What do you think?
Rate this book
Wolverine (2010) (Collected Editions)
Wolverine, Volume 5: Back in Japan
Wolverine travels to Tokyo to confront his most dangerous enemy yet. And a new Silver Samurai rises to take the place of the old one ... along with Wolverine's daughter! Prepare for an all-new, soon-to-be-classic Wolverine story, as talented writer Jason Aaron joins forces with classic Wolverine artist Andy Kubert!
Collecting: Wolverine 300-304
Collecting: Wolverine 300-304
128 pages, Hardcover
First published July 4, 2012
6 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
Jason Aaron
2,398 books1,692 followersJason Aaron grew up in a small town in Alabama. His cousin, Gustav Hasford, who wrote the semi-autobiographical novel The Short-Timers, on which the feature film Full Metal Jacket was based, was a large influence on Aaron. Aaron decided he wanted to write comics as a child, and though his father was skeptical when Aaron informed him of this aspiration, his mother took Aaron to drug stores, where he would purchase books from spinner racks, some of which he still owns today.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
July 1, 2021
This was a fun volume.
Wolverine has to team up with Yakuza and fight the Hand who have apparently been targeting the son of Silver samurai to take his place. And when Yuki and his daughter Amiko get involved and her mysterious connection with this son, its upto Wolverine to fight these Hand and rescue his daughter and the whole drama that follows. I like how he fights these ninjas and takes them out so quickly and the way Sabretooth and Mystique are involved its fun, also great to see ladies in action. Plus the whole politics of the Asian underground network and then what Sabretooth does.
And finally good to see Aaron bringing it all to a close when he has so many villains from his past stories come together or cameo and with Wolverine kicking their asses and the fate of Melita. Its fun and maybe seems non-sensical but in classic wolverine way it has him fighting his biggest enemies and taking them out and going about his life the best way he knows how. Overall this run was great and I liked how he quickly packs things and shows the connection between Wolverine and Japan and how its so close to him. Plus the art was pretty good and the revelations better. Next up: Wolverine and the X-Men!
Wolverine has to team up with Yakuza and fight the Hand who have apparently been targeting the son of Silver samurai to take his place. And when Yuki and his daughter Amiko get involved and her mysterious connection with this son, its upto Wolverine to fight these Hand and rescue his daughter and the whole drama that follows. I like how he fights these ninjas and takes them out so quickly and the way Sabretooth and Mystique are involved its fun, also great to see ladies in action. Plus the whole politics of the Asian underground network and then what Sabretooth does.
And finally good to see Aaron bringing it all to a close when he has so many villains from his past stories come together or cameo and with Wolverine kicking their asses and the fate of Melita. Its fun and maybe seems non-sensical but in classic wolverine way it has him fighting his biggest enemies and taking them out and going about his life the best way he knows how. Overall this run was great and I liked how he quickly packs things and shows the connection between Wolverine and Japan and how its so close to him. Plus the art was pretty good and the revelations better. Next up: Wolverine and the X-Men!
February 23, 2013
Jason Aaron's writing for Marvel has dipped considerably over the last year or so, probably because he's been given a ton of books to write and some very short deadlines. On top of 2 Wolverine series, he's writing the new Hulk series, he wrote "X-Men Schism", and put the finishing touches to his indie masterpiece "Scalped". It feels like he's stretched when you read this book because it's short on inspiration or interest.
It's your average Wolverine story: Logan goes somewhere, fights a whole bunch of people, snikt happens, and then he finishes with a cold beer in hand. In this book Logan goes to Japan and fights ninjas, a new Silver Samurai emerges, more blood is shed, Logan wins, and whaddayaknow he winds up with a beer in a bar.
The book is really dull and ranks among the weakest of Aaron's Wolverine books so far. Even the closing story just seems to be any excuse for a brawl as Logan beats up Sabretooth because it's his birthday.
You'll like this if lots of fighting is all you're looking for in a comic book, but for most people who have read this author’s generally high-quality books before will find this a disappointing read. "Wolverine Fights a Buncha Ninjas" should be the title and the synopsis of this dreary book.
It's your average Wolverine story: Logan goes somewhere, fights a whole bunch of people, snikt happens, and then he finishes with a cold beer in hand. In this book Logan goes to Japan and fights ninjas, a new Silver Samurai emerges, more blood is shed, Logan wins, and whaddayaknow he winds up with a beer in a bar.
The book is really dull and ranks among the weakest of Aaron's Wolverine books so far. Even the closing story just seems to be any excuse for a brawl as Logan beats up Sabretooth because it's his birthday.
You'll like this if lots of fighting is all you're looking for in a comic book, but for most people who have read this author’s generally high-quality books before will find this a disappointing read. "Wolverine Fights a Buncha Ninjas" should be the title and the synopsis of this dreary book.
October 18, 2021
Wow this run got extremely boring, predictable, and not fun to read. Least the art stayed decent.
April 10, 2026
Good, silly fun
Going into this I was impartial to Wolverine and whilst my opinions of him haven’t changed, his rogues gallery have gone up in my estimations - Sabretooth and Mystique were mostly implemented well but the standout was Azuma Goda - the aura he possessed despite having no powers whatsoever was so cool to me
The final issue was awful however, reminiscent of the Wolverine issue from The Arms of The Octopus, something no one wants comparing to. The constant switch in art style was distracting and it contributed absolutely nothing except for filling a few extra pages and wasting my time
The story prior to this I really quite liked so I am happy to pretend the final issue doesn’t exist for the purposes of my rating - 2 stars doesn’t do justice to what was otherwise a really enjoyable read
Going into this I was impartial to Wolverine and whilst my opinions of him haven’t changed, his rogues gallery have gone up in my estimations - Sabretooth and Mystique were mostly implemented well but the standout was Azuma Goda - the aura he possessed despite having no powers whatsoever was so cool to me
The final issue was awful however, reminiscent of the Wolverine issue from The Arms of The Octopus, something no one wants comparing to. The constant switch in art style was distracting and it contributed absolutely nothing except for filling a few extra pages and wasting my time
The story prior to this I really quite liked so I am happy to pretend the final issue doesn’t exist for the purposes of my rating - 2 stars doesn’t do justice to what was otherwise a really enjoyable read
May 17, 2015
Pretty good. Lovely color and artwork. Crazy action. This is the Wolverine that most will know and love. Some interesting twists with Mystique and the dicey situation between the Hand and the Yakuza, and our esteemed hero in the middle. Things get a little confusing towards the end. But overall, stays pretty coherent and there is no disconnect between the script and the artwork.
Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars.
Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars.
June 12, 2018
Back in Japan (#300-303). Aaron's last major arc for Wolverine is one of its best. It's got an innovative and lively chapter-based storytelling structure, it makes great use of a lot of Japanese characters, and it offers a major status quo change in crime on the island. Overall, it's an excellent (and nicely self-contained) story. [5/5].
One More Round (#304). And as an actual finale, this is great. A hilarious supervillain party. Wolverine offering Sabretooth a yearly tradition of his own. Touching bases with many of the characters from Aaron's run. What more could you want? [5/5].
May 30, 2024
4/5
Awesome comic. Sabertooth is great throughout and wolverine is just absolutely brilliant. Numerous cameos from other villains and heroes such as Wilson fisk, mystique, lady deathstrike and silver samaria. The art can be a bit disappointing at times however, and the story a little jumpy. But still, The story Is both told and executed well. And to end on it, the ending is 11/10. Highly recommend.
Awesome comic. Sabertooth is great throughout and wolverine is just absolutely brilliant. Numerous cameos from other villains and heroes such as Wilson fisk, mystique, lady deathstrike and silver samaria. The art can be a bit disappointing at times however, and the story a little jumpy. But still, The story Is both told and executed well. And to end on it, the ending is 11/10. Highly recommend.
October 25, 2013
not bad imo but not necessarily memorable...love Aaron's writing in wolverine and the x-men, not sure about wolverine as a solo book...
February 27, 2021
Jason Aaron's final volume of Wolverine brings Logan back to Japan as he attempts to defuse a Hand civil war that has enveloped his old flame Yoriko, his adopted daughter Amiko, the son of the Silver Samurai, as well as Sabretooth and Mystique!
There's a lot going on in this volume. The Hand civil war is easy enough to follow, but there's a lot of double crosses and betrayals, plus the plot moves at a very fast pace across the first four issues, so it can be a bit heady at times. Not that that's a bad thing - it draws in all of the characters that Aaron has touched on in his run thus far, and feels like a good way to reset the board for Logan if not for everyone else.
The final issue is the end of the road, and mirrors the Point One issue from way back in Wolverine Goes to Hell as Wolvie gatecrashes Sabretooth's birthday party. It's a nice farewell to the character (although Aaron was still writing Wolverine & The X-Men at this point so it wasn't a complete departure), and it ends on a pretty perfect note as well.
The artwork though...woof, where do I start? There are a LOT of artists on this book, with almost everyone from the run contributing, plus Steven Sanders (who did a back-up in volume 1) stepping up as well. Frankly, it's a bit of a mess. I'm not a fan of these jam session type issues, and although Aaron tries to deliniate the artists to their own specific chapters, none of them are doing their best work at all, they don't gel well together, and it all becomes a bit of a mess and a chore to read at times.
Aaron's final arc of Wolverine has a good plot holding it together, but drawing it out can be hard when the artwork is shifting worse than a desert in a sandstorm. It's not enough to make it entirely unreadable, but it's definitely a slog when it absolutely shouldn't be. A shame.
There's a lot going on in this volume. The Hand civil war is easy enough to follow, but there's a lot of double crosses and betrayals, plus the plot moves at a very fast pace across the first four issues, so it can be a bit heady at times. Not that that's a bad thing - it draws in all of the characters that Aaron has touched on in his run thus far, and feels like a good way to reset the board for Logan if not for everyone else.
The final issue is the end of the road, and mirrors the Point One issue from way back in Wolverine Goes to Hell as Wolvie gatecrashes Sabretooth's birthday party. It's a nice farewell to the character (although Aaron was still writing Wolverine & The X-Men at this point so it wasn't a complete departure), and it ends on a pretty perfect note as well.
The artwork though...woof, where do I start? There are a LOT of artists on this book, with almost everyone from the run contributing, plus Steven Sanders (who did a back-up in volume 1) stepping up as well. Frankly, it's a bit of a mess. I'm not a fan of these jam session type issues, and although Aaron tries to deliniate the artists to their own specific chapters, none of them are doing their best work at all, they don't gel well together, and it all becomes a bit of a mess and a chore to read at times.
Aaron's final arc of Wolverine has a good plot holding it together, but drawing it out can be hard when the artwork is shifting worse than a desert in a sandstorm. It's not enough to make it entirely unreadable, but it's definitely a slog when it absolutely shouldn't be. A shame.
December 11, 2017
Reading this all I could think the entire time was, "Nah, Jason Aaron didn't write this." Aaron's work is normally tight, well-defined, and overwhelming. Here, its a muddled mess. The idea of Wolverine going back to Japan to deal with some lingering issues since the Red Right Hand is great but how this breaks down is pretty dismal. Too many villains doing too many stupid things. A bunch of random, off-panel crap is disturbing. The art was.....insanely bad. Not individually, although not all was good, but there were nearly a dozen pencillers. Page to page, a completely different tonal feel. Editorially, it makes more sense pushing the issues back than have this mess. Overall, a huge let down.
April 24, 2018
This is really too bad. All the mood and darkness in the previous volumes is gone. This was a really interesting character piece and now, with this and last volume, it's just an exercise in fights and dialog beats we've seen before a hundred times.
May 24, 2024
The cover was awesome looking, but half of the book like was garbage in the graphics and it went back and forth. The story then was also back and forth and it didn't fit in how it should have flowed. Just disappointed and glad it was from the library.
June 26, 2024
This actually winds up being surprisingly light in tone, at least by the end.
A lot of moving pieces--maybe too many--kind of whirl around while the books seems determined to move characters to different places more than tell a story.
A lot of moving pieces--maybe too many--kind of whirl around while the books seems determined to move characters to different places more than tell a story.
January 14, 2019
Wolverine goes back to Japan and get caught up in a war between the hand and the Yakuzas
March 11, 2019
I like that the one person who kicked as much ass as Wolverine was Yukio, the ninja in a wheelchair.
May 28, 2022
Over the top, violent and hilarious, as well as gripping and fun.
September 4, 2022
I just finished Jason Aaron's Wolverine and it was alright. Definite shout out to billy tan and Jason Kieth for a tip top notch. 1 V 1 Wolverine vs Sabertooth.
September 24, 2025
Original 2024 Review:
I imagine Jason Aaron laughed to himself at the jokes in this volume, like the repeated joke that Wolverine hates ninjas. Ha. Ha. But they all thud to the page in this thoroughly bad rehash of every Wolverine goes to Japan storyline written by White Guy Writers.
This time Yukio is in a wheelchair but she still wants to bone Wolverine because she still feels some things below her waist. Ha. Ha.
The writing is excruciating. Partly because Aaron is a great writer, and he must have been having fun writing this book but boy oh boy did it not translate to me enjoying reading it.
***
Updated Review From 2025 X-Reread:
I think this book suffers from coming out at the same time as Wolverine and the X-Men, Vol. 1, which is also by Jason Aaron. In that book, the lighthearted humor and the beautifully drawn action shows a real love for the material. This book feels like it's more about Aaron trying to flex his humor and his own Wolverine continuity. Unfortunately, the humor falls flat, and the continuity is really just every Wolverine story. Oh look, it's Sabertooth. Oh, look, it's Mystique. There's a new Silver Samurai. Oh, look, The Hand. Oh, look, a plan involving Japan and Madripoor. Oh no, a young woman who Wolverine is a paternal figure to is in trouble. And so is one of the many women he's loved.
While Wolverine & The X-Men plays with tropes and develops new stories, this book is weighted down by derivative storytelling, and no "I hate ninja" jokes can save it.
I imagine Jason Aaron laughed to himself at the jokes in this volume, like the repeated joke that Wolverine hates ninjas. Ha. Ha. But they all thud to the page in this thoroughly bad rehash of every Wolverine goes to Japan storyline written by White Guy Writers.
This time Yukio is in a wheelchair but she still wants to bone Wolverine because she still feels some things below her waist. Ha. Ha.
The writing is excruciating. Partly because Aaron is a great writer, and he must have been having fun writing this book but boy oh boy did it not translate to me enjoying reading it.
***
Updated Review From 2025 X-Reread:
I think this book suffers from coming out at the same time as Wolverine and the X-Men, Vol. 1, which is also by Jason Aaron. In that book, the lighthearted humor and the beautifully drawn action shows a real love for the material. This book feels like it's more about Aaron trying to flex his humor and his own Wolverine continuity. Unfortunately, the humor falls flat, and the continuity is really just every Wolverine story. Oh look, it's Sabertooth. Oh, look, it's Mystique. There's a new Silver Samurai. Oh, look, The Hand. Oh, look, a plan involving Japan and Madripoor. Oh no, a young woman who Wolverine is a paternal figure to is in trouble. And so is one of the many women he's loved.
While Wolverine & The X-Men plays with tropes and develops new stories, this book is weighted down by derivative storytelling, and no "I hate ninja" jokes can save it.
September 25, 2013
Jason Aaron is a talented writer. Look at what he's doing on WATXM. It's brilliant. And if you haven't read any of his run on the current Thor book, well, you're missing out on the greatest cape book being published right now, without a doubt. And although he's great in other aspects, with other characters, his Wolverine solo books leave much to be desired.
"Back in Japan" had me excited to see if Patch would be resurrected, maybe see more play out on a very personal level here, but instead it is nonstop action without much heart. Instead of intrigue, it's more smash-and-grab. SPOILER: And where I wanted to see a true showdown with the new Silver Samurai, I was hoping maybe Aaron would use a Millar trick to bring back the old one, instead of having Wolverine spank a useless little boy who is supposed to be Harada's heir. Whole damn book moves around this kid and in the end there's nothing special about him. Anticlimactic in every regard. Only good thing is watching Logan bust up Sabertooth's birthday party.
So like so many other writers before him, Aaron does nothing to advance or deepen the mythology- but unlike other writers, he doesn't make it any more confusing. And I'll give him points for that.
Coupled with the garbled artwork that changes artists every 2-3 pages, and sometimes every page, this is a book you can just pass up an not feel left out. I mean, jesus, this art. 5 different artists in 5 pages. Maddening.
Writing: C-
Art: F
"Back in Japan" had me excited to see if Patch would be resurrected, maybe see more play out on a very personal level here, but instead it is nonstop action without much heart. Instead of intrigue, it's more smash-and-grab. SPOILER: And where I wanted to see a true showdown with the new Silver Samurai, I was hoping maybe Aaron would use a Millar trick to bring back the old one, instead of having Wolverine spank a useless little boy who is supposed to be Harada's heir. Whole damn book moves around this kid and in the end there's nothing special about him. Anticlimactic in every regard. Only good thing is watching Logan bust up Sabertooth's birthday party.
So like so many other writers before him, Aaron does nothing to advance or deepen the mythology- but unlike other writers, he doesn't make it any more confusing. And I'll give him points for that.
Coupled with the garbled artwork that changes artists every 2-3 pages, and sometimes every page, this is a book you can just pass up an not feel left out. I mean, jesus, this art. 5 different artists in 5 pages. Maddening.
Writing: C-
Art: F
May 25, 2013
Jason Aaron ends his run on Wolverine in a way that is consistent with previous stories. It is light, entertaining, and occasionally amusing. Nothing major happens in this last story arc, it is more a tribute to the character and its history. While I'm glad I stopped buying the physical copies of this series and can read it for the low price of Marvel Unlimited, I also enjoyed seeing how the run progressed and all of the cameos of older characters was much appreciated. Much like the last volume, the art does little to grab your attention. Its not horrible, but it isn't especially pleasing either.
April 10, 2013
The "Annual" story that begins this book is so awful it feels like Aaron is making a case for editorial interference to go far far away.
At least this is my take on it.
I guess someone needs to take the blame for such doo-doo
and it is my assumption that the editors at Marvel are to blame.
But before I returned it to the library unfinished, I kept reading and found this to be pretty fun stuff.
As if Aaron is saying "ok, now that the editors are outta my face I can REALLY Have some Fun!" in rest of the book.
At least this is my take on it.
I guess someone needs to take the blame for such doo-doo
and it is my assumption that the editors at Marvel are to blame.
But before I returned it to the library unfinished, I kept reading and found this to be pretty fun stuff.
As if Aaron is saying "ok, now that the editors are outta my face I can REALLY Have some Fun!" in rest of the book.
June 26, 2017
It is always good to have Logan in Japan. But this book is inconsistent enough that it is just irritating. In between some interesting character relationships it is just loads and loads and loads of wholesale slaughter - whether from Mystique or Sabertooth or Wolverine. This could have been better. This should have been better.
July 1, 2015
The artwork in this book is confusing and bad. They jump chapter by chapter to different artists who make Wolverine and Sabertooth look like totally different characters throughout. I didn't mind the story, but it just bothered me that there was no consistency in the art at all. not a bad Wolverine tale, but don't mess with the characters so much.
January 19, 2013
I haven't enjoyed the last couple Wolverine books by Jason Aaron, this book included, as much as his early work on the Wolverine title. IMHO, Get Mystique and Insane In The Brain remain the better stories he had t tell.
August 10, 2013
Poor sorry line and although I like Adam kuberts style I really dislike the other artists. It does however set up some interesting future threads though so I'm keen to see what happens next especially with the hell fire club.
August 12, 2016
The art and story jumps around so much that it's hard to keep track of what's happening and it's all pretty incoherent!
All I know is he fights and ends up in a bar!
I love Wolverine, but this is not good.
Go *Snikt yourself Bub!
All I know is he fights and ends up in a bar!
I love Wolverine, but this is not good.
Go *Snikt yourself Bub!
July 1, 2012
Such a fun last story. Wolverine fighting ninjas and Yakuza and Sabretooth and a new Silver Samurai for not much reason? Count me in.
November 6, 2012
Cape may
March 22, 2014
Individual issues on marvel unlimited
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews