Two of the most ferocious anti-heroes in the Marvel Universe are Venom. They’ve faced off against each other many times over the years. But in a final, head-to-head, knock ‘em out brawl between the two, who would be the ultimate winner?
Both the Canadian mutant known as Logan and the symbiote-controlled Eddie Brock have proven themselves remarkably hard to kill over the years. In addition to his Adamantium-laced skeleton and razor-sharp claws, Wolverine possesses a mutant healing factor that allows him to recover from nearly any injury. These abilities have enabled him to survive for more than 150 years, and the comics show he's still around centuries in the future. Venom is a deadly combination of human host Eddie Brock and an alien symbiote that grants him superhuman powers. Along with super strength and the ability to change his size, Venom can also shapeshift his body into any form or weapon.
Both men are haunted by their pasts and struggle to stay on the straight and narrow. Logan was born James Howlett, the illegitimate son of a rich farmer’s wife and her brutish groundskeeper. He was a soldier, a samurai, a spy, and an assassin before eventually becoming a super hero as a member of the Wolverine has struggled with the weight of the people he has killed. He constantly fights against his savage animal nature and is always on the brink of succumbing to his berserker rage. Venom has a different but equally dark past. After disgraced photojournalist Brock was merged with the symbiote, he set out on a life of crime, driven by his desire to get revenge on Spider-Man. He has since been able to turn away from his supervillain ways, but there is still a darkness lurking underneath him.
Wolverine and Venom have had many run-ins over the years, sometimes as enemies and other times as reluctant allies. One of their first encounters was in the 1992 Marvel Comics Presents story Claws and Webs. They fought fiercely before tumbling over a waterfall. When all was settled, it was Wolverine who emerged from the water. But one advantage Venom has over Wolverine is his symbiote, which can merge with any host. Wolverine succumbed to the power of this alien parasite more than once. The first time was during the Vietnam War when he was bonded to the symbiote as part of a U.S. Army experiment. Another time is seen in a possible future glimpsed in Extraordinary X-Men #10, where a Venom has become a Horseman of Apocalypse and is able to quickly consume Logan.
With Wolverine’s ability to survive any damage and his centuries of training as a warrior, it is likely he would be able to persevere in a fight against Venom, though it would not be an easy victory. In a battle with a similarly-powered Carnage, Wolverine watched in horror as the psychopathic symbiote actually bit off his Adamantium claws. Wolverine will get another chance to test his skills against symbiote enemies when the X-Men team up with Venom and the Avengers to face the forces of Knull in the King in Black #4, which could settle the debate once and for all.
