Wolverine's Son Officially Gets a Happy Ending in X-Men Lore
In the recent Inglorious X-Force #2 - from Tim Seeley, Michael Sta. Maria, Romulo Fajardo Jr. and Joe Caramagna - Cable continues his investigation into Hellverine, Archangel and Boom-Boom, seeking to discover who is destined to kill Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel once she becomes the first mutant president.
Cable seeks out a villain who has trapped a literal angel, freeing the supernatural being while his team clash with the evil-doer. As a reward, Cable asks the Angel to tell him the future of Wolverine's son, Akihiro, aka the Hellverine.
The Ephemeral Angel confirms that Akihiro isn't the killer Cable is looking for, then shockingly goes further, confirming the former 'Daken' is destined for happiness, stating, "Evil is behind him. Ahead is redemption and eventually... peace."
Akihiro was introduced in 2006 as Wolverine's long-lost son - a vicious villain who used his pheromone-control powers to seduce those he found useful, and his vicious claws to kill those he didn't. Daken hated Wolverine so much that he planned to kill the young students of Logan's mutant academy, forcing Wolverine to do the unthinkable and kill his own son.
Akihiro later returned to life and began repairing his relationship with Wolverine, becoming a hero and eventually a valued ally to the X-Men. While he was slain during the recent Sabretooth War, he returned by bonding with the demonic Bagra-ghul, becoming the Hellverine and hunting down evil.
Akihiro's Ending Is Major Good News for Wolverine Fans
Given this vision of Akihiro's future comes from a literal angel, it seems pretty set in stone, and that's huge news for fans of the character. Akihiro is one of the most tortured characters in Marvel lore. After his pregnant mother was assassinated by the Winter Soldier, Akihiro was left behind by Wolverine, who didn't know he'd survived.
He was then abducted by the villainous Romulus and turned into his attack dog via an abusive childhood, with Akihiro suffering due to his parentage, branded with the 'Daken' - or 'mongrel' - nickname. Akihiro has killed innocents and those who trusted him, and is currently inhabited by a literal demon, so few fans thought he'd find 'peace' anytime soon.
They were half right - while Akihiro's happy ending is somewhere in the nebulous future, it's now confirmed by literal word of God. Not only has the Hellverine overcome his past as a villain, but true redemption is on its way, with peace to follow. Of course, the promise of 'peace' could be a verbal trick indicating that Akihiro will die, but if that path also includes redemption, it's likely one he'd want to follow anyway.
How and why Wolverine's son will be redeemed is still an open question, however his work with X-Force may be the answer. While Akihiro doesn't know the full truth of Cable's mission, he does know that he's fighting to save Kamala Khan, allowing her to become the leader who finally makes human/mutant coexistence possible. Should he succeed, it may actually be possible for X-Men's Akihiro to wash away the sins of his past and live the rest of his life in peace.
Inglorious X-Force #2 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Created By
Roy Thomas, Len Wein, John Romita Sr.
First Appearance
The Incredible Hulk (2023)
Alias
James "Logan" Howlett
Alliance
X-Men, Avengers, Canadian Army, OSS/CIA, Avengers Unity Squad, Alpha Flight, New Avengers, New Fantastic Four, Savage Avengers, Weapon X, X-Force
Race
Human-Mutant
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English (US) ·