A quarter of a century after Marvel finally revealed the origins of Wolverine, the publisher is headed back to the character’s early days for Wolverine: Origin III – The Dark Age. The five-issue miniseries will be written by Paul Jenkins, writer of the original 2001 Wolverine: Origin miniseries, with art by CAFU.
When Wolverine: Origin arrived in 2001, it was one of those rare Marvel stories that actually answered a question readers had been asking for decades. Wolverine’s past had been deliberately kept mysterious for most of his existence, but Jenkins and artist Andy Kubert finally introduced readers to James Howlett and revealed the traumatic events that transformed him into Wolverine.
“Wolverine: Origin was foundational. It did not simply tell us how, why and where a young, frail Canadian named James Howlett became the super hero we know as Wolverine, it also showed his loss of innocence and his understanding of a cruel and difficult world,” Jenkins said. “Now, after 25 years, I’m privileged to present this story I have waited over a quarter of a century to tell. Where did Logan go? Which parts of his story were lost to history? What led to the events of Weapon X? The answers are not going to be what you expect.”
The Dark Age is the third series to carry the Origin name. Marvel revisited Logan’s early years in 2013’s Origin II, written by Kieron Gillen and drawn by Adam Kubert. It explored his time living in the wilderness and his first encounters with Victor Creed and the man who would become Mr. Sinister.
The Dark Age will jump ahead to another previously unexplored period in Logan’s life, the 1950s. After years of fighting in the first two World Wars, Logan has apparently found something he has rarely been able to hold onto: peace. His berserker rage and violent tendencies seem to be behind him, and he’s living a quiet life of service. Along the way, he meets new friends and allies and begins working with an impassioned young doctor who helps him understand the forces driving him. Naturally, things don’t stay peaceful for long.
“I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say this is the most important project I’ve worked on in my entire career,” CAFU said. “Origin is one of my all-time favorite Wolverine stories, and I’ve loved Paul Jenkins’ work since I was a teenager, so becoming a part of the continuation of that story and being able to tell a little more about Logan’s past is a dream come true.”
The first issue will feature a cover by Wes Burt, shown above, and a variant by Josemaria Casanovas:
The first issue arrives Dec. 16.