Queer Comic Book Characters: Daken Akihiro (Oct 2nd)

Not all queer characters are good people. Daken is a sociopath and a killer. In fact, he’s rather a bad stereotype of a predatory bisexual person. He can generate pheromones to attract and manipulate people. Only instead of breaking your heart, he may just break your neck. Daken’s also the son of Wolverine. Maybe that isn’t surprising. (Yep, just being a Wolverine hater.)

Daken Akihiro

Daken Akihiro
Daken

Daken is a rather new character on the scene, only created in 2007. However, his history has him born in 1946 to Wolverine and Itsu. Or actually, Itsu’s killed by the Winter Solider while she’s pregnant; Wolverine thinks both his wife and baby have been killed; and Daken is cut out of his mother’s womb and survived due to inheriting his father’s healing factor. Now if that doesn’t start him out on the messed up train of life, I don’t know what else would. (And really, cut out of his mother’s womb, how Women in Refrigerators.)

Daken is raised by adopted parents in Japan. Later, in more tragedy, they disown him and die. At the same time, Daken’s bone claws appear. All this was apparently orchestrated by Romulus, leader of the Lupines and super manipulator of Wolverine’s life. Daken then starts working with Romulus, thinking that Romulus is training him in order to take over his empire.

Of course, Daken decides that he needs to kill his biological father Wolverine. And Wolverine also plans on killing Daken. (I’m a little confused about why Wolverine’s going to kill his son. But what can I say besides that I was never in love with Wolverine’s manpain.)

Daken and Wolverine fight
Father and son fight each other. This happens more frequently than you'd think.

To insult his father even more, Daken takes Wolverine’s place in Osborn’s Dark Avengers. It’s clear that no matter who’s controlling Daken — Osborn or Romulus — Wolverine is always Daken’s major motivation. Talk about daddy issues.

My favorite thing Daken did in Dark Avengers was constantly flirting with Bullseye and pushing Bullseye’s image of himself a straight man to the test. That was beyond entertaining, in one sociopath taunting a psychopath way.

Daken and Bullseye kiss
At the height of his manipulations, Daken convinces Bullseye to stay in a losing battle with a kiss.

Daken was the only one of the Dark Avengers to evade arrest after Osborn and his team attacked Asgard. Of course, he only got far enough for his father to knock him out and rip out his wrists claws, which had been coated with the special Wolverine-and-family killing element. How it didn’t kill Daken after being molded on his skin, I don’t know either.

Currently, Daken’s story is being relaunched in a series called Daken. Maybe he’ll make up with his father. Maybe he’ll become a good guy. Maybe he’ll kill some people and mess with other people’s heads. Something tells me it’s going to be the latter rather than the former.

Daken stabs Norman Osborn
This is how Daken quits his job with the Dark Avengers.

For a really brilliant in-depth look at Daken’s sexuality, I really suggest reading Jennifer of the Fantastic Fangirls article: Daken Akihiro, For Your Entertainment.

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0 Replies to “Queer Comic Book Characters: Daken Akihiro (Oct 2nd)”

  1. That would be so freaking sweet if they did it to where Daken has the Metal Claws and where Wolverine tries to tell him that he didn’t kill his mother. Just think on how cool that would be.

  2. “And Wolverine also plans on killing Daken. (I’m a little confused about why Wolverine’s going to kill his son)…”

    The answer lies in Uncanny X-Force #29. The story tells the X-Force team (including Wolverine) has been transported to an alternative post-apocalyptic future. When mission finished, as they say goodbye, Wolverine receives parting words from his future self, saying that Daken will kill all the innocent students at his school (Wolverine later runs the mutant school). Then Wolverine knew he had to kill Daken. No other choice.

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