Warning: this article contains spoilers for X-Factor #7
Superheroes, generally speaking, don’t have the best track record at being good parents, which isn’t altogether surprising considering how little time is left to raise a family when one’s job is saving the world. Marvel Comics’ X-Men have a worse reputation than most at not being present for their children. The X-Men field leader Cyclops has often been dragged through the coals due to his failure as a father. His longtime rival Wolverine is just as guilty of the same inadequacy. What’s perhaps even more treacherous is the process of inheriting the X-gene. This genetic crapshoot sometimes results in catastrophe, or at the very least, suffering. Not every mutant power is a gift, and all too often it can be as much a weakness as a strength.
Akihiro, more commonly known as Daken, is not only the child of fan-favorite Marvel character Wolverine, but a chip off the old block in several ways. Notably, he inherited his father’s bone claws, healing factor no comma and animal senses, along with his own unique secondary powers that aren’t often mentioned. If being the estranged son of Wolverine—whose name translates to mongrel—isn’t bad enough, this month’s issue of X-Factor clarifies just how much of a burden one of his lesser-known powers is.
Relocating to Krakoa and joining X-Factor has marked Daken, and allowed him to find some measure of peace. The transition from lone assassin to member of a thriving nation hasn’t been easy, nor have the traumas of his past made it easy for him to let his guard down. Even though his past crimes would have been pardoned, as stipulated in the Krakoan treaty accords, Daken’s sense of belonging has been slow in coming. Not everyone feels welcome in, or worthy of paradise, it seems. But it isn’t all bad. Perhaps the biggest breakthrough since arriving at his new home has been the romantic relationship that’s developed between him and French-Canadian mutant Aurora.
This month’s X-Factor #7, from writer Leah Williams and artist David Baldeón, gives readers a rare moment of vulnerability, when the two discuss Daken’s pheromone powers. Along with his father’s incredible power set, Daken also possesses the ability to detect and manipulate pheromones. Though this insight and control over people’s brain chemicals can, on the surface, seem a powerful advantage on and off the field of battle, there are significant drawbacks. Unlike telepaths, his scope of perception is purely physical (chemical) and limited to playing around with the feelings that are already there, meaning he can’t make people feel something they aren’t already feeling. Moreover, unlike a telepath, Daken has no context for what he’s sensing, feeling and smelling around him. He’s constantly aware of the “what”, but never the “why”.
Aurora is quick to pick up on the hardship such an awareness can cause on the man she loves. As she puts it, he’s exposed to “Only a barrage of their desire via noise and scent and sensations,” going on to describe him as “a blindfolded empath set to wander alone in darkness.” This illuminating insight into a character normally defined by violence and pain certainly puts into perspective the burden of living in a body with one’s senses turned up to maximum levels and never being able to turn them off. Daken may have a chip on his shoulder as hard as adamantium, but it’s no wonder he hasn’t—until now—played well with others.