Wolverine: Prodigal Son (manga) review

Like X-Men Misfits, this series got canned, so this is the only book in the series. Kinda sad, since I liked the book.

You know, after watching that absolutely horrid movie in 2009, you’d think that I’d be permanently turned off from Wolverine. Alas, I decided to pick this book up from ye not so local library, and was actually quite surprised by it. An important thing to remember is that like the introduction says, you really shouldn’t hang on too much too you’re previous knowledge of the character.

This story starts with a rebellious teenager in a martial arts school somewhere in Canada. We see him beating the crap out of pretty much all of the other students, with the exception of one who breaks his leg. He manages to pin her just like all the rest of the students, just  with more trouble. We find out that the girl is known as Tamara, the headmaster’s daughter, and the guy with the long black hair is Logan, which as we all know is Wolverine’s real name.

After a bit of angst about how Logan’s a freak because he healed that broken leg up in a few minutes, then a major trial that Logan and Tamera have to face, and Logan and the sensei wind up in New York City. This leads to Wolverine realizing that the world is much bigger than he thought it was. Finally, some ninjas break things up leading to Wolverine hunting them down.

The first thing that struck me was “WHY is there a hardcore Japanese martial arts school in the middle of Canada?” something just felt a little shoehorned to make it feel more “manga.” Another thing, if Wolverine has lived his whole life at a martial arts school, how come he knows how to hotwire a car and is a great driver? Little things like this frustrate me a bit, but they don’t necessarily ruin the book.

Overall, this is an interesting alternate take on Wolverine, without worrying about about a million years of continuity. Along with that, the author’s wouldn’t have had to worry about stepping on anybody’s toes if they continued the plot, meaning Wolverine’s actions could have larger consequences than they do in the Marvel universe. They haven’t even made any references suggesting that the X-Men would be involved in this book.

While the plot takes very few risks, I did not find myself wanting to put the book down, which is a solid sign. The art style is a bit rougher than X-Men Misfits, although Wolverine looks a little too bishounen for my tastes, since Wolverine is the paragon of manliness in the Marvel Universe. However, this is an origin issue, so it is quite possible that they could have planned to turn him into a much gruffer, beefier Wolvie we know and love. Alas, without the universe binding the authors, they could go any direction they would like, creating this thing called SUSPENSE, which every project involving Wolverine lacks.

Since this series did not get continued, I would only suggest the book if it was on sale, or checking it out for the novelty of it. Definitely better than that atrocious movie that came out in 2009 though, so I will give it that.

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