Daken
Daken is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Akihiro was created by writer Daniel Way and artist Steve Dillon and first appeared in Wolverine: Origins #5
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Akihiro is the mutant son of Wolverine and his deceased wife Itsu, possessing superhuman abilities similar to his father as well as pheromone manipulating powers. Raised by Romulus as a ruthless killer, Akihiro was conditioned to hate Wolverine, blaming his father for his supposed abandonment, his mother's death and traumatic childhood and took his childhood slur Daken as his codename. Akihiro was a member of the Dark Avengers under his father's moniker Wolverine, the Brotherhood of Mutants and at one point was a Horseman of Death. Originally depicted as a supervillain and antihero, Akihiro later reforms himself as a superhero after relocating to Krakoa, making peace with his father and becoming a member of X-Factor and the Marauders, eventually earning the title of Fang for his heroism. After becoming bonded to the demon Bagra-ghul, Akihiro becomes the newest Hellverine.
Akihiro was ranked sixth in Comics Alliance's 2013 list of "50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics" and is often recognized for his sex appeal.
Publication history
Creation and ''Wolverine: Origins''
Akihiro first appeared in Wolverine: Origins #10, created by writer Daniel Way and artist Steve Dillon. Regarding Akihiro's role in Wolverine: Origins and his relationship with his father, Way stated that whereas Logan is attempting to "take control of his destiny", Akihiro is heading down the opposite direction, "hacking, slashing and going nuts". He also stated that what Akihiro needs in his life is guidance, something that Logan is struggling to offer him. But in order to achieve that they first must kill Romulus. Additionally, Way revealed that Akihiro's role would increase in 2009 and that by the end of Wolverine: Origins, his past would intentionally remain open to provide a "fertile ground for years... worth of stories". In addition to appearing in Origins, and the fourth volume of the definitive Wolverine title, Akihiro was also given a solo series, Daken: Dark Wolverine. The series ran for 23 issues.''Dark Avengers''
Following the conclusion of his story arc in Wolverine: Origins and the events of Dark Reign, Akihiro became a member of Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers and took up the mantle Wolverine in Dark Avengers #1. Regarding his use of Akihiro on the team and the character's motivation for joining the Dark Avengers, Brian Michael Bendis said:Akihiro is one of the best things to come out of Origins, and what better way to piss off his father? He's an iconic and legacy character attached to a number of cool things in the Marvel Universe, but he really hasn't had a lot of face time with it. So we can really roll up our sleeves and see what we've got there and help create a character. I'm not taking anything away from Daniel Way, his creator, but I am saying once a character gets rolling it's interesting to see him interacting with different types of characters. You take him out of the Wolverine book to see what he's made of. It's much like with Wolverine, when you took him out of 'Hulk' , he became something else.
During the Utopia crossover-event that lasted from June to September 2009, Osborn also assigned Akihiro as a member of the Dark X-Men. Matt Fraction, who wrote Akihiro in Dark Avengers / Uncanny X-Men: Utopia described Akihiro as erudite, cultured and flamboyant and as "the metrosexual Wolverine". Similarly to Bendis, Fraction stated that
Akihiro's reasons for joining the Dark X-Men is both because he loves the attention and because it makes "his dad's blood boil". Akihiro remained a member of Osborn's team until Dark Avengers #16, where he managed to avoid capture.
''Dark Wolverine'' and characterization
In conjunction to his role on Dark Avengers, Akihiro also took over the starring role in the fourth volume of Wolverine starting with issue 75, where it was retitled to Dark Wolverine. The series was co-written by Way and Marjorie Liu. Liu, who hadn't written Akihiro before, decided to work on the series after being asked by Way due to Akihiro being "slightly psychotic, highly intelligent, very manipulative and ha daddy issues", traits which she found interesting to work with as a writer. Way stated that while the Dark Avengers appear as supporting characters in the series, Dark Wolverine is about what Akihiro does while away from the team. He further described Dark Avengers as Akihiro's grand entry into the Marvel Universe and that while his joining the Avengers was not part of his original plan for the character, he feels that it fits with his initial plans of having Akihiro "get out into the world" and encounter other characters. Regarding the character's personal reasons for joining the team, Way stated that it allows Akihiro to pervert and destroy the legacy built by his father.Regarding Akihiro's characterization, Liu described him as someone who is confident in his own abilities and superiority, despite never having actually tested them "on the world stage". But since taking up the mantle of Wolverine means being in the public eye, he gets to "live a little and spread his wings face the fact that there are people just a bit better at the game than him". Way stated that Akihiro's goal is to not simply kill Romulus for the role he played in his mother's death but also to become the new Romulus. On whether Akihiro joining the Dark Avengers means he's being redeemed or not, Liu stated that in order for someone to want to achieve redemption, they first need to believe they've committed an act that requires atonement, and Akihiro doesn't feel any guilt for his past actions. She also described him as elegant, preferring to use his brains over his brawn. She further stated that Akihiro is unable to form meaningful relationships, with the ones he does form being based on how he can use the people around him. His father is the one exception, who manages to "ruffle his emotions".
''All-New Wolverine'' and ''Iceman''
Following the events of "Secret Wars", Akihiro made his first appearance in All-New Wolverine #25.Krakoan Age, redemption and name changes
As part of the Krakoan Age of X-Men storyline, Akihiro was given a starring role in X-Factor during the "Dawn of X" relaunch, with X-Factor writer Leah Williams explaining that Akihiro's inclusion was due to the team needing a "fucky thot enforcer". After X-Factor's cancelation, Akihiro would later star in 2022's Marauders series during the "Destiny of X" relaunch.X-Factor and Marauders showcased Akihiro overcoming his villainous past and carving a more heroic identity for himself, ultimately culminating in Akihiro making peace with his father and dropping the pejorative "Daken" in favor of the honorific "Fang". Marauders writer Steve Orlando, acknowledging the discomfort with the name "Daken" and the derivativeness of "Dark Wolverine", said of Akihiro's name change and character development:
So he wanted to earn something. And as a character who, since Leah Williams had been working with him before, has sort of been trying to figure out how to rectify all that he’s been through, all these toxic emotions, having a name that is really his, felt like the right moment. So it’s a confluence as always of history and story, but also it’s what felt right for the character. He doesn’t want to be Wolverine’s kid anymore. He doesn’t want to be Wolverine’s arch enemy. He needs something that is his own and making this an honorific within the Lupak culture just felt right. Specifically calling it honorific is something we did that was additive, but it's already been established that when someone in the Imperial Guard is killed, they get replaced by someone who suspiciously looks almost just like them. So what we did was build off what was there to give Akihiro something that was truly his own.
In 2023, Fang appeared in the Alpha Flight limited series, which was part of the "Fall of X" relaunch. In January 2024, Fang was killed off in Wolverine #41, written by Victor LaValle and Benjamin Percy and drawn by Geoff Shaw and Cory Smith; Akihiro's death is used as a catalyst for the "Sabretooth War" storyline. Later that May, the first issue of the Hellverine miniseries written by Percy and drawn by Julius Ohta would reveal a resurrected Akihiro to be the true identity of the titular protagonist as a plot twist.
Hellverine and new solo series
After the Hellverine miniseries concluded in August 2024, it was announced that Hellverine would be starring in another self titled ongoing series beginning in December, with Percy returning as writer and Raffaele Ienco taking over for art. The new ongoing would focus on Akihiro embracing his new identity and struggling with his co-dependency with the demon Bagra-ghul while under the tutelage of Doctor Strange. Percy elaborated that moral complications would be the defining trait of the new series, which would delve into Akihiro's past history as a supervillain, and confirmed that Akihiro's love interest Aurora and other members of his friends and family and the supporting cast from the mini series would be making appearances along with hinting at Mephisto's involvement as a major antagonist.Hellverine was intended to appear in the ongoing series Spirits of Violence in March 2025 until the series was canceled a month before its release. However, it was announced in July that Spirits of Violence would be revived as a five-issue limited series, set for an October release.
In October 2025, it was announced that Hellverine would appear in the ongoing series Inglorious X-Force as a new member of X-Force. Set for January 2026 release, the series will be written by Tim Seeley and illustrated by Michael Sta. Maria and will be part of the "Shadows of Tomorrow" event.