Wolverine Origin Review: Daring and Beautiful

Wolverine’s past is a complete mystery to all, even Wolverine himself. For decades, fans have wondered what Wolverine did before he joined the X-Men.

Marvel has finally answered that question with “Wolverine: Origin” written by Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada and Paul Jenkins, with art by Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove. Shout Factory and Marvel Knights has turned that comic into a motion comic and it is a sight to behold.

A young Logan, originally named James Howlett, runs away to British Columbia from Alberta with a young girl named Rose after witnessing the death of his wealthy father. Now in a mining town, he and Rose lay low and try to start a regular life together while pretending to be cousins. The past soon catches up with Logan as time goes by.

The high point of the story is how well written it is. The hardships Logan endures in the mining town are all enjoyable to read but equally as heart wrenching. From dealing with constant abuse from the town’s cook to trying to keep his emotions in check so he doesn’t kill the miners, who also have some fun with him. Slowly, but surely, we see how he goes from a frail, timid little boy to a strong wild man.

In spite of the storytelling prowess, there are a few problems with the story. Firstly, the mansion’s groundskeeper looks a lot like Wolverine. However, this is not James/Logan’s father; it’s Dog Logan’s (Sabretooth) dad. This kills that part in the movie. If that was meant to be a fake out it was a poorly done one. How in the world does James grow up to look like this character if he is not related to him?

Another problem is that this story would’ve worked better if it was not named “Wolverine: Origin.” There’s this expectation from fans as to what his origins story is and, as usual, there’ll be those who will despise this and not agree with it.

The art fits with the setting perfectly. They manage to bring out the essence of 19th Century British Columbia, especially with winter scenes. The character designs are also well done. From the upperclass look of Rose to the rugged look of the miners, the characters areappealing to the eye and are drawn with affection.

Marvel Knights has done a fine job bringing the comic into a motion comic. The characters’ move smoothly, the more complex movements don’t look awkward and the facial expressions are life-like. There are some blips in the movement, like one scene where Rose turns to look at Smithy and it looks like a poorly edited cut out character moving from one side to another.

The voice acting is solid for the most part. Adult James/Logan, Smithy and adult Rose all sound splendid. There are a few downsides. One is Child Rose, who sounds like the voice actress is trying too hard to make a child voice. Another is adult James/Logan sometimes goes from a normal sounding voice to Wolverine’s voice. Yes, this may be his future voice, but it sounds awkward when it changes like that.

“Wolverine: Origin” is one of the best motion comics to date. The story, art and voice acting are solid despite some minor issues. It may not please everyone, but this is the origins story Marvel gave.