Wolverine: Origins #25
Wolverine: Origins #25 serves as a structurally clever capstone to the 'Deep End' arc, revealing that the entire Wolverine-versus-Deadpool slugfest spanning five issues was itself a long con: Wolverine had orchestrated his own near-death at Deadpool's hands to lure Daken into the open, where the Winter Soldier could neutralize him with a carbonadium bullet. As a milestone 25th issue, Marvel chose to pack in a full reprint of New Mutants #98 — Deadpool's actual first-ever appearance — tying the two characters' shared history together in a single anniversary package. The issue also marks the end of Steve Dillon's uninterrupted run as series artist, a streak that held from issue #1 through #25, giving the book a rare visual consistency across its first two-plus years.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Wolverine: Origins launched in June 2006 as a direct outgrowth of House of M and the 'Origins and Endings' storyline, with writer Daniel Way and artist Steve Dillon collaborating from the very first issue. The series was conceived to finally excavate Wolverine's recovered memories — restored after House of M — and Dillon remained the sole penciler through this 25th-issue milestone before handing art duties to Stephen Segovia with issue #26. The 'Deep End' arc running through issues #21–25 was thematically designed around dueling traps: Deadpool hunting Wolverine for hire and Wolverine using that hunt as cover to spring his own ambush on Daken. Editor John Barber shepherded the issue under Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Written by Daniel Way with pencils and inks by Steve Dillon — Dillon's final issue as series artist after holding that role continuously since issue #1.
- Concludes the five-part 'Deep End' arc (Wolverine: Origins #21–25), in which Deadpool is hired to kill Wolverine, with the Winter Soldier revealed as the employer orchestrating the scheme.
- The central plot twist: Wolverine had himself arranged the entire contract on his own life as a ruse to draw Daken out into the open, culminating in the Winter Soldier shooting Daken in the head with a carbonadium bullet — which suppresses a mutant's healing factor — rendering him unconscious.
- Daken (Akihiro), Wolverine's son, appears as a key character; his first appearance in the series was Wolverine: Origins #10, making #25 a pivotal story beat for the character rather than a debut.
- As a 25th-issue anniversary bonus, the complete New Mutants #98 (1991) — the first appearance of Deadpool, plotted and penciled by Rob Liefeld and scripted by Fabian Nicieza — was reprinted inside the issue, making it an oversized 48-page comic.
- Cover art for the issue was produced by Simone Bianchi and Simone Peruzzi; interior coloring by Matt Milla, lettering by Cory Petit.
- The issue was subsequently collected in the Wolverine: Origins TPB Vol. 5: The Deep End, Wolverine by Daniel Way: The Complete Collection Vol. 3, and the Deadpool vs. Wolverine TPB Vol. 1.
- Other characters appearing include the Winter Soldier (James Buchanan Barnes), Black Widow, Emma Frost, and Cyber (Silas Burr) in flashback sequences, reflecting the broader Romulus conspiracy storyline threading through the series.
Reprints
Reprinted in Wolverine by Daniel Way: The Complete Collection #3 (2017), Deadpool by Daniel Way Omnibus #1 (2018)
Key issues in Wolverine: Origins
Other variants of Wolverine: Origins #25 (1)
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