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Tragically, Wolverine's son Akihiro has said he is switching to a significantly darker label from his hero identity. Though Akihiro started out as a villain, twisted and furious after his foes turned against Wolverine, recent years saw him ultimately accept his father and battle as a heroic member of X-Factor. Sadly, Akihiro is enduring a similarly terrible metamorphosis as the mutant country of Krakoa collapses and mutantkind is thrown into a dark new age.
Marvel officially declares in a preview of Hellverine #2 that Akihiro is no longer using his heroic "Fang" pseudonym. Haunted by the demonic Bagra-ghul, Akihiro has been returned from death but with very little of his conscious consciousness left. Now, with a distorted mix of his father's and Ghost Rider's powers, Akihiro is driven to chase evil on instinct once more becoming a mindless weapon for someone else to point and fire.
Akihiro became among the first Sabretooth War casualties at the end of X-men's 2019–2024 Krakoan Era. Especially as it came soon after mutants lost their collective ability to resurrect their slain companions, it was a sad ending for a hero who had only lately started to find himself. Now he's a flaming demon, as Hellverine #1 shockingly revealed—underneath the Hellverine's fire lies a bewildered, sewed-together Akihiro hardly remembering the life he used to enjoy.
First encountered by fans in Wolverine #36 (Benjamin Percy and Geoff Shaw), Logan and the Ghost Rider battled to thwart the Bagra-ghul. Mephisto developed the Bagra-ghul when Marvel's devil grew bored with conventional misery and sought to produce a fresh nightmare in which murder would be considered as a kind of art. Eventually the Bagra-ghul acquired Wolverine, transforming him into an evil counterpart of the Ghost Rider. Logan was finally released from demonic captivity, but the Bagra-ghul has somehow gotten caught in Akihiro and turned him into the Hellverine form his father acquired.
Presumed dead upon the Winter Soldier killing his mother, Akihiro was the son of Wolverine and Itsu. Unknown to Wolverine, though, Akihiro survived; Romulus, the villain, controlled his early existence. Raised in secret, Akihiro was mistreated as Daken ("mongrel"), and he finally came before his father under this name. Daken later joined Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers, donning the codename and costume of Wolverine to insult his father, and later acquired his own Marvel title (and a new costume) from Dark Wolverine failing to kill Wolverine. After Akihiro threatened to kill Xavier's school's pupils, Wolverine was compelled to kill his son, so hurting Akihiro and then drowning him in a puddle of contaminated water.
Later resurrected with Celestial technology, Akihiro became a new Horseman of Death. Eventually stripped of this great, corrupting influence, Akihiro rebuilt his life and started hanging out with Wolverine's other kids on Krakoa, strengthening his bond with his father. Now a hero, Akihiro received the codename "Fang" from an extraterrestrial Lupak species member who save the moniker for their strongest fighters. Given previous Fang's relationship to Wolverine, it was the ideal heroic persona for Akihiro, who was reunited with his family and ready to set off on his own while nevertheless honoring Logan's history and example.
Death for Akihiro occurred in Wolverine #41 and was brought about by Sabretooth, Logan's enemy, who had formed a multiversal army to cause Logan suffering never seen before. Under Wolverine's direction, the "Sabreteeth" killed multiple persons, including his protégé Quentin Quire. Not only did Sabretooth kill Akihiro, but he also spelled out a graphic "Happy Birthday" message with his body parts, alluding to Sabretooth's annual fixation with injuring Wolverine. Fortunately, Wolverine finally defeated Sabretooth's army and chopped his foe to pieces, therefore eradicating the villain who had followed his path for decades.
Although Akihiro's death was tragic, Wolverine at least could draw a line under Sabretooth's ongoing attacks on his family... or so it seemed. Returning as a dangerous demonic force, Akihiro's actions live on and continue to cause agony to any innocents caught in the center of the Hellverine's pursuit for evil, including Sabretooth's wicked activities. Though it gives Logan the opportunity to help his kid instead of only exacting revenge, Sabretooth is usual in still being torturing Logan from beyond the dead.
It is obvious that Akihiro's days as Fang are ended even if Wolverine can save his son from the Bagra-ghul. That codename stood for a period in his life when he was surrounded by friends and relatives, producing excellent work and at last making his own decisions. Those days are gone; although Wolverine might be able to shield his son from the Hellverine's fire, he cannot restore what the fire burned away.
June 26 from Marvel Comics is Hellverine #2. As Wolverine's Son negotiates the darkness and works to recover his own identity, his narrative remains an engaging one. Fans of the strong but sad Hellverine are keen to find out what his future holds.