Post by Mark Caringer on Jul 15, 2006 13:36:22 GMT -5
Thursday, Marvel held a conference call to discuss Wolverine: Origins #5, which promises to deliver a major surprise. Among those on the call from Marvel's side were Origins writer Daniel Way and Editor Axel Alonso. While the two couldn't spill the details on the revelations of issue #5, they gave us some juicy details on the future of the series.
Following the events of House of M, Wolverine regained all of his memories. The false details of his life, implanted by the Weapon X program, are gone. Wolverine remembers everything. As Way explains, Origins is "the untold secret history of Wolverine. This is the stuff that's always been suspected and always talked around, but never talked about."
Alonso elaborated, adding, "What Wolverine: Origins is attempting to do and show the tapestry of [Logan's] life... Every arc is a combination of the real-time story... and flashback sequences touching upon your favorite Wolverine stories and re-examining them... We're putting together the puzzle for you."
According to Way, we're going to discover that "some things we thought were true, [are] admitted falsely. We're paying attention to all the previous continuity, but we are dissecting it, not necessarily deconstructing it."
Way explained that he'd been wanting to tell the story of Wolverine's past for some time. "When I was first approached to pitch ideas for the Wolverine book, it had been something that Axel and I had talked about for some time. I wanted to have a story that was big. I wanted to come in extremely strong. The first place I started was the Marvel Handbook, which is a dry history text. I started making notes on that. Then tracking down back issues and doing research online. These patterns started to emerge that kept repeating... I researched this for maybe nine months to a year."
"He showed what the timeline was and how it worked," Alonso added. "Daniel, if nothing else, helped us map out where [Wolverine] was and where he wasn't. There are some stories you've read where we will say, 'This is what really happened.' We aren't saying these [original] stories didn't happen [at all], but we are putting a twist on them."
The decision for a blend of real-time and flashback storytelling has received mixed reactions around the IGN office. Way explained his choice, stating, "It's just an extremely effective way of telling that story. You really have to end strong to keep people's interest up. I like tense stories. It's such a high stakes situation that all the moves are for all the marbles all the time. As far as jumping around time wise, we're seeing this through Logan's eyes. This is a guy who has a century worth of memories. He has an almost omniscient view of things... I just want to give a sense of the scope of his life."
For such an important character, it seemed a little strange that his nemesis so early in the series would be Nuke, a character unseen for years. Why Nuke? "'Cause Nuke is a bad ass character," Way said. "I think it's a great character that had a fantastic introduction that nobody followed up on."
Axel hinted that Nuke is "back in the Marvel U." and to "look for him" popping up in other titles in the near future.
Issue #5 of origins features appearances by Emma Frost, Cyclops, Captain America and, in a flashback, Sabretooth.
"There's a revelation in the fifth issue which will have massive repercussions that Wolverine will be dealing with for the rest of this series," Way promised. Alonso added that there are actually two revelations in Origins #5 and that there will be major changes for Logan that will have a long-lasting effect on the character.
We know one thing for certain, Sabretooth is catalyst in some way for one of these past events. " In the fifth issue, Sabretooth shows up [in a flashback and plays] a pivotal role in how Logan became Wolverine."
There are currently no plans for Sabretooth appear during any of the real-time sequences, but as Way assured that Victor Creed would have a role in Origins in the future. "He's an almost constant presence in Wolverine's life. When it comes time to tell a story that focuses on Sabretooth, he'll show up. I have plans for him and they're big."
Alonso added, "Look for Sabretooth to be a major player very soon. We've been having long, hard discussions as to how Sabretooth fits in." Both admitted that there was no definitive answer as to exactly how Sabretooth connects with Wolverine biologically (a question that has been around for two decades). There are serious talks at Marvel to decide when and how to reveal the truth, as well as what that truth might be.
Sabretooth will make another flashback appearance in the near future, again in a flashback. Longtime Uncanny X-Men Readers may remember a very popular Jim Lee story featuring Team X (which included Wolverine and Sabretooth in the '60s) on a mission in Germany. That story is going to be re-examined and fleshed out with new details.
As for the immediate future, issue six kicks off the second story arc for Origins. The second story is called Savior," Way said. "The real-time segment of the arc, Logan is going to be keeping his quest for revenge, but there's a new complication revealed in the fifth issue, which throws a wrench in [his plans]."
The ladies in Logan's life are plentiful, but two are closest to the hearts of fans. As far as Jubilee goes, Way was a bit ambiguous as to her potential future role in Origins. "Jubilee is obviously someone very important to Logan," Way said. "She filled a void that he had in his life. She is [currently] de-powered, so it could be that... she's going to be a situation where she needs Logan more than ever and Logan is going to have to make a decision whether he can be there for her. Being around Logan is not a safe place to be and that weighs heavily in his mind."
The other gal, Kitty Pryde, is "a bit different," according to Way. "Logan has a lot of different women in his life. We're going to do our best to examine these situations. Why is he always drawing these problematic women?"
Comics fans were promised Wolverine's origins a decade ago with Paul Jenkins' Origin miniseries. The mini told the story of James Howlett, a boy who would later take the name Logan. "Everything you saw in Origin is real and factual," Way said, assuring that Origin would not be disregarded. However, he added that "there's no need to go back and dig too deeply to what happened in Origin. We're more focused on the origin of the character Wolverine and not James Howlett."
As for series artist Steve Dillon, Axel Alonso was very firm in his assertion that "Dillon is on with a long term." He then added a fun tidbit about the popular artist. "He draws in a pub. He can't draw without a Guinness in his hand. He draws it in the last week [before deadline]. We'll always ship on time and it will always be Steve Dillon."
And expect a lot more Origins. A sales success the series is expected to be around for a long time. As Way noted, "We have no shortage of stories to tell with this character."
Following the events of House of M, Wolverine regained all of his memories. The false details of his life, implanted by the Weapon X program, are gone. Wolverine remembers everything. As Way explains, Origins is "the untold secret history of Wolverine. This is the stuff that's always been suspected and always talked around, but never talked about."
Alonso elaborated, adding, "What Wolverine: Origins is attempting to do and show the tapestry of [Logan's] life... Every arc is a combination of the real-time story... and flashback sequences touching upon your favorite Wolverine stories and re-examining them... We're putting together the puzzle for you."
According to Way, we're going to discover that "some things we thought were true, [are] admitted falsely. We're paying attention to all the previous continuity, but we are dissecting it, not necessarily deconstructing it."
Way explained that he'd been wanting to tell the story of Wolverine's past for some time. "When I was first approached to pitch ideas for the Wolverine book, it had been something that Axel and I had talked about for some time. I wanted to have a story that was big. I wanted to come in extremely strong. The first place I started was the Marvel Handbook, which is a dry history text. I started making notes on that. Then tracking down back issues and doing research online. These patterns started to emerge that kept repeating... I researched this for maybe nine months to a year."
"He showed what the timeline was and how it worked," Alonso added. "Daniel, if nothing else, helped us map out where [Wolverine] was and where he wasn't. There are some stories you've read where we will say, 'This is what really happened.' We aren't saying these [original] stories didn't happen [at all], but we are putting a twist on them."
The decision for a blend of real-time and flashback storytelling has received mixed reactions around the IGN office. Way explained his choice, stating, "It's just an extremely effective way of telling that story. You really have to end strong to keep people's interest up. I like tense stories. It's such a high stakes situation that all the moves are for all the marbles all the time. As far as jumping around time wise, we're seeing this through Logan's eyes. This is a guy who has a century worth of memories. He has an almost omniscient view of things... I just want to give a sense of the scope of his life."
For such an important character, it seemed a little strange that his nemesis so early in the series would be Nuke, a character unseen for years. Why Nuke? "'Cause Nuke is a bad ass character," Way said. "I think it's a great character that had a fantastic introduction that nobody followed up on."
Axel hinted that Nuke is "back in the Marvel U." and to "look for him" popping up in other titles in the near future.
Issue #5 of origins features appearances by Emma Frost, Cyclops, Captain America and, in a flashback, Sabretooth.
"There's a revelation in the fifth issue which will have massive repercussions that Wolverine will be dealing with for the rest of this series," Way promised. Alonso added that there are actually two revelations in Origins #5 and that there will be major changes for Logan that will have a long-lasting effect on the character.
We know one thing for certain, Sabretooth is catalyst in some way for one of these past events. " In the fifth issue, Sabretooth shows up [in a flashback and plays] a pivotal role in how Logan became Wolverine."
There are currently no plans for Sabretooth appear during any of the real-time sequences, but as Way assured that Victor Creed would have a role in Origins in the future. "He's an almost constant presence in Wolverine's life. When it comes time to tell a story that focuses on Sabretooth, he'll show up. I have plans for him and they're big."
Alonso added, "Look for Sabretooth to be a major player very soon. We've been having long, hard discussions as to how Sabretooth fits in." Both admitted that there was no definitive answer as to exactly how Sabretooth connects with Wolverine biologically (a question that has been around for two decades). There are serious talks at Marvel to decide when and how to reveal the truth, as well as what that truth might be.
Sabretooth will make another flashback appearance in the near future, again in a flashback. Longtime Uncanny X-Men Readers may remember a very popular Jim Lee story featuring Team X (which included Wolverine and Sabretooth in the '60s) on a mission in Germany. That story is going to be re-examined and fleshed out with new details.
As for the immediate future, issue six kicks off the second story arc for Origins. The second story is called Savior," Way said. "The real-time segment of the arc, Logan is going to be keeping his quest for revenge, but there's a new complication revealed in the fifth issue, which throws a wrench in [his plans]."
The ladies in Logan's life are plentiful, but two are closest to the hearts of fans. As far as Jubilee goes, Way was a bit ambiguous as to her potential future role in Origins. "Jubilee is obviously someone very important to Logan," Way said. "She filled a void that he had in his life. She is [currently] de-powered, so it could be that... she's going to be a situation where she needs Logan more than ever and Logan is going to have to make a decision whether he can be there for her. Being around Logan is not a safe place to be and that weighs heavily in his mind."
The other gal, Kitty Pryde, is "a bit different," according to Way. "Logan has a lot of different women in his life. We're going to do our best to examine these situations. Why is he always drawing these problematic women?"
Comics fans were promised Wolverine's origins a decade ago with Paul Jenkins' Origin miniseries. The mini told the story of James Howlett, a boy who would later take the name Logan. "Everything you saw in Origin is real and factual," Way said, assuring that Origin would not be disregarded. However, he added that "there's no need to go back and dig too deeply to what happened in Origin. We're more focused on the origin of the character Wolverine and not James Howlett."
As for series artist Steve Dillon, Axel Alonso was very firm in his assertion that "Dillon is on with a long term." He then added a fun tidbit about the popular artist. "He draws in a pub. He can't draw without a Guinness in his hand. He draws it in the last week [before deadline]. We'll always ship on time and it will always be Steve Dillon."
And expect a lot more Origins. A sales success the series is expected to be around for a long time. As Way noted, "We have no shortage of stories to tell with this character."
