Unless Power Pack Vs Marvel Zombies is in the works, this is likely to stand for quite some time as Marvel’s most curious crossover. Mike Carey’s physiological take on Charles Xavier’s past has misfired several times during its brief life. However, it’s hard to see how its problems could be remedied by briefly merging it with Daniel Way’s distinctly retro Logan solo book. Judging by this one-shot opener, the two titles have brought out each other’s worst traits.

Original Sin’s linchpin is Draken, the estranged son which Way introduced early in Origins’ life. The bulk of the issue is context, with the young man falling in with even worse company than usual, while his father turns to the figure who helped him rise above a similar life. Way writes only a minority of the book’s pages, but the absurdly conservative characterisation he deploys sours the entire issue. In order to show Wolverine acting solo, he engineers a spat with Cyclops, with a momentary misunderstanding turning quickly to violence. Unfortunately, a number of plot details make the clash look like merely a playful conforming to type. If Logan really wanted to harm Scott, he’d only have to open his mind to Emma about his recent extra-curricular activities, while Cyclops doesn’t even threaten to deploy his eye beams. The scene merely exists as a lazy and unconvincing backdrop to the issue, sending Wolverine out into the city for the bulk of the action.

With Origins providing the a-story, Legacy’s contribution to the title is delivered as flashbacks to the formation of the All-New, All-Different X-Men. Unfortunately, Carey’s retcon work here is severely hampered by both the lifting of the twist from Mark Miller’s first Ultimate X-Men arc, and the fact that this story was comprehensively rewritten by Ed Brubaker only a couple of years ago. While the threading of Vulcan into the proceedings cleared up one of the X-franchise’s long-standing niggles, it’s hard to see any benefits arising from such a laboured and clichéd amendment. Mike Dedato’s sketchy, ink-heavy art complements the story well, but unfortunately Scott Eaton turns in some his weakest work to date for chapter two of the tale. The lack of texture in the images suggests a pressing deadline, and although his gift for expressions never quite deserts him, several backgrounds consist of only a couple of lines. Sadly, this perfunctory pencilling suits the book’s content perfectly.

Tags: Daniel Way, Mike Carey, Mike Deodato Jr., Original Sin, Scott Eaton, Wolverine, X-Men
Publisher: Marvel