Silver Samurai

Kenuichio Harada is the original Silver Samurai.[2] The character first appeared in Daredevil #111 (July 1974), and was created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Bob Brown.[3] A Japanese mutant who uses his powers to charge his katana and wears a samurai-style armor made of a silvery metal, he is the illegitimate son of Lord Shingen, the half-brother of Mariko Yashida, a cousin of Sunfire and Sunpyre, and a nemesis of Wolverine.

Shingen "Shin" Harada, otherwise known as the second Silver Samurai, is Kenuichio Harada's son and named after Lord Shingen, his grandfather. He had been committing larceny with Amiko Kobayashi.[4]

Shin later worked with Mystique to track down newly awakened mutants to join a cause. He was later recruited by Kade Killgore to be a teacher at the Hellfire Club's Hellfire Academy where he worked as a designer.[5][6]

Silver Samurai later appeared as a member of Mystique's fourth incarnation of the Brotherhood of Mutants.[7] During Magneto's fight with the Brotherhood of Mutants on Madripoor, Magneto controlled Silver Samurai into wounding Mystique.[8]

As part of the "All-New, All-Different Marvel", Shingen Harada represented the Yashida Corporation when he attended a meeting at the Universal Bank with Tiberius Stone of Alchemax, Wilson Fisk of Fisk Industries, Sebastian Shaw of Shaw Industries, Darren Cross of Cross Technological Enterprises, Zeke Stane of Stane International, Frr'dox of Shi'ar Solutions Consolidated, and Wilhelmina Kensington of Kilgore Arms where they discussed with Dario Agger about Roxxon Energy Corporation's plans to exploit the Ten Realms of Asgard. When the true motive of the meeting was revealed, Harada attacked Dario and they almost fought, interrupted by the arrival of Exterminatrix of the Midas Foundation, resulting in Dario getting knocked out when declaring herself a new member of their assembly.[9] He then went to an underwater station in the Southern Ocean, where he attacked the employees until encountering Thor who defeated him by smacking him repeatedly with Mjolnir. He then escaped and joined Exterminatrix in an aerial battle against soldiers attempting to rescue Dario. They later entered Roxxon Corporation HQ, where they encountered the B.E.R.S.E.R.K.E.R.S., a group of Hulk-like superhumans. While the Mindless Ones fought the B.E.R.S.E.R.K.E.R.S., Silver Samurai and Exterminatrix went to Dario's vault, attempting to take the money until Agent Solomon arrived, forcing Exterminatrix to fight the woman while Silver Samurai opened the vault. When the vault was opened, Dario transformed into Minotaur and knocked out Silver Samurai. Then, the floating island the building was located on fell down due to the activation of the Agger Imperative. While S.H.I.E.L.D. evacuated the building, Thor destroyed the island. The villains were later arrested and taken into custody.[10]

Silver Samurai approached Old Man Logan wanting to ally in stopping the Hand's Regenix operation. He agreed in exchange that Mariko doesn't get killed and that Touku and Asami's child is taken care of. When Logan and Silver Samurai attack the Hand's Regenix operations, Silver Samurai fought Gorgon while Logan fought the Hand Ninjas to confront Mariko. After Gorgon got away, Silver Samurai injected nanites into Mariko to break the Hand's control. Afterwards, Logan and Mariko sent Silver Samurai to destroy the Regenix shipments in Madripoor.[11]

• The Kenuichio Harada incarnation of Silver Samurai appears in the X-Men animated series, voiced by Denis Akiyama.
• The Kenuichio Harada incarnation of Silver Samurai appears in the Wolverine and the X-Men animated series, voiced by Keone Young.
• The Kenuichio Harada incarnation of Silver Samurai appears in the anime series Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, voiced by Takanori Nishikawa.[12]
• The Kenuichio Harada incarnation of Silver Samurai appears in the animated series Marvel's Hit-Monkey, voiced by Noshir Dalal.

The Silver Samurai appears as a separate entity named Ichirō Yashida in the 2013 live-action film The Wolverine,[13] with Japanese-Italian actor Haruhiko Yamanouchi portraying his older self and Ken Yamamura portraying his younger self.[14] An amalgamation of Ogun and both versions of Silver Samurai from the comics, Yashida is the founder of the Yashida Clan's technology empire, Shingen Yashida's father, Mariko Yashida's grandfather, and Yukio's foster father. As a young man in the Japanese military during WWII, Yashida was saved by Logan during the United States' atomic bombing of Nagasaki and became obsessed with the latter's healing factor and immortality. As an old man dying of cancer in the present, Yashida arranges for Logan to see him one more time and asks Mariko to succeed him before seemingly dying. In reality, Yashida faked his death and tasked Viper with helping him develop a giant, robotic adamantium Silver Samurai suit armed with an adamantium katana and wakazashi capable of being super-heated in order to sustain himself and steal Logan's powers. After eliminating his enforcer Kenuichio Harada for betraying him, Yashida uses his adamantium weapons to sever Logan's adamantium claws and extract his healing factor. However, Mariko uses the claws to attack Yashida, who loses control of his suit while Logan regenerates his original bone claws and kills him.

• The Kenuichio Harada incarnation of Silver Samurai appeared as a player character in X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel vs. Capcom 2, voiced by Yasushi "Ike-Bomb" Ikeda.
• The Kenuichio Harada incarnation of Silver Samurai appears in X-Men: The Official Game, voiced by Keone Young.[15]
• The Kenuichio Harada incarnation of Silver Samurai appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes,[16] voiced by Andrew Kishino.