Wolverine likes to say that he's the best there is at what he does, which is slice people up with his adamantium claws and generally act surly. The diminutive X-Man has made a name for himself with the Marvel Universe for his capableness, his ferociousness, and his body count numbering in the low thousands. There's no other way to put it: Wolverine is deadly. But is the vastness of the multiverse, Wolverine isn't the only claw-popping mutant to be the best there is at what he does. In fact, there are numerous alternate-reality Wolverines populating the multiverse, and many of them are far, far deadlier than the original.
The multiverse has seen it all: gender-bent Wolverines, wacky Wolverines, time-traveling Wolverines, even a Batman Wolverine! While the OG has earned a reputation as one of the most slice-happy heroes in the Marvel U, there are numerous Wolvies out there in the multiverse that could give Logan a run for his money. So join CBR as we reality hop, bringing you the definitive list of alternate-reality Wolverines that are DEADLIER than the original. Buckle up, bub; this is gonna get stabby.
15 ULTIMATE CABLE
When the Ultimate Universe started, Marvel sought to use the new universe to cast off the burden of decades of continuity, starting characters fresh. But as the line continued, it fell victim to the same pitfalls of continuity that it set out to avoid. Case in point: Ultimate Cable, the undisputed king of kinda confusing continuity, and certified OG Wolverine butt-kicker.
Here's the cliff notes version: in an alternate future, Apocalypse wipes out the X-Men, rips off Ultimate Wolverine's arm, absorbs Ultimate Wolvie's healing factor, and leaves the mutant for dead. Wolverine replaces his missing arm with a metal appendage, becomes proficient in weaponry, and travels back in time to end Charles Xavier. Possessing the famous claws of Wolverine, the battle proficiency of Cable, and a boatload of guns, Ultimate Cable managed to take out the Ultimate X-Men single-handedly, making him more the capable of taking 616 Wolverine out.
14 WILD THING
We've all seen what happens when Wolverine hops between the sheets. Wolvie's son Daken has proven to be a perpetual thorn in his father's side, with a bloodlust only matched by his cruelty. But that's not to say that every spawn of Wolverine ends up an amoral monster; in fact, one of the deadliest Wolverines in the multiverse manages to carry on her father's heroic legacy.
Over in Marvel's MC2 universe. Rina Logan, daughter of Wolverine and Elektra, battles the forces of evil as Wild Thing. Like her father, Wild Thing wields three claws on each hand, but Rina's claws are psychic in nature, allowing the burgeoning hero to deal both physical and mental damage. Mix Wolverine's ferocious fighting style with Elektra's grace and mind for tactics, and add some gnarly psychic claws, and you've got one powerful Wolverine.
13 WOLVERINE, DIRECTOR OF S.H.I.E.L.D.
Wolverine has always had what you might call an "anti-authoritative" streak. He tends to butt heads with leaders, and he's not above flipping an adamantium bird to anyone with power who tries to boss him around. But what if Wolverine had a bit more structure in his life? What if, instead of rebelling against authority, Wolvie embraced it? You'd end up with something like Wolverine, Director Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
In What If? Vol. 2 #7, Wolverine joins up with S.H.I.E.L.D. and grows to enjoy his work with the spy agency, eventually rising through the ranks to the position of S.H.I.E.L.D director. As director, Wolverine manages to halt production of the Sentinels, prevents the rise of Dark Phoenix, and fosters relations between humans and mutants. A Wolverine with the full support of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Now that's one powerful alternate-reality Wolvie.
12 GENERAL JAMES HOWLETT
They say a man is shaped by his experiences. For the Wolverine of Earth-616, a lifetime of pain and heartache have made the mutant rough and cold. But if Wolverine had found love, a place to belong, it's possible the diminutive Cannuck could have turned out much differently. Such was the case with General James Howlett, an alternate-reality Wolverine vastly different from the Wolverine we know.
On Earth-12025, James Howlett served as the Governor-General of Dominion of Canada, and embarked upon many adventures in service of the Queen. Howlett eventually began a romantic relationship with Hercules, who gifted the moral with the mystical gold metal Adamantine, which was bonded to Howlett's skeleton. With a lifetime of military training, and mystically-imbued claws, this alternate-reality Wolverine could take down the OG Wolvie no problem.
11 RAZE DARKHOLME
Raze Darkholme may have the kind of name that makes you think of a '90s Spawn knock-off (seriously, was Burn Shadowhouse taken?), but this claw-popping baddie has the kind of power that would allow him to take down the OG Wolverine with ease.
Hailing from a war-torn alternate future, Raze Darkholme is the son of Wolverine and Mystique, equipped with Wolverine's claws and Mystique's shape-changing abilities. Serving as the most vicious member of a twisted villainous incarnation of the X-Men, Raze mixes his father's animalistic bloodlust with his mother's cold and calculating tactics, making this alternate-reality Wolverine truly scary.
10 WOLVERINE HULK
With Marvel's introduction of Weapon H, the novelty of "Hey, it's the Hulk, but he has Wolverine's claws!" has kind of worn off. But while Weapon H is just a poor shlub wrangled into an experiment granting him a mish-mash of Hulk and Wolvie's powers, what would happen if the real Wolverine were to Hulk out? Turns out, such an alternate-reality Wolverine exists, and the result is scary.
In the Secret Wars tie-in, Civil War, Iron Man and Captain America battle for control of an America divided (literally and figuratively) by an explosion that occurred during the Superhero Registration Act. Heroes choose sides in the war for supremacy, but Iron Man just so happens to have an ace up his sleeve: a Hulkified Wolverine. Possessing all the power of the Hulk, but retaining his intelligence and trademark claws, this alternate-reality Wolverine manages to take out tons of heroes, making him one of the deadliest Wolverines in the multiverse.
9 MANGAVERSE WOLVERINE
The Mangaverse is many things: a transparent cash-grab, a remarkably silly alternate-reality, and a giant, confusing pile of anime tropes. But it did give the world Mangaverse Wolverine, one of the most deadly Wolverines in the multiverse.
In the Mangaverse, Wolverine founded the X-Men to serve as mutant-kinds last line of defense. Leading the team alongside his brother Cyclops, Wolverine battles ninjas and giant monster using his trademark claws, with one set being composed of adamantium and the other being energy-based. Sure, an anime Wolverine with lightsaber-claws is ridiculous, but this alternate-reality Wolverine is no joke. We're sure this manga mutant could take down the OG Wolverine no problem.
8 ULTIMATE WOLVERINE
Wolverine's healing factor is nothing to sneeze at. The man regularly survives all manner of maimings. But Wolverine's healing factor has its limits, and if pushed too far, he can die. Ultimate Wolverine's healing factor not only gives him a hairy Canadian leg up on the original Wolverine, but it makes him one of the most deadly Wolverines in the multiverse.
While Ultimate Wolvie is remarkably similar to his 616 counterpart, this alternate-reality Logan boasts a vastly superior healing factor. While main-reality Wolverine was taken out from crummy adamantium suffocation, Ultimate Wolverine has survived being torn in half and chucked across a mountain range, and even walked away from a point-blank nuclear explosion! Putting Ultimate Wolverine down is hard, making this tough SOB one powerful alternate-reality Wolverine.
7 WOLVERINE, LORD OF THE VAMPIRES
There are some combinations of words that evoke pure fear. "Zombie Apocalypse." "Nuclear War." "Mountain Dew Gamer Fuel." But perhaps one of the most scariest word combinations in the comic world would have to be "Wolverine, Lord Of The Vampires."
In the classic Uncanny X-Men #159, Dracula attacked the X-Men and attempted to turn Storm into his consort of the night. Storm was able to break free of Drac's sway, and the team rallied to defeat the vampire, but What If? #24 expanded on the story, imagining a world in which Storm became a vampire, and the newly nocturnal mutant and Dracula attacked the X-Men together. Wolverine discovered his healing factor allows him to control his vampiric urges, and Wolvie takes out Dracula, making Wolverine the new lord of the vampires. With an army of blood-sucking X-Men at his beck and call, this vampiric Wolverine is one of the scariest Wolverines in the multiverse.
6 DARK CLAW
We'll take "Things that are completely ridiculous and awesome" for $500, Alex. Yes, Dark Claw might be the most '90s character in existence, but there's no denying the appeal of the character. Plus, with Dark Claw's background, he's easily one of the most dangerous Wolverines in the multiverse.
If you can't tell, Dark Claw is a combination of Batman and Wolverine. Arising from the Marvel and DC crossover event Amalgam, Logan Wayne was a claw-popping mutant on the run from the Weapon X project, who splits his time between a billionaire playboy jet-setting lifestyle and stalking the streets of New Gotham City as the mysterious Dark Claw. With Wolverine's claws and healing factor, and Batman's martial arts mastery and gadgets, this oddball mash-up is one deadly alternate-reality Wolverine.
5 WENDIGO WOLVERINE
Wolverine and the legendary beast known as the Wendigo aren't too different. After all, these are both creatures prone to extreme violence, and they've both been known to run around the wilderness sans pants. But Wolverine retains his humanity, while the Wendigo operates solely as a blood-thirsty animal. Thus, if Wolverine were to run afoul of the Wendigo curse, you'd have a truly fearsome creature. Allow us to introduce you to Wendigo Wolverine.
In What If? vol. 2 #29, Logan acquires the Wendigo curse after an unfortunate run-in with the creature in the wilds of Canada. Logan learns to control the Wendigo, and is eventually recruited by Captain America to serve as a founding member of the Avengers. As an Avenger, the Wendigo Wolverine (Wendirine? Wolvergo?) is given the code name "Hulk," and goes on to become one of the team's most dependable heroes. A Wolverine with the strength to match the Hulk? Now that's one scary alternate-reality Wolvie.
4 WEAPON OMEGA
The story of Weapon Omega is a tragic one. Once going by the name Weapon X, Logan fought as a hero, rallying his fellow X-Men in defiance of war-hungry despot Apocalypse. But when Celestials came to Earth to judge the planets' inhabitants, Weapon X offered himself to the God-like beings to spare the planet. This is where Weapon X's descent into madness began, cementing the mutant as one of the most dangerous Wolverines in the multiverse.
The Celestials augmented Logan, twisting the mutant's mind until Weapon X became Weapon Omega, a blood-thirsty madman set on culling humanity from the face of the planet. Supported by the insidious Black Legion, Weapon Omega surpasses Apocalypse in pure power, becoming a threat not just to Earth, but to the entire multiverse, making Weapon Omega a truly scary alternate-reality Wolverine.
3 BROTHER MUTANT
Brother Mutant is what is traditionally known as "stupid powerful." Sure, there are plenty of powerful alternate-reality Wolverines, but Brother Mutant is no mere alternate-reality Wolvie. No, Brother Mutant is a veritable melting pot of power, and he is hands down of the most powerful alternate-reality Wolverines in the multiverse.
In Exiles #85, the reality-hopping Exiles were introduced to Brother Mutant, an all-powerful being created after a failed spell from Scarlet Warlock caused Wolverine, Magneto, Quicksilver, Mesmero, and Scarlet Warlock to merge into a single being. With Wolverine's claws and healing factor, Quicksilver's speed, Magneto's control of magnetic fields, Mesmero's hypnosis, and Warlock's spells, Brother Mutant has a power for every situation. Able to take down scores of reality-hopping Wolverines single-handedly, Brother Mutant would have no problem taking down the original Wolvie.
2 SIDEBURN, THE REGENERATING PLANET
The Marvel multiverse is filled to bursting with ridiculous alternate-reality versions of beloved characters. Sure, characters such as Dogpool and Juggerduck are strange, but you'd be hard pressed to find a stranger alternate-reality take on a character than Sideburn, the Regenerating Planet. In fact, this alternate-reality Wolvie is as powerful as he is ridiculous.
Over on Earth-10711, Galacta, daughter of the mighty Galactus, sought to create a never-ending food source for her ravenous father. After some quick tinkering in the lab that involved splicing Wolverine's DNA with a planet, Sideburn, the Regenerating Planet was born. Designed to be continuously eaten by Galactus, Sideburn can effectively recover from any amount of damage. If this giant sideburns-sporting orb were to break free, a planet-sized Wolverine could do unspeakable damage to the multiverse, more than earning Sideburn the title of one of the deadliest Wolverines in the multiverse.
1 PHOENIX WOLVERINE
In theory, Wolverine may never die. Thanks to his healing factor, Logan will likely outlive all of his friends, and may very well outlive humanity. So when you take an aged Wolverine, fill him with grief and rage, and give him the power to snuff out galaxies with a snap of his fingers, you've got yourself the most powerful Wolverine in the multiverse.
Debuting in Thor vol. 5 #1, this Wolverine hails from an Earth in which humanity was wiped out by Loki to spite his brother Thor. An aged Wolverine passed in this purge, but his body was chosen by the Phoenix Force as its new vessel. Phoenix Wolverine subsequently spent eons roaming the universe, wiping out entire planets to push the universe towards entropy. With claws composed of pure cosmic fire, and the power of an actual God, you'd be hard pressed to find a scarier Wolverine in the multiverse.