About a decade ago or so, when the X-Men movies were just hitting big and starting the superhero-movie revolution, the folks at Marvel realized that eventually, those movies were going to try to delve into the origins of their star character, Wolverine – origins that hadn’t been defined even in the comics yet. Logan didn’t know his own history, and neither did we. His past was a sea of false recollections and memory implants designed to manipulate and control him. The truth was not out there, and Marvel wasn’t about to let the movies have a story that should be told in comics.
So Paul Jenkins, Joe Quesada and Bill Jemas got together and hammered out a definitive origin story for Logan, revealing that his real name was James Howlett, and he actually began life as a sickly rich kid. With artists Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove coming on board, the project became known as Wolverine: Origin. Simple enough. And now, that classic comic story is getting the Marvel Knights Animation treatment – a 66-minute animated tale on blu-ray, even, releasing on July 9, complete with a bonus retrospective from the creators from the original comic.
Here’s the official synopsis:
“Wolverine is the best there is at what he does – although of course, what he does isn’t very nice. But long before he was a member of the X-Men, a tormented experiment of the Weapon-X project, or even a savage bar brawler known as Logan – he was simply a young boy. What incredible forces created this man, the world’s greatest killing machine? For years, Wolverine has searched desperately for answers from his past, from the wilds of the Canadian wilderness to the teeming cities of Japan and beyond. And despite his perseverance and longing for the truth, he remains an enigma to himself and those around him. But, in this landmark event, Marvel reveals all: the birth and childhood of young James Howlett… the intriguing secrets of his family history…and the tragedy that changed everything. Welcome to the greatest story never told.”
You can also preview the opening sequence here.
