Origin II may be the biggest holiday gift from Marvel. Kieron Gillen (Uncanny X-Men, Young Avengers, Iron Man) and Adam Kubert will explore more of James Howlett’s untold past in a new limited series starting next week.
Paul Jenkins and Andy Kubert revealed Logan’s past in Origin back in 2002. We learned the story of a sickly boy named James Howlett in Alberta, Canada who would overcome a painful and tragic childhood and become the fan-favorite X-Man.
Gillen wrote the second volume Uncanny X-Men but never Wolverine…until now. I wanted to share part of Gillen’s interview with Comic Book Resources. about his plans for the man before he became an X-Man.
“In terms of where I’m going with this, specifically, we had a few ideas on what were some of the important stories left in Wolverine’s past. We’ve seen a lot of stories about his past spread throughout the century, and we’ve seen some stuff with his deceased lover Silver Fox, but there’s some questions about what happened, chronologically. What’s the missing link in Wolverine’s origins? We kind of went back to this period in the early days of the 20th century, so it’s me doing a period piece, which gave me the chance to do a lot of interesting research. Basically, I’m doing a weird period novel set in the Marvel Universe, which has enormous importance for Wolverine, and it’s as fun as it sounds,” Gillen tells CBR.
Origin ended in heartbreak for James Howlett. Where does Gillen begin with the new stories of Logan’s past?
“I believe the first series ended in 1898. We’re picking things up a few years later, and Logan has been living in the woods all that time. When we last saw him in “Origin,” he had killed his first love and rejected humanity by deciding he would go run with the wolves for awhile. So that’s where he’s been. It’s a beautiful, graphic image and a nice place to start our story. I used the word novel earlier, and that’s very much what this feels like. Yes, “Origin II” is a sequel, hence the roman numerals in the title, but I wanted this to be a real concentrated story about these classic Marvel characters done in a very stripped down style. People can pick this up by itself, read it, and get it. I’ve described the story as a period novel, which might turn some people off, but the plot is pretty much “White Fang.” Jack London is a big influence on this story. Our protagonist is a savage beast at the start, and it’s basically a return to civilization story — whatever that means. Because sometimes civilization comes off more than a bit animalistic.”
For more of Gillen’s interview here’s the CBR link.
Origin II begins next week in comic book shops!
By Editor