X-Men: Original Sin #1 (of 1)
Writers: Daniel Way and Mike Carey
Art: Mike Deodato with Rain Beredo and Scot Eaton with Andrew Hennessy and Jason Keith
“Original Sin: Part 1 of 5″
Marvel Comics
X-Men: Original Sin #1 is a one-shot that kicks off a 5 issue crossover between X-Men: Legacy and Wolverine Origins entitled (you guessed it) Original Sin. The plot of the story was a collaborative effort between writers Daniel Way and Mike Carey, although it seems to me there’s a lot more editorially-driven business here than Marvel would like to admit.
“What’s that you say? X-Men Legacy isn’t selling as well as “Adjective-less” X-Men was? And you say Wolverine Origins has been consistently losing numbers because it’s so decompressed? Well, hell, let’s stick the two together, slap a cool name onto it and see where it goes!” Now, I follow both of the involved titles anyway, so I’m certainly entering this crossover with an open mind….but the whole thing screams of a desperate attempt to regain readers to me.
In the pages of Wolverine Origins, Wolverine discovers that he has a son. Yes, it turns out that when Sabretooth murdered his pregnant wife Itsu way back when, he was actually under orders from the mysterious figure named Romulus to take control of Logan’s soon-to-be-born son by any means necessary — even if that meant tearing the child from his dying mother’s womb.
The boy was taken to Japan and left on the doorstep of a young couple that was unable to conceive. Romulus watched from the shadows as the ugly, awkward, obstinate child grew older. His peers teased him over his stature, granting him the nickname “Daken” (which is Japanese for “mongrel”). Daken’s rage grew over the years, and he eventually lashed out by murdering a village boy who was bullying him.
Daken’s mother held suspicions that he was responsible for the murder, and became increasingly frightened and withdrawn. As his mutation started to develop (enhanced senses….what else), he became more and more aware of his mother’s loathing. It is heavily implied that Romulus sowed these seeds of hatred in Daken somehow.
Years later, his parents were able to conceive a child. Daken resented his brother for making him feel unworthy. His inferiority complex is a central focus of his character.
Daken confronts his mother, calling her weak and foolish for cherishing a helpless child over a “warrior” like himself. That night, his mother is horrified to discover that her child is missing. As she runs outside to the clearing in the pouring rain, she realizes she is too late — Daken has killed her baby.
She lunges at him in a fury, and in this instant, Daken’s second mutation manifests itself: bone claws. He inadvertantly impales his mother. Unable to go on after witnessing this tragedy, Daken’s father renounces Daken as his son and kills himself. Daken, now dejected and alone, has nowhere else to turn but the dark embrace of Romulus… Continue reading ‘Comic Review ~ X-Men: Original Sin #1′
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