Wolverine – the ultimate mutant killing machine. He has been a part of the Marvel Universe ever since we could remember. First debuting in the 1960s as Logan of the X-Men, Wolverine has developed into a truly gritty character with depth and a back story that is vast and ancient. As one of the oldest mutants to ever exists, Wolverine has seen the whole world and the readers have seen a whole lot of Wolverine. And not just the original one! Alternate timelines, parallel universes, What If storylines have all depicted different versions of Wolverine. There are versions of him that could slice the planet in half if they so much as willed it. And then there are other cheap knock-off versions of the clawed maniac that are so weak they wouldn’t even stand a chance against Paste Pot Pete. Presenting – 10 Alternate version of Wolverine too weak to be true!!!
1. Age of Apocalypse
The Age of Apocalypse is a highly popular comic book series in the Marvel Comics Universe. Apocalypse is the world’s first ever mutant. He has a plethora of abilities that he has gained, developed or outright stolen from others over the years, turning him into a God. But even Apocalypse cannot be at two places at once. This is where his personal agents of Chaos, the Four Horsemen, come in. Wolverine was one such Horseman.
He was a very layered and reluctant servant of Apocalypse and a perfect love interest to Jean Grey as well as pain in the ass for Magneto, another Horseman under Apocalypse. Wolverine in this reality fought and took out one eye of Cyclops before he had his hand cut off by the same guy. He still retained his claws though. The forearm’s stump now had the claws beneath it.
2. Earth X Wolverine
The reason Wolverine is so grumpy and sarcastic all the time is because life never threw him a bone. Everything in his life, he had to cease and snatch. This is why he never trusts anyone and prefers being a lone wolf. This is also what makes him so strong because he is never content and wants more from life. In the Earth-X storyline, he did not have those problems.
Wolverine got what he always wanted in life – to marry and settle down with the love of his life – Jean Grey. In this reality, Wolverine is now an obese middle-aged man and looks more like a joke than a mutant. Jean Grey, now with kids to take care of, is also out of shape and regrets her decision to marry Wolverine.
3. Age of X Wolverine
Wolverine has very unique physiology. For a guy who faces off against life-threatening threats on a daily basis, his body is actually the product of a very delicate balance. For all his powers, Wolverine is has a frail physique. His adamantium bones make him super strong but are also deadly poisonous and it is his healing factor that keeps the adamantium poisoning from spreading all over his body. In turn, the adamantium skeleton protects Wolverine’s feral mutations from going haywire.
The balance is essential for Logan to survive the night. That balance came to a lethal end in the Age of X Storyline when he decided it was time for him to take the mutant cure and become a human again. His healing factor was fighting the cure tooth and nail, and so there was nothing stopping the adamantium poisoning from spreading all over his body. The result was a severely weakened wolverine that could not even hurt a fly even if he wanted to.
4. Marvel Mangaverse
The Marvel Mangaverse universe is an alternate reality timeline and a classic reimagining of the Marvel Universe. In this universe, Wolverine is depowered. He does not have his incredible healing factor anymore. But he does possess a cooler set of claws. In this universe, Wolverine and Cyclops are brothers by blood.
One set of claws are three blades of Katana coming out of his wrist. The other set of claws are three separate energy beams like Kylo Ren’s red lightsaber (except, smaller). The latter claw set is made up of pure energy because, in this reality, He clawed out one of the eyes of his own brother in a fight.
5. Mutant X Wolverine
The Mutant X storyline spanned the entire Marvel Universe and included as well as shone light on every Marvel Superhero there ever was. Wolverine was no exception. This reality’s Wolverine could be truly called an animal, well because he literally is one. In this reality, Wolverine’s experimentations did not stop with him being infused with adamantium.
The experimentations continued and not just on him, but also Sabretooth and Wild Child. All three of them de-evolved into primitive carnivorous creatures due to such rampant unauthorized experiments and now roam together in the wilderness of Canada calling themselves “The Pack”. This version of Wolverine is feral and is but a shadow of the original wolverine’s true strength.
6. Wolverine Noir
The Noir Universe is interesting in the sense that it makes different versions of classic superheroes that do not possess any superpowers in that reality. Wolverine, in the Noir Universe, does not possess any superpower. And to top it off, there are two versions of him.
Captain Logan is an infamous bootlegger and uses a metallic claw in battle. He is quite proficient with it. In Wolverine Noir, we come to see that there is another Wolverine by the name of Jim Logan. The guy is a private investigator and is well versed in using clawed gauntlets in combat. We still do not know if Captain Logan and Jim Logan are related in any way.
7. Animated Series
The 90s animated adaptation of the X-Men was one of the most popular animated superhero series of that time. In the series, our favorite Canadian was also present but it was a severely weakened version of his comic book counterpart. Wolverine’s healing factor makes him nigh unstoppable in battle.
His strength is also superhuman and unlike what the series showed you, Wolverine is indeed capable of regrowing cut off limbs. Before Hugh Jackman breathed new life into the character, the animated Wolverine was the one how we remembered and related to the Wolverine of the X-Men.
8. Wolverine: The End
In Wolverine: The End, we see yet another iteration of the titular character, only older. And not in the sense of Old Man Logan old, he actually is old. Arthritis has finally managed to do what no other disease or poison in this world managed to – slowly kill the Wolverine. The Wolverine of this timeline is old and frail and extremely weak. It makes us feel sorry for the guy until the story reveals that his older brother is alive and kicking.
9. Wolverine: Prodigal Son
What is Wolverine without his Adamantium claws? The answer lies within the pages of Wolverine: Prodigal son. As a feral child running amok in the Japanese wilderness, He is taken in by a Dojo and trained in their ways. So Wolverine just grows up into a guy with acute martial arts skills. He settles down with a family and has a happy life up until all hell breaks loose. This version of Wolverine is special because, in this timeline, Wolverine is finally happy with a family. That is not something you see every day.
10. Patch
This is actually a fun entry to this list. Patch is not another version of Wolverine. He is actually Wolverine of the mainstream continuity under disguise to gather information in Madripoor. This version of Logan has all the powers of the original version of the clawed maniac. But he now goes around Madripoor as Patch, the guy who is just another ordinary bystander that could never draw attention. As Patch, He manages to achieve whatever missions are assigned to him but as time goes on, almost everyone in Madripoor would come to know about Patch’s real identity. The actual reason we put this guy on the list is that ridiculous eye patch which is not only an eyesore but also a huge liability on the battlefield.
