Wolverine Origin is a six-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel and released between November 2001 and July 2002. It was jointly written by Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada and Paul Jenkins, and illustrated by Andy Kubert (pencils) and Richard Isanove (colour).
Origin is the first Wolverine story to reveal his childhood and early background in any real detail. The six issue series has been collected in trade paper back as well as hardcover form. Origin reveals a lot of new information about Wolverine, as well as raising a few new questions.
** Be warned: The following section contains spoilers. **
Wolverine was born James Howlett in Canada in the late 19th century. In his early childhood he is depicted as a sickly child, who suffers from a number of allergies and illnesses. His father, John Howlett, Jr., is a rich plantation owner, 'adopts' an orphaned girl named Rose so that James has a companion. Both James and Rose grow up on the plantation along with another child called Dog Logan, who is the son of the Howlett's groundskeeper, Thomas Logan. Thomas Logan is no Groundskeeper Willy. He is a cruel and abusive drunk that often takes out his rage on his son. As the children grown older, Dog becomes increasingly like his father, and tension between Dog and James builds, mirroring the friction between the boys' fathers, as a triangle between the two men and James' mother Elizabeth begins to emerge.
It is revealed that Elizabeth is no longer playing with a full deck, having apparently gone mad following the death of her first son, John Howlett III, in mysterious circumstances a few years prior to the beginning of the story. The story also alludes to the fact that John Howlett III may have displayed some mutant abilities, similar to those that Wolverine would develop, and that scars on Elizabeth's chest may have been caused by John Howlett III's claws.
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