Wolverine is one of Marvel’s fiercest combatants, having made a name for himself by slicing through everything in his way. As a member of the X-Men, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and more, Wolverine has always been in the middle of the fray. He’s known for being a tank, with a healing factor and adamantium skeleton that allow him to absorb ridiculous damage and claws that give him the offensive oomph to take down his enemies.
Wolverine has decades of experience and training, yet he also makes a lot of the same mistakes in battle, over and over. He needs to change his tactics, which would allow him to not only win more battles but depend less on his healing factor and Krakoan resurrection.
10/10 Violence Doesn’t Solve Every Problem
Wolverine is among Marvel’s most violent heroes for good reason. For years, he was good for two things: tracking enemies and cutting them to pieces. As time went on, that changed though. Wolverine was always more than just a clawed berserker, and he got to show that off more and more as his superheroic career progressed.
Wolverine is a clever hero when he needs to be, a skillset honed by years as a spy. However, he always falls back on raw violence. Wolverine can do more than just cut through everything in his way. He can plan and improvise with the best of them. He doesn’t always have to use violence to solve his problems.
9/10 Wolverine Is A Better Spy Than A Soldier
Since the establishment of Krakoa, Wolverine has mostly worked with X-Force. His job has been sneaking into enemy installations and killing everyone there, protecting Krakoa from threats before they can strike the mutant nation. This is the kind of work he did for years before he was ever a superhero, and he’s very good at it.
For a long time, Wolverine was a soldier on the front lines and he’s good at it. However, his time with Krakoa’s X-Force has proven he’s much more suited to sneaking around, striking from the shadows, and disappearing, his enemies never knowing what hit them.
8/10 Wolverine Should Carry More Weapons
Wolverine’s claws are an iconic part of him. The adamantium-coated bone blades are instantly recognizable as Logan’s. They’re effective weapons, able to cut through anything, even indestructible heroes like the Hulk. Wolverine has proven that his claws are versatile weapons and all he needs to win.
However, Wolverine’s past shows that he’s an expert in many more weapons, from swords to firearms to explosives. Wolverine could definitely afford to bring more weapons and gadgets into battle. They would diversify his skills and help him more than anyone realizes.
7/10 Wolverine Needs To Downplay His Weaknesses More
Wolverine does have weaknesses, despite appearances to the contrary. Sure, his bones are unbreakable, and his healing factor can repair almost anything, but his invincibility is only skin deep. Wolverine’s weaknesses often have more to do with his friends, who he’ll do anything for, and his own impulsiveness.
Wolverine needs to learn to deal with these weaknesses better. They’ve caused him a lot of pain over the years. The easiest one to curb would be his impulsiveness, as it’s led him to ruin many times. A less impulsive Wolverine would be more dangerous to his foes.
6/10 Wolverine’s Enemies Know Exactly What To Expect From Him
Wolverine’s villains are quite formidable, which makes a lot of sense. Wolverine is basically unstoppable; his enemies need to be able to deal with someone who can take basically infinite punishment. However, that’s really not as difficult as it seems. Wolverine’s foes know exactly what to expect from him, as he always uses the same tools in every confrontation.
For example, they know he’s going to try to sneak up on them, they know how his offense works, and they know he’s going leap before he looks. Wolverine is all about the element of surprise, ostensibly, but his repertoire never changes. He needs to switch things up to actually surprise his enemies.
5/10 Wolverine Needs To Use His Powers In Different Ways
Wolverine’s mutant powers seem simple, but they’re anything but. Wolverine can use them creatively when he needs to, but it doesn’t come up often. Or at least, Logan feels like he can get by without innovating. Wolverine often seems like he’s in a rut. He does the bare minimum and that has always worked, but that’s not all he can do.
Wolverine has shown that he understands how to use his claws, healing factor, and super senses in new ways, like Colossus’ famous Fastball Special. However, he pretty much always tanks damage and jumps at people. He could easily get creative with his abilities, surprising his enemies by bringing down buildings or putting out the lights to fight them in the dark, but he rarely thinks to do so.
4/10 Wolverine Needs To Actually Defend Himself
Wolverine has died more often than most readers realize. He’s an amazing tank, but that doesn’t mean he’s invincible. His bones are basically unbreakable, and his healing factor can mend everything else. Hold his head underwater long enough, though, and he’s done for. Wolverine has embraced his “invincibility,” however, and rarely actually defends himself.
This is perplexing for multiple reasons. Wolverine is an amazing martial artist and knows all about blocking. He’s also very quick and agile, which should allow him to dodge attacks. His healing factor fixes him but he still feels pain, so the fact that he’s so blasé about it is strange. He has the ability to defend himself well and should definitely start doing so. It would surprise his opponents, and he wouldn’t be impaired by shredded muscles, blood loss, and pain.
3/10 Wolverine Should Bring Back The Armored Costume
Wolverine lost his healing factor after a mission to the Microverse, leading to his eventual death. Before dying, he donned a heavier armored costume. This allowed him to keep fighting in the style that he was accustomed to and helped make up for his missing regeneration.
The armored costume was a pretty smart idea, and Wolverine should wear one again. Krakoan biotech could certainly make it lighter and more flexible. It would allow him to take more damage without overtaxing his healing factor and save him a lot of pain.
2/10 Wolverine Should Get A Little Help From His Friends
Some Marvel heroes shouldn’t work alone, even if they’re successful at it. Wolverine is a known loner and he can work very well without any backup. He likes to depend on himself and put all the danger on himself rather than drag someone else into peril. This has hurt him a lot over the years, and he needs to make a change.
Wolverine has made friends with the greatest heroes on Earth. He’s saved many of them multiple times, so there’s no reason they wouldn’t help him if he asked. Many of his battles would have been very different if he just reached out for help, and he definitely should in the future.
1/10 Wolverine Should Fight Smarter
Marvel is full of smart fighters and Wolverine has proven he can be one of them. Logan has been fighting for well over a century, first as a backwoods brawler, then a soldier, and then as a spy. He’s mastered multiple martial arts and understands battle tactics, especially for small units. Wolverine knows how to fight smart. He just doesn’t for some reason.
Wolverine’s fighting style is pretty simple. He jumps in and slashes at his enemies until they fall down. This is weird for someone who has forgotten more about fighting than most experienced warriors know. He could easily incorporate more of his martial arts mastery into his repertoire, using stronger foes’ power against them and making him a more dangerous opponent. Wolverine needs to start using his brain before swinging his claws.
