Marvel’s newWolverinehas made his debut, and I think that he may be a better fighter than the original. While Wolverine’s fighting prowess has never been called into question, the way he fights is often tied into the way he uses his powers. Ultimate Wolverine also uses his powers to his advantage, but this version of the character fights in a different way, making me think that he may be a better fighter than the original.
Ultimate Wolverine#1by Chris Condon and Alessandro Cappuccio introducesthe Ultimate Wolverine, now reimagined as the new universe’s Winter Soldier. The first mission of his solo series sees him being sent to kill Nightcrawler and Mystique - which he succeeds in doing, already altering the path of the new Ultimate Universe.
When Wolverine makes his attack, something that stood out to me was the way Ultimate Wolverine fights, especially when compared to his mainstream counterpart on Earth-616. These differences result in the new Wolverine feeling more dangerous than his mainstream counterpart, both due to his ruthlessness and the differences in fighting styles.
Wolverine’s Fighting Style Is Iconic, But Flawed
Ultimate Wolverine#1 by Chris Condon, Alessandro Cappuccio, Bryan Valenza, and Cory Petit
The mainstream version ofWolverineis a powerful fighter, and he’s among the Marvel Universe’s premier combatants. His long life has let him become the master of multiple different fighting styles, and his healing factor lets him endure an incredible amount of punishment. These facts, as well as his adamantium claws, make him an unstoppable force on the battlefield, unable to be easily dealt with unless his foe has the specific powers or specific equipment to handle Wolverine. Additionally, Logan has proven himself to be a master swordsman over the years, which adds to his reputation as a fighter in my eyes.
While Logan is still undoubtedly one of Marvel’s strongest combatants, the way he fights doesn’t use his knowledge to his full disposal.
However,Logan’s strengths as a fighter also play into the weaknesses of the way he fights. Much ofWolverine’sfighting style is based around the idea of Logan acting as a tank-like berserker, soaking up damage from his enemies before attacking with ferocious intensity. While this fighting style lets Logan take advantage of his powers, it also fundamentally relies on the fact that Logan has his healing factor and his adamantium skeleton. When Logan lost his healing factor in Paul Cornell’s run with the character, one of his biggest challenges was learning how to fight without those powers.
While I think that Logan is still undoubtedly one of Marvel’s strongest combatants, the way he fights doesn’t use his knowledge to his full disposal. With all the knowledge he has, it would be more effective for Logan to take on a more tactical approach to fighting, rather than his current approach. It may work for him, but it does present itself with glaring weaknesses, which a suitably prepared - or suitably strong - opponent could exploit to win. In addition, even Logan’s powerful healing factor has limits and can be weakened, such as through the use of the metal carbonadium.
Ultimate Wolverine Takes a Tactical Approach to Combat
Making for Killer - Literally - Fight Scenes
While we’ve already seen how Ultimate Wolverine still works his healing factor and claws into the way he fights, I can also tell that this new version of Logan also has a more tactical approach to fighting. When staging his attack on the Opposition,Wolverinemakes his way through the easier targets first, dispatching the gunmen before confronting Mystique and using his enhanced senses to see through her disguise as Colossus. When he attacks Nightcrawler, Wolverine takes the time to learn the pattern of his teleportation, using his sense of smell to anticipate where Kurt will appear next before stabbing him.
Ultimate Wolverine has the same ferocity of his mainstream counterpart, but his conditioning from Directorate X has turned him into a more tactical fighter. While he takes gunfire, Logan also knows when to take cover from it. He prioritizes his targets, going from the easiest ones to the more difficult ones. While, thanks to his brainwashing by Directorate X, he’s certainly more lethal,his more tactical fighting style also makes him more dangerous on an intellectual level. While a fight between these two versions of the Marvel icon could go either way, Ultimate Wolverine’s more tactical methods may give him the edge.
Wolverine Kills Two X-Men Icons, Making a Bold Statement About Marvel’s New Universe
Marvel’s “Ultimate Wolverine #1” contains a brutal shock, as two classic X-Men characters meet their demise at Logan’s claws, pushing him to the limit
Ultimate Wolverine’s debut shows off his fighting prowess, and he may be able to beat his mainstream counterpart in a fight. I know that the mainstream version of Wolverine is an incredible combatant, but his fighting style often relies on his abilities to quickly heal from damage and dish it out just as fast, which can be overcome. Ultimate Wolverine, conversely, demonstrates a more tactical method of fighting, and he’s not just relying on his healing factor to mitigate damage and instead using his senses to their full potential. These factors demonstrate why I think the UltimateWolverinemay be a better fighter than the original.
Ultimate Wolverine#1is available now from Marvel Comics.
Wolverine
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.
