Wolverine #1 (1982)

Writer: Chris Claremont
Pencils: Frank Miller

Believe it or not, in all my comic readin’ since the late 70’s, this was something I had never read, until recently. I followed X-men and Wolverine on a monthly basis from about 1986 until 1998, but never got around to picking up (or reading) his original mini-series. Of course, over the years, I’d occasionally see any of the 4 issues hanging up, behind the counter, at comics stores– usually with a hefty price tag. I always figured I’d break down and get them, some day, but that never arrived.

Back in “the day”, I remember seeing issue 3 on the newstands when it was “live” and current in 1982. But I didn’t buy it, because it was issue 3 (not a FIRST ISSUE) and I didn’t know if I would like Wolverine and/or the X-men. At this time, I only knew him as the “neat looking dude who got tossed aside by the Juggernaut, like a jabronie” on “Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends”. 

This was one of Marvel’s initial “mini-series”. That is, a series that was designed with a set beginning and end; not a “new ongoing monthly series”. Sort of pre-cursor to what became the “graphic novel” approach. Traditionally, Marvel had tried out new heroes, on their own, in one of their many anthology books. So this was still something new to them in 1982. I believe their first official mini-series was “Marvel Super Heroes Contest of Champions”, then maybe “Hercules”, “Hawkeye” and “Wolverine”

The actual story opens in what would become an oft-repeated scene for Wolverine, going forward: Wolvie’s in the Canadian Rockies, seemingly hunting a bear. Yet it turns out that the bear was actually wounded by a sloppy hunter with an illegal poison barb; which drove the bear crazy and caused it to kill “seven men, three women and five children”. So, Wolvie, being the noble vagabond he is, took it upon himself to put down the rabid bear. Oh, he also tracked down the hunter and beat the tar out of him.

After that, the real story gets rolling: Wolverine hasn’t heard from his lady-love Mariko and her dad has married her off. So Wolvie travels to Japan to investigate and be a rabble-rouser. Yet when he gets there, things get worse, as it turns out Mariko is in a physically abusive relationship. Mariko is honor-bound to respect the wedding, for the sake of her father and family name. Obviously, this ticks off Wolvie and when he goes to confront the father, Lord Shingen, he gets his tushy kicked!

What’s worse, is that it all happens in front of Mariko, as she is forced to admit that she doesn’t love Wolvie. Ouch. Travel halfway around the world to see your long distance girlfriend, but her dad beats the tar out of you and gets her to admit that you suck. Love stinks sometimes.

As the issue concludes, Wolvie awakens in an alley in Tokyo, completely disgraced. He fights off some muggers, but then is saved by the mysterious Yukio… who would go on to play a pretty big part in this series, and Wolvie’s life.

This series was probably the first time they breathed humanity into Wolverine. He’s beaten, embarrassed and even heartbroken, but manages to fight back. Mariko’s character is defined a bit more, as well. In the end, she (almost conveniently) takes over her dad’s crime empire and sets out to redeem the family name. She and Wolverine make amends, as well, and are set to be married as the series ends.

Things didn’t exactly go as planned with the wedding, though. I think Mastermind messed with them and they ended up as “while we must remain apart and walk separate paths, I will forever love you”. 

I think this was the first story that made Wolvie into more of a “noble, tortured soul vagabond”, instead of the “sarcastic jack-ass with the cool costume that nobody knew about”. I can’t remember how much of Wolvie’s background and personality had been defined over in “Uncanny X-men”, at this point. Chris Claremont and Frank Miller are the team, so you know they’re putting in a solid effort. In fact, you can kinda’ see how some of Miller’s distinctive panel layouts and use of dark colors are in play, here.

It’s also a shame that future Wolvie solo stories didn’t come off as well as this mini-series. It set the bar fairly high. Having Wolverine narrate the whole thing really helps, too. Again, I forget exactly what had already been established in “Uncanny X-men”, so I’m curious if the famous line “I’m the best there is at what I do” was first muttered here. My X-men collection is spotty, pre-1986.

You can see how elements of this story were at least tried, again. Like we said, the wilderness hunt for an animal seemed to lead off every new solo Wolverine story for the next 5 years.

Then there’s also Wolvie’s love interests. While he’s deeply in love with Mariko, he also develops a mutual attraction with Yukio. As time went on, his list of romantic encounters, marriages, fatal attractions and one-night stands grew exponentially. Without digging too deep, I can name Silver Fox, Viper, Daken’s Mom, Mariko, Yukio, Storm, Jean Grey, Domino, etc. They even teased something with Elektra, circa 1996. It’s absurd how many women he’s been involved with. To me, that kinda’ cheapens his character, to know that he’ll jump into bed with just about anyone. Err… I’m guessing that’s where his healing factor can help out, at least.

In the end, I’m kinda’ glad that I waited this long to finally read this series (and particularly the FIRST ISSUE, of course). If my 8 year old self had picked this up in 1982, I probably would’ve been disappointed and would’ve wanted something like a “Spider-Man punches super villains” story. As a kid, I used to feel ripped-off when the hero was fighting “regular” bad guys. Young Me wanted “official” bad guys with COOL NAMES and wild costumes.
Sure, in this series Wolvie fought the Hand ninjas (complete with their disintegrating bodies), but you know what I mean. In 1982, I wanted something like “Wolverine vs. Rhino”… not all this mushy stuff about romance and seeing Wolvie get punked by an old guy.

Yet like I said, now as an old guy myself, I was quite entertained with this story and series. “Inner turmoil” has long been a part of super hero stories, but it doesn’t feel forced or cheesy, here. This turned out to be a historic story with a deep spotlight on a guy who had just been in a “team book”.

Summary: Wolverine kills a bear, beats up a drunk, then goes to Japan and gets thumped by an old guy, in front of his girlfriend.
Cover Price: $.60
Rating: $2.50