Summary

  • Wolverine's biggest strength is his willingness to endure pain and keep moving forward.
  • Despite not being the fastest, strongest, or most intelligent, Wolverine always survives and stands tall.
  • Healing factors alone aren't enough; Wolverine's ability to embrace and use pain gives him the upper hand.

Wolverine and Deadpool are two of the toughest characters in the Marvel Universe, and their healing factors see them through a great deal of violence. Deadpool’s son inherited his father’s penchant for healing, yet even that advantage coupled with his youth wasn’t enough to overcome Logan. One major thing sets them apart: Logan willingly takes on more pain.

In the 2010 story "Dear Logan" by Rafael Grampá – appearing in Strange Tales II #1 – Wolverine actively participates in brutal spectator fights known as “Immortals Xtreme” where mutants battle to the death and then return to life. He’s all set to go up against Deadpool’s son, whom he calls Junior. The younger Wilson believes he outclasses Logan (and his own father) because he’s younger and heals faster.

Wolverine beheads Deadpool's son in combat and credits his relationship with pain.

Until they’re in the ring, Wolverine leaves him with his bravado. Junior gets in shot after shot, seemingly taking the upper hand, before Logan demonstrates why he continues to dominate the arena and says, "The secret is to have a good relationship with the pain."

Wolverine’s Biggest Strength is His Willingness to Go On

Deadpool's son tells Wolverine he is younger and heals faster than his father.

Wolverine has plenty of extraordinary qualities granted to him by his mutant abilities, long life, and experimentation, but he’s bigger than all of them. He endures conflict and hurt unlike anyone else, and at the end of it, he continues to take the next step forward. His ability to do so is, frankly, unmatched. There is a reason that Logan survives several timelines even when his closest allies, friends, and enemies seem to fall, and it all comes down to his willingness to take everything that happens and use it to propel himself forward. His healing factor repairs his body, but it doesn't necessarily grant him the ability to recover in other ways. Logan found those himself.

If put in a lineup of all the heroes and villains in the Marvel Universe, Wolverine isn’t the fastest, strongest, most intelligent, or even the most experienced or strategic. Though he has plenty going for him, he’s been sured in many categories. And yet, when so many are lost, he is frequently the one left standing. The secret he gives away in Strange Tales II is bigger than one fight with Deadpool’s son. It’s at the heart of his survival across timelines. Logan willingly and repeatedly takes on physical (and often emotional) pain in a way no one else will, and he gets back up when it’s over.

Healing Factors Aren’t Everything

Wolverine bleeds during his fight with Deadpool's son as Immortal Xtreme's commentators watch.

Healing factors allow both men to withstand incredible amounts of punishments. Deadpool has one of the most capable healing factors around, and its cellular regeneration is incredibly unique. He has lost limbs, been sliced in half, and any number of macabre fates, and it stands to reason that his son could do the same and more if his is the same. Still, he has neither his father nor Logan’s ability to turn that into anything greater than itself – at least not in the ring. As Deadpool's son learns the hard way, Wolverine doesn’t just endure pain and recover from it; he expects it, anticipates it, and knows it so well he invites it in, eternally giving him the upper hand.

Strange Tales II #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.