An interesting issue from Marvel’s Bronze Age was Daredevil #111 (July 1974), which introduced the Silver Samurai for the first time. The Silver Samurai, Kenuichio Harada, proved to be a nuisance for several of Marvel’s greatest heroes, including Daredevil, Spider-Man, Black Widow, and, probably most notably, Wolverine.

Harada is a Japanese mutant who has the ability to “charge” his katana via a tachyon field; his style of fighting and silvery armor are what gave him his nickname. He was most often seen alongside the Viper, where he acted as her bodyguard, though he also did mercenary work.

Over the years he was quite the problem for a number of people due to his nature of committing crimes, but he had some periods where he wasn’t all bad. In fact, the Silver Samurai was actually the leader of the original Japanese superhero team, Big Hero 6. Unfortunately, he ended up being brainwashed by Blindspot into forgetting his heroic deeds and returned to his antagonistic lifestyle.

The Silver Samurai has appeared in a number of different types of Marvel media, from the popular 1990s X-Men cartoon to the Marvel vs. Capcom 2 video game. An altered version of the character also appeared in the 2013 live-action film, The Wolverine; this iteration of the Silver Samurai was named Ichiro Yashida, who used a robotic suit made of adamantium to battle the film’s titular character.