A Guide To Reading ’00 Wolverine Comics

Wolverine entered the ’00s on a high, which can’t be said for much of the Marvel Universe. The ’90s were a time of great change for the character, with the loss of his adamantium, the bestial mutation, and then the return of the fabled metal in the last months of 1999. The first decade of the 21st century would prove even bigger for Wolverine and his fans, starting with a six-issue miniseries revealing the secrets of Wolverine’s past.

The year 2000 changed everything for Marvel, with Joe Quesada and Bill Jemas taking over the company. Characters like Wolverine would become one of the publisher’s focuses, and the best there is at what he does would even get a second and third series in the later years of the decade. Secrets would be revealed, things would get clearer and more convoluted, and several of the best Wolverine stories of all time would drop.

Six Creative Teams And An Origin

Erik Larsen’s last two issues of Wolverine would drop in January and February of 2000, with a crossover to The Twelve. Writer/artist Steve Skroce would take over with issue #150 for a story called “Blood Debt,” which ran to issue 153 and is beloved by Wolverine fans. It was a Wolverine in Japan story, as Wolverine is called upon to rescue his foster daughter Amiko. Next, Rob Liefeld and Eric Stephenson would join the book as writers, with Liefeld supplying art with Ian Churchill for a short arc that guest-starred Deadpool.

Joe Pruitt and Sunny Lee came on for an issue before writer Frank Tieri and artist Sean Chen took over for a run that would last until 2003’s #186. Tieri and Chen’s run is definitely a relic of its time. Marvel had gotten quite edgy during this time, and Tieri’s run played into that with some humor that definitely doesn’t always land. There are some good stories in the run, the best being the issue where Wolverine gets revenge for his defeat in The Punisher (Vol. 6) #16-17, but other than that, most of it can be skipped. Writer Daniel Way and artist Staz Johson would take over from #187 to 189, ending Wolverine (Vol. 2). That’s six creative teams in about three years, with four coming on the book in under a year.

2001 would see a story that Wolverine fans never thought they’d get. Origin finally told the story of Wolverine’s beginnings, taking readers to the mid-19th century to tell the story of James Howlett, his nursemaid Rose, and Dog, the son of Howlett’s groundskeeper. Readers knew the book was telling the story of Wolverine, but the first two issues kept secret which young man was going be the future Wolverine – Dog or James. Dog’s father, Thomas Logan, definitely looked the part of Wolverine’s father and he would be – but Dog wasn’t Wolverine.

Thomas and James’s mother had an affair, which birthed James, and years later, Thomas and Dog decided to kill James and his “father.” James’s mutation would kick in, and in a berserker rage, he’d kill Thomas and his mother, as well as scarring Dog forever. Rose and James would run away, hiding in a logging camp, until they were found by Dog, sent by James’s grandfather. This story was a landmark comic and sold like gangbusters. It’s a Wolverine classic and kicked off a decade that would reveal many secrets about Wolverine.

Wolverine Joins Marvel Knights, And Readers Learn Even More About Him

The Marvel Knights line debuted in 1998 and instantly became a bestselling imprint for Marvel. It brought Daredevil and Black Panther back to prominence, gave the Inhumans their best series ever, gave readers a middling Punisher story than an amazing one by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, introduced readers to the Sentry, and was the home of Marvel’s hottest books. Wolverine (Vol. 2)had fallen in sales since the ’90s, so in 2003, Wolverine’s series was moved over to the line with Greg Rucka and Darick Robertson getting the book.

Wolverine (Vol. 3)was a more grounded Wolverine book, and kicked off with the excellent story “The Brotherhood”. Wolverine was given a new status quo – moving from the X-Mansion to an apartment in New York City, where he got embroiled in the troubles of a neighbor. The next story arc, “Coyote Crossing” with artist Leo Fernandez, took Wolverine south of the border to investigate a semi-trailer of dead migrants before Rucka’s run ended with Robertson returning for “Return Of The Native,” where Wolverine met a woman with a mutation much like his and fought against Sabretooth to keep her out of the clutches of government authorities. Rucka’s arc was short but sweet, focusing on Wolverine more as a righter of wrongs than a superhero. The next arc would go in exactly the opposite direction, with a more superhero approach.

Writer Mark Millar was Marvel’s biggest rising star and got the nod to take over Wolverine (Vol. 3)for a yearlong arc called “Enemy Of State.” Millar got the amazing artist/inker combo of John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson for a story that saw Wolverine murdered by the new leader of the Hand Gorgon and resurrected as their assassin, battling against the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, and the X-Men. SHIELD’s deprogramming would see him go for revenge against Gorgon, closing out the story with a violent bang. Millar’s last issue of the book teamed him with Kaare Andrews for a story set in a WWII concentration camp, with Wolverine acting as a ghostly avenger against the camp commandant.

Meanwhile, Wolverine was made a part of New Avengers, finally joining Marvel’s biggest team. This would lead to him getting embroiled in House Of M. Wolverine (Vol. 3)would cross over with that story, with new writer Daniel Way and the art team of Javier Saltares and Mark Texeira coming onto the book to tell a story of Wolverine in the mutant-controlled House Of M universe. House Of M ended with Wolverine regaining all of his memories, which would lead into Way’s next story arc, “Origins & Endings,” where Wolverine remembers his dead Japanese wife Itsu and goes after the Winter Soldier, who killed her while under control of the Soviets.

Wolverine Origins Continued To Explore Logan’s Dark Past

This would lead to Wolverine’s second series, Wolverine Origins, where Way would be joined by Steve Dillon for stories that dug into Wolverine’s past. The Murasama blade, introduced at the beginning of Wolverine (Vol. 2), would be revealed to have the ability to kill people with a healing factor. Wolverine Origins would also reveal the secret of Wolverine’s son, Daken. Daken would become a major player in Wolverine stories for the next several years.

Wolverine Origins would basically become the chief Wolverine book for a time, digging into his recently revealed past, as Wolverine (Vol. 3)crossed over with Civil War in Wolverine (Vol. 3)#42-48 by Marc Guggenheim and Humberto Ramos. He would go after Nitro in revenge for the destruction of Stamford, Connecticut, and see the most ridiculous healing factor feat ever, as Wolverine regenerated his entire body after an ultra-powerful Nitro explosion. Issue 49 was a fill-in issue, and 50 would see Jeph Loeb and Simone Bianchi take over the book for a five-issue story arc that would introduce a major Wolverine character – Romulus.

“Evolution” is a story with a very mixed reception. On the one hand, it contains a couple of cool Sabretooth fights, as well as his apparent death by beheading at Wolverine’s hands with the Murasama blade, and amazing art from Simone Bianchi. However, it also introduces the plot thread of the Lupine mutants, who were said to evolve from canines. It’s one of those stories where there are strengths and weaknesses to it, but its introduction of Romulus makes it very important to Wolverine’s story in the coming years. Romulus would play a large role in Wolverine Origins and Daken’s origin.

Daken wasn’t the only Wolverine child to debut in the 2000s, as 2003’s NYX #2would introduce X-23, Wolverine’s daughter Laura. Laura didn’t really appear in Wolverine (Vol. 3)at all, although she would join the cast of Uncanny X-Men during Chris Claremont’s third run on the book. Her first meeting with Wolverine would see her nearly kill her father, showing from the beginning that Laura was more than a match for him and a force to be reckoned with. The mid-2000s was full of revelations about Wolverine, building off Origin to finally answer questions that readers had for years.

The Rise Of Old Man Logan And The End Of The Decade

Wolverine Origins would be bolstered by the inclusion of Romulus and Wolverine (Vol. 3),would see Jason Aaron, Marc Guggenheim, and artist Howard Chaykin team up “Logan Dies” before Aaron and Ron Garney would drop “Get Mystique” on readers, which would play into their upcoming Wolverine: Weapon X series that would kick off in 2009. However, Wolverine (Vol. 3) #66would see the beginning of one of the most important Wolverine stories of the 21st century – Old Man Logan, from a returning Mark Millar with artist Steve McNiven. This story took readers to the Wasteland, a future where the world’s villains had teamed up and killed nearly all the heroes.

Wolverine survived, has a wife and children, and is a pacifist farmer paying protection money to the Hulk Gang. He’s approached by a blind Hawkeye, who asks Logan to be his driver on a cross-country trip to meet with agents of the resistance. Logan agrees and so begins a road trip for the ages. Millar and McNiven take the general plot of the movie Unforgiven – a pacifist former killer called in for one more job – and mix it with post-apocalyptic superhero action and world-building for the ages. The story is a classic, with many fans considering it Millar’s best Marvel work. It would also be the last major Wolverine story of the decade.

Wolverine Origins would soldier on. As Wolverine gets closer and closer to battling Romulus and Daken, Wolverine (Vol. 3)became Dark Wolverine thanks to Dark Reign, with Daken taking his father’s place as the star of the book and doing the bidding of Norman Osborn. At the same time, Jason Aaron and Ron Garney would launch Wolverine: Weapon X. Old Man Logan would overshadow all of these, and while three Wolverine titles were running concurrently, 2009 has mostly been forgotten by longtime Wolverine fans.

Wolverine Origins still has some bearing on the character, but other than that, very little from this year needs to be experienced by anyone coming into Wolverine. However, Aaron would go on to become very important to the character’s future in the coming decade, and Wolverine: Weapon X showcases some great battles and killer art from Garney, who has always been an amazing action penciler.

The 2000s were something of a momentous decade for Wolverine. More was revealed about his past than ever before, and his joining the Avengers put him on the road to becoming a linchpin for the entire Marvel Universe. There are so many great stories from this period, and even the ones that are sort of ridiculous on the surface have something to love. They’d set the stage for the character development that would become an integral part of the character in the coming years.