When it comes to Marvel's unkillable heroes, his healing factor isn't magic, and there are 10 definitive ways to kill him that Logan himself identifies as beyond his ability to recover from.
The majority of these methods are outlined in 2008's Wolverine: Killing Made Simple from Christopher Yost, Koi Turnbull, Sal Regla, Beth Sotelo and Cory Petit. The issue smartly consolidated past Wolverine lore, acknowledging past stories where he faced lethal threats. Other stories have added to this list since, with Wolverine acknowledging there are plenty of ways to end him if you're truly committed.
"An Answer To Your Claws": Wolverine Lore Officially Introduces an Unbreakable Metal Better Than Adamantium
X-Men's new era has made some huge changes to mutant lore, but perhaps the biggest is that Wolverine's adamantium claws now have a deadly equal.
10 The Muramasa Blade
The Weapon Debuted in Daniel Way and Javier Saltares' Wolverine #40
Perhaps the most famous way to kill Wolverine is the legendary Muramasa Blade. A mystical weapon forged by the master swordsmith Muramasa, the blade is made from Wolverine's rage, focused down into a blade that cuts on the molecular level. The Muramasa Blade inflicts wounds which heal at a much, much slower rate, allowing it to deal fatal injures even to individuals with healing factors. Wolverine has long considered the Muramasa Blade the one true weapon that can kill him, and briefly left it in Cyclops' hands, knowing his old ally and rival would only use it if it was truly needed.
Wolverine proved the Muramasa Blade is capable of killing him in the recent Wolverine #50, where he finally killed his old nemesis Sabretooth. Sabretooth has long had a healing factor equal to or greater than Wolverine, but still couldn't survive being cut to ribbons by the sword. In Killing Made Simple, Wolverine states:
Get yourself a magic sword, made o' the right metal, and take my head off. That'll do it.
Wolverine #50 comes from the creative team of Benjamin Percy, Larry Hama, Victor LaValle, Daniel Picciotto, Geoff Shaw, Javier Fernández, Alex Sinclair & Cory Petit.
9 Sentinel Tech
As Seen in Chris Claremont & John Byrne's Iconic 'Days of Future Past' Arc
The most iconic image of Wolverine's death is when an older Logan was killed by a Sentinel in the iconic 'Days of Future Past,' however that's not the only time the gigantic, mutant-killing robots have killed him off. The recent Inferno #1 from Jonathan Hickman, Valerio Schiti, David Curiel and Joe Sabino sees Wolverine killed again and again by Nimrod, the ultimate form of Sentinel tech (at the time, the X-Men had the ability to resurrect their fallen heroes, allowing him to try to assassinate the villain multiple times.)
Indeed, 2020's Maestro comic from Peter David, Germán Peralta, Jesus Aburtov and Ariana Maher suggests that across the multiverse, being killed by a Sentinel is the most likely death for every version of Wolverine. In Killing Made Simple, Wolverine explains that Sentinels possess:
Energy and tech you wouldn't believe, it can burn you right down to the bone. Then it burns the bone. Ain't no coming back from that.
This reveals a crucial detail of the type of attack that can kill Wolverine - the kind that harms his bone marrow. In 2020's Wolverine volume 7 (launched by Benjamin Percy and Adam Kubert), it was revealed that Wolverine's healing factor is housed in his bone marrow, allowing him to heal from almost any injury that leaves it intact.
X-Men Gifts Its Iconic Sentinels a Major Redesign Complete With... Chainsaw Teeth
For 61 years, the X-Men have been hunted by the deadly Sentinels - now, these unfeeling villains are getting a sleek but lethal redesign.
8 Drowning
As Proved in Rick Remender and Phil Noto's Uncanny X-Force
Wolverine doesn't have a lot of weaknesses, but water is definitely one of them. Wolverine's adamantium makes him both heavier and more susceptible to extreme cold than normal humans, making it far more likely that he'll drown and experience irreversible brain death. This is actually how Wolverine killed his son Daken (who has the same healing factor). In Paul Cornell, Mirco Pierfederici, Karl Kesel, Andres Mossa and Cory Petit's Wolverine #13, Wolverine's enemies try to drown him, and the narration echoes Wolverine's thoughts, stating:
This can kill him! This is how he killed his son! It's fate! It's karma! This is what he deserves!
7 Metal Poisoning
See It Happen in Uncanny X-Men #380 by Alan Davis, Terry Kavanagh and Tom Raney
Wolverine's adamantium skeleton makes him a truly formidable fighter, but it also has its drawbacks. The first among them is adamantium poisoning, with his metal-coated skeleton breaking down his body. Logan can survive this because of his healing factor, but whenever it's removed or even just dampened, adamantium poisoning becomes a major threat. Fans saw this in Uncanny X-Men #380, when Apocalypse removed the powers of every mutant on Earth, leaving Wolverine with little time left to live.
Thankfully, the Beast was later able to develop medicine that could stall the breakdown caused by adamantium poisoning, meaning that if he can get to his X-Men teammates, Logan does have a solution for this weakness.
6 Zombie Infection
As Confirmed in Christos N. Gage and Yıldıray Çınar's Weapon X-Men
Wolverine's healing factor makes short work of viruses, including those that cause vampirism and zombification. However, this varies according to the strain and how overtaxed Wolverine's healing factor is in the moment. It's possible for various supernatural viruses to permanently turn Wolverine undead, even causing his body to decompose as a zombie. This was seen in Robert Kirkman, Sean Phillips, June Chung and Randy Gentile's Marvel Zombies, with the zombie Logan later confirming in Weapon X-Men that his healing factor simply couldn't stop the virus. Another version of Wolverine replies, "It's a healing factor, not a magic factor."
10 Superpowers Wolverine Is Most Vulnerable to in Marvel Lore (That Even His Healing Factor Can't Stop)
Wolverine is one of Marvel Comics' most durable heroes, but despite his incredible healing factor, Logan isn't as unkillable as fans think.
5 Losing His Powers
As Seen in Charles Soule & Steve McNiven's Death of Wolverine
Wolverine's healing factor keeps him from harm, but there are a lot of ways he can be robbed of it. Marvel lore includes power-dampening tech, power-stealing individuals (like Leech, who has taken Logan's powers in the past), and even alien species who can rob Wolverine of his healing (as happened in the lead-up to Death of Wolverine.)
Once that happens, Wolverine is vulnerable to the same things as a regular person, as well as extra threats like adamantium poisoning and infection from using his claws (since the wounds stay open, and the claws can deliver bacteria right into his bloodstream.) In Death of Wolverine, Wolverine is smothered after a vat of adamantium pours over him, but multiple gunshots would also have done the job.
4 Incineration
Confirmed in Jonathan Hickman and Pepe Larraz's House of X #4
Along the same lines as being killed by a Sentinel, intense enough heat can incinerate Wolverine, destroying his body, blood and bone marrow in a way that leaves nothing for him to heal back from. In Killing Made Simple, he recalls Xorn (disguised as Magneto) attempting to do this to him and Jean Grey, saying, "No way to survive that."
This came true in House of X, when a team of X-Men attack Orchis' Mother Mold facility, sending it falling into the Sun. Wolverine gave his life to make the mission a success, though this was right when the X-Men figured out how to resurrect their heroes, meaning he was back alive and kicking before long.
3 Reality Warping
Scarlet Witch Kills Logan in Jim Valentino and Rik Levins' 'What If... Set Had Come to Earth?', from What If...? #25
Wolverine's healing factor is powerful, but it still works by natural laws. Reality warpers can totally change the rules, giving them endless ways to kill those with healing factors - for example, the memorable occasion when the Molecule Man turned Wolverine's son Daken into a tree. However, the most extreme example is likely that from What If...? #25, when Scarlet Witch turned Wolverine's entire body into anti-matter, causing an explosion that erased him from existence.
Wolverine died a similarly disturbing death in Infinity Gauntlet, when Thanos instantly turned his bones to rubber. Logan is well aware he has no defense against this kind of attack, stating in Killing Made Simple that 'reality benders' can:
Turn me inside out and smear me across the landscape in the blink of an eye.
Infinity Gauntlet came from the creative team of Jim Starlin, George Pérez, Ron Lim, Josef Rubinstein, Evelyn Stein, Tom Christopher, Max Scheele, Ian Laughlin, Bruce N. Solotoff and Jack Morelli.
Wolverine Trades Adamantium for Solid Rock, Stealing the Powers of Fantastic Four's Thing
Wolverine is stealing the rocky skin of Fantastic Four's Thing, turning the deadliest man alive into a true Marvel heavyweight.
2 Time Travel
As Seen in Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri's 'Forgotten Marvels' from Free Comic Book Day: Spider-Man/Ultimate Universe #1
As with reality warping, Wolverine has no protection against being erased by time travel. He's come close to this several times, such as when his ancestor Folkbern Logan was saved from the Horsemen of Apocalypse by Thor in Rick Remender, Daniel Acuña and Chris Eliopoulos in Uncanny Avengers #6. This was fully achieved in Marvel's New Ultimate Universe, with the 'Forgotten Marvels' story showing Wolverine's skeleton in a trophy case maintained by the time-traveling Maker.
In Killing Made Simple, Wolverine imagines Stryfe attacking his mother, reflecting that:
Some idiot can go back in time and make sure I never even existed.
1 De-Aging
Christopher Yost and Koi Turnbull's Wolverine: Killing Made Simple Confirms the Darkest Way Logan Can Die
By far the most horrific death Wolverine could suffer, Killing Made Simple sees him attacked by X-Men villain Nanny, who can de-age him to his childhood body. Wolverine notes that this process wouldn't do anything to change his adamantium, which would remain at his 'adult' size, leading to ruinous damage. Logan explains in grisly detail how:
It'll burst through my skin, dislodge my organs, and even if I live through that, then I start to heal. My skin will grow apart from my bones, maybe through them. My brain will be too small, it'll roll around my skull...
This matches other stories which show that Wolverine's healing factor is distributed around his body in his blood - if he loses enough of it, or severe damage to his heart stops it pumping, then it's again possible to kill him with catastrophic damage. This is actually how Wolverine killed himself in Age of Ultron #9, where he meets his past self and has to replace him. This is also how Wolverine killed his clones, created by X-Men's Beast, suggesting it's the most effective way to beat his healing factor.
Age of Ultron #9 comes from the creative team of Brian Michael Bendis, Brandon Peterson, Carlos Pacheco, Brandon Peterson, Roger Bonet, Paul Mounts, José Villarrubia and Cory Petit.
Those are the 10 definitive ways to kill Wolverine in his own words. While many fans think that Wolverine is effectively immortal, Logan himself is aware that's definitely not the case - not only is he vulnerable to many of the individuals he clashes with in Marvel Comics, but his life as a hero means he's constantly discovering new ways he can die.
- NAME
- James "Logan" Howlett
- Alias
- James "Logan" Howlett
- Created By
- Roy Thomas, Len Wein, John Romita Sr.
- POWERS
- Retractible claws and Adamantium skeleton. Superhuman senses, stamina, and strength. Healing factor and longevity.
- Franchise
- X-Men, Marvel
- Age
- 197 (in the MCU)
The human mutant Wolverine (a.k.a. Logan) was born James Howlett, blessed with a superhuman healing factor, senses, and physiology. Subjecting himself to experimentation to augment his skeleton and claws with adamantium, Logan is as deadly as he is reckless, impulsive, and short-tempered. Making him the X-Men's wildest and deadliest member, and one of Marvel Comics' biggest stars. He's played in Fox and Marvel's movie franchises by Hugh Jackman.
