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Wolverine's Healing Factor is Matched By Marvel's Scariest Villain

Marvel's Wolverine has a potent healing factor that allows him to recover from nearly any attack, but the X-Men's scariest villain can completely ignore this mutation in a horrifying manner. Logan has fought for well over a century in many major historical conflicts and still manages to recover from "mortal" wounds that would easily kill any ordinary human. But even though Wolverine is neither human nor ordinary, he can still succumb to the dark X-Men villain Cassandra Nova.

The power of Wolverine's healing factor has fluctuated over the decades. When he first appeared in 1975, Logan was able to easily recover from cuts, bruises, and multiple gunshot wounds, even in vital areas. In the modern era, he can walk through fire, survive grenade explosions, and even survive a nuclear blast (though the upper limits are seen in the Ultimate X-Men series, in which Wolverine can miraculously regenerate from a single cell). But some villains like Magneto have complete control over his adamantium body - and others, like Cassandra Nova, are simply too strong for him to fight.

Related: X-23 Learns The Tragic Cost Of Being Wolverine

In New X-Men #116, the X-Men headquarters is infiltrated by Cassandra Nova after a devastating attack on all mutantkind. Nova decides to repay in kind, and proceeds to attack Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast and Professor X. Wolverine moves to attack Cassandra but he is shockingly repelled; Nova strips away the skin and muscle of his entire arm, leaving only his adamantium bones and sharp claws behind. She appears to erase his skin with very little effort as well, and Wolverine is putting his all into the fight.

There are very few villains who can outright kill Wolverine, or at least prevent him from saving himself thanks to his power. Certain telepaths like Professor Xavier come to mind (although Wolverine's healing ability extends to his own mind, and has been shown to undo damage done by telepaths and intense past trauma). Cassandra Nova's offensive capabilities mean she can cause damage faster than Wolverine can heal. Since Wolverine is unfamiliar with Nova's abilities, this also constitutes as an ambush of sorts, leaving Wolverine shocked as well as defenseless.

Cassandra Nova is unceremoniously shot in the head by Professor X, ending the fight and the threat she presented. Wolverine, however, came remarkably close to death in the battle, however short it may have been. If Cassandra Nova decided to strip away the skin on Wolverine's chest (0r worse, use her powers to destroy his heart), Logan would most likely not have survived to fight another day.

Next: Wolverine's Darkest Story Chickened Out of Its Totally Valid Point



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