There are a few abilities that find their way into common power sets like enhanced strength and endurance that give any character an extra advantage, and the best example of one of these powers is the healing factor, which allows superheroes and villains to recover from intense battles far quicker than other characters, with some extreme cases leading to immortality.
While there are a number of races like Asgardians or even vampires and werewolves who have a naturally enhanced healing factor, we'll be taking a closer look at those characters whose unique power sets include a healing factor as we determine which Marvel Comics character is the best healer.
10 SLAPSTICK
The character known as Slapstick is a unique entry on this list, as while his healing factor is one of the most powerful in the Marvel Universe, it does come with a few caveats. He first appeared in the pages of 1992's The Awesome Slapstick before he found his way into other series like New Warriors and The Initiative.
Slapstick was a regular human who was transformed into a cartoon-like being by an extra-dimensional device. This granted him many incredible abilities that allowed him to bounce back from any damage just like a cartoon. This doesn't quite translate as a typical healing factor, but we felt he was still important to include here.
9 MYSTIQUE
Raven Darkholme/Mystique is a very powerful shape-changer who was worked both with and against the X-Men over the years. A lot of years, actually, as Mystique's abilities have allowed her to live far longer than a normal human, with her true age remaining unknown.
Mystique's transformative abilities allow her to not only quickly heal from injuries but also avoid most injuries by altering her shape or rearranging her bodily organs, though that isn't a skill she has demonstrated often. A fatal incident like a decapitation would likely still take out Mystique, though we'll have to see it to believe it.
8 WOLVERINE
While the X-Men's Wolverine is often considered to have the greatest healing factor in comics, the reality is he just tends to take more damage than other characters so he uses his healing factor more often. Not to detract from his ability, as it is still one of the best in the comic industry.
However, Wolverine's healing factor is hindered by the ongoing battle with the adamantium poisoning that constantly attacks his body, due to the unbreakable metal that has been bonded to every bone in his body, including his claws. We've seen Wolverine's healing factor kick into overdrive before when the adamantium was removed from his body, and while it wasn't pretty it was effective.
7 SABRETOOTH
Victor Creed is a mutant whose already powerful healing factor was enhanced by further experimentation by the Weapon X organization. As Sabretooth, his healing factor was always enough to restitch the character up after serious injuries, but prior to his Weapon X enhancement, it took a bit longer for him to heal from really serious trauma.
This was evident following a battle with Wolverine that left Sabretooth effectively lobotomized, an injury that took months to recover and even temporarily altered his personality for a time. However, these days Sabretooth is able to rapidly heal from the same kinds of injuries, making him incredibly dangerous and pushing him slightly past the adamantium-hindered Wolverine.
6 X-23
It doesn't push him past Laura Kinney/X-23, a genetic clone/daughter of Wolverine with a minimal amount of adamantium housed in her body that doesn't restrict her inherited healing factor as much as Logan's does. We've seen X-23 heal from some horrific accidents, reattach limbs, and regrow complete sections of her body rather rapidly.
She even criticizes how long it takes Wolverine to heal from the same explosive blast she was healing from, highlighting her quicker healing. The lack of adamantium, refined genetics of her creation, and even her youth all give Laura's healing factor the edge among other Wolverine-related characters, including her half-brother Daken, who has to consciously focus on his own healing.
5 DEADPOOL
Wade Wilson/Deadpool's overpowered healing factor was actually derived from Wolverine and given to a cancer-ridden Wilson during an experiment, though that healing factor further mutated and transformed Deadpool into a fast-healing potential immortal that can attach other people's limbs or regrow his own incredibly quickly, pretty much whatever works.
Deadpool's healing factor was re-examined in the recent Black Panther vs. Deadpool mini-series, which revealed that Wade's body is actually regrowing the dying cancer cells instead of healthy living cells, leading Black Panther to rechristen it as a "dying factor."
4 ELIXIR
Josh Foley is a powerful omega-level mutant whose mutant ability is the genetic control over his own body, which extends anyone he touches or is within close proximity. His abilities have continued to grow and evolve over the years, even showing a dark side that allows him to kill as easily as he heals.
As Elixir, Josh is able to not only heal himself and others using his abilities, but he also has Beast's years of medical expertise implanted within his brain. His abilities also allow him to resurrect himself and others, and he is currently one of the members of the Five mutants who drive the X-Men's resurrection machine.
3 HULK
When Bruce Banner was caught in the explosion of a gamma bomb of his own creation, he found he would transform into the Incredible Hulk whenever he got angry. The Hulk possesses an almost unparalleled healing factor among his superhero peers, which is a must-have when fighting Wolverine as much as Hulk does.
Hulk's healing factor is amplified the same way his strength is, meaning the madder he gets, the stronger he gets and the quicker he heals. He's displayed this ability numerous times by jump-starting his healing factor with pure rage, allowing him to go from almost skeletonized to full health within seconds.
2 MADCAP
While we don't know many details about Madcap's life before his transformation by one of A.I.M.'s chemical experiments, but we do know he lost his entire family in the accident which drove him insane. The accident also gave him an overpowered healing factor and removed his ability to feel pain, while also giving him the power to share his madness with others.
Madcap's unique healing factor allows him to regrow from almost any condition, even the loss of his head, which could keep talking and operating alongside the severed body. Even Deadpool has placed Madcap's healing factor well above his, and we don't even know Madcap's upper limits of regeneration after his metabolism was mixed with Deadpool's in a previous encounter.
1 SENTRY
Bob Reynolds/Sentry/The Void is one of the most overpowered characters in the Marvel Universe, whose powers all stem from his ability to manipulate reality and molecules. While this isn't technically a healing factor when compared to the other characters on this list, it is frequently used that way as an example of his power levels.
The Sentry has been killed in many horrific ways, whether being shot in the face by his wife or magically ripped apart while in battle, but he has always been able to rebuild himself almost instantaneously, depending on his mental stability at the time. The character even recently received an upgrade during the Annihilation: Scourge event.