Character Spotlight: Daken

This vicious mutant assassin annihilates anything in his path, and he has come straight for MARVEL SNAP!!

On Reveal: Add the Muramasa Shard to your hand.

Daken is a killer, born and bred.

Decades ago, the brainwashed KGB assassin James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes, AKA Winter Soldier, kills Itsu—the pregnant, Japanese wife of Logan. Unbeknownst to Logan, his unborn baby is torn from Itsu’s womb—likely surviving due to his inherited mutant healing factor—and abducted by secretive manipulator Romulus.

Near Sendai, Japan, Daken is taken in by a wealthy man named Akihira who raises him as his own. Named Akihiro, Daken is taunted for his heritage and called a mongrel by the servants. As a boy, Daken kills one of his tormentors, teaching the others to fear him. At eleven, his adoptive mother Natsumi gives birth to a son; recognizing the competition from a legitimate heir, Daken kills the baby justifying banishment by his father. Before he leaves, he kills Natsumi, releasing his claws apparently for the first time. After Akihira kills himself with a rifle, Daken is confronted by Romulus. Daken then undergoes training as an assassin.

Daken has superhuman reflexes, endurance, longevity and sensory acuity, and an advanced healing factor. He possesses three retractable bone claws housed within each hand: two dorsal and one palmar below the wrist.

Daken’s mutation allows him to control his pheromones, enabling him to disguise his own scent and cause fear or a false sense of security to the point where even Wolverine’s hyper-senses cannot detect him.

Highly skilled in espionage, Daken is a trained assassin. He has learned many forms of armed and unarmed combat from Cyber, and is an excellent tracker. He is also fluent in German, Italian, Japanese, and can read Greek.

Daken has a complicated and violent relationship with his biological father, Wolverine. For most of his youth, Daken believed Wolverine responsible for his mother’s death but when he finally learns the truth, he sides with Wolverine. They still often end up as tenuous allies and frequently betray each other.

Romulus, who secretly manipulates Daken and raises him to be a ruthless figure, is responsible for Daken’s mother’s death. Romulus schemes to pit Daken and Wolverine against one another to replace him as leader of his secret criminal empire. While Daken desires only death for Romulus, Logan defeats him and removes Daken’s wrist claws to prevent him from becoming powerful enough to become the next Romulus.

Daken has since banded himself with a number of baddies, including the Green Goblin’s Dark Avengers, the Brotherhood of Mutants, and also established himself as the criminal underworld leader of Madripoor.

Upon joining Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers as the “Wolverine” member of the group, Daken was warned of an X-Men ambush led by Cyclops, wielding the Muramasa blade which had mystical properties that could disable Daken’s regenerative abilities and cut through adamantium. However, Wolverine interrupted the battle and in fighting Daken, the blade shattered, but Daken escaped with a shard of it. Daken then had the Tinkerer bond his claws to the metal of the Muramasa blade, with the intent to use it against Romulus.

Daken’s remarkable mutant physiology and regenerative healing factor is represented in MARVEL SNAP through his relationship to the Muramasa blade:

When this is discarded or destroyed, double Daken’s Power.

The Muramasa Shard can be destroyed or discarded to double Daken’s Power.

By default, Daken’s Power will be increased to 8 upon triggering this effect, making him an efficient 3-cost card that remains safe from Shang-Chi.

However, there are many effects in MARVEL SNAP we can combine with Daken’s Power doubling ability for some hefty bonuses, such as the Cloning Vats, Shuri’s Lab, and Wakandan Embassy locations.

Effects from cards like Hulk Buster, Shuri, Nakia, Moon Girl or Silver Surfer also support Daken reaching Power levels in the double digits and potentially far beyond.

There are bountiful fun play lines to try with Daken joining the fray — So let’s discard and destroy that Muramasa Shard and get to SNAPPIN’!