10 Greatest Wolverine Kills in Marvel History, Ranked

Wolverine may be one of the greatest heroes in the Marvel Universe, a valiant member of the X-Men who has time and again put his own life on the line to protect others, but he’s also a vicious killer who won’t think twice about (quite literally) eviscerating his enemies. Indeed, Wolverine is the best there is at what he does for a reason, as the thing he does best is kill people – not very nice at all.

Logan doesn’t enjoy the act of killing like some other Weapon X antiheroes/villains (such as Deadpool or Sabretooth), but that doesn’t detract from the fact that he’s very good at it, and that skill came from years of practice. Wolverine has lived in the woods as a feral animal, he’s been used by villainous organizations to commit murder against his will, and he’s permanently ended the lives of a few X-Men villains when no one else could.

Logan’s also experienced the worst of humanity, and has an almost Punisher-esque way of purging the world of heinous criminals. In short, Wolverine has killed a lot of people throughout his Marvel Comics career, but a few of those kills certainly stand out from the rest. Here are Wolverine’s 10 greatest kills, ranked!

Wolverine Vol. 3 #7 by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez

Wolverine has undeniably had some pretty spectacular kills in his career, but sometimes, the ones that stand out the most are seemingly unspectacular, but no less impactful – and this is one of those kills. When Wolverine pulls into a random garage/gas station, he knows right away that something’s off. He goes inside, only to find the place empty, but his heightened senses clue him in on what’s going on: the owner has been killed, and the man that did it wants to do the same to Logan.

Sensing where the man is standing in the back room on the other side of the wall, Wolverine stabs him in the stomach through the wall, resulting in his agonizing death. No super-battle or spectacle, just a heinous murderer who had it coming, and Wolverine was there to give it to him.

9 Wolverine Gruesomely ‘Murders’ Professor Hudson While Escaping Weapon X

Marvel Comics Presents #83 “Weapon X” Chapter 11 by Barry Windsor-Smith

Logan’s escape from Weapon X is a legendary chapter in his history, and the comic that depicts it is gritty and brutal. After Wolverine breaks free of his physical restraints within the Weapon X laboratory, he slices through the guards and scientists around him with his new adamantium claws until he finally gets his hands on the man responsible for this whole twisted experiment: Professor Hudson. Logan cuts off the professor’s hand before burying his claws in Hudson’s forehead, killing the evil scientist once and for all.

Except, Wolverine didn’t actually kill him, as the next issue reveals that none of this was real, it was just a simulation to test Wolverine’s capacity for murder. However, regardless of what was revealed in the following issue, the scene in this issue depicted one of Wolverine’s most gruesome on-panel ‘kills’.

Wolverine Vol. 3 #58 by Marc Guggenheim and Howard Chaykin

Speaking of kills that are technically not kills but are still insanely hardcore kills, Wolverine once murdered the Angel of Death, and has done so again and again every time he dies in order to return his soul to his fully-healed body during any given near-death experience. As explained by Doctor Strange in this issue, the Angel of Death cannot actually die, so anytime he’s ‘killed’ in battle, he’s merely temporarily defeated, destined to return.

But, that’s just semantics, isn’t it? Because, whether he comes back or not, the Angel of Death still gets killed with every loss, and it’s Wolverine who kills him. Being known as the man who regularly kills the Angel of Death is perhaps the most hardcore title in Marvel Comics, and it’s fitting that Wolverine should claim it.

7 Wolverine Shoves the Priest of Sickles into a Woodchipper

Savage Avengers #15 by Gerry Duggan and Patch Zircher

Usually, while still insanely brutal, Wolverine’s kills are pretty much all the same: he sticks ’em with his claws. However, on this occasion, Wolverine was feeling particularly inspired, as he didn’t merely murder his enemy, he stuck his body in a woodchipper and watched little pieces of the man flutter in the air around him. Granted, the man Wolverine killed was a repugnant monster called the Priest of Sickles who not only practiced in the dark arts, but also murdered a close friend of Wolverine, meaning the over-the-top kill was more than justified.

Still, though, seeing Wolverine stick anyone’s body in a woodchipper is a decidedly grisly sight, making it stand out as one of the most memorable, and easily one of the most brutal.

6 Wolverine Goes Berserk on Genesis and the Dark Riders When He Goes Feral

Wolverine Vol. 2 #100 by Larry Hama and Adam Kubert

Wolverine’s ‘Feral’ stage is perhaps his most infamous chapter, though there are moments that have merit, including and especially the issue that debuted Feral Wolverine. In it, Genesis (the son of Cable) and his Dark Riders are trying to use Wolverine to resurrect Apocalypse, and that process winds up accelerating Wolverine’s mutation, causing him to revert to a more animalistic state – something that was already set in motion when Magneto ripped the adamantium from Logan’s skeleton.

Once he went feral, Wolverine attacked Genesis with everything he had, tearing him apart like a rabid animal backed into a corner. Genesis deserved it, as did the sinister Dark Riders, but this scene was still undeniably hard to watch play out on-panel, as the villain could do nothing to combat the savagery of Feral Wolverine.

5 Ultimate Wolverine’s Murder of Multiple Man is Utterly Heartbreaking

Ultimate X-Men #100 by Aron E. Coleite and Mark Brooks

For a relatively brief moment in Marvel Comics history, there wasn’t just one mainstream Wolverine, but two. The other was Ultimate Wolverine from Earth-1610, whose history wasn’t as extensive as his original counterpart, but who also added to the wider lore of the character – and that includes memorable kills. In this case, Ultimate Wolverine killed the Ultimate Universe version of Jamie Madrox aka Multiple Man, and it was utterly heartbreaking.

During the Ultimatum event, Magneto forces Jamie to create hundreds of duplicates, which Magneto uses as international terrorists. Then, Magneto stashes the original Jamie in a safe house on Savage Island, where he’s been brainwashed into thinking he’s just a teenager. To save countless lives, Wolverine kills this scared and confused Jamie, who thinks he’s just a kid, thereby neutralizing Magneto’s terrorist army.

4 Wolverine is Forced to Kill His Own Son, Daken, While Imagining the Life They Could Have Had

Uncanny X-Force #34 by Rick Remender and Phil Noto

Akihiro may be an X-Men ally now (even with his new Hellverine moniker), but originally, he was a murderous villain called Daken who wanted nothing more than to watch his father, Wolverine, suffer immensely. After nearly ushering in Apocalypse’s heir and killing the X-Men in the process, Daken is confronted by Wolverine, who stops his son permanently by drowning him in a puddle. However, it’s not the kill itself that makes this one so noteworthy, but what was going through Wolverine’s mind while he did it.

Wolverine never knew about Akihiro, meaning he wasn’t there for him growing up. As Logan murdered the son he never knew, he imagined being a dad to him, with thoughts of being there for Akihiro’s milestones as he matured into a man, only to look down and see those dreams literally die in front of him.

3 Wolverine Tears the Hulk Open from the Inside Out

Wolverine: Old Man Logan #8 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven

Wolverine’s Old Man Logan storyline is rife with exceptionally violent kills, though the one that stands out the most is ‘Hulk vs Wolverine’. The Hulk was responsible for the death of Logan’s entire family, so Wolverine paid him back by killing every member of the Hulk’s family before challenging the Jade Giant himself. During the fight, the Hulk had the clear advantage, and even seemingly won after eating Wolverine. However, Logan was able to regenerate inside the Hulk’s stomach, at which point he burst from Hulk’s back in a gruesome show of blood and guts.

Wolverine has had many fights with the Hulk throughout their shared Marvel Comics history, but this one stands out not only as the most violent, but also the most deadly, as Wolverine proves himself the true victor of their decades-long conflict in a truly spectacular display.

2 Wolverine’s First Major Hardcore Moment is the Slaughter of the Hellfire Soldiers

Uncanny X-Men #133 by Chris Claremont and John Byrne

Wolverine is easily one of the most iconic members of the X-Men in Marvel Comics history, but that wasn’t always the case. During his early X-Men career, Wolverine was firmly a side character who was never really the focus of any story. But then, when the X-Men were kidnapped by the Hellfire Club during the Phoenix Saga, all that changed, and that change was marked by this moment.

In an effort to save the X-Men, Wolverine snuck into the Hellfire Club clubhouse where he was hunted by Hellfire Soldiers. Or, more accurately, it was Wolverine who was doing the hunting, as he picked off each soldier one-by-one, killing each of them. These kills were the first time Wolverine was portrayed as a brutal killer in X-Men canon, paving the way for his countless subsequent storylines.

Wolverine Vol. 7 #50 by Benjamin Percy, Victor LaValle, Geoff Shaw, and Cory Smith

Sabretooth has been Wolverine’s arch nemesis for decades, as their shared history as victims of Weapon X once made them allies before Wolverine sought the life of a hero while Sabretooth reveled in life as a villain. Since parting ways, Sabretooth has made it his mission to torment Wolverine, which finally came to a head in the recently concluded Sabretooth War.

In the Sabretooth War finale, Wolverine uses the Muramasa Blade (a weapon that neutralizes healing factors) to chop Sabretooth into little bloody pieces. This fight was the culmination of years of violence and bloodshed between the two mutant rivals, and Sabretooth’s permanent, brutal death was the only way for it to end. Because of the significance and gruesome nature of this kill, it should be remembered as Wolverine‘s all-time greatest in Marvel Comics history.