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Kenichiro Harada
is a mutant with the ability to channel energy through his samurai sword. He is
the son of former
Japanese crimelord Shingen Harada.
Trained in the way of the
samurai, Silver Samurai is the leader of the
Yashida clan. He has clashed with the X-Men and Wolverine
many times, and has yet to claim a victory against them.
As a youth, Harada
mastered the attendant disciplines of the medieval samurai and sought
employment as a warrior for hire. He first worked for the criminal Mandrill
and clashed with the blind hero Daredevil. Harada then served the Viper, an
agent of the terrorist organization Hydra, as her bodyguard. In that capacity,
Harada battled opponents such as the costumed crimefighter Spider-Man,
the martial arts master Shang-Chi, and the team of mutant trainee heroes the
New Mutants.
Following his father's
death, Harada sought the leadership of Shingen's Clan Yashida from his
half-sister Mariko Yashida, but was opposed by the ronin Yukio and Mariko's
lover, the mutant adventurer Wolverine. Later, Harada worked with Wolverine to
free American private investigator Jessica Drew from the influence of Black
Blade of Muramasa, a sword mystically imbued with its creator's madness.
Wolverine himself fell under the sword's spell, but managed to overcome his
possession after which Harada took up the sword, finding himself worthy of its
power.
After Mariko's death,
Harada claimed leadership of Clan Yashida and was briefly employed by the
Japanese government as leader of their fledgling super-team Big Hero 6.
Ultimately, his inability to lead Clan Yashida allowed the Mongolian crimelord
Haan Kaishek to take control, and he allied with Wolverine to defeat the
Kaishek's. However, the disgrace of losing leadership was too great for
Harada, and he returned to his mercenary ways.
Eventually falling into
the service of Hydra once more, Harada was dispatched to battle the female
ninja Elektra and was seemingly killed. Revealed to have survived, the Silver
Samurai resumed his criminal career following an encounter with the mutant
Blindspot. Allied with known terrorist Lady Deathstrike, Harada attempted to
establish himself as the "Silver Shogun," leader of the Yakuza. He
was also briefly a prisoner in The Raft as part of a super-villain stockpiling
conspiracy, but he escaped and returned to Japan. Harada subsequently became a
member of the Japanese Prime Minister's security cadre. During the course of
his duties, Harada faced Wolverine, who cut off his hand in search of information
on the Muramasa Blade.
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