Wolverine isn't the fiercest mutant, not by a long shot

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Sabretooth: The Dead Don't Speak #1

Wolverine is certainly one of Marvel's wildest mutants. Without the adamantium, his healing factor would kick in and unleash his true bestial form. However, there is another mutant, often considered Wolverine's greatest villain, whose ferocity terribly surpasses Logan's. Unlike Wolverine, this character isn't afraid to let his inner animal loose. The difference between the two is so significant that not even Marvel can avoid the truth.

Sabretooth: The Dead Don't Speak #1 - written by Frank Tieri, with Michael Sta. Maria – shows Wolverine learning some hidden stories about his nemesis, Sabretooth.

Following the eight-part miniseries Sabretooth War, Victor Creed is dead, which means Wolverine is left without his antithesis. Now, Logan is uncovering a piece of Creed's past, with a story set in the criminal underworld of New York in the 1900s. Recalling one of the villain's bloodiest sagas, it is clear to readers that Sabretooth will always be the most savage mutant of all time.

Marvel's new posthumous look at Sabretooth's past confirms that the cruel mutant is a predator of pure ferocity

Sabretooth: The Dead Don't Speak #1 – Written by Frank Tieri; Art by Michael Sta. Maria; Color by Dono Sanchez-Almara, from Protobunker Studios; Lyrics by VC's Joe Sabino; Cover art by Adam Kubert and Laura Martin

It's not exactly an uncommon opinion that Sabretooth is the more savage of the two mutants. While Wolverine struggles to fit into society's broader rules, Victor Creed doesn't care. Both mutants enjoy solitude, but when provoked they are unstoppable killers. That being said, aggressive personality and ferocity are two different things. When you think of a wild animal, it often conjures up thoughts of Angry predators locked in a pure state of rage and murderous intent. In moments of true animalistic ferocity, there is no room for lofty thoughts, only for the need to kill and survive.

For mutants like Wolverine and Sabretooth, their savage inclinations are more than just disposition, but rather natural instinct. It's embedded in your own mutations. In the early 1990s, it was revealed that without the adamantium poisoning Wolverine, he would evolve mentally as his body rapidly grew to bestial proportions. However, even without the adamantium, Logan rejects this side of him; about that, Sabretooth has consistently proven himself to be a menacing force of nature, with no inclination to stop his violent terrors.. Wolverine is a man with power, but Sabretooth is a bloody natural disaster in human form.

Sabretooth's savage nature connects him to Wolverine, but also signifies his greatest divide

Sabretooth is totally unrestrained

In Sabretooth: The Dead Don't Speak, Victor is depicted casually ripping people's heads off without any effort. In some cases, the kills feel clean compared to Creed's typically visceral messes, simply because of the suddenness of his strength. On more than one occasion, Victor faced a bear and emerged victorious, with Wolverine scoffing that Sabretooth should choose someone his own size. Despite the misconceptions, his animal instincts make him intelligent. In the ruins of Krakoa, before his death, Victor pondered his fierce anger, noting that the trauma of killing takes its toll. But he recognizes that it is simply who he is.

The point is that Victor is right. It's his nature, and there's a chance he was made that way intentionally. There is a controversial theory that Sabretooth and Wolverine are relatednot because the two are half-brothers in the movies, but because of a character called Romulus. Although his background is a mystery, Romulus was the main power behind the Weapon Long before Weapon X, Romulus began pruning the Hudson family lineage, seeking to create a super soldier.

The long and controversial history of Sabretooth and Wolverine is a result of their similarities

Two of Marvel's most brutal fighters

While Marvel has never explicitly stated this as a fact, looking at the duo's shared characteristics, it's not hard to assume that the Hudson family is directly descended from Romulus. That said, remember that Victor Creed and Romulus also share a shocking number of traits. The claw-like nails, heavy forehead, wild eyebrows, and portly stature are common in Victor's family line. Although the Hudsons were Romulus' main experiment, the Creeds were likely his backup bloodline. This is why Romulus kept Sabretooth so close. Both bloodlines were engineered to become wild giants, but only Sabretooth adopted it.

Sabretooth's savage dominance over Wolverine isn't just a matter of behavioral differences, it's genetic programming. Whether Romulus is the common ancestor or the three share an even older ancestor, there is a visually clear connection. Logan and Victor were created to refine the bloodline's mutant abilities, which include their feral nature. Although Wolverine's claws and comparatively mild temperament made him a better candidate for Weapon X than Sabretooth, Victor is the larger animal of the two. He is an unparalleled predator, almost untouched by anyone except mutants like Wolverine and Romulus.

Victor Creed is more animal than human, a fate Wolverine tries to avoid

Pure animal instinct and reaction

Between Logan and Victor, it is the latter who is defined by his savage strength and predator senses in the face of his humanity. Far away

before Wolverine was born
Victor was already a veteran assassin, embracing the absolute ferocity that came to him naturally. The impulse to hunt. The desire to dominate. The impulse to consume. That's what he was created for. It's what he was trained to become. He doesn't care about thinking, just action and reaction. It's always kill or be killed. Marvel knows this: Wolverineand is a tamed beast compared to the predatory beast, Sabretooth.

Sabretooth: The Dead Don't Speak #1 is now available from Marvel Comics.