# Wolverine: what's the least amount of him that healed back? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 6, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843 "2015-11-06T19:53:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/1 "2015-11-06T19:53:26Z")
…and he can regenerate lopped-off bits like a lizard, is that correct? Not just heal the bits of him that are left? I was listening to NPR Science Friday and a guest referenced how Wolverine could “regenerate limbs.” I realized I think of what he has as his Healing Factor, but hadn’t considered how much regenerate-ability was baked into that. Perhaps that would all be more relevant prior to getting Adamantium-infused. After that, his bits couldn’t be lopped off 😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/2 "2015-11-06T20:06:02Z")
Well, he survived and regenerated after atmospheric re-entry once, so that had to have taken him down to adamantium covered in charcoal for a while. Didn’t Xavier once have a plan to deal with a rogue Wolverine by chopping off his head and keeping it separate from his body until things stopped regrowing, or was that Batman? 😉 Reminds me of the same sort of question being asked on BtVS: How many bits can you lop off a vampire before he dusts? Beheading them does it, but what if you start from the other end? ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/3 "2015-11-06T20:21:35Z")
I’m pretty sure Wolverine has healed back from nuclear explosions and the like. Regenerating back from a single cell… In the Ultimate universe, the Hulk ripped him in half, and he had to wander around until he found his legs and re-attached them. I think his healing factor works differently in this universe, though. Magneto kills him by having Cyclops and Iron Man blast him, then ripping the adamantium off his skeleton. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/4 "2015-11-06T20:31:54Z")
Has Wolverine ever double healed? Has he ever experiencing something like losing a leg and having it grow back - while at the same time having the missing leg grow a new body? If so, you’d end up with two Wolverines. It raises the interesting question of what would happen if you decapitated Wolverine. Would his head grow a new body or would his body grow a new head? Or both? ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/5 "2015-11-06T20:41:16Z")
In Uncanny X-Men Annual # 11, his body regenerated from a single drop of blood, though that was due to the help of some sort of magical crystal super-charging his power. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/6 "2015-11-06T20:49:47Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Has Wolverine ever double healed? Has he ever experiencing something like losing a leg and having it grow back - while at the same time having the missing leg grow a new body? If so, you’d end up with two Wolverines. > > It raises the interesting question of what would happen if you decapitated Wolverine. Would his head grow a new body or would his body grow a new head? Or both? Exactly the types of scenarios I was noodling through. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/7 "2015-11-06T21:38:55Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > In Uncanny X-Men Annual # 11, his body regenerated from a single drop of blood, though that was due to the help of some sort of magical crystal super-charging his power. Thank you! I’ve heard way too many people cite only the first part of that, leaving out the bit where there was a magical crystal involved. (A decent story, actually, and nice art. The design on the villain was…kinky.) [(Link to image of cover art. Hey, that guy is nearly nakies!)](http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/c/ca/Uncanny_X-Men_Annual_Vol_1_11.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20061222001332) ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/8 "2015-11-06T21:44:55Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Has Wolverine ever double healed? Has he ever experiencing something like losing a leg and having it grow back - while at the same time having the missing leg grow a new body? If so, you’d end up with two Wolverines. > > It raises the interesting question of what would happen if you decapitated Wolverine. Would his head grow a new body or would his body grow a new head? Or both? I don’t think Wolverine has done this, and he has bled copiously all over Earth 616. (Swamp Thing has, but only one half had full intelligence). There was a Wolverine/Havok mini-series where most of his flesh was vaporized in a nuclear reactor (I may be misremembering the details) and it grew back around his metal skeleton from about a spoonful of remaining meat. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/9 "2015-11-06T21:58:11Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > …Reminds me of the same sort of question being asked on BtVS: How many bits can you lop off a vampire before he dusts? Beheading them does it, but what if you start from the other end? I remember a creepy vampire comic book from when I was a kid. A vampire in Africa was locked in his very strong coffin and couldn’t get out as carnivorous ants, which got in through a crack, devoured all of his flesh, leaving his skeleton. Turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as he was left with no heart which could be staked! ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/10 "2015-11-06T22:02:41Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > In Uncanny X-Men Annual # 11, his body regenerated from a single drop of blood, though that was due to the help of some sort of magical crystal super-charging his power. If I remember correctly, after regenerating from a drop of blood, Wolverine still had his adamantium-laced bones and claws, too. There’s probably some Clairemontish explanation as to why, involving the focused totality of his mutant power or something. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/11 "2015-11-06T23:36:13Z")
Yup, his healing factor can be pretty extensive. I’m wondering, was he the first comic book character to have a healing factor? It can be fascinating, but I think I would prefer being impervious to harm in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/12 "2015-11-07T00:21:02Z")
There was one story where he kept regenerating from a skeleton. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/13 "2015-11-07T01:12:27Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > Yup, his healing factor can be pretty extensive. I’m wondering, was he the first comic book character to have a healing factor? The first character that the words “healing factor” were applied to (that I know of, anyway) was Goodwin & Simonson’s version of Manhunter, in Detective Comics circa 1973. (It may be an old-hat concept in science fiction; I’m not that familiar with the genre.) Wonder Woman has used something called the “Purple Ray” since the 1940s for the same effect. Bezoars and the Philosopher’s Stone go back to the Middle Ages. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/14 "2015-11-07T01:44:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Has Wolverine ever double healed? Has he ever experiencing something like losing a leg and having it grow back - while at the same time having the missing leg grow a new body? No, but Lobo (a Wolverine parody for most of his existence) has. There was a whole army of Lobos, once, each grown from a single drop of blood. (Then Dox altered his genetics to prevent that happening, and there were only two left - the original and one blood-clone who escaped the culling.) ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/15 "2015-11-07T02:08:45Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > If I remember correctly, after regenerating from a drop of blood, Wolverine still had his adamantium-laced bones and claws, too. > > There’s probably some Clairemontish explanation as to why, involving the focused totality of his mutant power or something. Actually back in the day, Wolverine could be killed by having his throat cut…or pulped by Cyclops beams. Or so HE said. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/16 "2015-11-07T02:11:15Z")
That reminded me…didn’t he let Kitty take a puff of his cigar once? Then went on about how HE has a healing factor? I bring this up because…FCS…there’s that…her relationship with Piotr…all at 14. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/17 "2015-11-07T02:18:56Z")
It seems to me that the original description of the “healing factor” was that he could heal from anything a normal human could, just much more quickly. None of this regrowing limbs or coming back from a drop of blood nonsense. Superpowers with defined and consistent limitations are so much more interesting than superpowers that the writers just go crazy with. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/18 "2015-11-07T03:21:39Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It seems to me that the original description of the “healing factor” was that he could heal from anything a normal human could, just much more quickly. None of this regrowing limbs or coming back from a drop of blood nonsense. > > Superpowers with defined and consistent limitations are so much more interesting than superpowers that the writers just go crazy with. See Byrne’s SuperMAN. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolverine-whats-the-least-amount-of-him-that-healed-back/736843/19 "2015-11-07T12:47:58Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > If I remember correctly, after regenerating from a drop of blood, Wolverine still had his adamantium-laced bones and claws, too. > > There’s probably some Clairemontish explanation as to why, involving the focused totality of his mutant power or something. That whole Annual is _very_ surreal. At the end, the X-Men reset to normal, and the memory of what happened substantially fades as if a dream. (Otherwise, Betsy would be made of metal, and in pieces.) It sort of makes sense–or good nonsense–in context.