Peach Momoko’s Demon Days saga has brought fans imaginative new versions of popular Marvel characters; and with the third installment fast approaching, she’s giving readers a deeper glimpse into what’s yet to come. The first two chapters, X-Men and Mariko, told two separate stories, set many years apart, but in a preview for Demon Days: Cursed Web it looks like their characters and stories are finally set to merge.
Demon Days exists within what its creator has deemed, the Momoko-verse: a world that takes Marvel mythos and sets it against a Japanese backdrop, infusing the mixture with themes and figures from popular Japanese folklore. It’s through this lens that fans are able to see favorite characters like Wolverine, Psylocke, Black Widow, Nightcrawler, and more transformed into something completely unique. Momoko has given them new origin stories, relationship dynamics, and folklore identities all while still maintaining their recognizability… and now she’s turning her attention to two major mutant villains.
In Demon Days: Mariko, a young Mariko finds out that her grandmother is not really her grandmother, her maid is not really a maid, and she is no normal teenage girl. She is an Oni, a yōkai spirit of the mountains who is being hunted down by Ogin, an evil Oni, and her henchmen. Now, in a preview for the third installment, readers are finally getting a glimpse at the dialogue and interactions which will transpire as Mariko sets off to face Ogin and uncover the secrets of her mysterious past. A major focus of these few preview pages are Momoko’s reimagined versions of Wolverine’s nemesis, Sabretooth, and the classic mutant antagonist, Mystique; but in the Momoko-verse their names are Toraji (meaning tiger) and Ocho (meaning dynasty) respectively. In this rendition they are working under Ogin, and their orders are to capture Mariko and bring her back alive.
Check out the cover and preview pages for the September 1st release below!
They may be in a different setting, but it’s obvious Momoko still took care in incorporating classic aspects of their mainstream costumes and looks into her designs; putting Mystique in a more Japanese-inspired version of her classic white ensemble with a skull on her sword, and keeping Sabretooth’s signature furry hood and shapely hair. Plus, their less-than-heroic personalities seem to still be strongly intact. Luckily for Mariko, she’s got an ally hiding in the shadows of Kirisaki mountain. Logan, in his wolf form, made his debut in the first chapter of Demon Days and readers have been awaiting his return in the saga, especially considering Wolverine’s relationship to Mariko in the mainstream comics. Now, it looks like he’s ready to come out of his many, many years of watchful hiding in order to help protect the young Oni from harm.
However, it looks like she might not need the help for long. The preview may not give way to what this world’s Sabretooth and Mystique’s abilities are exactly, but it does reveal that their altercation with Mariko will be key in unlocking her memories… and in turn, her powers. Of course, wolf Logan’s assistance in fending off the evil henchmen will most likely still be well received regardless of her own latent potential. One thing this preview still doesn’t reveal though, is how or when Momoko’s version of Ghost-Spider will come into play. Luckily, readers won’t have to wait too much longer to find out how all of these characters will mix, as the release date for Demon Days: Cursed Web quickly approaches.
