Lobo vs. Wolverine: Who Won the Fight & Is He Really Stronger?

The world of comic books is one that’s full of powerful characters, but it is also full of certain heroes and villains that are quite unkillable, as we have a few of them in the worlds of DC and Marvel Comics. For instance, DC has Lobo, while Marvel has Wolverine, and both of these characters are so similar to one another due to their rebellious personalities and tendency to drink alcohol beyond normal limits. In fact, Lobo and Wolverine actually fought in one instance. So, who won the fight between Lobo and Wolverine?

Wolverine won the fight against Lobo during the 1996 DC vs. Marvel series of comic books. The fight happened to be a bar brawl, where they both disappeared behind the bar, as only Wolverine came out of it consciously. However, this was more of a gag fight because Lobo has always been far stronger than Wolverine.

The fact that the fight ended with Wolverine winning came as a surprise to a lot of fans because Lobo has always been incredibly strong and unkillable. Nevertheless, it was more of a bar brawl than an actual fight, and that is probably the reason why it was actually a gag fight between the two. So, with that said, let’s get into the details of this fight between Lobo and Wolverine.

Lobo vs. Wolverine: Who Won The Fight?

When it comes to comic book characters, we often look at the ones who are so powerful that they could shatter entire mountains and level cities in a hurry. There are even those that are so powerful that they control the entire cosmos. But there are also characters whose powers allow them to become unkillable or, at the very least, incredibly difficult to kill.

DC has Lobo, who is a Czarnian that is completely unkillable. For some reason, Lobo just cannot die, as he is functionally immortal in every sense of the word. He is an unkillable person that isn’t even allowed to enter either Heaven or Hell, and that makes him one of the most unique characters in DC.

Then there is Marvel’s Wolverine, who is a Mutant that possesses a regenerative healing factor that allows him to instantly heal any sort of physical damage that he takes. In that regard, it is incredibly difficult to kill Wolverine as he can quickly heal from any injury or wound and then return to the fight as if nothing happened to him.

It is also interesting to note that both Lobo and Wolverine are very similar to one another in the sense that they have personalities that prevent them from being endearing people. Lobo is more offensive than Wolverine, but both of these characters are fond of hanging out in bars to drink themselves to sleep. And it wasn’t a surprise that their first and only meeting took place in an alien bar.

In the 1996 DC vs. Marvel event, we were able to see certain DC characters squaring off against their Marvel counterparts. Of course, both Lobo and Wolverine were seen as counterparts of one another, and that was the reason why they were the ones chosen to fight in this event.

The fight took place at an alien bar where Lobo and Wolverine were enjoying drinks. However, because they probably didn’t like each other the moment they saw one another, a bar brawl between the two started as Wolverine popped his claws out while Lobo used his titanium chain. Wolverine was apparently insulting the bar that Lobo frequented a lot, and that was the reason why he attacked the Mutant by thrusting his chain into his chest.

However, Wolverine told Lobo that he was a Mutant with the ability to heal from any wound or injury he suffered from, and that was when it was made clear that he could take a ton of punishment. Meanwhile, Lobo insulted the Mutant by calling him a midget, considering that Wolverine is canonically only 5’3”.

The bar brawl continued as the fight happened off-panel because they ended up fighting behind the bar. However, the only one to emerge from behind the bar was Wolverine, who lit a cigar as he walked away. We never saw what Wolverine did to defeat Lobo, but it was clear that he was the one that won that bar fight.

Is Wolverine Really Stronger Than Lobo?

It is interesting to note that the 1996 DC vs. Marvel comic book event was actually decided by fan balloting, as it was clear that the only thing that the writers had any control over was who would win in that fight. That meant that it was more of a popularity contest than an actual fight to see who would win between the characters.

That means that Wolverine would have never won in a real fight against Lobo because, other than his superior fighting skills, he doesn’t have anything that he could use against the Czarnian. Lobo is exponentially stronger than Wolverine, as there were instances where he could actually match Superman’s strength. But in most cases, he is at least strong enough to carry 100 tons. On the other hand, Wolverine’s maximum lift has only been 2 tons.

On top of that, as mentioned, Lobo is functionally immortal, and that means that there is no way for anyone to kill him. Neither Heaven nor Hell would ever open its gates for him, as Lobo is forced to live his entire life without any prospects of dying and living in the afterlife. As capable of a killing machine as Wolverine is, he really can’t do anything to kill Lobo, as not even Superman and some of the other characters in the DC universe could do anything to kill him as well.

Meanwhile, Wolverine isn’t really immortal. His healing factor does allow him to survive wounds and injuries that would normally kill any person. But the point is that he can still die, especially when he suffers a wound that he could never ever heal from. And because Lobo is exponentially stronger than Wolverine, he could have easily killed him without any effort at all.

The fact that the writers probably couldn’t think of a way to end the fight in Wolverine’s favor might have been the reason why the fight had to happen off-panel and behind the bar. This allowed the fight to become more of a bar fight rather than a real one, as it was an all-out brawl that was seemingly a gag. As such, Wolverine had to walk out of that fight because he was the one who the fans voted to win.

Had it been a real fight where they both wanted to kill one another and the writer had the freedom to choose who would win based on their powers and abilities, there would have been no way that Wolverine would have defeated Lobo. Nevertheless, the crossover event was a fan event, and that means that the fans had the say on the matter. Of course, there’s also the possibility that Lobo was just too drunk to finish that fight properly.