Wolverine is the best there is at what he does, and it has made him very popular. Marvel, always ready to milk something for all its worth, saw how popular Wolverine was and created a whole raft of characters that were basically Wolverine in all kinds of ways. There are a lot of great tropes within Wolverine's make-up, and they can easily be used for other characters.
There are a lot of characters who contain Wolverine's creative DNA. Sometimes, it's rather blatantly obvious and other times it takes a little of bit of looking to find. These characters wouldn't exist at all without Wolverine being popular.
10 Deadpool's Personality Is Different But He's Very Much In The Wolverine Vein
On the surface, Deadpool doesn't really seem all that similar to Wolverine. He's a happy-go-lucky type of character, always ready with a joke when he's killing people. But dig a little deeper into Deadpool and a lot of Wolverine is in there. They're both Weapon X subjects with healing factors who were put to work killing others, for example.
Under all the humor, Deadpool is a damaged man, just like Wolverine. He's pathologically lonely and seeks out family, something which Wolverine does as well but in a different way. They both had mysterious pasts for years. The two characters have so much in common beyond the surface impressions.
9 Shatterstar Definitely Played Off Wolverine Tropes
Shatterstar burst onto the scene when Wolverine's popularity was really hitting. Shatterstar is basically Rob Liefeld's conception of a Wolverine-like character. He's a grimacing killer with a mysterious past, one who was hyper-violent but still a hero. Much like Wolverine, he had a shifting backstory, as writers kept changing what his origin was.
Shatterstar is an amazing fighter, especially with edged weapons. Unlike a lot of other Wolverine-alikes at Marvel, he didn't really associate with Wolverine too much. Eventually, he'd be given a concrete backstory, like Wolverine, and also lighten up, also much like Wolverine.
8 Wildside Is Yet Another Liefeld Wolverine Clone
Rob Liefeld created multiple Wolverine clones in his time at both Image and Marvel. Wildside is another notable one, and Liefeld barely tried to hide how much like Wolverine Wildside was. It all started with the extremely similar hair, but then there was also the retractable claws, the Weapon X connection, and his attitude.
The biggest difference between Wildsideand Wolverine is that Wildside is a villain. Liefeld was all about creating characters that reminded readers of other characters, especially in the later stages of his career at Marvel and when he went to Image. Wildside was the most blatant Wolverine clone he created at Marvel.
7 Omega Red Was Cut From The Wolverine Mold
The '90s saw many deadly mutant villains debut. One of the most popular is Omega Red. Omega Red may not seem like a Wolverine clone, but all the classic Wolverine touches are there. Super soldier mutant experimented on by their government? Check. An animal affectation that is laced with a powerful metal? Check. Skilled fighter with a mysterious past? Check.
Omega Red is basically the Russian Wolverine. His death spore power is also basically the opposite of Wolverine's healing factor, showing that he was created to be a character that complimented the Canadian mutant. He struck a chord with '90s fans and has long been considered one of Wolverine's most iconic foes.
6 Sabretooth And Wolverine Are Inextricably Linked
Sabretooth is Wolverine's most brutal foe and also the first Wolverine clone. It took a little time before the two characters clashed, but once they did, it was off to the races. The two basically had the same powers, except for having different types of claws, both of them were in Weapon X, and both of them are Canadian.
Sabretooth and Wolverine's biggest difference is in personality. They both enjoy killing, but Sabretooth loves killing everyone he can, whereas Wolverine only likes to kill people he thinks deserve it. The two characters are so linked that it's now impossible to picture one without the other.
5 Romulus Is An Evil Wolverine Played As A Mastermind
A venerable trope in superhero fiction is the evil opposite. Most A-list superheroes have several, and Wolverine is no different. Romulus was the latest in a long line of Wolverine villains that were basically him but evil. The biggest difference between Wolverine and Romulus, beyond their moral alignments, is that Romulus was also a mastermind character, one who played the long game and manipulated events.
Romulus was revealed to be a shadowy manipulator behind Wolverine's life. He had most of the same powers as Wolverine and the two worked together pre-Weapon X, like several other Wolverine-alike villains.
4 Jimmy Hudson Was The Son Of Ultimate Wolverine
Wolverine has fathered a lot of children over the years, and that includes Wolverines from other universes. Ultimate Wolverine had a child named Jimmy Hudson, who took his father's place after his death. After the destruction of the 1610 universe, Jimmy was shunted over to the 616 Universe, where he joined up with time-displaced original X-Men and acted as their Wolverine.
Jimmy didn't have the adamantium skeleton, but like most Wolverine children, he had the exact same powers as his father. The character was never exactly super popular, but he did play the Wolverine role on more than one X-Men team.
3 Scout Is Another Lab-Made Wolverine Daughter
Marvel's sidekicks can be a rather tough lot, with Scout being one of the most dangerous. Like her sister Laura Kinney, she was created in a lab. She has the requisite healing factor, super senses, and claws, although she has one claw on her hand instead of three. She also is incapable of feeling pain, something that sets her apart from Wolverine.
Scout has her demons that come from being made into a killer, much like Wolverine, giving her an extra dimension of sorrow. There are other aspects of her personality that set her apart from Wolverine, but she wouldn't exist at all without the ol'Canucklehead.
2 Akihiro Was Introduced To Be Yet Another Evil Wolverine Before He Was Given His Own Character
Akihiro was first known as Daken. Introduced as a lackey for Romulus, he was Wolverine's son, a child that Wolverine thought was long dead. He was raised to hate his father and used as a weapon against him. He has the same powers, but his claws are a little different - two on top of his hand and one as a dewclaw - and he can release pheromones that let him control others.
Daken was eventually killed by his father, which was probably the best thing that could happen to him. Daken has become his own character, developing a personality beyond someone who hates Wolverine.
1 Wolverine Is The Same As Wolverine
Laura Kinney was introduced as X-23. Believed to be a clone of Wolverine, she has all the same powers as him, except she has two claws on each hand and one on each foot. Like Wolverine, she was made into a killing machine and had to live with the guilt. Like Wolverine, a big part of her character journey was finding a way to have a normal life.
Later, it was revealed that Laura was Logan's daughter. After Wolverine's death, she'd get her shot at super-stardom. She became the new Wolverine and proved that she was ready for the A-list. She's since joined the X-Men and her father decided to share the Wolverine mantle with her.