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.