Origin (comics)
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Origin is a six-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics from November 2001 to July 2002, written by Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada and Paul Jenkins, and illustrated by Andy Kubert (pencils) and Richard Isanove (color).
The Origin in question is that of the superhero Wolverine, best known as a member of the X-Men. Since the character first appeared in the early 1970s his history had often been shrouded in mystery, with bits of information revealed piecemeal over time (notably in Weapon X), but this series was the first to reveal Wolverine's early days and his original background.
The series revealed that Wolverine was born James Howlett, the son of rich plantation owners in late 19th Century Canada, and has long suffered fits of amnesia. He is a sickly child so his loving father, John, brings an orphaned girl named Rose up from the town to be his companion. The two children also often play with Dog Logan, son of the Howletts' cruel groundskeeper, Thomas Logan. This friendship is spoiled by the tension between the boys' fathers centering on James' mother, Elizabeth, who went mad after her first son, John, dies under mysterious circumstances years earlier. It is hinted throughout the series that Wolverine's elder brother was a mutant himself and that had an influence on his death. Both his mom and grandfather allude to this.
Dog, over the next few years, becomes increasingly like his father, and his misdeeds become so violent that he and his father are expelled from the manor. Thomas returns for the purpose of robbing the Howlett estate and to convince Elizabeth to leave with him. John Howlett enters the bedroom after hearing noises. Thomas kills John Howlett with a shotgun blast in front of all three children and Elizabeth. The horror of his father's death causes James' powers to manifest for the first time, and he uses his claws to kill Thomas and injure Dog, before lapsing into shock. Elizabeth, surprisingly, cradles the body of Thomas Logan rather than that of her husband. After a few moments, Elizabeth, with her shallow grip on reality shattered, picks up Thomas' shotgun and kills herself.
Rose attempts to care for James, but his grandfather drives them both from the house due to the manifestation of James' powers. She takes him by train from Alberta to British Columbia, where she gets work for them in a stone quarry.
Rose claims that her male companion is her cousin and calls him Logan. Precisely why she doesn't wish to use James' true name isn't revealed
Gradually James/Logan strengthens physically, though his memory is still shattered. He often goes into the woods to hunt game, typically among a pack of wolves, with only his claws.
James becomes close to the foreman, Smitty, who, in turn, develops romantic feelings toward Rose, which she reciprocates. He courts her with books, including poetry by William Blake and a history of the samurai. Logan's public identity as her cousin makes it impossible for him to declare his own feelings for her, so he works out his violence in a series of cage fights, where his brutality earns him the nickname Wolverine among the local population.
Smitty eventually asks Rose to marry him, which she accepts, and Smitty informs her that the cage fights are a fast and easy way to earn some extra money. He asks her to leave with him, which she is reluctant to do because of Logan. Smitty's opponent happens to be Logan, who quickly has Smitty at his mercy. However, James is aware of the relationship between he and Rose and, despite mixed feelings, wishes for her to be happy. He purposely takes a dive, allowing Smitty to win the fight. Just before the couple leaves to be wed, Dog comes to the quarry, originally sent by Old Man Howlett, on his deathbed, to find his heir. However, Dog blames Logan for the events that led to his father's death and is truly there for revenge. In the ensuing fight, Rose is accidentally impaled on Logan's claws. Logan goes mad with grief and runs into the woods, where he stays for an as yet unknown amount of time, living like a wild animal. Rose's diary, which contains the truth of Logan's past she had been unable to tell him, is tossed on the fire by Cookie Malone, who has long hated Logan.
[edit] Analysis
The plot, while seemingly a very distant origin of Wolverine with very little real ties to his current place in the Marvel universe, contains a great deal of subtext.
Rose and Dog are not simply Wolverine's childhood friends; they are archetypes on which he bases his future relationships. His love for Rose, who bears a striking resemblance to Jean Grey, carries over into adulthood with his painful unrequited love for his teammate. His hatred for Dog, who bears a passing resemblance to Sabretooth as an adult, fuels his bitter rivalry with his perpetual archnemesis.
Furthermore, the question of Wolverine's fragmented memory is finally answered. It had been previously assumed that the Weapon X programming had brainwashed Wolverine into being a killing machine, thus erasing all memory of his previous life. However, Origin heavily implies that his healing factor is the cause of his memory loss. His mutant power not only heals his body, but also his mind. Painful memories or other psychologically damaging events are protected from his psyche. They are not permanently lost - powerful telepaths have often hinted at knowing Wolverine's true origins. Indeed, on many occasions, characters (mostly villains, such as Cassandra Nova) have called Wolverine by his true name, James.
The mystery of why Wolverine's uses the name 'Logan' is explained; Rose changes James' name to "Logan", the name of their enemies, when they find work at a mine in Canada. She later explains that she gave him that name to protect him when he admits that he likes it better than 'James'.
