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In Demon Days: Rising Storm #1, Wolverine’s girlfriend faces off against Japan’s version of Thor and Storm…and does surprisingly well.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Demon Days: Rising Storm #1, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Peach Momoko’s Demon Days miniseries took a tour through a unique and visually stunning iteration of the Marvel Universe set in a fantastic version of feudal Japan where humans, mutants, and mythological Yokai demons live side-by-side. Fittingly enough, the alternate versions of iconic Marvel heroes and villains who inhabit this new corner of the multiverse draw heavy influence from Japanese history and folklore, including a version of the X-Men’s Psylocke who travels the land as a demon-slaying swordswoman, and an iteration of the legendary dragon Yamato no Orochi infected by the Venom symbiote, who stay true to their original characters while paying respectful homage to their historical and mythological inspirations.
Demon Days: Rising Storm #1 (by Momoko, Zach Davisson, and VC’s Ariana Maher) continues this tradition by pitting the young Yokai Mariko (the Demon Days counterpart of Wolverine’s late love of the same name) against the siblings Sosuke and Ororo, the Demon Days counterparts of Thor and Storm. As traditional Japanese gods, or Kami, Raijin and Fujin are much more powerful than the Yokai who have been the basis of characters like Hulkmaru, the Demon Days counterpart of Red Hulk. Through their brief battle with Mariko, Raijin and Fujin manage to prove themselves to be just as powerful as their Earth 616 counterparts and give Mariko a chance to both demonstrate some impressive strength of her own and finally unravel the mysterious connection between her and her nemesis Ogin.
Since discovering that she’s the daughter of an Oni in Demon Days: Mariko (by Momoko, Davisson, and Maher) the young fighter has been on a journey to discover the truth about her origins. Throughout her quest, Mariko has been hunted by the minions of Ogin, a mysterious demon who wishes to use her blood to gain more power. After Toraji and Ocho, the Demon Days counterparts of X-Men villains Sabretooth and Mystique fail to capture Mariko, an enraged Ogin sends Sosuke and Oboro to finish the job and bring Mariko to her. Although neither of them agrees with what Ogin plans to do, they owe the villain a debt for returning Sosuke’s lost hammer, and the pair confronts Mariko and her wolf companion Logan as they’re traveling through the forest near Ogin’s temple lair.
Despite their attempts to convince Mariko that they only want to talk, a distrustful Mariko attacks them first, forcing Sosuke and Oboro to fight back in self-defense. Despite her earlier victories, Mario is caught off-guard by Sosuke and Ororo revealing the full extent of their power, with Orobo pummeling Mariko with powerful gusts of wind while Sosuke bludgeons her with blows from his hammer. Pushed to her limits, Mariko is forced to don the cursed mask that her mother passed down to her, which greatly increases her power while amplifying her innate bloodlust. With this added strength, Mariko manages to fight the siblings on more-equal footing but is once again overwhelmed when Sosuke and Ororo reveal their true forms as Raijin and Fujin, the Japanese Kami (gods) of Thunder and Wind.
Although Mariko has battled several powerful Yokai, Raijin and Fujin are in a class all their own, unleashing the full force of their elemental might and pushing Mariko to her limit. Just as she’s about to completely lose herself to her bloodlust, however, Raijin and Fujin unleash a joint attack that draws forth the spirit of Miyuki, Mariko’s mother, from the mask Finally free to speak with her daughter, Miyuki reveals that Ogin is and always has been Mariko’s sister, who falsely believes that Mariko killed their mother. With her memories finally restored, Mariko allows Raijin and Fujin to escort her to Ogin’s lair and the two depart to allow the sisters to settle their feud.
The world of Demon Days is full of powerful beings that combine the strengths of the Marvel Universe’s greatest champions with those of Japan’s most powerful mythological beings, but Raijin and Fujin might very well be the most powerful of them all. Unlike Yokai which are generally viewed as dangerous but manageable beings, Kami are divine beings who command the powers of nature itself, putting Rajin and Yujin on a level of power that surpasses every threat that Mariko has faced on her journey. Had the two wanted to, they could have easily destroyed Mariko in seconds, with only their apparent relationship with Miyuki sparing her daughter from total annihilation.
However, the fact that Mariko was able to hold her own against them for even a moment speaks to her own growing strength, and the powerful gods openly acknowledge and praise that power as they part ways with her. Now that she’s set to face her sister, the blessing of these two powerful gods might be just what Mariko needs to end the feud that has kept her family apart.
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