by Randy Lander

WOLVERINE: THE ORIGIN #2 "Origin, Part II of VI: Inner Child" Recommended (7/10) Marvel Comics Writers: Paul Jenkins, Bill Jemas & Joe Quesada Pencils: Andy Kubert Colors: Richard Isanove Letters: Comicraft Editor: Mike Marts Price: $3.50 US/$5.25 CAN The first issue of this mini-series was surprising and engaging, not at all what I was expecting. This issue, by contrast, felt a bit repetitive, with the big surprise being one that many had guessed as a possibility from the first issue. The conflicts are all still very much character-based, centering around class struggles and family problems, and this does provide a good base for Wolverine's character in terms of his morality and intellectual and emotional background. I can't deny that, for all that the second issue felt very much the first, the character drama here is riveting and powerful, helped by some strong visuals from Kubert and Isanove. I'm still not sure this is what most fans hoped for when they heard they were getting Wolverine's origin, or indeed if this is really all that important to the character as he stands now, but I can't deny that it's a well-crafted tale. In the space between issues, the more innocent relationships of James, Rose and Dog have changed quite a bit, as the inevitable class struggles pull them apart. Dog has become as mean and vicious as his father, and Rose and James have drifted apart as well due to the bickering of James's father and grandfather. Jenkins, Kubert and Isanove do a terrific job of conveying the emptiness and despair that permeates the great house, making it feel like a dark and haunted place. By the same token, many of the events in this issue take on more of a horrific tone. Dog's attempted rape of Rose is extremely dark and frightening, and his revenge on James for preventing it undeniably cruel and heart-breaking. Seeing their innocent but tainted friendship turned into something so sick and wrong makes for a dark and twisted story, and leads up to a blood-soaked finale where we first see Wolverine's powers emerge. The revelation of Wolverine's identity isn't a total surprise, given the hints to be found in the last issue, but I have to admit that the elements that lead up to that, with Rose glimpsing some marks on Wolverine's mother and the hints about how he really came to be providing some interesting background material for the character. I'm really curious as to why and how the character will end up with simply the name Logan, given the events that close out the issue. I have to admit to some disappointment with the pacing of the story, which finds Wolverine's identity only revealed on the last page of the second issue. It's still beautiful to look at and a surprisingly low-key, non-superheroic way to tell Wolverine's origin, but I was hoping the story would move along a little more quickly. Wolverine has a lot of history to deal with, and spending two (perhaps even three or more) issues on a Huck Finn homage, while different, doesn't really seem like what the doctor ordered. Even if all of Barry Windsor Smith's Weapon X is left as the canonical version of Logan after he became Wolverine, there are a lot of years to cover between the early 1900s and the relatively modern era when Logan became Wolverine. Email Randy Lander comments about this review.