Daken

[1] Akihiro is the mutant son of Wolverine and his deceased wife Itsu, possessing superhuman abilities similar to his father (e.g., healing factor, retractable claws) as well as pheromone manipulating powers.

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.

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".

7) #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.

[18] In Dark Wolverine #75 it is vaguely suggested Akihiro has had a sexual encounter with a male employee of Norman Osborn, but this was also shown as a means to access top-secret files.

[18] In X-Factor, Akihiro expresses romantic interest in his female teammate, Aurora, who eventually reciprocates and enters a relationship with him after realizing his feelings for her are genuine.

Though he is named "Akihiro" by his father, the servants and other families of the province secretly refer to him as Daken (駄犬, "bastard dog" or "mongrel"), a slur on his obvious mixed heritage.

As Wolverine is hampered by his reluctance to kill his son and his fading belief that Akihiro can be redeemed, he quickly loses the upper hand despite his greater experience and training.

Fury believes that Akihiro intends to take the sword and have the metal bonded to his bone claws after stating that the Tinkerer would know how to do such a thing and had last been spotted in New York City.

[53] Escaping as the two fight, Akihiro gains the upper hand by incapacitating the Punisher (ramming him with a truck) and takes the Bloodstone, giving him increased strength and speed.

[volume & issue needed] In the aftermath of the storyline "Collision" Akihiro is "cleaning up house" in Madripoor by either getting the rest of the criminal underworld to agree to serve him, or eradicating his enemies.

[56] The story starts off with Akihiro wearing a Captain America mask, and is trying to pull off an "Italian Job" on the Los Angeles interstate 110 but is caught in a battle with the military.

Donna lets the detectives know as she is investigating the crime scene that she understands the not-so-subliminal joke, because she is ice cold like the witch in the children's story.

[volume & issue needed] Akihiro seeks out Mister Fantastic who informs him that the Heat pills have destroyed his healing factor which will result in his death.

During his mission he meets and falls in love with FBI agent Donna Kiel, who shared some of the traits that made Akihiro unique, but he was rejected by her, and cut her arms.

[volume & issue needed] After months of trying, he fails at becoming the head of the underworld in Los Angeles, and he is defeated using the powerful drug Heat, which gave him hallucinations and burned down his healing factor.

[59] Though it has yet to be disclosed how Akihiro turns up alive, he is revealed to be the secret mastermind behind the latest incarnation of the Brotherhood of Mutants (consisting of Sabretooth, Mystique, Shadow King, Skinless Man, the Blob from Earth-295, and the Omega Clan) in a plot to attack the members of X-Force.

While fighting zombies and Soteira Killteam Nine, Lady Deathstrike discovers that one of the soldiers is a zombified version of her father Lord Dark Wind who stabs her as Akihiro defends her body.

Having earlier cut off his communication from the rest of X-Factor, the Morrigan brutally attacks Akihiro, taunting him for being abandoned by his teammates before impaling him on a wooden spike and leaving him for dead.

[79] Akihiro reveals to Aurora that he knew about her split-personality and the circumstances surrounding her initial death and helps his teammates confront Prodigy's murderer and recovers his previously dead body.

When Scarlet Witch's body is discovered near the end of the Gala, Akihiro and X-Factor investigate her death and along with the X-Men and X-Force conclude that Magneto is the prime suspect.

[83] Akihiro subsequently joins the team along with his former and current lovers and embarks with them to Shi'ar space on a mission to uncover a two billion year mystery of missing mutants.

During the Marauders' victory celebration with the Shi'ar, Akihiro is rewarded by the Imperial Guard with the attire, totems and title of Fang for his actions, something his father previously failed to earn.

[91] After the Sabretooth Army is driven away from the Arctic Base but manage to slaughter many of its inhabitants and abduct Laura, Logan falls into despair and Aurora mourns Fang's death, which is rendered permanent as Krakoa's Resurrection Protocols are no longer an option.

[94] Having been influenced by Wolverine's altruistic thoughts during the brief period of possessing him, Bagra-ghul compels Hellverine into targeting and slaughtering sinners and evildoers throughout North America to sate the demon's bloodlust.

Hellverine's activities lead to an encounter with the Destroyers, occult-powered and undead Super Soldiers created by Project Hellfire but have just broken free of their programming.

Akihiro's primary mutant power is a rapid healing factor that allows him to recover damaged or destroyed parts of his body faster and more extensively than a normal human.

These claws are much tougher and thicker than normal human bone, sharp and strong enough to easily cuts through durable metals that is equivalent to the likes of Iron Man's armor.

With complete control over the pheromones (like the Purple Man), Akihiro can use his powers to manipulate a target's emotions and senses, allowing him to alter them, hinder their depth awareness and visual insight, causing them to act sluggishly or slowly.

Writer Marjorie Liu autographing a copy of the Daken/X-23: Collision trade paperback at a signing at Midtown Comics in Manhattan