Marvel Resurrects Wolverine’s Son as a New Type of Ghost Rider (Exclusive)

Daken, Wolverine’s son, is back from the dead and trailing a blazing path across the Marvel Universe as the Hellverine. That’s the setup for a new Hellverine series that finds Daken bonding with the Demon Bagra-ghul, who previously possessed Wolverine. Daken was killed by Victor Creed in the opening salvo of the “Sabretooth War” storyline in Wolverine, but it’s hard keeping a Wolverine down. Fans got to meet Hellverine during last year’s Ghost Rider/Wolverine: Weapons of Vengeance crossover, but now he’s back in a new ongoing series.

ComicBook has the exclusive preview of Hellverine #1 by Benjamin Percy, Raffaele Ienco, Bryan Valenza, and VC’s Travis Lanham. It’s a pretty mundane opening, as we follow Daken as he slips in and out of his Hellverine alter ego while traveling across the globe. We also glimpse Daken’s origin story, seeing his birth after Romulus killed his mother while she was pregnant with him. He was then raised by another family and bullied as a kid, which is where Akihiro gained the name Daken, which means “bastard” or “mongrel.”

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Daken accidentally killed one of his bullies, along with his adoptive mother when his mutant powers manifested and bone claws popped out of his wrists. He later embraced the Daken name and sought revenge against Wolverine, ultimately dying in the process. He later found a new life, with the preview ending as Daken walks into a convenience store right as someone is plotting a murder. Part of Daken’s Hellverine powers allow him to sense evil.

On Hellverine’s success and future, Percy shared, “I was writing Wolverine, and I was writing Ghost Rider. Of course I was going to bring them together. The Weapons of Vengeance storyline was a monstrous hit, in part because Geoff Shaw and I introduced the Hellverine, a version of Logan with a flaming skull and flaming claws. The fan enthusiasm was such that a Marvel Legends toy was announced and a spin-off limited series got greenlit. I had so much fun expanding the mythos of the demon Bagra-ghul and finding a way to not only bring Akihiro back from his savage death in Sabretooth War, but to explore some fresh possibilities for a complicated character I’ve always loved. And now? There’s more mayhem and occultism and hellfire on the horizon. I’m grateful to readers and retailers for their support, because a Hellverine ongoing is coming your way. I’m joining forces with powerhouse artist Raffaele Ienco, and we’ve got huge, horrifying plans for the Hellverine and his role in the 616.”

The exclusive preview of Hellverine #1 is below. The issue goes on sale Wednesday, December 18th.