Sayonara, Daken

Daken #23 (final issue)

With issue #23 of Daken: Dark Wolverine, we say goodbye to Wolverine's son.  SPOILER: It's not only the last issue of the series, but Daken supposedly dies.  Of course, we all know how that goes in the superhero world.  After a few months of no appearances, he'll show up again.  Maybe in Marvel's new Dark Avengers ongoing series.   

It's quite sad to see Daken lose his own series.  He's a very intriguing and complex character, and I'm sure there are many excellent storylines that writer Rob Williams could have come up with for future issues.  Sadly, we'll never see them.  Instead, we'll see dozens of mediocre Avengers and X-Men comics on the shelves featuring the same characters over and over and over.  (Yes, I'm talking to you, Wolverine and Spider-Man.)

Daken #10

Daken had such great, well-written storylines when he took over Wolverine's own series for awhile that he was given his own monthly series.  Unfortunately, Daken's self-titled series started out a bit slow with the ho-hum "Wolverine Goes to Hell" and Madripoor storylines.  However, it quickly livened up when Daken hit Hollywood and writer Rob Williams came onboard and shook things up, showing us why we fell in love with Daken in the first place.  He's a bad boy.  And who doesn't love a bad boy?  I guess it was too late at this point, though.  Readers had already jumped ship and sales declined enough to warrant Daken's cancellation.  Such a pity.  Wolverine appears in all the X-books (literally) and yet his more complex, mysterious, hot-headed, selfish, bi-sexual son can't even get one. 

Here's hoping that Marvel sees the error of their ways...and Daken never does.

A Daken To Get In Bed With

When I started reading comics again in the late 2000s, I was surprised (and a little disappointed) to find out that Wolverine had a full-grown, adult son.  I felt like it was Marvel trying to capitalize on Wolverine's success since he's, undoubtedly, the most popular comic book character...ever.  Daken then took over Wolverine's title series as "Dark Wolverine" during Marvel's Dark Reign period, and that's when I discovered how different and distinct he really was.  I had to go back and read his beginnings in past issues of Wolverine: Origins.  His real name is Akihiro, but people referred to him as Daken, which translated to "bastard dog" or "mongrel," a slur on his obvious mixed heritage (his deceased mother was Japanese). 

What I found in reading Daken's misadventures was that Marvel was really pushing the boundaries with this character.  He was nothing like his father.  He was narcissistic, vain, unscrupulous, uncaring, sexually forward, and, best of all, bisexual.  Marvel handled his bisexuality (using whomever to get what he wants) tastefully, humorously, and without regret.

It was no surprise that after the whole mess that was Dark Reign ended, Daken received his own monthly series and Wolverine got his own title back (as a new series starting over at #1 as well).  The unfortunate part was that Daken was still (mis)labeled as "Dark Wolverine."  I'm sure it's all a marketing tactic for those unfamiliar with Daken (but very familiar with Wolverine), but to me it seems a bit tacky and incorrect.  

Unfortunately, the first nine issues of Daken's new series, written by Daniel Way, didn't interest me at all.  The storylines involved Daken in the "Wolverine Goes to Hell" crossover storyline, as well as Daken going to the fictional Asian island of Madripoor and taking over the criminal underground there.  Daken's series focused more on the Asian character Tyger Tiger than Daken himself.  Yawn.  Where was the Daken that I came to know and love?   And it felt like Way didn't even want to touch on Daken's bisexuality.  It's like the spirit of Daken was sucked right of him, leaving him nothing but a lame, generic character.  To quote Pretty Woman, "Big mistake.  Big.  HUGE." 

I was seriously considering removing Daken from my reading list.  Then with issue #9.1 [groan...another lame marketing tactic], Rob Williams took over writing chores.  By issue #10, Daken is taking Hollywood by storm.  Now, THIS is a Daken I can get in bed with (so to speak).  Daken is back to his most charming self.  He's using both his skills and his sexuality to get what he wants.  Thank you, Rob Williams, for bringing Daken back to life. 

Daken, Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!

My wish from my September 2009 posting came true: Daken -- Wolverine's son -- received his own series.  Unfortunately, that's where my enthusiasm ends. 

Having a day off recently, I sat down and read 4 or 5 consecutive issues of Daken: Dark Wolverine.  (By the way, I still hate that they use that title, left over from the Dark Reign days, only as an attempt to drive sales.) 

I didn't realize I had bought the new Tyger Tiger, Crime Lord of Madripoor series.  Each issue that I read of Daken was about crime lord (lordess?) Tyger Tiger, her henchmen, and other various criminals in the fictional country of Madripoor.   Did anyone bother to tell the writers that the title character should actually appear in his own comic series?  I'm all for supporting characters, but when title character BECOMES the supporting character, that's where I have a problem. 

There is so much depth, intrigue, and mystery to Daken, that to push him to supporting role status in his own comic book is equivalent to a slap in the face (and you don't want to be slapping Daken).  If I didn't already get to know him from previous comic book tales, I would have no idea who he is or what he is about from reading his new self-titled series.  The stories I recently read were of fair to mediocre quality, certainly not worthy of the complex character of Daken.  If he took over Wolverine's book for awhile and received his own title as a result of its success, don't you think he's worthy enough to have better stories written for and about him? 

Here Comes the "Reign" Again

Continuing with the "Dark Reign" storyline that Marvel Comics has basically spread throughout all of their series, I've picked up a few of the series that focus on the individuals within Norman Osborn's "Dark Avengers." You know the ones: they vaguely resemble and dress up like actual Marvel superheroes, so everyone thinks that they're the real deal, despite the obvious differences (like swearing, maiming, killing, destroying property) and the fact that the real superheroes are...actually still doing their thing. Anyway, once you suspend your disbelief at this ridiculous notion, there are some pretty decent stories going on...and some rather horrible ones.

The GOOD:
The Wolverine series has become a playground for "Dark Wolverine" instead of the normal, lovable (?), fuzzy, one-of-a-kind Wolverine. Dark Wolverine (blecch! I can't stand the "Dark" titles in every name and/or group) is actually Wolverine's son. Wolverine was apparently married long ago to a Japanese woman (but not the famous Mariko from his first limited series back in the 1980s) and had a child that he thought long since dead. Daken (Dark Wolverine) is all grown up now and sports a mohawk and tattoos underneath his mask and costume. He has similar mutant powers to Wolverine, plus a unique pheromone manipulation ability, which I find very intriguing. It's something unique that I haven't seen in comic books before. He is also struggling with his own identity, and between good and evil. Lastly, Daken seems pretty comfortable in his sexuality...whatever it may be. He made a couple of joking sexual innuendos to "Sinister Spider-Man" and The Thing to f**k with their heads, using his pheromone ability. For all of these reasons, he is a very interesting character and not just the child of a superhero with the same abilities. I hope Wolverine gets his own series back and Daken goes on to new adventures in his own series. I'd definitely invest my reading time in finding out more about him.

The BAD:
In the tradition of the new "Dark" Hawkeye limited series comes Sinister Spider-Man. Why "sinister" instead of "dark" like everyone else? Other than for alliteration purposes, who knows!? Anywho, this new Sinister Spider-Man posing as Spider-Man is actually...Venom. I know, I know. It's pretty hard to believe considering he's actually wearing the black and white Venom symbiote costume while posing as Spider-Man. It would be like me walking into work wearing a rubber Obama mask, toting myself as our President. Deceptive, right?

Apparently there have been some changes to Venom over the years. He's no longer Eddie Brock. He's now Mac Gargan, formerly the Scorpion. This in itself is kind of sad, because I always liked the idea of the Scorpion as a villain. Maybe another one is in the works. But I digress...

I read Sinister Spider-Man and all I can say is {YAWN}. It's a four-issue limited series by writer Brian Reed and artist Chris Bachalo. Reed says, "the whole Marvel Universe thinks Spider-Man is living in Avengers Tower, when it's really Mac Gargan, who has a long history as a sociopath." Venom...er, Sinister Spider-Man...er, "Spider-Man" is a womanizer, a killer, and an all-around a-hole. He's the male equivalent of a Black Widow spider. He bites the heads off the women he f**ks. And it's all on the news. So, you can see why people would naturally believe him to be the real Spider-Man. Especially with the real Spider-Man out there swinging around in his red and blue tights. After the first issue, I didn't want to read the rest (and had wished I hadn't already purchased them), but I did anyway. The story of Sinister Spider-Man felt rushed and randomly thrown together, unlike Dark Wolverine or Dark Reign: Hawkeye (previously reviewed), just to sell comics.

The UGLY:

The artwork on Sinister Spider-Man. With all the talented, unused artists out there looking for employment, why settle for mediocre?