By Ben Morse
 |
WOLVERINE #61
cover by
Arthur Suydam |
Everybody knows
Wolverine is the best he is at what he does…but is getting the crap kicked out of him what he does best?
The baddest mutant on the planet has handed out plenty of broken bones and bruised egos (and more) over the years, but he's also been on the receiving end of some close calls with the grim reaper. In the current arc of WOLVERINE, "Logan Dies," writer Marc Guggenheim and artist Howard Chaykin have been exploring Wolvie's precarious relationship with death and how a combination of his mutant healing factor and other more mystical forces have kept him alive all these years.
Before the conclusion of "Logan Dies" hits stands on January 9 with WOLVERINE #61, we had Mr. Guggenheim go back to the source of some of his inspiration and give us his five favorite instances of Wolverine taking a licking and keeping right on ticking.
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Wolverine humbled
by Lord Shingen |
5. WOLVERINE MINI-SERIES #1 (1982)
The Beatdown: In this Chris Claremont/Frank Miller classic, Wolverine confronts Lord Shingen, father of his lady love, Mariko, after the old man forces his daughter to marry one of his Yakuza comrades and she endures savage physical abuse. Shingen challenges Logan to a duel, but poisons his mutant opponent and handily dispatches him as Mariko watches on.
Marc's Remarks: "Logan gets his butt kicked by Lord Shingen. What puts it in the top 5? For one thing, Shingen did it with a wooden sword and in front of [Wolverine's] girlfriend. Pretty humiliating."
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Out comes the
adamantium... |
4. X-MEN v2 #25 (1993)
The Beatdown: With
Magneto holding Earth ransom from his orbital Avalon base, Wolverine and a team of
X-Men lead an attack on the outer space stronghold. Unfortunately for Logan, after years of fighting the X-Men, the Master of Magnetism finally realizes he can yank the adamantium straight off Wolvie's skeleton—the results ain't pretty.
Marc's Remarks: "Magneto pulls all the adamantium off of Logan's bones. And it has to come out
somewhere. Ouchie."
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Charbroiled
Canadian mutant |
3. WOLVERINE v3 #43 (2006)
The Beatdown: Guggenheim himself sends Wolverine on a merry chase after
Nitro, the villain responsible for blowing up Stamford, Connecticut and killing over 600 people. Unfortunately, when Wolverine catches up with the perp, Nitro promptly detonates once more with Logan inches away, frying the X-Man right down to that unbreakable skeleton of his.
Marc's Remarks: "Nitro blows all the flesh off of Logan's adamantium bones. The Internet gets mildly fractured by the event."
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Wolverine faces
the Gorgon |
2. WOLVERINE v3 #20 (2004)
The Beatdown: In the first chapter of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s "Enemy of the State," Wolverine gets ambushed by the Hand after being drawn to Japan to rescue a relative of Mariko's. Logan fights off hordes of ninjas, but gets impaled by their leader, the mutant Gorgon. Before his healing factor can kick in, Wolvie receives a deathblow from the Gorgon—fortunately the Hand resurrects him as their servant and promptly sends him on a killing spree.
Marc's Remarks: "Wolverine is killed by the Gorgon. Not a hoax, not an imaginary story. He's killed d-e-a-d."
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Wolverine in the
fight of his life |
1. UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL #11 (1987)
The Beatdown: The unimaginably powerful extraterrestrial Horde kidnaps the X-Men and forces them to aid him in retrieving a crystal that will allow him to conquer the universe. After the rest of the team falls during the quest, Wolverine throws himself into Horde's path in order to save
Storm only to have the alien warrior tear out his heart and leave him for dead. The crystal allows Logan to regenerate from a single drop of blood and defeat Horde in a brutal battle, after which he elects to relinquish the power.
Marc's Remarks: "Wolverine is reduced to a single drop of blood. A single flamin' drop, bub. That's what we call a 'beatdown.'"
WOLVERINE #61, the final chapter of "Logan Dies," ships on January 9.
Check out UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL #11, WOLVERINE MINI-SERIES #1, WOLVERINE v3 #20, and more of Wolverine's Greatest Battles with Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.
