Background
Real Name: Kenuichio “Ken” Harada
Height: 6’6”
Weight: 250 lbs.(without armor)/ 310 lbs.(with armor)
Birthplace: Unrevealed location in Japan
Modus Operandi: Ronin
In pre-industrial Japan, the samurai were members of a professional warrior class who served as retainers to the lords. Samurai serve with honor and discipline, and were born from warrior families and trained from a young age. But one samurai in particular brought the samurai name to a criminal empire. This is Kenuichio Harada. Born into the Yashida Clan, Harada was supposed to become lord of the clan succeeding his father, Lord Shingen. But there was a problem, in that his father ignored such a birthright. Probably because Harada was born as Shingen’s illegitimate son. So instead, Shingen’s title was slated to go to Harada’s sister, Mariko. Throughout his life, Harada trained in several fighting methods and a samurai’s usual code of honor, or bushido. Eventually, Harada picked up a trusty katana and lightweight steel armor, becoming the Silver Samurai.
As the Silver Samurai, Harada set out as a mercenary, ready to prove his worth to his father. He even worked with the villain Mandrill hoping to pay off his father’s debt, putting him in conflict with the Man Without Fear, Daredevil. Later, Harada became the right-hand man to the Hydra terrorist, Viper. This put him in conflict with a handful of noteworthy heroes, such as Black Widow, Spider-Man, Shang-Chi, and Spider-Woman. His conflict with them wouldn’t last long though, as Harada would eventually learn that his father was slain by the infamous X-Men anti-hero, Wolverine. And to make matters worse, his father’s killer was to be wed with his sister. In response, Harada made it his mission to destroy his half-sister and kill Wolverine. Unfortunately, even with his mutant power, he couldn’t put Logan down due to his Adamantium skeleton. However, he wouldn’t have to, as Mariko ended up calling off the wedding, and pardoned Harada’s crimes against the Yashida Clan, admitting him as her right hand and successor in Clan Yashida, and retrieving the Honor Sword of Clan Yashida. Tragically, however, as time went on, Mariko ended up being poisoned by a rival clan called The Hand, and then mercy-killed by Wolverine, which ultimately made Harada the new leader of the Yashida Clan, just like he wanted.
Becoming lord of the clan made his relationship with the X-Men…complicated, to say the least. On one hand, he would be tasked to protect the crime-lord Nyoirin to combat them during an identity crisis between the mutants Psylocke and Kwannon. On the other hand, the X-Men reached out for his aid in battling Sabretooth when he was hunting for psychics like Uchio Tanaka, a former protege of his father. Eventually, Harada would end up founding and leading a new superhero team called Big Hero 6…yes, you read that right. Alongside Hiro Takachiko, Baymax, Honey Lemon, GoGo Tomago, and Sunfire, Harada saved all of Tokyo from the ephemeral threat of Everwraith and the massive X the Unknowable. It seemed like Harada was turning his life around. Unfortunately, he would end up having his strings pulled by other criminal higher-ups like Gom Kaishek, and put into conflict with the likes of Elektra and of course, Wolverine. In particular, he ended up meeting a memory thief named Blindspot, who ended up manipulating him back to his mercenary ways, rubbing shoulders with her one second and Hydra the next. Harada continued on to become, as Daredevil described him, the Kingpin of Japan. Eventually, Harada would end up attacked by the Red Right Hand, led by the dangerous Black Samurai, who also ended up wiping out Clan Yashida as a whole. But despite being stabbed through the stomach and other areas of his body, and being shot by several arrows at once, Harada managed to kill his attackers by himself. But after the battle, the severity of Harada’s wounds caught up to him, and all he could do was limp to the grave of his dear sister. Once he made it, Harada finally took his last breath.
…or did he? After he died, Harada ended up in Hell, and met the Devil himself, as well as the soul of Wolverine. Once there, Harada was quickly dealt with by being decapitated and crushed by a sword called the Soulcutter, which ensures that a target can’t heal from the wounds it makes. Despite that, somehow, the Silver Samurai lives once again, resurrected and made the officiant of the Crucible program, a ritual on the island-nation of Krakoa where depowered mutants fight for their execution at the hands of a peer mutant, after which they’ll be resurrected with their power back. It’s unclear if Harada feels like he’s honoring his clan through this ritual, but when he’s needed on the field, you can bet the Silver Samurai will give his foe and honorable death, just like he got.
Experience & Skill
Harada definitely lives up to the skills and training of your typical samurai. He’s been training since youth in the arts of Kenjutsu, the art of Japanese swordfighting, and was called one of the greatest swordsman and martial artists in the world by Spider-Woman, though it should be noted that his skills don’t quite match that of top tier martial artists like Iron Fist or Shang-Chi. Though Spider-Man compared him to Toshiro Mifune, a Japanese actor who specialized in swordfighting. With stealth described as “as silent as Death itself”, he’s snuck up on the Beast and slashed his back before he and three other X-Men could notice him, and in direct combat, he’s shown to prove his worth against heroes like the aforementioned Spider-Woman, Elektra, who took down a group of Hydra agents by herself, and Wolverine, even having an admitted advantage against Logan when he’s not fighting as “Wolverine”. When working with Wolverine, the two of them can take out 10 Yashida Clan ninjas by themselves, and Harada’s even trained Wolverine to use the Muramasa Blade when his swordfighting skills got a bit rusty. It was with that training that Logan went on to duel his son Dalek and win. Even in his last moments, Harada’s battle with the Red Right Hand had him kill several members while facing several fatal injuries. Never let it be said that the Silver Samurai isn’t hardcore.
Equipment
Swords
Being a samurai, Harada obviously carried a sword in his travels. In fact, he’s actually carried several. Be it a katana, a shortsword, or even just the sheath, give Harada a blade and he’ll cut someone down with it. As for any unique abilities…yeah they sure are swords…I guess? In fact, they’re so basic, Wolverine managed to break one when he was empowered by the Muramasa. Though given his mutant power, which will be covered later, he doesn’t need any special blades. Well, except maybe…
Muramasa Blade
Also known as the Black Blade, the Muramasa is a legendary blade that links to the soul of its wielder and augments their physical abilities. This allowed Jessica Drew to survive being crushed under a building, and allowed Wolverine to break one of Harada’s regular swords and beat him to near death. However, likely because the Muramasa links to the user’s soul, it decides who is the ideal host to wield the blade, and those who touch the blade that are unworthy can become possessed and uncontrollable. Luckily for Harada, when he acquired the blade, it deemed him an ideal host, allowing him to wield the blade without worry.
Honor Sword of Clan Yashida
The Honor Sword is the famous sword of the Yashida Clan. Also called the Masamune, this sword represents the clan’s soul, duty, and…well, honor. This sword originally belonged to Wolverine, granted to him by his formerly soon-to-be wife, Mariko. But after Mariko called off their wedding, Logan gave up the sword, and it ended up in the hands of Harada, who pledged only to use it against evil. As for abilities…well, it sure is a sword alright…and it sure can cut things.
Armor
Every samurai needs a good set of armor, and Harada is no exception. Composed of an advanced lightweight steel alloy, Harada’s armor is insulated to protect against electrocution and can be summoned onto him in the form of some kind of energy feedback. The armor is nearly bulletproof and is tough enough to stop a stab to the back and absorb hits from Spider-Man.
Teleportation Ring
Whenever Harada finds himself in a pinch, he wears a teleportation ring that, with just a twist, can teleport himself and others anywhere up to three miles away without error. Surprisingly, he’s never used it to be more evasive in a fight, always using it as a means of escape rather than attack.
Throwing Stars
While he doesn’t use them fairly often, Harada does have a set of throwing stars which do exactly what you’d expect. Though Harada’s blown up a bike and a small cannon with them, so that’s pretty cool I gueeeeeeeess.
Powers & Abilities
Mutant Ability
On top of his Class 10 superhuman strength, Harada’s mutant genes allow him to emit a tachyon field around any blade. In real life, tachyonic particles are hypothetical particles that travel faster than light. But in Marvel, they enhance Harada’s blades to let him slice through almost anything. Whether it be stone, reinforced steel, or even the spiritual Everwraith, Harada’s power lets him cut straight through it like butter. The effect is described as similar to a disintegration beam, and even Black Widow noted a similarity to electrocution. The only thing Harada consistently can’t cut through is Adamantium, and even with the aforementioned Muramasa, Harada still couldn’t cut through Wolverine’s Adamantium skeleton.
Resistances
Possession - Resisted Karma’s possession powers, which can only be resisted by the “rarest of minds - the strongest of wills”.
Feats
Overall
Saved Lindsay McCabe from a burning building
Claimed the Muramasa Blade
Escaped the Raft
Died…but lived!
Strength
Threw off Daredevil, She-Devil, Biri, and Ina after they dog-piled him
Nearly knocked Spider-Man out again and sent him flying with a “glancing blow”
A weakened Storm admits that she was no match for him physically
Speed
Durability
Spider-Woman notes that she’d have an easier time tackling a granite statue
Was among Mephisto’s Legion Accursed who got beat down by the Thing
Mephisto was also amping the Thing’s power
Armor barely held up after repeated blows from a Muramasa-enhanced Wolverine
Was only incapacitated after being stabbed by both Psylocke and Revanche
Armor endured gunfire, though he was unable to stand after for a time
Survived being stabbed in the chest, though needed medical attention after
Was stabbed in the stomach and shot by numerous arrows and kept fighting
Notable Battles/ Scaling
Daredevil
In his first appearance, Harada proves his worth by attacking Daredevil relentlessly. Even after being dog-piled by him, She-Devil and her pets, he managed to throw them off, but retreated after being wounded by one of She-Devil’s pets. Later, Daredevil kicked him square in the face and he was only dazed.
Black Widow
In their first meeting, Harada proved more than a match for Natasha, and consistently knocked her down when fighting her 1v1, with her only defeating him with Spider-Man’s help. Widow herself even noted that Harada has her beat in size and raw power.
Spider-Man
Initially, Harada was quick to overpower Spider-Man, even knocking him unconscious. Spidey himself even noted that it felt like every bone in his body was pulverized. But later, while stopping a building from collapsing, he and Black Widow took him down, despite Peter being half-dead. In later fights, things go a bit back and forth. A glancing blow from Harada nearly knocked Spidey unconscious and sent him flying out of the ship they were fighting in. But Spidey was able to recover, save a falling Black Widow, and battle Harada again. This time, while Harada’s armor was able to absorb some of Peter’s blows, Peter was able to break Harada’s grip and knock him out with one punch to the face.
Spider-Woman
In their first couple battles, Spider-Woman tried tackling Harada and hitting him with a full-powered Venom Blast only for him to be briefly stunned. Then Harada knocked her down and kidnapped her client, though she did feign complete unconsciousness. Though later on, while both were stripped of powers and weapons, Jessica quickly overpowered him as her strength was returning to her.
Wolverine
In their first legit battle, Wolverine proved that Harada’s energy sword doesn’t actually cut through everything, as it failed to cut through his Adamantium skeleton and claws. Additionally, Wolverine proved that he could break Harada’s armor, and defeated him in battle. Many issues later, Wolverine still proves Harada’s superior, even cutting his right arm off, though not after a hard fought battle that Logan himself called a “stalemate”. Then long later, after Harada was resurrected, he fought Wolverine again, this time losing again and pretty quickly.
Big Hero 6
As the leader, Harada has proven he can keep up with his fellow teammates, and even defeated Baymax before he and Hiro joined the team.
Elektra
In Elektra Vol 3 4, Harada and Elektra fought for the whole comic, with neither gaining an advantage until the very end(though it’s worth noting Harada never used his tachyons for some reason), when Elektra stabbed her sai in an opening in his armor.
Weaknesses
Harada may be an extremely skilled samurai, but he’s not without drawbacks. While his armor is definitely extremely tough, it doesn’t cover all of his body. A skilled fighter can take advantage of this and exploit the uncovered parts, as shown with both Elektra stabbing an opening and Wolverine straight up cutting his arm off.
