Daken: Dark Wolverine, Vol. 4: No More Heroes

Daken: Dark Wolverine #9

by Rob Williams, Alessandro Vitti (Illustrator), Matteo Buffagni (Illustrator)

Collects Daken: Dark Wolverine #20-23 and What If? Wolverine Father. He may be Wolverine's son, but Daken is his father's dark reflection. Daken went to Los Angeles to try to forge his own identity. He failed. Now, with his powers rapidly killing him, Daken is back in New York to do what he's been destined to: kill his father. But first, he's going to make him and his friends suffer. Now, Wolverine, Mr. Fantastic and New York's greatest heroes are doing everything they can to save lives - including Daken's. But Daken doesn't want to be saved. He wants the world to burn with him!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, X Men, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy

129 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 6, 2012

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this series because Daken was appearing in All-New Wolverine and I was only peripherally aware of who the character was. Having now read all his solo books it would appear he's not much more than I'd assumed he was: a rather pointless 'edgier' Wolverine for younger readers.

I'd give this volume 2.5 stars (I've rounded up) and I'm quite glad it's over now.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the final book in Daken’s solo series and also the book where he “dies” (because superheroes always stay dead, right?). He finds out the drug that disables his healing factor, “Heat”, has also begun to kill him and that he has only a short amount of time before he dies, so he sets his sights on the Avengers and his dear old dad Wolverine in a last ditch effort to kill as many of them as he can.

It’s not hard to see why Marvel decided to cancel the series - Daken started out as this edgy and cool version of Wolverine but by the end his story became about trying to take over the LA crime-scene (why?), getting hooked on pills, and, probably least characteristic of him, falling in love (!). It just seemed like they didn’t know what to do with him.

To be fair Rob Williams does get Daken’s mindset more or less right by this book in his all-or-nothing plan but targeting the Avengers and Wolverine? Daken might as well just kill himself right off because he’s not going to kill any of those characters who are far more popular than he is (and all have movies coming out soon). So this revenge story never felt it had any weight behind it though in the end Daken goes out with a literal bang, a dubious enough scene to say he died but easy enough to explain away for when Marvel decide to bring him back in the uncertain future.

While I thought Daken had character and potential - he could’ve been a superhero version of Dexter maybe or, had the series become MAX, just been a straight out anti-hero a la Punisher - I felt the lack of a strong story direction ended up damaging the character more than his half-heartedly-explored drug problem. So, “No More Heroes” isn’t the best end to this character but Daken had his moments. If you want to read some of his better books check out “Dark Wolverine, Vol 1: The Prince” for his stint as part of Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers team as well as the series that introduced him to the Marvel U, “Wolverine: Origins”, in particular “Vol 3: Swift and Terrible”. This final book is really only for the fans who’ve been following this character and want to see how his story ends, than a must-read comic.

[Alex Sarll]

Wolverine's amoral son has been trying to set himself up as the kingpin of LA, but having been so busy trying to prove that he can win even when he deliberately makes things harder for himself, he's pretty much backed into a corner. So staring cancellation of both his title and himself in the face, he throws his hands up, says 'fuck it', and tries to start as many fires as he can on his way down. A brief teenage temper tantrum of a book, but no less fun for that.

Also includes an entirely pointless What If? issue which suggests things would have gone exactly the same even had Logan stuck around to be a dad. Which would seem to invalidate the whole point of the character, but what do I know? I suppose I can at least enjoy the anti-Logan implications of the timeline.

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 3 out of 5]

El final de la serie Dark Wolverine. Sabiendo que su factor curativo luego del uso de la droga Heat lo está matando y luego de abandonar a Donna Daken va a la ciudad de Nueva York por venganza. En estos últimos episodios incluso los Avengers se suman para cazarlo y Daken descubre su manera de pensar y el interés que siempre fue la clave de su actuar sobre todo con Los Cuatro Fantásticos que fueron los que más lo consideraron. Un final que no me gustó en contraste con el inicio de la serie.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the final book in Daken’s solo series and also the book where he “dies” (because superheroes always stay dead, right?). He finds out the drug that disables his healing factor, “Heat”, has also begun to kill him and that he has only a short amount of time before he dies, so he sets his sights on the Avengers and his dear old dad Wolverine in a last ditch effort to kill as many of them as he can.

It’s not hard to see why Marvel decided to cancel the series - Daken started out as this edgy and cool version of Wolverine but by the end his story became about trying to take over the LA crime-scene (why?), getting hooked on pills, and, probably least characteristic of him, falling in love (!). It just seemed like they didn’t know what to do with him.

To be fair Rob Williams does get Daken’s mindset more or less right by this book in his all-or-nothing plan but targeting the Avengers and Wolverine? Daken might as well just kill himself right off because he’s not going to kill any of those characters who are far more popular than he is (and all have movies coming out soon). So this revenge story never felt it had any weight behind it though in the end Daken goes out with a literal bang, a dubious enough scene to say he died but easy enough to explain away for when Marvel decide to bring him back in the uncertain future.

While I thought Daken had character and potential - he could’ve been a superhero version of Dexter maybe or, had the series become MAX, just been a straight out anti-hero a la Punisher - I felt the lack of a strong story direction ended up damaging the character more than his half-heartedly-explored drug problem. So, “No More Heroes” isn’t the best end to this character but Daken had his moments. If you want to read some of his better books check out “Dark Wolverine, Vol 1: The Prince” for his stint as part of Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers team as well as the series that introduced him to the Marvel U, “Wolverine: Origins”, in particular “Vol 3: Swift and Terrible”. This final book is really only for the fans who’ve been following this character and want to see how his story ends, than a must-read comic.

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daken is not a likeable character, in that he is a psychopath who knows he's a psychopath. Despite all that, despite knowing what he's done to people throughout his series, this ending makes me incredibly sad. Sad for that little boy and the man he could have grown up to be.

[Austin Gorton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Daken has never really done much for me, but the writing & art here are fine. A mildly interesting end for a character, for a time.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daken's at the end of his tether. With his empire crumbling and his body betraying him, it's time to go out in a blaze of glory. And that means burning all his bridges, and one final confrontation with his father, Wolverine.

This final volume of Daken's adventures definitely feels like an ending. From the first issue which really puts a cap on the Daken/Donna relationship (and then some), to the steady escalation of Daken's desire for vengeance against literally everyone he's ever spent time with since his solo series began, it's nice to see a well thought out conclusion, even if it does feel a bit reductive. Burning it all down to start again somewhere new is a Daken move if I ever saw one, but it does feel like the character is being written into a corner. Plus we all now superheroes never really die now, don't we?

The art is as consistently inconsistent as it has been, with Matteo Buffagni, Andrea Mutti, and Riley Rossmo on the Heat sequences as before.

Also included is a What If?, also by Rob Williams, which posits what would have happened if Wolverine raised Daken from a young age rather than missing out on 70 years of his life. It goes about as well as most What Ifs, but the real issue is that Greg Tocchini's artwork is so sloppy and unfinished that it becomes a chore to read.

Dark Wolverine had some ups and downs, and I'm not sure which this ending counts as. It's a good ending, but there's a nagging suspicion that it shouldn't have come to this. The artwork's also all over the place, and the supplementary What If? doesn't leave a good taste in the mouth either, unfortunately.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, nothing subtle about this. The character Rob Williams tried to build depth and nuance into is thrown head first at a wall of explosions. Here, Daken is mad at his dad and wants to blow everything up. That's the book. Oh, I forgot where the best part of the series, FBI Agent Donna Kiel is tossed aside. The art was serviceable, the book was not.

[Sylvester · Rating 3 out of 5]

An epic conclusion to the Dark Wolverine storyline that felt more like a story about the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. Perhaps that was meant to be the irony of Daken's quest for his raison d'etre.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

These were great collections. The writing was stellar even when I wasn't always a fan of the art. Daken, while not being particularly likable, is a fantastic character.

[J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ultimately, I'm just glad this is over and we can move on. Daken was a character with potential that never managed to be interesting.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The end of Daken. Daken is dying and wants to go out with a bang. He is determined to make a statement and get back at his Dad. This is an interesting read, because you already know the ending, its just how Daken goes about it that keeps you reading. He betrays everybody. A good read.

[Rafael · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my favorite

[Alia Makki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh come on!!!

[Dean Simons · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun popcorn read but not quite as satisfying.