Warning! This article contains minor spoilers for Conan the Barbarian #20
Marvel’s newest warrior has the one thing Wolverine respects. Conan the Barbarian has cemented his role as one of the most ferocious characters in comics history, similar to that of Wolverine. The difference between the two is that Wolverine is near-immortal, able to take any hit that comes his way and be fine. Conan the Barbarian doesn’t have Logan’s healing factor, yet he still plunges himself into any battle he must without fear while facing the very real threat of death.
In the preview for Conan the Barbarian #20 by Jim Zub with art by Cory Smith and Roberto Poggi, Conan is faced with the classic Man vs Nature literary struggle after just escaping with his life from a group of soldiers who meant to take him to his death. Conan and the woman who helped him escape, Meiwei, ran into the jungle from their homicidal pursuers. Once the soldiers were no longer a threat, the two survivors rested for the night, only to be ambushed by an entirely different yet just as deadly type of danger.
Jaguars attacked Conan and Meiwei, bursting forth from the depths of the jungle with ferocious teeth and razor claws meaning to tear the two limb from limb and feast on their flesh. Unfortunately for the jaguars, they didn’t understand the manner of animal they were dealing with. Conan blocked the first pouncing feline from getting to Meiwei, following that defensive move with a swift stab to the jaguar’s head. Another deadly cat approached from behind, but it too met a gruesome end at the end of Conan’s blade. The Cimmerian had been injured in the altercation, but from no wound that would kill him.
Conan’s latest battle with the deadly jaguars may very well have been his last, but that didn’t stop him from fighting the beasts without hesitation. Replace Conan’s role in the story with Wolverine and fans would get a very similar outcome but without the same weight associated. With his mutant healing factor and retractable adamantium claws, Wolverine would make quick work of the jaguars just as Conan had, but would suffer none of the negative consequences of such a fight. The wound Conan sustained during the ambush would have been little to no concern of Wolverine's, which is exactly what earns Conan Logan’s respect.
While Conan and Wolverine's primary continuity run centuries apart, the two are no strangers to one another. The two fought side by side in the first story arc of Savage Avengers, using their respective styles of savagery to take down an evil wizard bent on summoning an elder demon to take over the world. Both warriors, as shown in their brief team-up and even more so in their solo adventures, are known for diving headfirst into the action when it is necessary. Wolverine fights like he has nothing to lose, which for the most part he doesn’t, and Conan the Barbarian fights the same, way which is why Wolverine has great respect for Marvel’s newest warrior.