Wolverine #1 (November 1988)

In the 1970s and 1980s, the anti-hero became a rather popular character archetype. In The Incredible Hulk #181 (November 1974), one of Marvel's most iconic anti-heroes would make his full debut (after cameoing in the previous issue). He is known by many names. Logan. James Howlett. But most know him as...the Wolverine.

Considering the times, it made sense that he would be regarded as one of the most popular members of the X-Men. Appropriately enough, he would be the first member of the X-Men to get his own spin-off series. His first spin-off was actually a miniseries penned by Chris Claremont and drawn by Frank Miller. This miniseries would expand on his solo mythos and help establish his ties to Japan. He also fought ninjas because it was the 80s, and ninja-mania was running wild, brother!

The comic we're looking at here today is the first issue of his ongoing series. I figured that in honor of Hugh Jackman returning as Wolverine, I'd give this comic a look. This is Wolverine #1!

The cover is a John Buscema and Al Williamson piece. It's pretty cool, depicting our man Logan standing on a pile of bodies. A nice little detail is the outfit Wolverine is wearing here. During Claremont's time on the title, Wolverine never wore his X-Men costume. Instead, he wore a plain black outfit with eye black around his eyes as a sort of "mask". This cover also gives the impression that these stories will be darker than the standard adventure.

"Sword Quest"
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: John Buscema
Inker: Al Williamson
Colorist: Glynis Oliver 
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins in a small island in the Indonesian archipelago. A group of pirates managed to hijack the passenger plane. The leader of the pirates, a Banapur Khan, killed the captain by reliving him of his head.

The pirates managed to kill most of the crew and passengers, but there is someone on the island intent on avenging those souls: our man Logan. Wolverine is easily able to take out the guard watching the plane, taking advantage of their complacency. He's also easily able to get past their booby traps, clearly familiar with them. On his way, he saves a woman from the wrath of one of the pirates. Logan also has another mission. He's looking for a particular passenger: Naburo Kojima. He finds the man, and he's...not in great shape.

"Time and place, man."

Kojima finds it hard to believe it's Logan, as he thinks the man is dead. Khan and his crew enter the building, holding the woman he saved earlier by the hair. And now we have a fight.

There are about a hundred pirates, and one Logan. The odds don't look good...for the pirates. They go down easily thanks to Logan's fighting skills, his healing factor, his adamantium claws, and his sheer ferocity.  

You may be asking, "Who is Naburo Kojima, and why is Logan after him"? Well, he's not on Logan's hitlist. Kojima was the personal secretary of Mariko Yoshida, our man's main squeeze. The woman Logan rescued earlier finds Kojima's body. Meanwhile, Logan is still working on turning the pirates into hamburger meat. One pirate tries to cut off his neck, but it doesn't work. 

"What?! This sword cost me 300 bucks on eBay!"

Remember, Logan's bones are lined with Adamantium, too. Including his spinal column. Which means they're as indestructible as his claws. Which makes that attempt to behead him pretty funny. Khan finds the dead pirates, and it's got him sweating.

A desperate Khan grabs a woman and puts a knife to her throat. Logan warns him if Khan kills that woman, there will be nowhere he can hide from the Wolverine. Khan gets to a motorboat, taking his hostage with him. He plans to grab more men, and the lady will be able to get him a nice bit of cash from slavers. However, Khan gets one more surprise.

"it's always the ones you never expect to have a gun."

Remember that woman Logan rescued earlier? She was on the boat and had a gun. That woman was one of the flight's stewardesses and shot Khan to avenge the plane's Captain. Logan returns to the dying Kojima. With his last breaths, he explains that the pirates were hired by an organization: The Cult of the Black Blade. They're after the Muramasa Sword, a sacred talisman to them. There are couriers who have the sword heading to Madripoor Airport from America the next day. Lady Mariko is unaware of how much danger they are truly in. The Cult can't be allowed to get that sword. For it's believed that the sword is an evil weapon, because it can corrupt and consume the souls of any who wield it...

Yeah. And considering this is the Marvel Universe, those legends are likely very, very true. Kojima dies, but Logan assures him he'll make sure Lady Mariko is aware of his faithful service to her.

Our man spends the next day at the airport, looking all the passengers over. It's here we learn a bit more about the Cult. The Cult of the Black Blade is a rather old group, maybe going as far back as the birth of Japan itself. The Cult had its share of ebbs and rises. The last time they had a big resurgence was in the 1920s, fed by rising Japanese militarism. The Cult was supposedly exterminated by General Douglas MacArthur's counter-intelligence crew during the occupation of the country post-WWII. Look like ol' Mac missed some spots. 

It's here that a young lady familiar with the X-Men makes her presence known. 

"Where can I get a sandwich around here?"

Meet Lindsay McCabe, actress, and occasional adventurer. She's here to see the sights of Madripoor, although she is unknowingly a target. This is a bit of a problem for Wolverine. You see, McCabe knows the X-Men thanks to her being a roommate of private eye Jessica Drew, aka the first Spider-Woman. But she believes the X-Men are dead. that's because the X-Men seemingly died battling a demon called the Adversary in Uncanny X-Men #227 (March 1988). He bumps into her, and she seems to not recognize him, which is a relief to our man.

McCabe grabs a taxi. Logan spots some men hired by the cult going to follow her in their own car, but he secretly uses his claws to pop their car's tires. McCabe heads up to her hotel, where she has some guests. 

"We demand a shrubbery, Mr. Anderson..."

These folks, as well as the bellboy that helped bring Lindsay's bags to her room, are actually members of the Cult of the Black Blade. They demand to know where the Black Blade is, rummaging through her stuff. Naturally, McCabe is very confused by this. And them Wolverine does his best impression of the Kool-Aid Man. HEY LOGAN!

Logan brawls with the men, but the woman (presumably the leader of the bunch) has our man at gunpoint. McCabe helps out by giving the woman a vase to the dome, and then she has Logan at gunpoint.

She recognizes him as the man who bumped into her at the airport. He tells her Kojima sent him, and that he's dead. Been dead for a week. Which McCabe finds impossible as he spoke to her yesterday, before she left San Fran. It could be some complicated thing with clones (this is the Marvel Universe after all), but it's much simpler: the "Kojima" McCabe talked to...was an imposter. And her partner Jessica Drew is on her way to meet him. 

I enjoyed this comic. The story does have a much darker, more film noir feel to it, which gives it a nice contrast to the main X-Men book.  

If you want to read this comic for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2014 trade paperback Wolverine Epic Collection Vol. 1: Madripoor Nights. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!