Peace was never an option for a character who was born in betrayal and grew up in violence. However, Marvel has only now unveiled that one of the most tortured characters of the X-Men is going to get something shockingly uncommon in the world of mutants: a happy ending.
In the second issue of Inglorious X-Force, Marvel makes a subtle admission that Akihiro, or Daken, or the Hellverine, will eventually be redeemed and at peace. And, with a literal angel as the storyteller, the promise feels less like wishful thinking and more like fate etched in stone.
Wolverine’s Son May Finally Escape His Violent Past
Akihiro has never led an easy life. He was introduced as Wolverine’s lost son and appeared as a villain who is calculating and driven by abandonment and manipulation. Akihiro became a weapon that was aimed at his father after his mother’s death, and a childhood that was full of cruelty at the hands of Romulus. Their fight was fierce, and Wolverine killed his own son to stop it.
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Even death did not stop Akihiro from suffering. Brought back and crawling slowly towards something that could be called heroism, he tried to restore broken ties and struggle with mutant people. But tragedy followed him. He was struck down again during the Sabretooth War and was brought back bound to the demonic Bagra-ghul, becoming the Hellverine.
Hellverine was a more supernatural and darker power that hunted evil in its most hideous incarnations. It was kind of a natural destiny: forever trapped between damnation and atonement.
Marvel Confirms A Brighter Ending For Akihito
This is why the revelation in Inglorious X-Force #2 comes as a surprise. When Cable wants to know what will happen in the future, an angelic creature assures him that Akihiro will not turn into a threat to the world. Instead, “evil is behind him,” and redemption, even peace, lies ahead. To the fans of X-Men, that is monumental. Sacrifice and sorrow are usually characteristic of mutant stories.
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Characters like Akihiro do not have much closure; they survive. The fact that Wolverine’s son can actually redeem himself is an indication that Marvel believes that he is more than a warning. It makes him an example that trauma cycles can be disrupted. Naturally, peace in comics may have a lot of different meanings, such as retirement, absolution, or even death with dignity.
Yet for a person who has experienced the shadow of anger, abandonment, and literal demonic possession, even the prospect of redemption is radical. Akihiro has had a long, bloody, and agonizing human experience. In case Marvel pursues this vision, Wolverine’s son will finally come out of the shadow of his father, not as a monster, but as a man who overcame his own darkness.
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