One of the great mysteries of the Marvel Universe has always been the origins of the mutant Wolverine. Tantalizingly hinted at but never revealed, Logan's roots were the eternally unanswered question.

Until 2002, when writers Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada and Paul Jenkins decided to put an end to the mystery once and for all. Matched to Andy Kubert's pencils and Richard Isanove's lush digital painting, they crafted a story that -- well, frankly, fell far short of expectations.

Written primarily by Jenkins and set in 19th-century Canada, the tale revolves around a well-to-do family and their ne'er-do-well servants. The story has its share of tragedy, broken romance, violence and class envy, but for all that it's a good yarn, it fails to resonate at all with the character we've all come to know so well. This is Logan? I don't think so.

Marvel bills this story as "the greatest story never told." Unfortunately, now they've told it, and far from being great, it's mediocre.

But Jenkins wasn't finished yet.

Leaping from the alpha of Logan's life to the omega, Jenkins decided to use Marvel's The End series (a sort of "how did they die" What If? occasional series) to cap Wolverine's life and, in the process, further seal the hero's storyline. Logan is now old, having outlived his X-friends by a century or so; his mutant healing factor is starting to fail but he continues to seek the answers to his identity that we regretfully now know. And suddenly, he has a brother who knows them all and teases Logan with them -- but only if he assists in a scheme to wreak havoc on humankind. Ugh.

Coupled this time with muddy, unexciting art by Claudio Castellini, The End seems to say that Logan's life must both begin and end with a fizzle. If you like Wolverine, do yourself a favor and stick with the stories in the middle.

by Tom Knapp
Rambles.NET
9 December 2006