Wolverine Was Completely Pulverized by [SPOILER] in a Fight I Still Can’t Believe

I tend to think of Wolverine as practically unbeatable – which is why I was completely shocked when one of the Marvel Universe’s greatest fighters was taken down by a character I never expected: Elektra. As much as I was certain that Logan would have the advantage when they came to blows, it was a surprise when the fight went the opposite way.

Wolverine #21 – written by Mark Millar, with art by John Romita Jr – featured a storyline in which the character was brainwashed into becoming a Hydra agent. Brought aboard a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, he immediately went on a rampage and started slaughtering any S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel he came across. I thought Wolverine was going to take out the entire crew, until he came across Elektra.

In a thrilling moment, Elektra easily took down the wayward hero, by making the fight a matter of tactical intelligence, rather than brute force.

I Was Surprised When Elektra Took Down Wolverine – But It Makes Sense

Wolverine #21 – Written by Mark Millar; Art by John Romita, Jr; Ink by Klaus Janson; Color By Paul Mounts; Lettering By Rus Wooton

Following a brief scuffle, Elektra managed to take Wolverine down with remarkable ease. All she had to do was use her iconic sai to pierce specific points in Wolverine’s body. This disrupted his nervous system and completely shut him down. Before their confrontation, the brainwashed Wolverine had set bombs on the Helicarrier, which knocked Eletrka off balance at a critcal moment; if it weren’t for that, however, I firmly believe Elektra would have taken Logan into custody – or perhaps dispatched him entirely.

Wolverine has gone up against many of the best in the Marvel Universe. I’ve read stories where he fought Captain America, Spider-Man, Hulk, and Daredevil, to name just a few – and that’s not even mentioning his legendary bouts with Sabretooth. Even if he doesn’t walk away from a battle the clear cut victor, he’s not usually left worse for wear in the way he did following his fight against Elektra. When Daredevil went up against Wolverine, he was completely outclassed; yet despite them being equal in skill, Elektra knew the secret to beating Wolverine that Daredevil didn’t.

The Secret To Defeating Wolverine Is To Strike Where He’s Vulnerable Early & Immobilize Him

Elecktra Understood This Strategy Implicitly

The secret to defeating Wolverine is to not fight him directly. With his healing factor, it’s nearly impossible to do any actual damage to him. In an even fight, the other person has to be smarter, not stronger. Daredevil fought Wolverine for over an hour and he made no progress at all. He only won the fight after he managed to knock Wolverine into a large body of water, one of the few weaknesses that Wolverine has. Likewise, Elektra knew not to engage Wolverine in direct combat. Instead, she ambushed and quickly disabled him, removing his ability to fight entirely.

As Elektra proved, if Wolverine can’t use his body, then he isn’t a problem, which makes this a stand-out Wolverine fight to me. However, unless someone has the strength of the Hulk, beating Wolverine in a straight-on fight simply isn’t going to happen. Spider-Man and Daredevil are both incredible fighters, and they’ve both lost in the past to “the Best There Is”, but Elektra managed to do what most people can’t, beat Wolverine, and all she had to do was approach the situation from a tactical perspective.

Wolverine #22 is available now from Marvel Comics!