Wolverine started as a sparring partner for the Hulk and then joined the X-Men. That was the key to his popularity, and eventually, Wolverine became one of the most iconic superheroes of all time. As he got more popular, he started to get enemies all his own, like Silver Samurai and Sabretooth, and eventually grew his own rogues gallery. Over the decades of Wolverine’s solo adventures, he kept getting more and more villains, and fans realized something — Wolverine’s villains were some of the most dangerous in the Marvel Universe. They had to be tough enough to survive a battle with the X-Men’s most dangerous members and strong enough to hurt someone who is basically unstoppable.
Wolverine’s rogues gallery isn’t as popular as he is, but they are way more formidable than most people know. Wolverine’s best enemies are brutal killers and shadowy manipulators, and they’ve given Wolverine some hellacious battles. These ten Wolverine villains are the most deadly, testing the ol’Canucklehead to breaking.
Bloodscream is a Wolverine deep cut villain, mostly known to people who read the early issues of his solo series. Bloodscream was turned into a vampire against his will and was told the only way the curse would be broken was if he drank the blood of another immortal. Bloodscream spent the last couple of centuries looking for one, and then he found Wolverine. Since then, Bloodscream has been hunting the hero, usually working with Roughhouse (a descendant of Asgardian rock trolls who almost made the list), using his vampiric power to attack Wolverine. When he’s not hunting Wolverine, he works as a mercenary and has appeared outside of the Wolverine books several times. Bloodscream is awesome, and it’s a shame he hasn’t shown up in a while.
Romulus is Wolverine’s oldest foe, having claimed to have been around since the establishment of Rome. Much like Wolverine, Romulus has a healing factor and super-senses, as well as super strength. His claw situation is more like Sabretooth’s than Wolverine’s, and he’s known for making long-term plans that take decades and centuries to come to fruition. Romulus may not have adamantium bones, but he’s been able to survive everything thrown at him, seemingly for millennia. Romulus is smart, strong, and deadly, the perfect villain for Wolverine.
Cyber has been after Wolverine since the early 1900s, becoming increasingly deadly as the years went on. Silas Burr helped train Wolverine back in WWI, trying to make him into an obedient killing machine. This was the beginning of their decades-long war against each other. Cyber is a mutant with low level telepathic powers, as well as healing factor and superhuman physical attributes. He’s had his body coated with adamantium, making him an extremely durable enemy. Cyber’s greatest power, though, has been his body-jumping ability. Cyber can put his mind into other bodies, which has come in handy because he has been killed several times. He has these new bodies enhanced in the same way as his old body, making him a foe that even death can’t conquer.
The 2020s have had excellent Wolverine stories, and they even introduced a villain that could become a big deal in the Wolverine mythos. Solem is a mutant of Arakko, born with adamantium skin and superhuman physical attributes. He worked alongside the pirate Sevyr Blackmore and was so bad that he was imprisoned by the martial Arakkii, which is saying something. Solem is a skilled fighter and obviously as durable as they come, but his greatest weapon is his crafty intellect. Solem is something of a manipulator and used this skill against Wolverine several times in their battles together. Solem is exactly the kind of villain that Wolverine, as dangerous as they come and able to think circles around the ol’Canucklehead.
Wendigo gave Wolverine his first fight in Marvel history. Wendigo isn’t one specific person; rather, Wendigo comes from Algonquian folklore, and is a curse put on anyone who eats human flesh. They become a brutal monster, strong enough to punch it out with the Hulk and survive even the most grievous blows. Wendigo is just a berserker, and Wolverine’s battles against it have tested the mutant hero like few others. Recently, Wolverine was able to save a teenage boy who had gotten the curse, teaching him to control the power of the Wendigo, which has rarely happened. However, just because one Wendigo was able to control the beast doesn’t mean the next one will be able to.
Omega Red was a mutant with a “death factor”, which allowed him to drain the life force of those around him, converting the energy to fuel for his body. In the Cold War, the Soviets decided to use him as a supersoldier and gave him tentacles made out of carbonadium, an adamantium substitute. Wolverine, Sabretooth, and Maverick, working for the CIA as Team X, were able to take him down, but he would eventually return and has been bedeviling Wolverine ever since. Omega Red is a formidable fighter, his powers allowing him to weaken Wolverine and his tentacles giving him a powerful ranged weapon. Omega Red has proven tough enough to defeat the X-Men’s Blue Squad, and has risen up the ranks to become one of Wolverine’s most well-known and deadly foes.
Wolverine has battled many deadly foes over the years, but some of his most personal battles have been with Lady Deathstrike. Lady Deathstroke’s father created the adamantium bonding process, which was stolen from him by Weapon X. Lady Deathstrike vowed revenge, making herself into a cybernetic killing machine. Lady Deathstrike used to show up every couple of years and try to kill Wolverine, her claws and cybernetic enhancements making her a match for Wolverine. Her hatred of Wolverine has lessened over the years, but she keeps turning up like bad penny, always ready to try and kill Wolverine again.
Magneto is mostly thought of as an X-Men foe — and recent years have seen him join the team — but there’s just something about his relationship with Wolverine. Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton and claws are both ferrous metals, which has allowed Magneto to take advantage of Wolverine. Magneto handed Wolverine what is probably his greatest, tearing the adamantium off his skeleton. This event has made Wolverine hate Magneto more than just about everyone, and even when they’ve worked together in the X-Men, Wolverine doesn’t trust Magneto. Magneto’s powers make him superlatively dangerous, but since he’s not always a villain, he’s not Wolverine’s most dangerous villain.
Mystique is one of the X-Men’s greatest foes. Wolverine has clashed with her numerous times over the years, her shape-changing powers and decades of experience making her the perfect enemy for Wolverine. Her shape-changing skills have allowed her to survive everything Wolverine has thrown at her, and she’s been able to challenge Wolverine every time they’ve fought. She and Wolverine have a complex history, having worked together sometimes and been at each other’s throats at other times. Mystique is unmistakably deadly, and she doesn’t get enough credit for her high place in Wolverine’s rogues gallery.
Sabretooth is Wolverine’s most well-known villain, and while he isn’t the most powerful of Wolverine’s villains, he’d definitely be the most dangerous. Sabretooth is Wolverine’s dark reflection, a mutant with very similar powers but none of the self-control that Wolverine has. While Sabretooth is mostly thought of as a berserker, he’s much more of a crafty villain than he gets credit for. Sabretooth has been around for over a century and has been a spy, soldier, and mercenary. He’s great at pushing buttons, keeping his enemies off balance so that they aren’t ready for his brutal attacks. Wolverine and Sabretooth have had some bloody battles, and the villain has gone after the X-Men and Spider-Man, showing them just how fearsome he can be.
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