him in a duel

• Iron Fist handles him pretty easily

• Psylocke initially struggles against him, but after a third party intervenes, she refocuses and gets the upper hand

• Obsessively practices infiltrating Genosha and assassinating Magneto, but only succeeds a few times

• Has knowledge, but may prefer brawling

• Says he's not much good in a fight until he takes a few hits

• Black Panther says his style depends on taking hits (Note: he had no healing factor and had also lost skills after Dr. Rot destroyed his memories)

• Gets drunk and then captured by thugs who force him to fight with a restraining collar

 

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VIII. Other Skills, Intelligence, Experience

A. Stealth, Infiltration, Escape

• Disappears from Nightcrawler's vision and then surprises him

• Department H locks him into a specially secured truck, but he escapes undetected, and sneaks on to the X-Men's plane before they leave

• Fantomex, a superhuman thief, breaks into a vault, to find Wolverine already there, winning him a bet

• Every year at the same time, he removes a body part from a crime lord despite best efforts to stop him

• Disappears right in front of a espionage agent's eyes

• Sneaks on a sleeping Daredevil and surprises him

• Surprises a patrolling Iron Man

• Infiltrates Avengers tower and questions Spider-Woman without setting off alarms

• Sneaks into the Baxter building

• At a UN conference, he gets passed security completely unnoticed

• Infiltrates the Hand and eventually eliminates the entire Tokyo sect

• From the water, sneak attacks a soldier on a boat without alerting his comrade and then strikes again^^B

• In a well-lit room full of mobsters, he suddenly appears

 

B. Tracking

• States he can find the shape-shifting Mystique anywhere in the world in 9 hours and he does it in 8.5

• Hope is kidnapped and with no apparent leads, he tracks her to a secret base, sneaks in, and rescues her

• Reads a scene from the tracks

• Uses a days-old arrow to track down the hunter 57 miles away in rural Canada

 

C. General Intelligence, Experience

• Has been a samurai, soldier, spy/assassin, and more

• Learned spy-craft from Black Widow's father

• Has various technical skills

• Speaks many different languages