These days, Wolverine seems to be pretty much invincible. In a world where almost any superhero can die, Wolverine is one of the select few who still hasn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying they should ever kill him off just because he’s one who hasn’t died, it’s just odd, that’s all.

My colleague Dr. Kronner and I were just talking the other day about how he seems to have gotten a little too invincible, and hasn’t been really owned since X-Men #25, during the Fatal Attractions storyline when Magneto ripped the metal off his skeleton. Back in the ’80s Wolverine would lose fights all the time and always get back up, but his healing factor took some time. There was more mystery surrounding the character. Now, he heals so quickly that he could be likened to a T-1000 from Terminator 2. You can’t really stop him, just slow him down. Over the years he has just become much more powerful, which to be honest makes him less interesting, but allows Marvel to stick him into every book out there without any down time.

That discussion got me thinking of the different ways to kill Wolverine, because even though he has that healing factor (Which only seems to get faster every year) it can’t save him from everything.

So let’s start with one of the Xavier Protocols. These are Charles Xavier’s personal files on how to defeat each of the most powerful mutants if they were ever a threat to the world. His file on Wolverine states:

Code 0-2-1 (Wolverine): “Since the loss of his adamantium, Wolverine has become both more and less of a threat. He is divested of his unbreakable skeleton – but his senses and his mutant healing factor have been increased to incredible levels. What would have been a lethal wound to Wolverine three years ago would now be a momentary annoyance. Any assault on Wolverine, in the event of his sanity breaking, would have to be long-range and decisive. His head would have to be severed, and removed utterly from the vicinity of his body to prevent swift flesh and nerve regrowth.”  

1) Head Removal

So there is our first way to kill Wolverine. His head must be removed so he couldn’t heal himself. Although this was stated while he no longer had Adamantium fused to his skeleton, which has changed. So at this point there really isn’t a way to remove his head, save some kind of Infinity Gauntlet or Ultimate Nullifier.

2) Drowning/Asphyxiation

I know this was touched upon in the Ultimate X-Men comic run by Sabretooth. If Wolverine was drowned for a long period of time, his brain wouldn’t be able to survive without oxygen. It would more than likely have to be for quite some time as his brain continuously tried to heal itself. Another alternative would be exposing him to the vacuum of outer space where there is absolutely no oxygen.

3) Incineration

Fire would seem to be a very potent tool against Weapon X. We saw how in the Days of Future Past storyline Wolvie was completely obliterated by a Sentinel hand-blast, leaving only his skeleton.

But, on the other hand, during the superhero Civil War, Wolverine was able to survive and regenerate after Nitro seemingly left him as only an adamantium skeleton. This may indicate 1 of 2 things. That he has become more powerful, as Days of Future Past was written decades earlier than Civil War, or that as Wolverine gets older, his healing factor gets weaker and the adamantium poisoning occurring in him may be taking its toll with the passing of time. Also, if fire could do the job of completely deteriorating all organic tissue on and inside of Wolverine’s body, then the same could be said of lava or even some type of corrosive acid.

4) Muramasa Blade

A sure fire way to kill Wolverine with the method of bypassing his adamantium skeleton and puncturing a vital organ such as the heart would be to use the Muramasa Blade. This is the same weapon that Wolverine used to end Victor Creed’s life, because the weapon negates a healing factor. So even though there is no indication the Muramasa can cut through adamantium, it can wound a vital organ without the healing factor being able to heal it.

5) Magnetism

If there were a magnet with power to rival that of Magneto, the “Master of Magnetism”, then it would be able to be used in ripping and breaking Wolverine’s body completely apart. If there is no magnet available, then Magneto himself will do, as I said above he has already nearly killed Logan once doing this. I guess Wolvie is fortunate that Mags only decided to use this tactic once thus far.

6) Adamantium Poisoning

The rare metal that encases Wolverine’s skeleton secretes poison into body constantly, but Wolverine never falls to it due to his healing factor constantly working against it. If there were to be a mutant power inhibitor it would not take long for the adamantium to kill Wolverine. Or if a more powerful mutant, such as the Scarlet Witch were to depower him, he would be up the proverbial ‘creek with no paddle’. Wolverine would in fact be more indestructible without the adamantium because his healing factor would be working at full capacity. Thanks a lot Weapon X program!

Free Wolverine Killing Tip:

Don’t bother trying to kill Wolverine with bullets and especially not with arrows. It doesn’t work. It may just completely piss him off and lower your chances of survival. See below how effective this method could be.

Also, Pandas do not stand a chance against him, as you can clearly see:

So that’s all I can come up with as of yet unless you the reader can think of anything I missed or come up with something completely different. I know this is a discussion that many a comic geek has had and still has. So, until the death of Wolverine…. later bub. And also do not try anything in this guide on Hugh Jackman because he has no healing factor or adamantium skeleton.

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Images: Marvel Comics