Wolverine is the best there is at what he does, and what he does is star in some amazing stories. Since his debut in The Incredible Hulk #181, he's become one of Marvel's most popular characters, and some of comics' greatest creators have worked on him.

He's been an X-Man, an Avenger, and a member of the Fantastic Four, and there are few characters out there with the cache of stories that he has. For Wolverine fans, every story has something good to it, even the bad ones, but some are better than others. These are the grade-A stories, the ones that every fan should check out.

Updated on January 24 2024 by David Harth: Wolverine has long earned his place among Marvel's most popular characters, with only Spider-Man edging him out in popularity. Wolverine has fifty years of stories to choose from, and he has benefitted from having many of comics' greatest creators onboard for his stories.

15 Wolverine: Bloodlust Is A Classic Marvel One-Shot

In the mid to late '80s, Marvel did its best to keep up with DC when it came to publishing prestige comics. By the '90s, they'd basically given up this fight, instead concentrating on style over substance. However, there are plenty of one-shots and miniseries from the mid-80s to the early-90s where Marvel let the best of the best create amazing stories. Wolverine: Bloodlust is a cut above the rest, an excellent one-shot that takes Wolverine to some very bizarre places.

While Wolverine is in Canada, he finds himself in a town where people are disappearing and learns that a mysterious monster is to blame. Wolverine goes hunting, only to discover the truth behind it when he meets the Neuri, a race of sasquatch-like beings who live in peace in the woods. The murderers are some of their own, leading Wolverine to team up with one of the beings to solve the problem. This is an action-packed Wolverine yarn, with Davis showing off why he's an amazing writer/artist.

14 Weapon X Stars The Age Of Apocalypse's Wolverine

The Age Of Apocalypse is a beloved X-Men story, but not every part of it is created equal. There are over forty comics in the story split into various miniseries. Some are okay, but some are amazing. Weapon X is one of the greats. The four-issue series stars Weapon X, who broke away from the X-Men with Jean Grey and works with the Eurasian High Human Council. Logan and Jean learn of humanity's war plans, causing Jean to abandon Logan while he soldiers on to help the Eurasian alliance take the war to Apocalypse.

The Wolverine comics of the mid-90s are excellent because of writer Larry Hama and this book is no exception. Adam Kubert's art is amazing, and Hama and Kubert work together excellently. This series is everything a Wolverine fan could want - brutal action, heartrending drama, and shocking surprises. Weapon X is a treat, one that will hook fans from the first page and keep them enthralled until the last.

13 Havok And Wolverine: Meltdown Is An Excellent Team-Up Comic

Havok And Wolverine: Meltdown comes from Marvel's short prestige period, teaming the Simonsons, amazing writers apart and even better together, with Muth and Williams, artists with unique styles, to tell a story of Cold War intrigue starring the ol' Canucklehead and the younger Summers brother. Wolverine and Havok go on vacation when the two of them are attacked in a bar and both end up separated and defeated, with Havok being led around by the nose named Scarlet and Wolverine trying to stop them before they can get to mysterious mutants named Doctor Neutron and Meltdown.

Wolverine and Havok make an amazing team, something that can easily be forgotten this far away from the Outback era of Uncanny X-Men. This book reminds readers of that while giving them a tense superhero Cold War thriller that starts with Chernobyl and gets bigger from there. The painted art styles of Muth and Williams are quite different from what readers would expect from a book like this and that makes all the better.

12 Paul Cornell's Run Is Highly Underrated

2014 saw Wolverine die in a story that most fans will agree is aggressively average, and that's at best. However, for two years before that story, readers got some brilliant Wolverine stories from writer Paul Cornell. Cornell kicked off Wolverine (Vol. 5) with "Hunting Season," a story that saw Wolverine stop a Microverse invasion and ended with the removal of Wolverine's healing factor. From there, the book concentrates on Wolverine coming to terms with the loss of his mortality, as he does his best to destroy the Microverse invaders before dealing with Sabretooth.

Wolverine (Vol. 6) sees Wolverine leave the Jean Grey School and infiltrate a group of villains, all to prove he still has it even without his healing factor. Wolverine teams up with Shang-Chi, confronts Death, and deals with Sabretooth, Mystique, and their ally Lord Deathstroke. Over twenty-four issues, Cornell and multiple artists including Alan Davis and Ryan Stegman gave Wolverine fans a vulnerable version of the character that no one had ever seen before. Cornell did an amazing job building the character up, and his run doesn't get enough credit.

11 Old Man Logan: The Last Ronin Is A Gem From An Amazing Series

Old Man Logan (Vol. 2) brought the fan-favorite version of the character to the 616 universe. Logan had many adventures during this period, ones that focused on him trying to prevent the future he came from. Logan encounters the Silent Order in the present, a group that he knows from the future when he and his wife Maureen find themselves in Japan facing off against the Order and their powerful leader.

Lemire and Sorrentino are the kind of writer/artist team that rarely comes along and their work on Old Man Logan is nothing short of breathtaking. This story shows why. The book presents a story that hits all the right notes, mixing action, intrigue, and the sheer tragedy that is Old Man Logan. This series generally doesn't get the credit it deserves for just how great it is, and this story shows why it's such an underrated series.

10 Old Man Logan: Berzerker Began A New Era Of Wolverine

After Death Of Wolverine, Marvel gave fans options. Laura Kinney became Wolverine, but for Logan fans, Secret Wars brought Old Man Logan to the 616 Marvel Universe. Old Man Logan: Berzerker, by writer Jeff Lemire and artist Andrea Sorrentino, saw the character decide to stop his future from happening, going on a bloody quest.

Lemire and Sorrentino are an amazing team, and their run on Old Man Logan represents some of the best Wolverine stories ever. Berserker follows Logan as he takes his first steps in a new world, one where many familiar enemies are waiting, as well as unforeseen surprises. This first arc is a great beginning that will hook readers from the get-go.

9 Wolverine (1988) #48-50 Pitted Wolverine Against Weapon X's Newest Weapon

Wolverine's mystery man status was a big deal for a long time and Wolverine (1988) #48-50, by writer Larry Hama and artist Marc Silvestri, brought him back to where it all began- Weapon X. Searching for clues to his past, Wolverine and Jubilee find a secret facility that leads to a confrontation with Weapon X's failsafe, Shiva.

Hama's run on Wolverine basically made the character who he is today, and this is one of the high points of his early years in the book. Silvestri's art is amazing, and the story brought up as many questions as it answered. On top of all of that, it's just a well-written story with amazing action.

8 Ultimate X-Men #41 Had Wolverine Perform A Mission Only He Could

The Ultimate Universe wasn't exactly full of great Wolverine stories, but one stands out as easily one of the best Wolverine stories ever. Ultimate X-Men #41, by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist David Finch, was all about Wolverine being sent on a terrible mission to kill a mutant teenager whose powers killed everyone around him.

It's such a wonderfully poignant issue. Wolverine's healing factor allows him to survive the teen's acid aura, and they share some beers as the young man laments his too-short life. Bendis and Finch tell an amazing story, one, unlike any other Wolverine story readers, had seen up to that point.

7 Old Man Logan Is A Post Apocalyptic Western For The Ages

Old Man Logan is one of those stories that no one expected to be as big as it was. It surprised a lot of readers and has gone down as an undeniably classic Wolverine story. Starring a pacifist Wolverine in a future controlled by villains on a road trip with a blind Hawkeye, it's a perfect storm of world-building and action-packed goodness.

Millar is a very good Wolverine writer, and this book is yet another example. He understands how to capture both the pathos and heroism of Logan and does a fantastic job of building a wrecked future for the story to inhabit. McNiven is the perfect artist for the book as well, bringing it to life in all of its gory glory.

6 Wolverine: Enemy Of The State Showed Readers How Good Millar Was At Writing Wolverine

Old Man Logan wasn't Millar's first time out writing Wolverine. That was Wolverine: Enemy of the State, a twelve-issue action-packed banger. Joined by artist John Romita Jr., Millar crafted a tale that saw new Hand leader Gorgon kill and resurrect Wolverine, using him against his fellow heroes before Wolverine broke free and went after him, the Hand, and Hydra.

Pitting Wolverine against both heroes and some of the most dangerous villains he's faced, Enemy of the State is peak Wolverine. It's a story that gives new meaning to the phrase "action epic," as every issue is a straight-up exciting superhero romp that is sometimes hard to find nowadays. Millar and Romita Jr. made a perfect team, presenting an action-packed story that never let up.

5 Wolverine (1988) #91-100 Are The Peak Of The Bone Claw Era

Wolverine's bone claw era is much better than it gets credit for, and Wolverine #91-100 are the perfect examples of that. Written by Larry Hama with art by Adam Kubert, Duncan Rouleau, and Ramon Bernado, these comics see Wolverine dealing with his powers starting to transform him into a more feral person as secret forces conspire to return his adamantium to him for their purposes.

Hama is the undisputed king of Wolverine stories, and these issues show why. Each is a one-and-done that builds the overall plot line, guest-starring some of the most important characters in Wolverine history and giving readers the action and characterization they crave. Great writing and killer art are the name of the game in these issues.

4 Wolverine (1982) #1-4 Pits Wolverine Against The Father Of The Woman He Loved

Wolverine was the biggest character in Uncanny X-Men, so it was only a matter of time before Wolverine got his own series. Wolverine (1982) #1-4 took Wolverine to Japan and pit him against the father of his fiance Mariko, Shingen Yashida, who had promised his daughter's hand in marriage to a Yakuza member.

What follows is a bloody story, as Wolverine is savagely beaten by Shingen before meeting the wild woman Yukio and getting his revenge. Mariko is one of Wolverine's most important love interests, and this story is pivotal to their relationship. It's Wolverine's first outing as a solo character in his own book, and it blew the roof off the character. While it would be several years before he got his own ongoing, this series showed that Wolverine on his own was money. Claremont and Miller are amazing, but that's to be expected.

3 Weapon X Became The Bedrock Of Wolverine's Origin For Years

Fans wondered for years about the circumstances of Wolverine gaining his adamantium skeleton, and they found those out in writer/artist Barry Windsor-Smith's Weapon X. Taking place at the titular Weapon X facility, the story was all about Wolverine gaining his trademark skeleton and his violent escape, creating a story that would birth many others.

Weapon X became a big deal in the Marvel Universe even beyond Wolverine and proved to be a fertile ground for characters and stories. This was the first glimpse into Wolverine's origin, and it was enough to change the game for the character forever. Windsor-Smith created a remarkable comic with this story, one that has aged like fine wine.

2 Wolverine (1988) #10 Showed Readers Wolverine And Sabretooth's First Battle In Their Long Lives

Wolverine and Sabretooth's rivalry is long and brutal, and fans often wonder where it started. They need look no further than Wolverine (1988) #10, by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Buscema. Flashing between the past and present, the story presents a vital piece of Wolverine lore as the hero tries to duck his enemy in the here and now.

This comic is from a bygone era. An expertly crafted single-issue story, it drops a tasty piece of Wolverine history on the reader's plate and is more satisfying than the long-form stories that dominate the modern comic industry. Claremont and Buscema were amazing in the early Wolverine comics, and this issue is their best outing.

1 Wolverine (1988) #90 Contains The Best Wolverine/Sabretooth Fight

Sabretooth is Wolverine's greatest foe, so there are plenty of great Wolverine vs. Sabretooth fights to choose from. The best of the lot is Wolverine (1988) #90, by writer Larry Hama and artist Adam Kubert. Returning to the X-Mansion after months away, Wolverine fights with his urge to kill the imprisoned Sabretooth, but the decision of what to do is made for him when Sabretooth escapes.

Hama and Kubert created the perfect Wolverine story in this one. It's not only action-packed but also a character study, digging into both Wolverine and Sabretooth. The resulting battle between the two is wonderfully paced and just as brutal as readers wanted, with a surprise ending that no one saw coming.