Dark Wolverine Volume 1: The Prince

Daken: Dark Wolverine #1

by Marjorie Liu, Daniel Way, Giuseppe Camuncoli (Illustrator)

Norman Osborn finds a new project in Wolverine's son Daken, who emerges as Dark Wolverine, a hero who possesses all of the powers of his father but lacks his moral drive.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Graphic Novels Comics, X Men, Superheroes, Fantasy

112 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2009

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this storyline about Daken's machiavellian schemes using his pheromones control power to seduce his Dark Avengers team-mates and make them go to each other throaths (and the ever loving blue-eyes Thing too), sadly the Logan "Sons of Anarchy"/bikers two part story was just as not as good.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly solid story about Daken and his Machiavellain scheming inside the Dark Avengers, putting Osborn's people at each other's throats. Also making allies with the FF, and planning...I like the fact that they built up Daken's brainpower here, to show he's not his father. Not to say Logan is stupid, but you know what I mean.

Art is crap versus the Covers by Lenil Francis Yu, or whatever he is called....covers are great. Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu do solid work here...happy for more!

[Tym · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art is good definitely not great but I am a sucker for villains vs villains which is the predominant theme in this arc. Well written starring the manipulative and sadistic Daken, it’s interesting to see how he handles having to impersonate his hated father

[Sam Quixote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Norman Osborn has been appointed head of a new taskforce for the US Government, the "Dark Avengers", replacing members of the Avengers with villainous versions of that character. So you've got Venom as Spiderman, Ares as Thor, Norman Osborn as Iron Man/Cap, and Daken as Wolverine. Daken is Wolverine's son born from Wolverine and his Japanese wife's marriage who inherited a number of Wolverine's characteristics including the healing factor and bone claws. As such he's in his 70s but looks 25.

Daken's scheming political nature is gone into in this book, aptly named "The Prince" after Niccolo Machiavelli's famous book on power and politics. He's a double agent, at times doing good, at times doing bad, he's trying to bring down Norman Osborn, he's trying to set up the Fantastic Four - the reader never knows his true nature and he seems to be playing a larger game than anyone else. Unlike Wolverine though he can manipulate peoples' feelings and emotions through the release of pheromones which is interesting (and kinda like Poison Ivy from Batman) and only adds to his mysterious persona - he's like a pan-sexual psychotic ninja with genius level IQ.

The only bad point about this book is it's shortness at three issues. Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu have written an intriguing introduction to this character and I wanted to read more about him. Guiseppe Camuncoli's pencils perfectly compliment the script, giving Daken the look of a model in some scenes, the classic Wolverine look in others, and a perfect face for deceit.

The book is padded out with a two-short story where Wolverine goes all "Sons of Anarchy" which was ok. There's also a lengthy explanation giving the background to Daken for newcomers, and a covers gallery.

Daken becomes a more and more a character I feel is worth exploring further and I'll definitely be looking out for more books with him as the main character in the future. "The Prince" is an excellent place to start for new readers to give you a flavour of what this guy's all about.

[Jamil · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know what, I expected this to be to be terrible & it wasn't. Wolverine's son Daken (okay, the name remains terrible) is like one of those rich pricks cut loose from a WB show, homicidal & metrosexual, who thinks he is smarter & cooler than anyone else alive. I gotta say, it's kinda interesting to see someone like this at conceited & amoral & self-proclaimed Machiavellian play in the fields of Marvel.

[Don · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't horrible, but I dislike books where the bad guy is the main character. They kept using references from The Prince by Machiavelli as Daiken manipulated and schemed his way to his objective. It was due today so rather than renewing it, I just turned it in half read. If you like political power plays by evil men against each other then this will be your thing. Wasn't mine.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dakens better than his dad. just saying.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Omawiany tom można podzielić na dwie części. Pierwsza, poświęcona Dakanowi, latorośli Wolverine'a jest naprawdę dobra i aż dziw bierze, że druga część, gdzie pojawia się oryginalny Rosomak, potrafi być przegadana, nużąca i taka sobie (może za wyjątkiem motywu wyjętego rodem z Synów Anarchii).

Dakan jest cynicznym sukinkotem, który niby tam pracuje dla Osborna (mamy czasy Dark Reign), ale dzięki swoim zdolnościom wpływania feromonami na emocje innych ludzi, łatwo manipuluje postaciami w swoim otoczeniu. Zdaje się idealnie rozgrywać tą zabawę, grając nawet na nosie samej Fantastycznej Czwórce i nieco szkoda, że jego historia nie jest dłuższa. I jednocześnie troszkę z nim sympatyzowałem, zwłaszcza że w większości przypadków robił w bambuko tych złych...

Kreska jest całkiem fajna, miejscami nawet imponuje, jak łupnięcie sztangą na siłowni, ale postaci potrafią mieć bardzo dziwne, "ociosane" twarze. Trzeba do tego przywyknąć, dzięki czemu da się cieszyć tym co przygotowała dla nas Pani Liu. Aha, i Wolverine naprawdę jest tutaj słaby...

[Terry Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A far more engaging and interesting take on the character at that start of the title's rebranding.

While I haven't always enjoyed Way's writing, his work here is playful and spirited. Of particular note though are the pencils, which are absolutely phenomenal.

Far too often, most artists are content to have the range of emotions that play across a hero's face be little more than anger or deluded joy.

Here we get a tale of politics and machinations, with the right mixture of shock, feigned innocence, disgust and others work their way into the panels.

This was an exciting start to the book, and one that I hope proves to be Way's direction going forward.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing the x-read of 2017/18...

So, I have no real interest in what is happening in the marvel universe outside of the x-books at this time (the concept of Dark Reign seems really stupid from the outside, but I really don't know...) so the plot of this one is kind of ridiculous. Yet at the same time, it is surprisingly well-written. There's some truly interesting character stuff going on in this one. I thought it would be awful, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.

[Jdetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's some interesting ideas in this comic, and Daken is a much more interesting character than I would have ever thought. The art is rather ugly, and it doesn't tell a story very well, but there's enough of interest here for me to keep reading the series.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for background during The X Lives & Deaths of Wolverine & Live of Wolverine event of 2020.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following on from his origin story and Dark Avengers, this comic really fleshs Daken out a lot more. You can see his motivations, team dynamics and honestly, he’s overall a piece of shit but it’s the first comics I’ve read with him that’s made him somewhat interesting.
3.5 rounded up to 4

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daken just keeps making men mad by suggesting that they want to have sex with him.

Other than that 33% of the book, it's pretty good.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Aisling · Rating 3 out of 5]

3

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Raj Aich · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very dark and not worth a read.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Prince (W#75-77). In Dark Avengers, Volume 1: Assemble, Daken gets so little attention that you wonder why he's even on the team. The first arc in Daken's own comic makes up for that, with a story that's deeply integrated with Daken's membership on the Avengers, detailing rather joyfully his interactions with the Dark Reign.

But even better are the insights that this arc gives into Daken's character. Way tried to tell a story of Daken's double-dealing in "Family Business", the first story in Wolverine: Origins, Volume 6: Dark Reign, but it was muddy and repetitive. Here instead we get a wonderfully Machiavellian series of double-crosses. It's much more obvious that Daken is working everyone for his own advantage. It's a great insight into his deviousness and his selfishness alike, and the first real look at who Daken is as a person [5/5].

The Dark Wolverine Origin and the 2-part Wolverine story aren't as strong and lessen the collection [3/5].

[Adam Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Updated During 2025 X-reread:

I stand by my original review but wanted to add that, between the Dark Wolverine story and a fairly average Logan Wolverine story there's a primer for Daken's backstory that is a much more satisfying way to learn about Daken than reading the repetitive and agonizing Wolverine Origins title.

I recommend this book as an introduction to Daken, and as a primer for the Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia which happens just a bit later than this volume.

***

Original 2018 Review:

A surprisingly fun introduction to Daken's role in the Dark Avengers/Dark X-Men. Rather than immediately set up a situation between Logan and Norman Osborne, we see Daken using The Fantastic Four, Bullseye (playing the role of Hawkeye), Ares, and Venom (playing the role of Spider-Man) to try and take HAMMER down from the inside.

I may have skipped this title when it first came out, and, if so, I regret it.

I recommend this for fans of Marvel politicing, Fantastic Four enthusiasts, and anyone who likes a double agent story where the audience is clued it to forthcoming betrayals.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wolverine's son usurps his father's name - and comic book - with the initial Dark Wolverine run collected here. Posing as the feral mutant within Norman Osborn's Avengers, Daken is hiding in plain sight. Wanting nothing more than to be the last man standing amid his competition, Daken enters a dangerous game of manipulation. The Fantastic Four, the Dark Avengers, and even Norman Osborn are drawn into a tangled web of deceit and mistrust that will leave no one unscathed. The volume concludes with a history of Daken - as narrated by Wolverine - and the last two issues of the Wolverine title that preceded the direction shift. Daniel Way attempts to build up the Dark Wolverine into a cunning and antagonistic villain - but doing so leaves him with almost no redeeming qualities. One wants to root for the victims of Daken's machinations to take him down a peg or two - or at least be smart enough to realize that he is playing them all. The Prince is a storyline about an unlikable and cruel heir to the throne who will do anything to get his own way, which makes it a royal pain.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up, skeptically, but it turns out to be a really fun comic book. Daken is a sociopathic manipulator, but it's fun to watch him play everybody equally (men, women, the Green Goblin, the Fantastic Four). Once you take the premise in mind, too, it's not an especially 'dark' book in tone or content, either, and the art's actually bright and pretty. I think Marvel is overdoing the 'dark' thing in their branding in order to appeal to. . .somebody who is not me. People who want to make Dark Power Pack jokes, maybe. Anyway!

I was even tempted to give this four stars, but the negative for the TPB collection is that there are only 4 issues and a lot of backup material (including some shorts from earlier series that I had no interest in reading, though I liked the art). So it's a little slight for 14.99 book. (I read it in the coffee shop at Borders and thus have no buyers' remorse!)

[William Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly had no expectations coming into this book, and was pleasantly surprised by how fun it was. One of the better collections of Dark Reign, for sure. The biggest plus for the book is the art by Camuncoli, who utilizes a block-style shading with severe, chunky lines. The second best thing about the book is the inclusion if the Fantastic Four.

I wasn't impressed at all by the events of Dark Reign and not at all enthused about Bendis' Dark Avengers, no matter how fun an idea it was. It seemed cheap to me, gimmicky. The idea of Daken, along with X-23, also appeared to be along those same lines. A way to draw more readers into more books with ad little effort as possible. Why create new characters when you can just put a wig on some old ones?

But all in all, I enjoyed this book. I'm not saying it's anything special, or that it's a game-changer, but it's definitely the most fun I had during Dark Reign.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wolverine had a son? I must have missed that somewhere - I guess I was reading all that much Marvel in 2007. I kind of picked this one up from the library - mostly because I found the writer, Marjorie M. Liu, to be pretty consistently awesome. And this book was good. It took place right in the middle of a story I barely know - with Osborne running some aspect of the government - and Daken playing Wolverine. And it didn't matter because the writing was great and the art certainly good enough. And the Dark Avengers are a hell of a lot more interesting than the regular Avengers. But part of that is because this is a single character book sitting inside the Avengers. Make me want to go hunt out sequels and prequels.

[Jakub Rabyniuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daken is good character. Manipulative, little perv and sociopathic opportunist.
That parts when he hoodwinked his felow Avegers are great. I laughed like devil, when I read dialogue between Osborn and Johny Storm or when Daken "seduced" Venom.
But the story is basically about nothing. And it is a pity.
In next story I hope for more...I do not want to say the action...major conflict.

[James Dunphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daken plays mind games with Norman Osborn and the rest of the Dark Avengers. It's fun seeing how manipulative and cerebral Daken is. They quote Machiavelli in the beginnings of some of the issues (obviously, "The Prince"). Daken mirrors the prince himself...only he's got hand-claws. I prefer hand-claws.

[Bryson McCheeseburger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but it seemed very broken up. The story for Daiken begins, then all of a sudden they jump to a Wolverine story that just ends right in the middle. I always thought Graphic Novels usually had the entire arc in them, or at least didn't just suddenly end. I liked the Dark Wolverine story so far, the Wolverine story just pissed me off. Still a cool read, but could have been better.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very good. I read the second volume before this, and that was mediocre, but this was a great start to this series. I don't know what happened to it. This character is so complex and interesting...would have liked to have seen this go in this direction.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark Wolverine, Daken, is introduced. He has some powers like his father, but can also control peoples emotions. He realises the Norman will not always have power, so likes to have a foot in both camps, manipulating everybody. A fun read, real shame that it was so short. A good read.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm getting tired of this new character, Wolverine's son, Daken. His stories are just not fulfilling.