Wolverine: Manifest Destiny #1
Wolverine: Manifest Destiny #1 marks the opening chapter of Jason Aaron's extended, critically regarded tenure with the character — a run that would come to define much of Logan's voice and direction for the better part of a decade. Positioned within the broader X-Men: Manifest Destiny event, which itself represented the first wholesale relocation of the X-Men's base of operations since their 1980s stint in Australia, the issue plants Aaron's Wolverine squarely in San Francisco's Chinatown to excavate a fifty-year-old chapter of Logan's pre-series past. The debut also introduces the Black Dragon (Lin) and her Black Dragon Death Squad — Rock of the Buddha, Fist of Fire, Soulstriker, and Storm Sword — as brand-new additions to the Marvel Universe, while deliberately reviving the 1970s martial-arts property the Sons of the Tiger to ground the story in Marvel's kung-fu heritage. Taken together, it establishes the storytelling template Aaron would refine across his full Wolverine run: force Logan to confront a specific, deeply personal slice of his long history and fight his way out.
In "Part One: Enter the Wolverine," Jason Aaron and Stephen Segovia launch a gripping new chapter as Wolverine returns to San Francisco, where the X-Men are setting up shop. Forced to confront the past in Chinatown, he finds himself at odds with old enemies determined to keep him out—no matter the cost. Dave Wilkins' striking cover captures the tension of a man stepping back into a place that never wanted him to return.
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The series came about as part of the X-Men: Manifest Destiny publishing initiative — a follow-up to the 'Divided We Stand' arc — in which multiple creative teams used tie-in limited series to spotlight individual X-Men characters adjusting to the team's move from Westchester to San Francisco. Aaron arrived at the assignment having already demonstrated his feel for the character with the well-received 'Get Mystique' arc in the main Wolverine title; editor John Barber shepherded the project under editor-in-chief Joe Quesada. Artist Stephen Segovia, a relative newcomer at the time, handled both pencils and inks, with John Rauch on colors and Dave Wilkins producing the painted cover — a piece prominent enough that it was later licensed for use on a Wolverine-themed computer mouse.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Released October 22, 2008 (cover-dated December 2008); a four-issue limited series running through February 2009.
- Written by Jason Aaron, with interior art (pencils and inks) by Stephen Segovia, colors by John Rauch, letters by Cory Petit, and a painted cover by Dave Wilkins.
- First appearance of the Black Dragon (Lin) and the Black Dragon Death Squad — comprising Rock of the Buddha, Fist of Fire, Storm Sword, and Soulstriker — as new Earth-616 characters.
- Also features the first appearance of Yuen Yee, and the death of Lo Jun within the same issue, per the Marvel Database character log.
- Revives and incorporates the Sons of the Tiger — Lin Sun and Abraham Brown — Marvel's 1970s martial-arts heroes, as supporting characters, tying the story to the publisher's Bronze Age kung-fu legacy.
- Part of the X-Men: Manifest Destiny event, which was the first time the X-Men changed their headquarters since briefly relocating to Australia in the 1980s, giving the limited series a firm place in X-Men continuity.
- Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner) appears as a supporting character, with flashback references to Silver Fox and a photo of Mariko Yashida deepening Logan's personal backstory.
- Reprinted in Wolverine by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 (2013) and collected in the Jason Aaron Wolverine Omnibus Vol. 1, with the series also appearing in a Spanish-language edition (Panini España's Lobezno, 2009).
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Reprints
Reprinted in X-Men: Manifest Destiny #[nn] (2009), X-Men: Manifest Destiny #[nn] (2009), Wolverine by Jason Aaron Omnibus #1 (2011), Marvel Deluxe. Lobezno #3 (2013), Wolverine by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection #1 (2013)
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