Wolverine: Origins #43: Swords and Schemes

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… For my second review we have ‘Wolverine: Origins’. Hope you enjoy it.

Wolverine: Origins #43 (preview)
Writer: Daniel Way
Pencils: Doug Braithwaite
Inks: Bill Reinhold with Doug Braithwaite

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Logan being trained by the Silver Samurai in sword work. Wolverine is given half of a bokuto to fight against Harada’s two practice swords. After four days, Logan’s skills return and he bows out of further training. He admits to being in the Samurai’s debt.

Logan calls Cloak for a pickup but he refuses saying that Dagger has been taken. The description of the captor matches Victor Hudson who played on her sympathy as a blind man before drugging and taking her prisoner. Dagger wakes up tied to a chair with a middle aged man questioning her. He punches her in the face and says he is sorry but he has no choice but to do this for his own daughter’s sake. He wants to know of Wolverine’s plan. They are interrupted by Victor’s arrival.

Logan tells Cloak that he knows Dagger is still in San Francisco and he knows who took her but will not say who. He does tell Cloak what he needs to know. They wait for the call from Dagger which does not take long. Wolverine has set up a trace with Prodigy ahead of time. When Dagger calls, she tells Cloak not to tell them the plan but instead to trace the call.

Her tormentor grabs her hair and goes to hit her but she tells him she knows there is no daughter. At which point Victor decides the man is useless and kills him. Before the big mute can hurt her though, Cloak and Wolverine arrive. Dagger begs Cloak not to hurt him because it would turn Cloak to the dark but Logan has no problem cutting his foe in half with his sword.

Dagger attacks Wolverine as a monster and blasts him forcing his mind deep into Cloak’s darkness. Though it affects him, Logan is able to shrug it off as he has been in the dark many times before. As Logan leaves, Cloak apologizes to Dagger for keeping secrets and reveals that it is not Wolverine’s past that haunts him but his future.

She tells Cloak to go with Logan and help and to be there when he is ready to face the future. He meets up with Wolverine in an alley and asks where they are going next. In an unnamed prison a female guard talks to her prisoner who questions why the guard keeps bringing her food when she does not eat. Wolverine arrives and says this is a prison break.

MY TAKE: I have certainly made no secret of my general dislike for this series so I was highly surprised to find myself rather enjoying this issue. It is by no means perfect, but it is a pretty good Wolverine story taken on its own. I really liked seeing Cloak and Dagger here and I glad to see the duo getting a bit more focus. They did draw some of the attention from Wolverine but in a complimentary way.

I like the fact that we are finally seeing Logan using both his head and the resources at his disposal. He is taking advantage of having teleporters on the X-Men as well as using Prodigy’s knowledge. Even better is that he is being depicted as a strong character with real will power and skills. It is somewhat understable that his skill with a sword has waned due to lack of practice but the end fight with Silver Samurai shows how good he is. It was also telling that he is able to shrug off the effects of Cloak’s darkness.

The plot is still convoluted and does not really appeal to me. I still do not like Romulus but at least he will hopefully be dealt with by the end of this story. Seeing Victor finally getting finished gives me hope that maybe there will be a definitive conclusion to the story.

Although I do not really like the style of story, with the constant interruption of the plot with thoughtt balloons and opinions, it was not too distracting here. It would still be nice to see a greater focus on the events rather then Logan’s internal dialogue, it might make things move along a little bit faster.

Still, in the end, this was a good issue and an entertaining story to read. It could be that my expectations are very low but I really found myself getting immersed in the story. While I have no clue who the woman at the end is, I am actually interested in seeing who she is and what her role will be in Logan’s little cabal. I have no idea if the next issue will be good but at least this gives me hope that the series will end on a high note.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

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worstblogever
14 years ago

Just wanted to add, the “jailbreak” is for a prisoner known as Ruby Thursday, a truly bizarre Marvel Villainess that… well… if Logan’s plan is to recruit people that Romulus wouldn’t expect… then YES. Absolutely, no one would expect anyone outside of the villain team known as the Headmen to team up with Ruby.

http://www.comicvine.com/ruby-thursday/29-11933/

By the way, a big fan of the site.

jrpbsp
14 years ago

Thanks for the information. I keep my hand into the larger Marvel Universe but do not know the details. Hopefully we will see an explanation on who she is next issue.

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