A healing factor is the ability of some characters in fiction to recover from bodily injuries or disease at a superhuman rate. Since the introduction of Wolverine by Marvel Comics in 1974 and inspired by the immense popularity of the character, superhuman healing has become a fairly common power featured in comic books, novels, television, film, and other mediums. The overall efficiency of a character's healing factor often fluctuates due to various writers applying a very broad degree of artistic license. Weapon X has been established, on multiple accounts for having the fastest healing factor over all mutants, with the exception of external factors. As a result, especially concerning characters depicted in comic books, it has become a very common source of debate among fans. Over the years, it has also become common for healing factors to have an umbrella effect, serving as a partial source for multiple superhuman abilities; various powers thus demonstrated include superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, durability and/or senses, to name the most common. The source of a character's healing factor, depending upon the medium, usually ranges from natural genetic mutation, accidental exposure to radioactive materials, artificially-induced genetic enhancement, cybernetic augmentation, magic or even a combination of different factors. Despite the ability to quickly recover from wounds, characters with a healing factor are still capable of feeling pain.
There are numerous characters within the Marvel Universe that possess some form of accelerated healing ability.
Marvel Comics characters known to possess a certain "healing factor" ability include:
In addition to the above, all Asgardians, Elders of the Universe, and other immortals are able to heal much faster than humans can.
Non-comic characters who can heal rapidly in one manner or another include: