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WOLVERINE: THE ORIGIN #3
"Origin, Part III of VI: The Beast Within"
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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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 |
I have to admit, now that we're halfway through the Origin,
that I'm beginning to find the pacing more than a little annoying. While telling
the origin of Wolverine as a period piece is a daring choice, commercially
speaking, it doesn't make a lot of sense, and I'm starting to feel like the
story doesn't really reveal anything at all. There are explanations in the
story, such as Wolverine's predilection for redheads or where he got his name,
but given the exotic nature of Wolverine's past, this all seems somewhat
mundane, bordering on repetitive.
Jenkins is using the same sort of decompressed storytelling that Bendis used to good effect on Ultimate Spider-Man. Just as that series went several issues without putting Peter into costume or showing much in the way of super-heroics or action, this story has gone three issues without even a hint of the espionage elements of Wolverine's past. However, while Ultimate Spider-Man used this time to build up characterization and develop the main character, giving us something to base him on, most of Origin has been built around building up
the mystique of the Hill and a variety of characters we'll never see again. The
story sheds little insight onto who Logan is thus far, and since he won't
remember any of these events, it really doesn't add anything to the character as
he stands.
All of which can of course be
forgiven if you're enjoying the story as a standalone, and as the story goes on,
I'm enjoying it less and less. The biggest mystery, the identity of Logan, was
hinted at even in the first issue and then revealed in the second issue, leaving
us with much smaller and less important questions. I'm as interested as the next
guy in where Rose and Logan go from here, but I'm more interested in finding out
what leads Logan into intelligence work and what he does from this early time
period up until the late 20th century, when he gets taken by Weapon X.
The artwork continues to
impress, with Kubert and Isanove really conveying the horrific effects of
Logan's mutant powers emerging. There's a sense of time having stopped in the
early sequence, with shots of the various parts of the room and the bloody
consequences of the attack, and it's counterbalanced by a sense of urgency when
Rose goes on the run. The colors also do a nice job of conveying the changes of
the season from august to winter, which is a nice thematic tie-in to the changes
that have occurred in the lives of Rose and James.
Origin began as something
quite different than I expected, and that originality went a long way. However,
the premise and setting are now quite established and not quite as revolutionary
in hindsight, and the creators really need to throw us some sort of change-up
soon or risk losing audience interest halfway through this much-hyped
tale.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
