Wolverine 'Let's Get This Over With!'
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Agent ORIGIN - The real Wolverine story?

(Additional Reporting by ARNOLD T. BLUMBERG)

Just about every major comic book hero has at one time or another had his or her origin told, retold, expanded, re-interpreted, re-imagined or otherwise manipulated by countless writers looking to make their mark on a legend. But of all the famous crusaders that have fought their way through the comic pages, one remains a mystery. Despite attempts to shed light on his murky past through tales set in the past and throughout his lifetime, the man known as Logan (AKA the X-Men's Wolverine) is still a cipher even to his closest friends and countless fans.

We know he has a mutant healing factor, a skeleton laced with adamantium, a history as a Canadian operative, and perhaps even a link to a secret government experiment (as illustrated in Barry Windsor-Smith's 'Weapon X,' a partial origin presented in MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS years back). But just who is Wolverine? Where does he come from? And will we ever know the truth about him? Apparently, we will. After years of debate and speculation, writer Paul Jenkins has decided to spill the beans on Marvel's most mysterious mutant with the highly anticipated miniseries ORIGIN.

According to Jenkins, the decision to craft the definitive origin for one of Marvel's most popular stars (scripted by Jenkins and illustrated by Andy Kubert) didn't quite originate with either the publisher or himself.

'It basically came about because [Marvel's Editor-in-Chief] Joe Quesada asked me if I would do him a favor about a year ago,' explains Jenkins. 'He asked me if I would be willing to come up to Marvel and act as an editorial consultant. [Marvel Comics President] Bill Jemas was there as well, and Joe and Bill seemed to see eye to eye; they seemed to be having a lot of success. And Bill Jemas, who seems to be a pretty shrewd and smart guy, [said] 'Well why can't we do an origin about Wolverine?''

Jenkins' reply was certainly enthusiastic; however, those with more of a history in the company demonstrated the typical knee jerk resistance.

'Everyone else was like, 'We can't do that',' says Jenkins. 'We talked it out, and you could see the veteran editors who had spent years with Bob Harras being told what they couldn't do, were now starting to get this glimmer in their eyes. At one point the marketing people said 'Hey, instead of us telling you what you can't sell, tell us what you want to do and we'll sell it,' which was very different from the way it used to be at Marvel.'

With strong support from all quarters, Jenkins turned his attention to the task at hand: creating one of the most anticipated origin stories in comic book history. After completing an initial draft, Marvel presented the scribe with some detailed feedback.

'While they liked it, they had some ideas of things they wanted to do as well,' says Jenkins. '[They wanted] a certain scale and intrigue and drama and so on. No one else had really come up with anything that was worth it, and they really wanted me to write it. Not the exact thing I had originally proposed, although I incorporated some of the things that I wanted into it.'

Ultimately, the final plot became a collaboration between Jenkins, Quesada and Jemas, with their back-and-forth working style continuing until a full script was completed.

'Joe and Bill and myself busted heads and got some really specific things down,' says Jenkins. 'I then went away and wrote plots to those ideas, and I wrote bullet-point notes saying, 'Hey guys, you're all in love with little pieces that you really like and there are other pieces that you really hate; here's my version.' Then they would come back and change it. Basically, I'm being edited by both Joe and Bill.'

Finally, the moment of truth arrived and all parties involved demonstrated an air of caution when scrutinizing the work.

'The first [script] went in, and they asked for a couple of changes,' says Jenkins. 'Then the second one went in and they didn't even ask for any changes on the second script. So it seems to have settled down a little bit. They had it under a microscope because this project is so important.'

Did Jenkins feel pressure to live up to the monumental expectations of Wolverine fans around the globe? Jenkins has a surprisingly simple answer: 'No. I write comic books for a living, right? I write entertainment. I'm not scared of anything.'

When pressed to consider how so many people have built up certain ideas about what Wolverine's origin would be, Jenkins dismisses the notion.

'I can't speak about those expectations,' says Jenkins. 'The possible advantage that I have is that when we did INHUMANS, we were told why we couldn't do INHUMANSÐwhat was wrong with it, why the characters wouldn't work. When I took over SPIDER-MAN, I was told why no one could write SPIDER-MAN any moreÐthe same with HULK and the same with HELLBLAZER. On HELLBLAZER I was asked 'How do you feel about following Garth [Ennis]?' And Garth's point of view was pretty funny because he was asked 'How do you feel about following Jamie Delano, the definitive HELLBLAZER writer?' So why should I feel pressure about doing any of that stuff? There is no pressure. I start from the standpoint of characterization. I want to talk about the people involved, not the events that happen. I've always done it that way, and I don't see any reason why I should do it differently now. '

Elaborating on his emphasis on character development, Jenkins says, 'If the characterization is strong, then the things that happen will have meaning. If we just write a series of eventsÐ'These are the things that led up to Wolverine being Wolverine'Ðwho cares? You know we won't be writing about people, we'll be writing about things. Readers can't relate to things, they can only relate to people.'

Logan is definitely one important person to comic readers, and Jenkins clarifies exactly what part of his life will be the focus of this groundbreaking story.

'It will be on a few pieces of his life actually,' reveals Jenkins. 'It sort of goes through his development as a person. It explains why he ended up being the kind of person that he is.'

Given the hints that have been dropped in past stories regarding Logan's age, was Jenkins concerned about determining when and where this origin tale would be set?

'That was sort of a collaborative effort,' continues Jenkins. 'The problem was, there was just this big minefield of continuity, like Spider-Man is a big minefield. But I think that we've proven with Spider-ManÐI'm not being funny or anything, with one issue of SPIDER-MANÐabout how imminently writeable he is. The first issue that [Mark Buckingham] and I did was #20. Now #20 of SPIDER-MAN was a very successful comic. It sort of boiled him down to his essence. This is what we think his problem is and his dilemma. We're going to go on from here. And we're just examining this character month-by-monthÐgradually, you know.'

Jenkins plans to approach Wolverine in much the same way, but his take on continuity may jar some devoted fans.

'I don't spend all my time referring to that contradictory history of his,' says Jenkins. 'It won't be an issue. It's only an issue for people who spend all their time examining the bloody thing. If you really have to examine continuity, I think you're going to get yourself in a lot of trouble because now you're going to have to explain all the contradictions. Why bother? Why not just enjoy the characters as people?'

Artist Andy Kubert Ð the other major player in this comic book event Ð may not be bogged down in continuity either, but he is relying on substantial reference material.

'I have tons of books and photographs laying all over my studio,' says Kubert. 'It's a story that takes place at a certain time in history. One of my favorite things is going through all the reference material. I get into reading the stories and articles that go along with the photos so that I get a better feel for that particular place. The only downside is that it takes a ton of time [that] I really don't have.'

Another aspect of the project that Kubert eagerly anticipates is collaborating with painter and colorist Richard Isanove.

'I have to pencil this [while keeping] in mind that it's not going to be inked, but painted,' says Kubert. 'I have to put in gray tones to reflect depth and light. Richard is a very accomplished painter and [he'll] make the panels very vivid. I'm very excited about it.'

As for Jenkins, with this project and his work on the SENTRY/X-MEN one-shot, some readers may look forward to more X-tales from his prolific pen, but will they be forthcoming?

'I suppose I'd like to write some more X-MEN stuff,' says Jenkins. 'There is a lost story that probably doesn't seem to be coming out any time soon that I had written about Rogue. Unfortunately it was done in the days when Bob Harras was the Editor-in-Chief. It was a very small story about how Rogue, who is able to assimilate the memories and information from various people, goes to visit an old aunt who is dying and can't communicate with anybody. And the old aunt is a witness to the horrors of a concentration camp in Nazi Germany. By holding her hand, throughout the night, the old lady dies and Rogue assimilates her memories so the memories won't die and it won't happen again. And it's the bravest thing she ever did, and much worse because she relived the whole ordeal.'

Ironically, the reason why the story may never be seen is shocking in its narrow-mindedness.

'They canned it because it had a swastika on one of the pictures,' Jenkins explains. 'I was absolutely pissed, because the whole point of the story was if we forget, then we're destined to repeat it. The point was let's not sweep this information under the rug.'

If the Rogue story doesn't see the light of day, perhaps another past Jenkins project will soon be bathed in moonlight. Marvel is planning a film version of WEREWOLF BY NIGHT, which Jenkins revived four years ago, and the writer would be proud to see his revamp make it into the film script.

'I'd love to see that,' says Jenkins. 'I'm sure they'll look at the current revamp and see how [Jack Russell] worked himself out. The thing about Jack, if you defined him as a character, is that his greatest weakness is his strength, just like the Hulk. His weakness is that he is just so strong and that he has this curse of the werewolf.'

He doesn't, however, foresee returning to the tormented lycanthrope any time soon: 'I've gone beyond that. It's such a long time ago that I did that, if I did, I would probably would start again with new ideas. There are so many different comics that I'm working on now.'

While Jenkins' slate is currently full with the Wolverine origin story, the monthly PETER PARKER, and his work for Top Cow, there may be another pet-project on the horizon from the in-demand writer.

'I've talked with Axel [Alonso, SPIDER-MAN editor] about doing a three-issue series or maybe even a single issue about Mary Jane, just writing about what she's doing. I think that would be a great story.'

Of all his current titles, Jenkins considers Spider-Man the closest thing has to a favorite.

'I love doing SPIDER-MAN,' says Jenkins. 'It seems to me we've picked a really good, simple formula. We write simple, self-contained stories about him as a person, and that's just what I love to do. I'm also really happy with a book I'm doing with Kyle Hoaks through Top Cow, called THE AGENCY. [Kyle is] such a great storyteller that it gives me a chance to collaborate with an artist who has ideas of his own that he wants to throw at me. He has great ideas and his story telling is second to none.'

Having worked with some of the greatest artists in the industry, Jenkins considers himself lucky to have experienced these kind of collaborations in the course of his comic career.

'I'm working with some of the people that I think are the best in the business,' says Jenkins. 'I'm now doing the same with Andy [Kubert]. I've seen some of the pages, and they are just absolutely stunning. They are so good. I can always tell when a book is going to do well. It happened with the INHUMANS and SENTRY. It happened with SPIDER-MAN. When the artwork reflects the scripts accurately, which the artwork so far really does, then I always know that it's going to be paced and timed well. And it really reads well and the characterization is going to be there.'

Kubert returns the compliment giving praise for Jenkins' script and his gift of characterization.

'Paul's scripts are beautiful,' says Kubert. 'His pacing is awesome. I might be able to tweak a bit here and there, but he covers a lot in the script. They're a pleasure to work from. [His emphasis on characterization] doesn't affect anything that I do. It's just storytelling.'

And what a story it's bound to be. With talent like this behind the final revelation of Wolverine's long-lost origin, Paul Jenkins and Andy Kubert are bound to have another success on their hands. Better not miss it, bub.