Books I Lettered But Didn’t Read Until Now #3

Wolverine: Origins, Vol. 2: Savior
WRITER: DANIEL WAY
PENCILS: STEVE DILLON

In this latest installment I review another book I lettered but didn’t read until now… “Wolverine Origins, Vol 2 Savior” by Daniel Way and Steve Dillon.

The basic premise behind the Origins series is that Wolverine can now remember all of his past and has to deal with all that comes with those memories.

Before I get into the review, let’s recap the “Origins” of Wolverine.

Going back a few years, during the Bill Jemas “era” Marvel decided to reveal Wolverine’s once shrouded in mystery origin. “Let us do it before Hollywood does” was a smart and commendable move on Marvel’s part. However, the resulting Wolverine: Origin book wasn’t exactly Batman: Year One. I’m trying to think back on it but I really can’t remember a damn thing about it. Which is a shame considering that we’re talking about the “origin” of one of the most popular characters of all-time, Marvel just can’t seem to get a storyline that has to do with Wolverine’s early years right, it’s almost as if they’re trying too hard. Wolverine’s Origin should be an epic show-stopping-page-turner but instead I can’t seem to remember a single page.

When the Wolverine Origins assignment was handed to me I was pretty excited about the book. You’ve got decades upon decades of Wolverine stories to tell and basically no continuity to tangle you along the way. Want to tell a Wolverine during World War I story? Sure! Wolverine in Vietnam? Fine! Wolverine running moonshine with Al Capone? Why not! The possibilities are endless.

Nevertheless I found the Savior storyline very lackluster. Like a lot of mediocre X-Books it’s convoluted and confusing. Where are we? Why are we here? Why does Wolvie give a crap about this cardamantium synthesizer that winds up being a fake or maybe it was real… I was thoroughly confused. Similar to the Punisher we have a running Dirty Harry-esque narrative that is guaranteed to give you at least one “I’m the best there is at what I do” per issue. Ol’ Wolvie will even explain the plot to you along the way in case you’re lost. Which you probably will be even with his long-winded exposition and by the time Wolverine’s son turns up you’ll be ready to either re-read the thing or give up. (Yeah, I said it, Wolverine’s son). Can anyone recall a good story about a major character’s offspring? I can’t and this one ain’t breaking that trend.

On the plus side you’ve got some real nice Steve Dillon art here. I got into his work on the original Marvel Knights Punisher run and his work here is a good as ever.

I hate to say it about a book I was a part of, but skip this one if you can. If someone gives you a free copy or you find it cheap, go for it. Maybe you’ll get more out of it than I did.

Thanks for reading,
Randy