Ah, the age old debate: Who is the more dangerous mutant, Wolverine or Sabretooth? Well, the question isn’t that simple to answer. They both have benefits and skills better than the other, and they both have impairments that hold them back. Wolverine and Sabretooth have one of the most storied rivalries in all of Marvel Comics -- and certainly one of the most famous feuds. In recent years, Wolverine has become the singular, most popular mutant in the Marvel Universe (just look at how many films have the word Wolverine or Logan in them). In the films, Sabretooth hasn’t gotten the same equal treatment -- he’s been depicted by numerous actors, in various states of skill, while Hugh Jackman has always played Wolverine as the Logan we've always wanted to see on the big screen. Being the hero, he usually comes out on top.
These are both deeply flawed, ageless, consistent characters in the comic books, and while Wolverine has the edge in the films, in the comics, Sabretooth is often seen as the stronger mutant. This is evidenced by their various encounters -- encounters in which Sabretooth usually ends up the winner. In fact, one common tradition is the annual birthday beatdown that Sabretooth supplies to Wolverine every year that Logan ages. In these encounters, Sabretooth beats Wolverine down to an inch of his life, just to prove that he’s stronger than the “runt.” And yet, Wolverine has many abilities that are more powerful than Sabretooth’s, like a better healing factor, a stronger adamantium skeleton, and things you might not typically think of as “mutant” strengths. So, let’s take a look at 10 ways Sabretooth is deadlier than his rival, and 10 reasons Wolverine is more dangerous.
20 SABRETOOTH: ADRENALINE MAKES HIM ALMOST UNSTOPPABLE
For most of Marvel Comics history, Sabretooth was always in his berserker mode when he fought someone (not just Wolverine). That gives him a huge advantage over the smaller mutant. Logan would need to force himself into his berserk mode, but Sabretooth needed no such boost -- he was always ready to rage in every fight.
Also, his adrenaline rush at the start of a fight made him practically invincible. He embraces his feral nature and is able to maintain adrenaline for long periods of time. With or without his adamantium skeleton, when his adrenaline is going, it’s almost impossible to hurt him. Even if your name is Wolverine.
19 WOLVERINE: LOYALTY
Wolverine has much more humanity than Sabretooth, which can either be a bad thing or a good thing. Since being introduced, Wolverine has always been a solitary figure -- a loner. But he’s also been a member of the X-Men, Weapon X, the Avengers, Alpha Fight, and more. So, he’s clearly a team player when he needs to be, and he’s willing to lay down his life for his allies and the friends around him -- there's strength in numbers.
While Sabretooth is more animalistic, Wolverine is a human being, and he thinks and learns like any other human being. That humanity and loyalty makes him prone to mistakes, sure, but it also gives him an edge when he needs help in a fight.
18 SABRETOOTH: DOESN'T HOLD BACK
On the other side of the coin, being loyal and humane can be a detriment. Wolverine will only do certain things to prove and maintain his humanity -- there are limits he won’t cross -- while Sabretooth isn’t held back by the same constraints. He does whatever he wants.
Sabretooth has been a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and he’s betrayed them more than once. He had a child with Mystique and betrayed her more than once. He was a member of the X-Men and X-Factor and betrayed both teams He betrayed Weapon X. No one can trust Sabretooth, and in that sense, he’s more lonely and solitary than Wolverine -- and possibly more dangerous.
17 WOLVERINE: STRONGER ADAMANTIUM SKELETON
First off, because of his insane healing factor, Wolverine’s body didn’t initially reject the adamantium skeleton placed within him, like it did Sabretooth. Wolverine received his adamantium at Weapon X, though the team did not give it to Sabretooth because his body violently rejected it.
But in a miniseries introduced in 1993, Sabretooth was finally given adamantium lacing to his skeleton, thanks to Graydon Creed, his son. Still, it isn’t as powerful as Logan’s, who has had more experience with the skeletal implant and, with his accelerated healing factor, is nearly unstoppable with it in place. Sabretooth even lost his adamantium thanks to Apocalypse, but he got it back later.
16 SABRETOOTH: BIGGER AND STRONGER
One of the primary reasons Sabretooth didn’t initially get an adamantium skeleton when Logan received it was because he was big and strong enough without it, and him having it would make him nearly unbeatable. It was one of the only edges Wolverine had over his bigger nemesis. For the story’s sake, his body rejecting the adamantium made more sense.
That being said, Sabretooth is 6-foot 6-inches tall and 275 pounds -- a huge person, while Wolverine is only 5-foot 3-inches and weighs 355 pounds (because of the adamantium). The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe says Sabretooth is stronger than Wolverine: Logan can lift up to 1,000 pounds, while Sabretooth can lift between two and 10 tons!
15 WOLVERINE: MORE INTELLIGENT
When you compare them physically, Wolverine and Logan are very close to each other, despite their massively different sizes. But even if you removed the adamantium skeletons from both, Wolverine could still be considered more powerful, and it isn’t because of a mutant power -- it's because of his intelligence.
Even with his heightened animal instinct and other mutant abilities, Wolverine can think and learn much better than the berserk Sabretooth. His intelligence gives him a serious advantage, giving him the opportunity to outthink his opponent time and time again. He’s learned a variety of fighting styles from different groups over the years, and he uses them, while Sabretooth typically uses the same fighting style regardless of who he’s fighting.
14 SABRETOOTH: WAS A BETTER FIGHTER
The reason Sabretooth seemingly always beats Wolverine in a fight has much more to do than just his size and anger advantages. His strength and size let him beat down Logan mercilessly, time and time again, but even before the two got their enhancements, Sabretooth was able to beat Wolverine pretty easily when the two were younger mutants.
The early feud between the two started after Sabretooth came and ended Logan’s lover, Silver Fox. There, he beat Logan in one-on-one combat. Before that, Sabretooth was an abused child who developed his mutant powers early after horrific torture at the hands of his father. He fought for survival as a child, and uses those instincts to survive.
13 WOLVERINE: SPEAKS 18 LANGUAGES
This could possibly go under the “intelligence” bracket, but it’s more than just intelligence that is displayed here. Though he talks rough and acts tough, Wolverine is much smarter than the average mutant. He’s not only “street smart” as he shows in the comics, but also “book smart,” which is evidenced by him knowing 18 languages!
He traveled the world for decades, learning different cultures and languages. He can use this linguistic knowledge to eavesdrop on foreign enemies, or communicate with innocent people when he’s saving them, as long as they’re speaking Spanish, Lakota, Russian, Chinese, Cheyenne, Arabic, Japanese, Thai, Filipino, Italian, Persian, Korean, Vietnamese, French, German, Farsi, or Portuguese.
12 SABRETOOTH: FOUGHT UNDER NICK FURY
It might not be a feat in its own right to fight under Nick Fury, but it means that Sabretooth takes orders much better than Wolverine. As it’s been noted, Wolverine is more solitary and intelligent -- it’s hard to command him. But Sabretooth is often played like a puppet, which doesn’t sound like a good thing, but it gives him a one track mind if he has his sights on an enemy.
He’s over 200 years old and fought in the Korean War directly under Fury, as part of a black ops unit that went by the name of the Avengers before the mainstream Avengers were ever formed. This black ops experience adds to his already dangerous fighting skills.
11 WOLVERINE: PROTECTS THE ONES HE LOVES
Something that comes with allies and loyalty is the sense that you’re going to protect your loved ones no matter the cost. Wolverine understands this. Both characters have a good amount of anger at their disposal (which can also get them in trouble), but Wolverine typically has better reasons to fight to begin with. He isn’t blinded by bloodlust -- he usually wants to protect the people he cares about.
While Sabretooth has his own personal vendetta toward Wolverine, and the feeling is mutual, Wolverine has more willpower at his disposal. When you’re fighting for a selfless reason, like protecting loved ones, you can do incredible things, as Wolverine has shown time and time again.
10 SABRETOOTH: ANIMAL RAGE
It’s been discussed that Sabretooth is a much angrier, berserk, bigger version of Wolverine, and Logan needs to go into berserk mode in order to gain strength boosts. Most of the time, Logan keeps those urges dormant. This keeps Wolverine in control of his actions, allowing him to fight without hurting innocents, but it also limits him and causes him to fight to control those urges.
On the other hand, Sabretooth enjoys losing himself in his rage. There are times when he is in control, but usually he gives into his animal urges and it results in mass carnage in which innocent lives often get caught up in the rampage. While Wolverine is limited by subduing his own animal instincts, Sabretooth glorifies them.
9 WOLVERINE: KNOWS MORE MARTIAL ARTS STYLES
Sabretooth is a bit of a one-trick pony when it comes to fighting. He typically uses the same fighting style every time, and it can lead to his enemies outthinking him. Wolverine is one such fighter who has to use his wiles and agility to compete with the bigger mutant. While traveling the world and learning cultures, Wolverine has also picked up and mastered countless martial arts styles.
He’s had samurai training in Japan, and has mastered nearly all mortal martial arts styles. He’s considered one of the strongest mortal hand-to-hand fighters in the Marvel Universe, rivaling Captain America, Black Panther, Iron Fist, Daredevil, and Shang-Chi. He supposedly knows over 180 martial arts styles.
8 SABRETOOTH: FASTER
Even though he’s bigger and stronger than Wolverine, Sabretooth is also faster than his nemesis. Wolverine is more agile, perhaps, but that is different than overall speed. When running, the two are close to the same speed, but according to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Sabretooth has the ability to attack faster than the human eye can follow.
It also indicates his fighting speed is his most enhanced skill. He’s attacked gunmen before they’ve had a chance to pull the trigger. When he gets down on all fours, his enhanced speed is similar to that of a jungle cat, and he can outrun just about anyone. His special power, the “assault leap,” is similar to a tiger’s pounce.
7 WOLVERINE: RESISTANT TO TELEPATHY AND PSYCHIC PROBING
Earlier it was discussed how it’s harder to get inside Wolverine’s head-- to command and order him to do things -- than it is with Sabretooth. This is literally the case when it comes to telepathy and psychic probing. He has the ability to suppress his memory, for one, and to wipe away the slate and start clean.
He’s also been resistant to Professor X and Jean Grey probing inside his head. This is thanks to the scar tissue that smudges his brain, protecting him from mental trauma. Added to that is the psionic shields implanted in his mind by Xavier. His healing factor is also so strong it bounces out any psychic probing that tries to burrow in his mind.
6 SABRETOOTH: TRACKING
Both mutants are incredibly good at tracking, thanks to their heightened senses. Wolverine’s acute sense of smell can track an enemy by the most microscopic of scents. Sabretooth can do that, and more. One of his favorite pastimes is hunting down Logan during his birthday and beating him to the brink of his end, just to show he can.
Sabretooth never has a problem finding Wolverine, wherever he is. Even without using his enhanced senses, Sabretooth is an expert tracker. The senses match Wolverine’s, including ultraviolet and infrared vision, hearing that can detect the softest sounds, and the same sense of smell as Wolverine. But thanks to his military training, his natural hunting and tracking skills are more developed.
5 WOLVERINE: BETTER HEALING FACTOR
This is one of the primary things that makes Wolverine able to compete against his archnemesis. Wolverine has always had a stronger healing factor than Sabretooth, and it was this healing factor that allowed his body to accept the adamantium skeleton to begin with. As mentioned earlier, his healing factor protects him from psychic probing, and it also protects him from disease, poison, and other substances.
His body’s ability to counteract toxins and damage to his body constantly keeps him going. A virus or drug would have to constantly be pumped into his bloodstream to see any response. The healing factor also gives him age suppression, which practically makes him immortal.
4 SABRETOOTH: BETTER SURVIVAL SKILLS
Wolverine loves to fight and will take a beating as long as he’s giving it back. Sabretooth is one step ahead: he will give into his animal instincts, take out anyone in his way, and he’ll do it many more times than Logan would. Sabretooth is a master manipulator and will throw other people in the line of fire so he’ll live to fight another day.
He is smart enough to get out of a sticky situation when he needs to, even with his adrenaline and near-constant rage. Sabretooth is rarely beaten in a fight, which makes sense when you consider he was trained by the CIA, Weapon X, and Hydra. He’s a survivor who never comes unprepared to a fight.
3 WOLVERINE: MEMORY SUPPRESSION
Wolverine’s memory suppression certainly helps him during tough situations. His memory suppression stems from his enhanced healing factor. It’s an offshoot of the power that gives him added skills: because of all the tragedy he’s been through, it’s good that Wolverine doesn’t allow his memories to affect him in a fight (not too often, anyway).
Wolverine has been alive for centuries, and his life hasn’t been a happy one. Wolverine’s story is more tragic than most, and he’s been forced to save the world with all that trauma floating around in his head. So the ability to block out the psychological trauma is a huge benefit. He can forget about a tragedy or a torturing he took practically overnight.
2 SABRETOOTH: WILL CHEAT TO WIN
Sabretooth doesn’t mind taking short cuts to get what he wants. He will cheat to win, he’ll betray anyone to do it, and he’ll throw anyone under the bus. In this sense, he’s not held back by loyalty or humanity -- he’s only powered by rage and survival. He is a master manipulator and gets people to do things just for fun.
Throughout their storied history, Sabretooth and duped Logan on numerous occasions, and gotten the drop on geniuses like Mister Sinister. He’s also gotten others to do his dirty work, so he can focus on his own schemes and do the one thing he loves most: end things. He is truly a calculating, evil mastermind, though you might not expect it.
1 WOLVERINE: ESPIONAGE EXPERT
He might not be stronger, bigger, or faster than Sabretooth, but Wolverine is stealthier than his nemesis. He’s an espionage expert with years of training (so is Sabretooth, though). When you think of Wolverine, you think or brute force and claws. He’s hairy, violent, crude, but he’s also a great spy.
He’s participated in covert operations over the years and has clawed his way through many turning points in history. He might not be a Black Widow or Nick Fury, but he has worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fury over the years, in his quest to save the world and to bring peace to the mutant race.