Doctor Strange Considers 1 Marvel Movie Hero “The Scariest Man I Have Ever Met” (Including Mephisto)

From the depths of Hell to entire dimensions of eldritch monstrosities, Doctor Strange has seen (and often fought) the most chilling horrors that the Marvel Universe has to offer – but none of them scare him as much as Wolverine. Asked his opinion about the Best There Is, the Sorcerer Supreme was frank that he considered the X-Men’s hard-living hero the scariest individual he’s ever known – including Mephisto himself.

The admission came in 2011’s Wolverine #16, from Jason Aaron and Goran Sudzuka. In the issue, Logan’s current girlfriend – investigative reporter Melita Garner – interviews various Marvel heroes to produce a biography of Logan’s life. The Avengers and X-Men try to sum up how they feel about Wolverine, with Doctor Strange in particular calling him, “The scariest man I have ever met. And I have literally shaken hands with the Devil.”

Strange’s is one of the most negative opinions of Logan, although some other heroes have choice words, with Hulk branding him “a #@&$”, Hawkeye scowlingly branding him “a killer” and Emma Frost asserting that he “smells exactly like a warthog.” Ultimately, Wolverine rejects all their summations, save for that of Namor, admitting that (thanks to his incredibly heavy adamantium-covered skeleton) he’s a terrible swimmer. Instead, Logan says he prefers to think of himself as a work in progress.

Doctor Strange Considers Wolverine the Scariest Man He’s Ever Met

Their First Meeting Justifies Why Strange Would Fear Logan

It makes sense that Strange would find Wolverine intimidating – while the two technically worked together in a group setting in stories like Infinity Gauntlet and Contest of Champions, their first one-on-one meeting was in Roy Thomas, Jean-Marc Lofficier and Geof Isherwood’s Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #14, where a brain-washed Wolverine breaks into Strange’s bedroom and tries to kill him. While they end up sharing a drink after beating the demons who directed Logan’s attack, waking up to the berserk’s attack clearly made an impression on Strange.

However, Wolverine’s heroic career is just the tip of the iceberg. Prior to joining the X-Men, Wolverine was captured and experimented on by Weapon X, who brainwashed him to act as a loyal soldier. As part of his role with Weapon X, Logan acted as a ‘Dog Handler’ for the group – traumatizing and recruiting viable targets to become living weapons. While these operations weren’t done under Wolverine’s free will, they’re some of the darkest moments in Marvel history, and it’s likely that thanks to his powers, Strange has some inkling of Logan’s crimes.

Interesting, Strange’s admission about Wolverine pairs with a more recent admission (in Jed McKay and Pasqual Ferry’s Doctor Strange #5) that he fears Doctor Doom. Doom and Wolverine have both literally traveled to hell to save those they love, showing an unstoppable will power and no limits to what they’ll do when they feel it’s necessary. Indeed, Wolverine’s rage is so potent that it was used by the mystic swordsmith Muramasa to create the Muramasa Blade, which is capable of cutting on the molecular level. Logan has no magic talent, but he’s far more than just a normal man.

Doctor Strange Is Pretty Scary Himself

Strange Has Taken Saving the World a Lot Further Than Any Other Hero

While Strange may consider Wolverine scary, that’s likely partly because he sees some of himself in Logan. Both tend to be called on to go further than other heroes. Indeed, when the multiverse was threatened by the Incursion Events, Strange led the world-destroying Black Priests and even killed another world’s Superman to protect his own reality. He’s also far more callous in his dealings with his enemies than pretty much any other Avenger – for example in Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson Defenders #4, where Strange traps a rival sorcerer in a glass jar, adding him to a collection of hundreds of other intruders he’s seemingly imprisoned forever.

Some heroes have strong moral boundaries they’ll never cross, even if the world is coming to an end, but Wolverine and Doctor Strange aren’t among them. Both live on the edge, encountering terrifying threats that they sacrifice their humanity to keep away from innocents. Doctor Strange is right to consider Wolverine one of the scariest people in existence, since Logan’s combination of razor sharp claws and willingness to suffer any amount of hurt to protect others make him unstoppable once he sets his sights on a threat.