Silver Samurai is the name of two different

supervillains A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

, both acquaintances of

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

. The character has appeared in several

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

-related

animated series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

and

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s before making its live-action debut in the 2013 film '' The Wolverine''.

Fictional character biography

Kenuichio Harada

Kenuichio Harada is the original Silver Samurai. The character first appeared in '' Daredevil'' #111 (July 1974), and was created by writer

Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include '' Man-Thing'', ''Omega the Unknown,'' ''Marvel Spotlight ...

and artist Bob Brown. A

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It i ...

who uses his powers to charge his

katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...

and wears a

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

-style armor made of a silvery metal, he is the illegitimate son of Lord Shingen, the half-brother of Mariko Yashida, a cousin of Sunfire and Sunpyre, and a nemesis of Wolverine. While he spent most of his existence as a villain, he eventually reformed into a more heroic figure.

Shin Harada

Shingen "Shin" Harada, otherwise known as the second Silver Samurai, is Kenuichio Harada's son who is named after Lord Shingen. He had been committing larceny with Amiko Kobayashi. Shin later worked with Mystique to track down newly awakened mutants to join a cause. He was later recruited by Kade Killgore to be a teacher at the

Hellfire Club Hellfire Club was a term used to describe several exclusive Club (organization), clubs for high-society Rake (character), rakes established in Great Britain and Ireland in the 18th Century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood, 11t ...

's Hellfire Academy where he worked as a designer.''Wolverine and the X-Men'' #20. Marvel Comics. Silver Samurai later appeared as a member of Mystique's fourth incarnation of the

Brotherhood of Mutants The Brotherhood of Mutants (originally known as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants) is a fictional group of mutants appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Brotherhood are among the chief adversaries of the X-Men. While the ...

. During

Magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

's fight with the Brotherhood of Mutants on Madripoor, Magneto controlled Silver Samurai into wounding Mystique. As part of the "

All-New, All-Different Marvel All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline "Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Universe, with nearly 60–65 titles relaunched wi ...

", Shingen Harada represented the Yashida Corporation when he attended a meeting at the Universal Bank with Tiberius Stone of

Alchemax Alchemax is a fictional megacorporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Originally depicted as a prominent feature of the Marvel 2099 alternate future universe, it has since been introduced into the present day com ...

, Wilson Fisk of Fisk Industries, Sebastian Shaw of Shaw Industries,

Darren Cross Darren Agonistes Cross is a supervillain appearing in Marvel Comics properties. He is the archenemy of Scott Lang (the second superhero to be called Ant-Man), the father of Augustine Cross, and the cousin of Crossfire. In the Marvel Cinemat ...

of Cross Technological Enterprises, Zeke Stane of Stane International, Frr'dox of Shi'ar Solutions Consolidated, and Wilhelmina Kensington of Kilgore Arms where they discussed with Dario Agger about Roxxon Energy Corporation's plans to exploit the Ten Realms of Asgard. When the true motive of the meeting was revealed, Harada attacked Dario and they almost fought, interrupted by the arrival of Exterminatrix of the Midas Foundation, resulting in Dario getting knocked out when declaring herself a new member of their assembly. He then went to an underwater station in the Southern Ocean, where he attacked the employees until encountering

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

who defeated him by smacking him repeatedly with Mjolnir. He then escaped and joined Exterminatrix in an aerial battle against soldiers attempting to rescue Dario. They later entered Roxxon Corporation HQ, where they encountered the B.E.R.S.E.R.K.E.R.S., a group of Hulk-like superhumans. While the Mindless Ones fought the B.E.R.S.E.R.K.E.R.S., Silver Samurai and Exterminatrix went to Dario's vault, attempting to take the money until Agent Solomon arrived, forcing Exterminatrix to fight the woman while Silver Samurai opened the vault. When the vault was opened, Dario transformed into Minotaur and knocked out Silver Samurai. Then, the floating island the building was located on fell down due to the activation of the Agger Imperative. While S.H.I.E.L.D. evacuated the building, Thor destroyed the island. The villains were later arrested and taken into custody. Silver Samurai approached

Old Man Logan Old Man Logan is an alternative version of the superhero Wolverine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. This character is an aged version of Wolverine set in an alternate future universe in which the supervillains overth ...

wanting to ally in stopping the Hand's Regenix operation. He agreed in exchange that Mariko doesn't get killed and that Touku and Asami's child is taken care of. When Logan and Silver Samurai attack the Hand's Regenix operations, Silver Samurai fought

Gorgon The Gorgons ( ; ), in Greek mythology, are three monstrous sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, said to be the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. They lived near their sisters the Graeae, and were able to turn anyone who looked at them to sto ...

while Logan fought the Hand Ninjas to confront Mariko. After Gorgon got away, Silver Samurai injected nanites into Mariko to break the Hand's control. Afterwards, Logan and Mariko sent Silver Samurai to destroy the Regenix shipments in Madripoor.

Reception

* In 2020, '' CBR.com'' ranked Silver Samurai 1st in their "Marvel Comics: Ranking Every Member Of Big Hero 6 From Weakest To Most Powerful" list.

In other media

Television

* The Kenuichio Harada incarnation of Silver Samurai appears in the '' X-Men: The Animated Series'' episode "The Lotus and the Steel", voiced by Denis Akiyama. ** Silver Samurai makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the ''

X-Men '97 ''X-Men '97'' is an American animated television series created by Beau DeMayo for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the X-Men. It is a revival of '' X-Men: The Animated Series'' (1992–1997) produced b ...

'' three-part episode "Tolerance Is Extinction". * The Kenuichio Harada incarnation of Silver Samurai appears in the '' Wolverine and the X-Men'' episode "Code of Conduct", voiced by Keone Young. * The Kenuichio Harada incarnation of Silver Samurai appears in '' Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers'', voiced by Takanori Nishikawa in Japanese and Andrew Kishino in English. * The Kenuichio Harada incarnation of Silver Samurai appears in '' Marvel's Hit-Monkey'', voiced by Noshir Dalal.

Film

Variations of the Silver Samurai appears in '' The Wolverine'' (2013). The first is the Yashida clan's traditional samurai attire which is donned by Shingen Yashida (portrayed by Hiroyuki Sanada). The second is a giant

powered exoskeleton An exoskeleton is a wearable device that augments, enables, assists, or enhances motion, posture, or physical activity through mechanical interaction with and force applied to the user’s body. Other common names for a wearable exoskeleton in ...

made of adamantium operated by former soldier/billionaire Ichirō Yashida (portrayed by Haruhiko Yamanouchi as an old man and Ken Yamamura as a young man).

Video games

* The Kenuichio Harada incarnation of Silver Samurai appears as a playable character in '' X-Men: Children of the Atom'', voiced by Yasushi Ikeda. * The Kenuichio Harada incarnation of Silver Samurai appears as a playable character in '' Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes'', voiced again by Yasushi Ikeda. * The Kenuichio Harada incarnation of Silver Samurai appears as a boss in '' X-Men: The Official Game'', voiced by Keone Young. * The Kenuichio Harada incarnation of Silver Samurai appears as an unlockable playable character in '' Lego Marvel Super Heroes'', voiced by Andrew Kishino.

References

External links

* * {{Steve Gerber Groups of fictional characters Big Hero 6 characters Characters created by Bob Brown Characters created by Steve Gerber Comics characters introduced in 1974 Fictional amputees Fictional gangsters Fictional henchmen Fictional samurai Fictional swordfighters in comics Japanese comics characters Japanese superheroes Marvel Comics businesspeople Marvel Comics characters who can teleport Marvel Comics male superheroes Marvel Comics male supervillains Marvel Comics martial artists Marvel Comics mutants Set index articles on comics Villains in animated television series Wolverine (comics) characters X-Men supporting characters