He’s inarguably the most famous member of the X-Men, starring in countless solo series and origin films. He’s been a member of numerous teams in the Marvel Universe, including the Avengers, X-Force, and S.H.I.E.L.D. Although he’s been gone for a couple of years in the comics, his popularity is still unparalleled. We could definitely keep going but we’re pretty sure you know who we’re talking about by now: Wolverine. Without a doubt, Wolverine is the mutant to beat. He has an extremely dedicated fanbase, a trove of classic costumes, and a bigger-than-life on-screen persona. By now, he’s an irremovable part of pop culture. Superhero fans love Wolverine for his signature claws and bad attitude, but there’s a lot more to Logan’s character than just flannel shirts and adamantium. Wolverine has an array of hidden powers at his fingertips (or knuckles) that most fans probably don’t know about.

Writers like to talk about Wolverine’s most famous abilities since those are the ones readers expect to find when picking up a comic book. There isn’t anything wrong with wanting to see Wolverine’s claws in action. They can cut through just about anything and are honestly just really cool. However, there’s a lot more to this grisly Canuck’s story than just the “snikt” sound effect. In order to celebrate the lesser known aspects of the powerhouse known as Wolverine, CBR is counting down twenty of his greatest powers. While you will see us mention those classic claws, we’ll also be including some more obscure powers that even diehard Wolverine fans might not know about.

20 MEMORY SUPPRESSION

Wolverine’s healing factor comes with a slew of benefits: near immortality, immunity to toxins, the ability to regrow limbs, and the list goes on. With such an amazing power, you might think there aren’t any negative side effects. From the outside looking in, Wolverine has it made.

That is, until you realize that Logan’s healing factor causes lapses in his memory. For years, Wolverine couldn’t remember basic events in his early life because his brain was constantly suppressing trauma in order to keep him mentally healthy. Frequently, Wolverine refers to these memory blocks as “mental scar tissue” since they represent the mind attempting to heal itself. But, is it really “healing” if your own mind is stealing your memories? Wolverine doesn’t think so.

19 MULTILINGUAL

With over one hundred years to explore the world, Wolverine is the definition of a well-traveled man. He’s lived in a variety of places, including Russia and Japan, and has soaked up many different foreign cultures. While he’s still born from Canada at heart, Wolverine's travels make him a mutant of the world and a gifted polyglot.

Wolverine can speak numerous languages fluently, including English, Japanese, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Cheyenne, and Lakota. After spending many years in Japan, Wolverine’s accent is close to that of a native speaker’s. On top of the languages he speaks fluently, Logan has some knowledge of French, Thai, Farsi, Portuguese, and German. Since mutant conflicts happen all over the world, Wolverine’s in-depth knowledge of language is incredibly useful.

18 IMMUNITY TO TOXINS

Were DC’s Poison Ivy to suddenly appear in the Marvel Universe, she’d find her toxic kiss useless against James Howlett. Wolverine’s body immediately rejects any toxins, diseases, or harmful substances that could inhibit his health. This is because Wolverine has the mutant ability of healing. Wolverine’s immunity to toxins is a practical power that helps keep his body at one hundred percent all the time.

Unlike some other healing mutants, Wolverine’s ability is completely involuntary. Although he may want Ivy’s toxic kiss to put him under her control, it can’t. This is the major downside of Wolverine’s power and why we ranked it 19th. The things we take for granted, like drinking a cup of coffee in order to feel more awake, are lost on Logan.

17 RESISTANCE TO TELEPATHY

When you’re a member of the X-Men and you’re constantly surrounded by world-class telepaths like Jean Grey and Charles Xavier, telepathic resistance can be very handy. Wolverine is one of very few X-Men to be almost completely immune to telepathy. Although writers have never completely explained why Wolverine is a telepath’s worst nightmare, we have a few theories.

Logan’s healing factor can at least partially keep telepaths from rooting around inside his brain. Weapon X programmed Wolverine’s body to reject any foreign toxins, which includes meddling telepaths. We also think Wolverine’s telepathic resistance is connected to his adamantium laced skull. Like Magneto’s helmet, the metal around Wolverine’s brain keeps telepaths at bay.

16 INTELLIGENCE

Wolverine’s burly build and rough demeanor don’t speak of an academic but don’t get too hung up on appearances. Because Wolverine is so old, he’s had a lot of time to learn. Though he isn’t the most bookish guy in the Marvel Universe, he does carry with him a wealth of tactical knowledge that makes him invaluable in battle.

Years of fighting, surviving, and, (surprisingly enough) reading molded him into the perfect warrior -- both physically and mentally. Wolverine even remembers his mentor, the master ninja Ogun, teaching him Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Though it’s sometimes hard to see, the skills Wolverine learned during his time with Ogun continue to color his approach to fighting and leadership in modern comics.

15 SUPERIOR STAMINA

We’re sure a lot of you just assumed Wolverine has incredible stamina. It makes sense for a superpowered hero like Wolverine to have all of the extra abilities that go along with being one of the world’s best fighters. However, the reason why Logan is able to physically exert himself for 24 hours straight isn’t just because he’s a famous superhero.

Wolverine’s healing factor removes the fatigue toxins that naturally build up in the body as a human physically moves. After an entire day, Logan’s healing factor will eventually become overworked and require some rest but until then, he can go about chopping things in half for hours on end.

14  HEIGHTENED SENSE OF SMELL

Wolverine might just be the best detective in all of Marvel Comics. That’s a big statement, we know, but we’re pretty confident in Wolverine’s superior tracking abilities. Wolverine can pick up on any scent and follow it for days, even in poor weather. His incredible sense of smell can tracks scents from years prior, making him the perfect cold-case agent. Were he to apply for a detective position, Wolverine would probably solve more crimes a year than Batman.

Wolverine’s peculiar nose is partially due to his body’s constant cellular regeneration. His cells are constantly improving themselves, which improves his senses and his crime-solving skills.

13 ESPIONAGE

A guy like Wolverine, who prefers flannel over Armani, strikes little to no resemblance to the typical secret agent. He probably won’t ever bear the title “007”, but he does have some expert spying skills that would put him toe-to-toe with James Bond.

For years, Wolverine worked for various government agencies, collecting intel and completing seemingly impossible tasks. During this time, Wolverine became a master at espionage. He has extensive knowledge on security systems, assassination techniques, and spy-grade weapons. Although he rarely needs to use them, his firearm skills are exceptional. Wolverine’s gymnast-level acrobatic skills also aid his undercover operations.

12 NIGHT VISION

Wolverine’s animal-like senses don’t just apply to his nose. His vision is vastly superior to humans, allowing him to see things from greater distances with greater clarity. Perhaps most impressive is Wolverine’s ability to see in total darkness with that same level of clarity. Like his enhanced sense of smell, Wolverine’s enhanced eyesight is mostly due to his regenerative healing factor.

Like his animalistic namesake, Wolverine is a skilled hunter, no matter the time of day. Since the rest of the X-Men don’t have night vision, Wolverine’s unique ability is rarely featured in the comics. Still, it occasionally comes in handy for late night missions and midnight snacks.

11 SUPER SPEED

What’s a superhero without super speed? While not every superhero can match the Flash’s record, most superheroes with physical powers have some variation of super speed. Wolverine wouldn’t be half as deadly if he didn’t have enhanced speed, which helps him tackle his opponents quickly and efficiently.

In battle, Wolverine moves at a speed too fast for the human eye to follow, which is quite a feat considering how short his legs are. During a fight with Spider-Man, Wolverine’s speed was a major reason why the web-slinger feared losing. As one of the fastest heroes in the Marvel Universe, impressing Spider-Man is kind of a big deal.

10 HUMAN LIE DETECTOR

Equipped with the nose of a bloodhound, the eyes of an eagle, and the ears of a bat, Wolverine’s capable of noticing the things most humans ignore. Take the minuscule signs that someone’s lying as an example of Wolverine’s sensory superiority. Unless someone’s a really bad liar, most people can’t immediately tell if someone’s lying.

For Wolverine, liars are glaringly obvious because of their natural physical response. When someone’s lying, their heart rate increases, their pupils dilate, and they may or may not start sweating. All of these things are signs that Wolverine’s keen senses can pick up on. Just another reason why Wolverine should already have his own daytime detective show.

9 ANIMAL EMPATHY

Logan's codename, “Wolverine”, says a lot about his character. He frequently toes the line between man and beast, with even his costume alluding to his more animalistic side. Wolverine isn’t a member of PETA but he does have a special affinity for animals thanks to his animalistic characteristics. Technically, Wolverine has faint animal empathy that allows him to sense an animal’s fear, happiness, or pain. On certain occasions, Wolverine can even communicate basic ideas to animals.

This hidden power isn’t well known because Wolverine isn’t exactly a Nature Boy. He loves the wilderness, but one of his favorite pastimes is hunting. So much for being the next deer whisperer.

8 SLOW AGING

Comic book characters practically never age. The floating timeline keeps characters in the 21st century young, even though Marvel introduced them decades ago. Ordinarily, there isn’t any logical explanation for this phenomenon. However, in the case of Wolverine, there actually is.

Logan’s healing factor slows down the natural breakdown of the body. This means he will live for a lot longer than the average human. He isn’t technically immortal, but no one in the Marvel Universe is totally sure how long his healing factor will keep him alive. According to the film Logan, Wolverine’s powers do eventually wear out, which leads to his death. But in the comics, he’s well over 100 years old and he’s still popping claws.

7 SUPER STRENGTH

A character like Wolverine has to have super strength. You may not always think about it, but to accomplish some of Wolverine’s most restrained feats, he has to have some serious upper body strength. Wolverine can lift around 900 to 1,000 lbs. on account of his adamantium skeleton. Ordinarily, lifting that much weight would injure the human skeleton, but because Wolverine’s skeleton is made of adamantium, he can do so easily.

His healing factor also plays a role in his super strength, since his muscular system is constantly under repair. Whereas a normal human would have to stop lifting something because of torn ligaments or tendons, Wolverine can keep going.

6 WEAPONS EXPERT

Wolverine rarely has a reason to use swords since he has the adamantium equivalent sticking out of his knuckles. Still, if the need arises, Logan’s well trained in the art of weaponry after spending years in Japan training under various masters. Both Ogun and the Silver Samurai taught Logan everything there is to know about the art of Japanese sword fighting, just in case he ever found himself in a fight sans claws.

For readers familiar with Wolverine’s story, the reason for all this sword training might be obvious: the Muramasa Blade. This special blade, crafted out of a fragment of Wolverine’s soul, is the only thing that can negate superhuman healing. Wolverine knowing how to use the sword is incredibly important since it’s the only blade that can stop him.

5 BERSERKER RAGE

The word “berserker” goes way back to ancient Norse and Celtic cultures who believed certain warriors could go into a rage-like state called a berserker state. While in this state, the warriors were capable of huge amounts of destruction but lacked any and all self-control.

In X-Men and Wolverine comics, Logan can go into a similar trance-like state, where he’s fueled only by rage and bloodlust. The berserker state isn’t for the faint of heart, but when in a bind, it’s certainly useful. We’re not totally sure why Marvel writers gave Wolverine this unique and primitive power, though we think it might have something to do with Logan’s animalistic nature. He’s able to go into the berserker state because he’s the only X-Men member capable of animalistic rage.

4 BONE CLAWS

Before Weapon X and Logan’s adamantium skeleton, the famous mutant had bone claws instead of metal ones. Wolverine had six bone claws in total, with each measuring 12 inches. Even when they were bone, Wolverine’s claws could cut through wood, metal, and rock. The claws were retractable and could be moved from their sheathed position in the forearm to their unsheathed position in the hand at will.

Each time Wolverine “pops” his claws, he tears the skin between his knuckles. The wounds do bleed, but Wolverine’s healing factor quickly mends them. This stops significant blood loss but it doesn’t limit the pain involved. As unfortunate as it sounds, Wolverine’s most famous power is also pretty uncomfortable.

3 HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT

Wolverine doesn’t shoot optic blasts or move things with his mind. He doesn’t have a giant soul sword or the ability to mimic powers. Really, all Wolverine has is a healing factor, some claws, and a seriously bad attitude. Wolverine excels at hand-to-hand combat, where he can use his ever-present anger as a weapon.

His powers force him to fight up close instead of far away, like a lot of the X-Men do. Because of this, Wolverine has naturally become one of the best (if not the best) fighter in Marvel Comics. All of the other things we’ve mentioned, like Logan’s super speed and crazy stamina, make him the perfect warrior who’s willing to fight just about anyone.

2 HEALING FACTOR

Aside from his signature claws, the thing most readers think of when considering Wolverine’s powers is his healing factor. This is probably because it’s actually fairly unique in the Marvel Universe. Logan’s healing ability is incredibly strong, allowing him to regrow limbs, internal organs, and, in severe cases, his entire epidermis. Most other comic characters with healing abilities tire themselves quickly, but Wolverine’s ability is as resilient as he is. Bullets rarely slow him down and being burned alive is only a short respite for a determined Wolverine.

Logan’s adamantium skeleton is constantly poisoning his body, which means his healing factor isn’t as strong as it could be. Were someone to remove the adamantium from his body, he would be able to heal even faster than he already can.

1 ADAMANTIUM SKELETON

He wasn’t born with it, but Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton has become one of his most defining powers, right alongside the claws and his healing factor. Many of Wolverine’s other powers, like his increased strength and resistance to telepathy, wouldn’t be possible without it.

Sadly, Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton doesn’t have the happiest origin story. The cruel Weapon X program captured Logan and forcefully bonded adamantium to his bones, creating the perfect machine. Because of his healing factor, Wolverine survived the ordeal. As time went on, Wolverine learned to embrace his metal claws. They became his greatest weapon in battle and one of the more unique powers in the Marvel Universe. Because of this, we’re giving Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton the number one spot on our list.