While X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Marvel’s new one-shot, which roughly covers the long and complicated history Marvel has allowed various writers to construct concerning Wolverine’s origins, isn’t really anything special as far as the storytelling or art It is a very tidy, compressed, and efficiently written Wolverine origin tale.  Very obviously, it was released to coincide with the release of the feature film of the same name. It is not a graphic novel adaptation of said film, but a retelling of Wolverine’s early years, minus all the confusing and conflicting parts, and his first meeting with Professor Charles Xavier.

Briefly we get a two page re-edited telling of Wolverine’s very Batman-like, life defining, trauma. Wolverine witnesses the death of his parents, and regresses into an animal-like state, after which he lives in the wild for several years with a pack of wolves.  Later on, much later on, he is kidnapped by the scientists behind the Weapon X Project, and after having adamantium bonded to his skeleton, becomes the ultimate killing machine we all know and love.  Taken in by James and Jennifer Hudson after breaking free of the Weapon X facility, after slaughtering everyone within, he becomes an operative for Department H.  While serving with Dept. H Wolverine is visited by Professor Xavier of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and offered a place among his team of mutant heroes, The X-Men.  Before the two can get back to the school, they are attacked by Dept. H operatives, and Wolverine ends up saving Prof. X’s life.  Xavier then welcomes Wolverine to the team.

What this one shot accomplishes, for the casual reader as well as the Wolverine fan, besides collecting yet more money from said readers and fans, is a reintroduction to the bond that Wolverine and Xavier share, borne from Xavier’s belief in the basic goodness at the heart of Wolverine’s character.  Xavier, while acknowledging that he needs more of the type of mutant that Wolverine is, basically a take no prisoners, no hold’s barred warrior, he also believes that the fundamental humanity of Wolverine is the stronger side of his nature rather than the animal side.  Xavier knows that Wolverine needs the family structure of support that his school and team can supply to ensure that Wolverine becomes a manifestation of what is at heart, a hero.

While never being a fan of Texeira’s art, his style does fit the savagery of this retelling of Wolverine’s, albeit abbreviated, origin.  Wolverine goes berserk and, literally, piles up the bodies but refrains from giving into the animal in total, and Teixeira’s ragged style captures this savagery accurately.

Overall, while X-Men Origins: Wolverine is definitely NOT one of the greatest Wolverine comic books ever produced, it is, perhaps, one of the most educational on the character, especially for new readers and old ones’ who don’t want to plunk down all the cash necessary to follow Wolverine’s many, many mini-series and ongoing series about his origins.  Therefore it ranks as one of Wolverine’s Best.