The issue works best as a tale of Wolverine in action. He blows himself up in order to get inside the Embassy where Raven is holed up. He calls in favors from Al Qaeda members whose lives he saved in the 80s. And he does everything in his power to take Raven down, even using psychological tactics to piss her off and call her out on her cowardice.

Aaron has a definite feel for the character of Logan. He is a hero, through and through. He isn't a vindictive murderer, he has a purpose. Aaron is revealing layers underneath of what has made Logan who he is, and the only thing that makes little sense in this issue is the timeline and the explosion. In Origin, we were told Wolverine was born right before the turn of the century, so if we figure he was about 10 to 14 when he first popped his claws, wouldn't that put him at just about 1910 or so when that happened? Making him roughly 24-30 when he meets Raven? I know that I'm thinking too much on this, and they never put an exact date on when he was born, but Garney draws Logan from the 1920s the exact way he draws him now. So maybe he was born in the later 1800s and his actual age in 1920 is closer to mid 30s (but of course, with the healing factor, he will always look the same).

The explosion makes the least bit of sense. The storyline preceding this story arc involved Wolverine dying and coming back with a less amplified healing factor, one that wouldn't be able to take the same type of punishment he could take before (re: being caught in an explosion). And yet, this issue and Logan #2 show him essentially being blown to bits and growing back from that. Inconsistent and a little strange, I just wish they would go so far as to actually explain how he can do these things. Guggenheim before Aaron attempted to, but still, is it mystical? Is he an External (if they still exist)? What is it?

Back to the book...

Ron Garney's art takes on a decidedly sketchier look as this arc continues, and that's due to no inker being part of this process. I am a huge fan of Garney, and not much is lost in the translation of his book not including the ink. He is still a very strong artist, and the work shines through even stronger in the desert scenes. The grime and texture of the desert can be seen completely through his sketchier work. He is a sight to behold, and as mentioned before about Aaron staying on the book, I wish Garney could accompany him. The man is a workhorse (unlike McNiven who maybe hits a deadline when he has a 7 month advance) and his art works really well for the character. Maybe they can come back once the next story arc is over and be the ongoing voice this book sorely lacks.

An open suggestion to Marvel: Why not the revolving creative teams on Wolverine: Origins instead of Wolverine? It makes more sense for a series not necessarily devoted to a linear story-arc to have different revolving teams, especially since those teams could tell alternating stories about Logan's past. Whatever.

To sum up: We are this close to Wolverine offing another one of his villains. Another major villain might be taken out in the conclusion in the next issue, and to be honest, I am completely looking forward to Wolverine killing her. It means that the creators have to stop being lazy and relying on crap characters who have been overused (Sabretooth, Magneto, Eddie Brock Venom, the Kingpin, etc.) and it forces them to think up new threats for our favorite heroes. One can only hope that maybe in the future Wolverine will face villains like Doctor Octopus or some of Cap's villains and maybe the Avengers might face Roughhouse and Bloodscream. Just throw some strange villains at our eponymous heroes and see how they fare against them. What I wouldn't give for Wolverine's battle against the Sinister Six.

Jason Aaron is a true, fresh voice for the character of Wolverine. He has the badass qualities we all want him to have, as well as a hero edge that keeps him from going overboard and killing soldiers just doing their jobs. Aaron and Garney are a strong team who deserve the Wolverine book, and maybe, just maybe, we'll get to see them again.