Adamantium May Be Wolverine’s Secret Weapon But Guess What? 10 Marvel Villains Have It Too

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Adamantium is the nearly unbreakable metal grafted onto Wolverine’s skeleton. It’s what makes him practically invincible, and is why his claws are so deadly. Wolverine can cut through an army of armored soldiers like they’re made of wet tissue paper, all while their attacks basically bounce right off of him. Sure, his healing factor and heightened senses help him in battle scenarios as well, but it’s the adamantium that makes Wolverine the perfect living weapon that he is.

Given how integral adamantium has become to Wolverine’s personal story and power set, one would assume that it’s something that’s unique to him alone. However, that’s decidedly not the case. Not only have other heroes weaponized adamantium in the past, but villains have as well. More specifically, villains who would like nothing more than to see Wolverine dead. These villains pose a significant threat to Wolverine on a level that no other foes can match, as they’ve found a way to use his greatest strength against him. Here are 10 villains who also have adamantium.

10

Cyber has Adamantium-Laced Skin and Small Retractable Claws

First Appearance: Marvel Comics Presents #85-86 by Peter David and Sam Kieth

Silas Burr aka Cyber first appeared as a drug cartel enforcer on Madripoor who fought and defeated Wolverine with his adamantium-laced skin that covered the entirety of his arms. However, it would later be revealed that Cyber had closer ties to Wolverine’s past than Marvel let on upon his first appearance. Not only did Cyber train Wolverine’s son, Daken, but he was also given his adamantium upgrade by Romulus, who is perhaps the most significant villain in Wolverine’s life.

As far as Cyber’s adamantium enhancements in relation to Wolverine’s, Cyber is practically immune to Wolverine’s attacks given his impenetrable adamantium skin, and the ten retractable claws at the ends of his fingers make Cyber an even greater threat, not to mention his proven fighting ability and personal hatred of Wolverine.

9

Lady Deathstrike Transformed Herself into a Cyborg with Adamantium Claws

First Appearance (as Lady Deathstrike): Uncanny X-Men #205 by Chris Claremont and Barry Windsor-Smith

Yuriko Oyama aka Lady Deathstrike is the daughter of the man who invented the process of coating bones with adamantium, which is why she hates Wolverine so much. She and her family believed that going through such a process was only meant for those they deemed worthy, and James Howlett wasn’t on the list. So, Oyama made a deal with Spiral to be transformed into a cyborg with a self-repairing machine body. And, of course, Lady Deathstrike also incorporated adamantium into her clawed hands.

Over the years, Lady Deathstrike has proven to be a major thorn in Wolverine’s side, and that’s because of her adamantium claws. Plus, Lady Deathstrike is fueled by a sense of self-righteousness, as if she’s worthy of wielding adamantium while Logan is not, making her that much more dangerous.

First Appearance (with Adamantium): Wolverine Vol. 2 #126 by Chris Claremont and Leinil Francis Yu

Victor Creed aka Sabretooth usually doesn’t have any adamantium enhancements, but in truth, Sabretooth has had several adamantium upgrades in Marvel Comics. The first was in Wolverine Vol. 2 #126, when Sabretooth showed up to kill Wolverine and his new bride, Viper, with an adamantium skeleton and claws as well as an enhanced healing factor. After his adamantium was taken from him by Apocalypse (and given to Wolverine to replace the adamantium Magneto ripped from his body), Sabretooth wouldn’t see another adamantium upgrade until he rejoined Weapon X some time later.

Plus, over in the Ultimate Universe of Earth-1610, Sabretooth not only has an adamantium skeleton, but the indestructible metal also coated his teeth and gave him eight retractable claws nearly identical to Wolverine’s that extended from his knuckles.

7

Solem is an Ancient Arakkii Mutant Born with Adamantium Skin

First Appearance: Wolverine Vol. 7 #6 by Benjamin Percy and Viktor Bogdanović

Solem is an ancient mutant born on Arakko – the sister island of Krakoa – who has natural adamantium skin. While other characters (Wolverine included) had to have adamantium grafted onto their bodies, Solem was born with it, making him virtually indestructible from the moment he took his first breath. Solem was introduced during X-Men‘s X of Swords event after he was chosen as a champion to fight in the tournament while wielding the Muramasa Blade, something Solem jumped at the chance to do for his sheer love of combat.

Before fans even see him fight, it’s revealed how deadly Solem is due to the fact that he had been imprisoned in a pit for a century upon his introduction, suffering the consequences of killing the husband of the Horseman, War. His fighting ability, love of combat, and natural adamantium skin make Solem a truly formidable adversary.

6

Donald Pierce Gets an Adamantium Upgrade Thanks to Cable

First Appearance (with Adamantium): Wolverine Vol. 2 #141 by Erik Larsen and Leinil Francis Yu

Donald Pierce was introduced as a high-ranking member of the Hellfire Club before he fell from grace and was reduced to aligning himself with low-level gangs in the mere hope that he’d be accepted back into the Hellfire Club once more. One of those gangs was the Reavers, a group of cybernetic criminals. Pierce became a cyborg himself, and over the years, he slowly replaced his flesh with increasingly advanced machines. And, in one instance, with adamantium.

Pierce once stumbled upon one of Cable’s safe houses, near which he found a hidden reserve of adamantium. Using the futuristic technology within the safe house, Pierce bonded this adamantium to his robotic body, becoming something far stronger than he ever was before.

5

Kyber is a Mysterious Cybernetic Being with His Own Adamantium Enhancements

First Appearance: Wolverine Vol. 2 #141 by Erik Larsen and Leinil Francis Yu

A mysterious character named Kyber appears in the very same Wolverine issue in which Donald Pierce sported his adamantium upgrade, as he is drawn to their location for one reason: the cache of adamantium Pierce pilfered belonged to him. Like Pierce, Kyber is seemingly cybernetically enhanced, and he definitely has adamantium grafted onto his body. While very little is known about this character, Kyber makes it clear that he is here to take back what Pierce stole while vaguely threatening Logan with the promise that the two of them will face off in the future.

In other words, Kyber is no friend of Wolverine’s. And, based on what he did to Donald Pierce like it was nothing, Kyber doesn’t seem like an enemy Logan – or anyone, for that matter – wants to have.

4

Constrictor Earns His Name with His Retractable Adamantium Coils

First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk #212 by Len Wein and Sal Buscema

Frank Payne aka Constrictor was once an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who was assigned a mission to go undercover within a super-villain organization called the Corporation. As part of his cover, Frank was given a snake-themed costume and attack-method to go along with the codename, Constrictor. That attack-method came in the form of two retractable adamantium coils, one on each arm, which allowed Frank to truly live up to his super-villain moniker. While undercover, Frank had a nervous breakdown and became a career super-villain, turning his cover into his permanent identity.

While he stuck around with the Corporation for a stint, Constrictor quickly went off on his own to become a hired criminal/assassin. Using his SHIELD training and unbreakable coils, Constrictor was able to challenge the likes of the Hulk, Iron Fist, and Captain America, proving just how formidable his adamantium upgrade made him.

3

Citadel was Given an Adamantium Exoskeleton by Weapon Plus

First Appearance: Wolverine: First Class #5 by Fred Van Lente and Clayton Henry

Weapon Y aka Citadel is a hulking behemoth with an adamatium exoskeleton given to him against his will by the Weapon Plus Program. While his real name is never revealed, Citadel was once a soldier who was injured in battle. The Weapon Plus Program saw this man as the perfect test subject, so the villainous organization encased his body in adamantium, transforming him into the human wrecking ball fans are introduced to in Wolverine: First Class.

Citadel is actually the first foe Wolverine ever faced who rendered his adamantium claws utterly useless. Not only was Wolverine unable to pierce Citadel’s exoskeleton, but the vibrations that reverberated through his arm whenever he tried caused Logan debilitating pain, confirming just how great a threat he was to Wolverine.

2

Orchis Developed an Adamantium Sentinel Called “Sentinel Zero”

First Appearance: X-Men Vol. 6 #22 by Gerry Duggan and Joshua Cassara

Sentinels have always been a major issue for the X-Men, but when the technology was weaponized by an anti-mutant organization called Orchis, the mutant-hunting robots were never more deadly. And one of the deadliest Sentinel models of them all was dubbed “Sentinel Zero”, which integrated Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton into its robotic form, weaponizing the adamantium against the X-Men.

Not only was Sentinel Zero made from Wolverine’s adamantium-laced skeleton, but it also weaponized his six retractable claws, which basically made Sentinel Zero a ‘killer-robot’ version of Wolverine. While this Sentinel didn’t last very long in X-Men canon, it certainly had an impact during the brief time it was terrorizing the X-Men, standing as one of the most terrifying villains to wield adamantium in Marvel Comics.

1

Romulus has an Adamantium-Laced Skeleton and Claws, & is Responsible for Weapon X

First Full Appearance: Wolverine Vol. 3 #55 by Jeph Loeb and Simone Bianchi

Romulus is the evil mastermind behind Logan’s entire life, an ancient mutant who claimed to have canine ancestry (as opposed to primate) that carefully helped shape human history, leading to the creation of his perfect living weapon: Wolverine. Romulus founded and ruled over Rome, he assisted the Nazis during WWII, and he even formed the Weapon Plus Program. Romulus’ ultimate goal was to create the ultimate warrior by shaping them in his image, and when he met James Howlett, Romulus didn’t let him out of his sight.

Romulus is responsible for Wolverine’s adamantium bonding, for the radicalization of Daken, for the creation of Cyber, and (to an extent) the corruption of Sabretooth. In other words, Romulus is Wolverine’s ultimate villain – and that’s also true because of how powerful he is. Romulus didn’t just give Wolverine and Cyber adamantium upgrades, but he did so to himself as well. He coated his bones in adamantium, which resulted in gnarly claws that extended from his hands.

Romulus is truly a force to be reckoned with, and a big reason for that is his adamantium upgrade, making him one of the 10 deadliest Wolverine villains with adamantium.

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