Humans with the ability to transform into Titans in Attack on Titan heal from injuries remarkably fast, similar to a Marvel Comics Canuck who’s constantly bragging about being the best at what he does. So, did Attack on Titan rip off the infamous Wolverine’s exact healing factor, or is there something original to Attack on Titans’ take on what has become a pretty standard comic book trope?
As its story unfolds, Attack on Titan injects a massive amount of history into the Titans; monstrous humanoid giants that are never sated in their desire to eat humans. Hajime Isayama’s extremely popular manga draws from Norse mythology, creating lore around these giants similar to the stories of Odin slaying countless giants. It’s not surprising, then, that despite Wolverine having become the poster child for comic-book “healing factors,” Attack on Titan brings something unique to the table.
Wolverine has a rapid healing factor that allows him to regrow parts of his body after injury and makes him incredibly difficult to kill (though it can be done.) Meanwhile, Titans heal from injuries within minutes, emitting excessive amounts of hot steam from the injured area. This makes them extremely difficult to kill, especially when they are swatting at the humans doing the damage. Humans who can transform into Titans retain this healing ability in human form, with some having learned to delay healing where it’s tactically advantageous to do so.
Wolverine doesn’t seem to have as much control over his healing factor; he just grows back whatever appendage was lopped off almost as quickly as it went missing from his body. While he probably has Titans beat as far as rapidity of healing, he doesn’t have any will over delaying the results. In contrast, Eren Jaeger was able to deliberately delay regrowing his leg so he could go behind enemy lines into Marley territory without arousing suspicion.
Humans who can shift into Titans can heal at will, but there is an upward bound to their ability to regenerate. They can only transform so many times before fatigue sets in, and their Titans end up partially formed or smaller and weaker after each transformation. It’s exhausting work growing 50- to 100-feet taller. Humans also retain whatever injury they sustained in Titan form. They can heal in human form, though at a delayed rate if they are overtaxed. They still regrow limbs faster than a human (no Titans permanently lose limbs.) In contrast, Wolverine’s healing factor hardly gets worn out from overuse. The guy has been healing from otherwise fatal wounds for hundreds of years, and if anything his rate of healing has only grown more impressive.
Wolverine’s healing factor also isn’t centralized, while Titans can be defeated by cutting the human out of the nape of the neck and either devouring them or completely obliterating them. Ultimately, Attack on Titan takes a much more tactical approach to healing than Marvel has opted for with Wolverine, using it to give its central warriors more options on and off the battlefield without transforming them into unbeatable brawlers.
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