Silver Samurai

Silver Samurai
Keniucho Harada as Silver Samurai as seen in New Avengers #12. Art by David Finch.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Daredevil #111 (July 1974)
Created by	Steve Gerber Bob Brown
In-story information
Alter ego	Kenuichio Harada Shingen "Shin" Harada
Abilities	Master samurai and martial artist Teleportation ring Wears a lightweight steel alloy body armor Extensive knowledge of criminal organizations Carries katana, shuriken and other weapons Ability to generate a tachyon field

Silver Samurai is the name of two different fictional supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, both acquaintances of Wolverine.

The character was featured in the 2013 film The Wolverine, played by Haruhiko Yamanouchi and Ken Yamamura.

In 1978, the Silver Samurai was the villain in Marvel Team-Up #74 (Oct), featuring Spider-Man and the cast of Saturday Night Live. The character faced off against comedian John Belushi in his samurai character.^[1]

Fictional character biography[]

Kenuichio Harada[]

Kenuichio Harada is the original Silver Samurai.^[2] The character first appeared in Daredevil #111 (July 1974), and was created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Bob Brown.^[3] A Japanese mutant who uses his powers to charge his katana and wears a samurai-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.

Shin Harada[]

Shingen "Shin" Harada is the new Silver Samurai.^[4] The character first appeared in Wolverine Vol. 2 #300 (March 2012), and was created by Jason Aaron and Steven Sanders. A human who relies on technology, he is Kenuichio Harada's son named after Lord Shingen.

In other media[]

Television[]

• The Kenuichio Harada version of Silver Samurai appeared in the X-Men animated series, voiced by Denis Akiyama.^{[citation needed]}
• The Kenuichio Harada version of Silver Samurai appears in the Wolverine and the X-Men animated series, voiced by Keone Young.^{[citation needed]}
• The Yashida Clan is referenced in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. In the episode "Widow's Sting", the group (led by Gorgon) is mentioned by Madame Hydra to Baron Strucker to have pledged their allegiance to Hydra.
• The Kenuichio Harada version of Silver Samurai appears in Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, voiced by Takanori Nishikawa.^[5]

Film[]

The Silver Samurai appears as a distinctively separate entity named Ichirō Yashida in the 2013 film The Wolverine,^[6] with the elderly depiction played by Japanese-Italian actor Haruhiko Yamanouchi and the younger depiction played by Ken Yamamura.^[7] An amalgamation of Ogun and both versions of Silver Samurai from the comics, he is depicted as the Yashida clan's technology empire's original founder, Logan's old acquaintance, Shingen Yashida's father, Mariko Yashida's grandfather and Yukio's foster father. As a young man in the Japanese military, Ichirō's life was saved by Logan during the United States' atomic bombing of Nagasaki and even offered his personal sword as gratitude. As an old man dying of cancer, Yashida arranged to be visited by Logan before seemingly passing with a family suit of samurai armor (referred to as the Silver Samurai) at his funeral as a symbolic guardian. Unfortunately, his successor being Mariko instead of Shingen leads to his son's own plans. In actuality, Yashida faked his death and equipped himself into his own giant robotic adamantium Silver Samurai suit which wields a katana and a wakizashi (both of which are adamantium and can generate heat) with Dr. Green and Kenuichio Harada as enforcers. Obsessed with Wolverine's healing factor and immortality, Yashida devised his Silver Samurai armor not only to sustain himself but also to steal Wolverine's healing powers. Even eliminating Harada in his way, he uses his heated adamantium blades to sever Wolverine's adamantium claws which allowed him to extract Wolverine's healing factor via his Silver Samurai armor and regains his youthful form. However, Ichirō gets struck by his granddaughter with Wolverine's broken adamantium claws. As Ichirō loses control of his Silver Samurai armor, Wolverine's regrown bone claws impales Yashida through his chest which made him revert to his elderly form before tossing him to his death in a crevasse below.

Video games[]

• The Kenuichio Harada iteration of Silver Samurai was a playable character in X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel vs. Capcom 2, voiced by Yasushi "Ike-Bomb" Ikeda.^{[citation needed]}
• The Kenuichio Harada iteration of Silver Samurai appears in X-Men: The Official Game, voiced by Keone Young.^[8]
• The Kenuichio Harada iteration of Silver Samurai appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes,^[9] voiced by Andrew Kishino.^{[citation needed]}

References[]

External links[]

• Silver Samurai at the Marvel Universe wiki
• Silver Samurai I at Marvel Wiki
• Silver Samurai II at Marvel Wiki
• Silver Samurai I at Comic Vine
• Silver Samurai II at Comic Vine
• UncannyXmen.net Spotlight On Silver Samurai