GOOD LUCK WITH GETTING THROUGH THIS LIST. akihiro has been really through it with the 18 years of publication history he’s been in. added in TWs too and tried to make them as accurate as possible (i might have gone overboard but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
If you wanna see my notes and commentary here (+ additional context) here's the longer spreadsheet version (NEW)
ESSENTIAL (?) READING LIST (check complete list for issue numbers)
wolverine: origins (2006)
dark avengers (2009)
dark wolverine (2009)
dark wolverine (2010)
uncanny x-force (2010)
uncanny avengers (2012)
wolverines (2015)
all new wolverine (2017)
x-factor (2020)
marauders (2022)
wolverine (2020) - just the sabretooth wars arc
hellverine (2024) - limited series
hellverine (2024) - ongoing
spirits of violence (2025)
inglorious x-force (2026)
COMPLETE READING LIST STARTS FROM HERE
(red = essentials, yellow = important but not necessary iykyk, blue = cameos/events)
origin + introduction
[OPTIONAL] house of m #1-8
[OPTIONAL] wolverine (2003) #36-40 (TW for gore)
wolverine: origins #5, #10-15, #24-27 (TW for gore and torture, and mentions of abuse, neglect, racism, brainwashing, child murder, suicide, and weird depictions of neurodivergency)
original sin [wolverine: origins #28, x-men: original sin #1, x-men: legacy #217, wolverine: origins #29, x-men: legacy #218, wolverine: origins #30, wolverine: origins #31-36, dark avengers #1-4] (TW for mentions of child abuse, torture, grooming, brainwashing, memory loss, and uncomfortable discussions about telepathic mind control and conditioning; also mr. sinister being a nazi eugenicist and sebastian shaw + charles xavier being horrible people in general)
dark avengers era
dark wolverine (2009) #75-77 (TW for mentions of racism, references to child sexual assault, and homophobia)
dark avengers #5-6
dark wolverine (2009) #78-80
[OPTIONAL] incredible hulk #603
[OPTIONAL] utopia [dark avengers/uncanny x-men: utopia #1, dark x-men: the beginning #2, uncanny x-men #513, dark avengers #7, uncanny x-men #514, dark avengers #8, dark avengers/uncanny x-men: exodus #1, dark x-men: the confession #1 (TW for references of racism)]
dark reign: the list - punisher #1 (TW for gore)
dark avengers #9-12
siege [dark wolverine (2009) #81-84 (TW for disassociation, mentions of child abuse, suicide, and torture), dark avengers #16]
solo adventures
reckoning [wolverine: origins #46, dark wolverine (2009) #85, wolverine: origins #47, dark wolverine (2009) #86, wolverine: origins #48] (TW for abuse, gore, gaslighting, and references to self harm)
dark wolverine #87 (TW for depression and implied suicidal ideation?)
[CAMEO, OPTIONAL] wolverine: origins #49-50 (TW for gore, mentions of abuse, and disassociation)
wolverine goes to hell [dark wolverine #90, wolverine: road to hell #1, [CAMEO] wolverine (2010) #11, #14-15 (TW for child murder, disassociation, alcoholism, and mentions of child abuse and neglect)]
[CAMEO, OPTIONAL] deadpool (2010) #37, #49.1-54
dark wolverine (2010) #1-7 (TW for suicide and gore)
collusion [x-23 (2010) #8, dark wolverine (2010) #8, x-23 (2010) #9, dark wolverine (2010) #9] (TW for torture, child murder, and mentions of child abuse)
dark wolverine (2010) #9.1-20 (2010) (TW for drug use, heavy depictions of addiction, self harm, gore, medical trauma, unhealthy amounts of disassociation, discussions about psychopathy and mental illness, toxic and abusive representations of queer relationships, homophobia, depression, plus mentions of racism, grooming, and child abuse; moonwalking and pride comes arc's "claws killer" mystery is also a clear reference to the hollywood ripper case)
dark wolverine (2010) #21-23 (TW for suicide, disassociation, and drug use)
[AU, OPTIONAL] what if: wolverine father
death and resurrection
uncanny x-force (2010) #25-35 (TW for child abuse, disassociation, and brainwashing)
uncanny avengers (2012) #9-15, #19-22 (TW for torture, gore, and brainwashing)
logan’s death
death of wolverine: the logan legacy #1, #5, #7
wolverines #1-2, #4, #9, #14-17, #19-20 (TW for gore, graphic depictions of amputation, medical trauma, mr. sinister being a fucking nazi eugenicist (AGAIN), depression, suicidal ideation, and a fair bit of victim-blaming for akihiro's plotline)
iceman (2017) #4, #8-10 (TW for gore and mentions of depression and brainwashing)
[AU, CAMEO, OPTIONAL] uncanny x-men: winter's end
[CAMEO] all-new wolverine #21
all-new wolverine #25-30 (TW for gore, graphic depictions of amputation, mentions of child abuse and brainwashing, and torture)
x-men: blue #24-30
hunt for wolverine: claws of a killer (TW for gore and brainwashing)
[CAMEO] return of wolverine #2
krakoa
[CAMEO] house of x #5
[CAMEO] x-force (2019) #9 (TW for gore and self harm)
x-factor (2020) #1-3, #5-10 (TW for slutshaming, disassociation, and mentions of domestic abuse, grooming, suicidal ideation, and trauma + implied alcoholism in #1?; issue #10 needs a special TW for a clear reference to the ed buck serial killer case)
[CAMEO] wolverine (2020) #8
[CAMEO] hellions (2020) #12
[CAMEO] trial of magneto #1-2
new mutants (2019) #15, #19-20, #24, #29 (TW for child murder and mentions of child endangerment)
[CAMEO, OPTIONAL] x lives of wolverine #3 (TW for gore)
x deaths of wolverine #3-5 (TW for graphic descriptions of torture)
[AU, CAMEO, OPTIONAL] spiderpunk (2022) #3
marvel's voices infinity comic #27-32
marvel’s voices: pride (2021)
marauders (2022) annual, #1-12 (TW for gore, brainwashing, and torture)
alpha flight (2023) #1-5
wolverine (2020) #41-42, 44 (TW for gore)
hellverine (2024) #1-4 (TW for gore, brainwashing, and torture)
can you elaborate on the last 2 tag pls?? bc im intrigued 👀👀
oh my god this is such an old tag HJKEWAHGFUI i completely forgot that i tagged this. anyways. i think i've mellowed out on their canon relationship stuff bc quite frankly they've got bigger things to deal with (crossing my fingers that aurora shows up for hellverine) and it's only been like, 3 years with them having limited appearances? so i think i was being a bit harsh on that regard. i still like them together and hope they develop more :)
i think more than anything they're two traumatized and deeply flawed characters who found that kinship in being fucked up, unlike aurora's previous relationships where she was mostly like, for a lack of better words, being seen as "the crazy girlfriend" despite having so much depth besides that. i don't think she even motivates aki to be better tbh bc like, he was already on that path of reformation long before she showed up -- i feel like, more than anything, x-factor was his first chance of breaking completely free from his previous moniker, despite its major flaws, so i will appreciate the sentiment behind that move.
i feel like their love could've been more kar-wai on like, the fact that both of them are pretty lonely characters, at the core of it -- and they've both experienced heartbreak, etc. but i gotta think abt this wayyyy more now T_T as for the nmh influence, i do think that they're also like, terrible people in different respects, but its like it would be fun to see them work that out too. like healthy relationships aren't without their ups and downs, but what matters is how they come out of that together (and is something i'm hoping would be a bigger thing w hellverine with their krakoa period being their "honeymoon" phase -- its not atypical for relationships to have that tbh)
the sentiment from the last tag was from the fact that both aki and rora were sought out for the first dark x-men team -- aki joined, rora did not, but i've always wondered how much more different their relationship could've been if they met over there. nowadays, i don't think much of it, but it's a cool thought experiment, i suppose
sorry for the long rambly answer, i don't even have a tldr, but i hope you enjoy (?) my answer idk
"but us mutants? we love baseball." the way this page and issue sent me into an aneurysm (positive)... i need to see this guy at a x-men baseball match now. the way he'd fuck everything up instantly on purpose >:)
first off . hightown, madripoor - fucked up homecoming for akihiro, considering his history there. other than it being traditionally akihiro's go-to place of hiding (after his empire / collusion arcs), it's interesting how the beginning of marauders (his case report in the annual) mentions him hanging out with marrow weekly in the princess bar (a traditionally lowtown, madripoor spot). so i like the subtle contrasting juxapositioning here
the.... romulus and brimstone love thematic parallels? i can see where this is coming from ever since the marauders annual and issue 1 (with the reference of love's theater of pain as "a torture cult" and akihiro being used as their "canvas" - not to mention explicit mentions of abuse and brainwashing/conditioning. plus the dead giveaway of refering to akihiro as a "dog" and the posh apartment setup at the sovereign - a super rich hotel in madripoor)
akihiro getting his own laura-esque "i am wolverine" moment!! its so refreshing to see him finally go by a new name and correcting people on it - not to mention seeing his deadname used in a negative context with unsavory connotations (something that has been far overdue at this point)
his hellfire suit looks SO MUCH BETTER HERE? i'm digging the fang necklace addition and rolled up sleeves - wish they added his tattoo pattern back, but i'm fine with the redesign either way
JOHNNY DEE?! man if that's a deep cut if i've ever seen one. dee's a david hine creation - he first appeared in pietro maximoff's son of m series, then in x-men: the 198, and finally in civil war: x-men. his main points of conflicts was that he rejected mutanthood despite being a very visible mutant (presumably due to his treatment from other humans and fellow mutants) and was kind of a manipulative villain who plotted to kill all the remaining 198 mutants after the house of m / decimation events. he did go to jail though after civil war, so it's interesting to see him team up with akihiro to kill brimstone love (his powerset is creating voodoo dolls of anyone he touches - and knowing orlando, that power is probably gonna be used in the most brutal way ever)
anyways! that tagline "life in the past, death in the future" has got me hyped for marauders #12. its sad to see this series get cancelled, it was a such a fun read for what it was worth!!
"but us mutants? we love baseball." the way this page and issue sent me into an aneurysm (positive)... i need to see this guy at a x-men baseball match now. the way he'd fuck everything up instantly on purpose >:)
Seeing a blog dedicated to THE funny little guy has made me really fucjing happy thank you for your service (kept seeing nothing but old negative posts about him)
AW thank you! I try my best! I'm glad that Akihiro's been getting better writing and characterization lately - so its been a ride seeing the general tide of fandom opinion go from weirdly demonizing to more positive... here's to hoping that trajectory would continue for him :)
