Origin (alternatively known as Wolverine: Origin or Origin: The True Story of Wolverine) is a six-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics from November 2001 to July 2002, written by Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada and Paul Jenkins, and illustrated by Andy Kubert (pencils) and Richard Isanove (color). Origin tells the story of the superhero Wolverine, best known as a member of the X-Men. Since the character first appeared in the early 1970s his history had often been shrouded in mystery, with bits of information revealed piecemeal over time (notably in Weapon X), but this series was the first to reveal Wolverine's early days and his original background. In their introductions, some of those who worked on the series express their reluctance to reveal the actual origins of one of the comic world's most popular and mysterious characters. Even Wolverine himself has few recollections of where he came from, and this was considered an essential part of his appeal. Plot The series reveals that Wolverine was born James Howlett, the son of rich plantation owners in late-19th-century Canada. He is a sickly child who suffers from allergies, so his loving father, John Howlett, Jr., brings an orphaned girl named Rose up from the town to be his companion. The two children also often play with Dog Logan, son of the Howletts' cruel groundskeeper, Thomas Logan (who looks a lot like the fully-grown Wolverine). Readers are led to believe that Dog was the young Wolverine, but this is later revealed to be not the case. The children's friendship is spoiled by the tension between the boys' fathers centering on James' mother, Elizabeth, who went mad after her first son, John, died under mysterious circumstances years earlier. Rose later stumbles upon Elizabeth changing, and sees that she has three parallel scars along her ribs, hinting that John Howlett III had claws. As a result of beatings and alcohol, Dog, over the next few years, becomes increasingly like his father, and his misdeeds, including an attempted assault on Rose and the killing of James' dog, become so violent that he and his father are expelled from the manor. Thomas returns for the purpose of robbing the Howlett estate and to convince Elizabeth to leave with him (it is implied that they had an affair and that Thomas may be the biological father of Elizabeth's sons). John Howlett enters the bedroom after hearing