BIOGRAPHY - Page 1
The Japanese warrior known as Ogun is a legendary figure who is believed to have conquered death itself.
The earliest myth of Ogun dates back to the 17th century, where he crossed paths with the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. Miyamoto and Ogun both approached the bridge over a river at the same time. The bridge was too narrow for both to pass at once, and so one must wait. They agreed it was honorable for the lesser man to stand aside as the greater samurai crossed first, but each believed they were superior. The two men unsheathed their katana and 
locked eyes from across the river. For a full minute, they gazed unblinking as the duel played out in their minds. In the end, both men sheathed their swords, bowed and departed from the bridge to find alternative means across. Miyamoto and Ogun were equally matched and would not dishonor the other by claiming the bridge first. [Kitty Pryde and Wolverine #4]
The next tale of Ogun’s history surrounds the Meiji Restoration in Japan, a national response to growing foreign interest in the country from circa 1868. Ogun founded a secretive ninja clan known as the Path of Destiny. While other clans like the Hand remained rigid in defending Japan’s purity against outside influence, the Path was willing to incorporate Western ideas into their own agenda for Japan. Around this time, Ogun was believed to have possessed Kurokaze the Black Wind, one of the five legendary Japanese Swords of Secrets. [X-Men: Kitty Pryde – Shadow and Flame #4]
Around the first world war, Ogun was a captain in the Japanese Imperial Army. While on deployment in Shanghai, he witnessed a sergeant dishonor himself assaulting an old man and a child. A passing sailor stood up for the youth, and Ogun cut down the sergeant with his sword before the soldier could turn his gun on the newcomer. Ogun was prepared to kill the sergeant’s partner as well, but the sailor stepped forward in defense of the second soldier, reporting that he 
at least tried to stop his superior. Ogun was furious over being opposed by this man, but he saw true courage in his eyes when faced with a blade. Ogun extended an offer to this sailor named Logan, to teach him the martial arts and the samurai code at his ryu dojo in Kanazawa. [Wolverine (2nd series) #113]
Logan did not go with Ogun then, but he eventually traveled to Japan and accepted tutelage under his sensei. Ogun and Logan became master and student, but also as close as brothers. Ogun taught Logan many things, training him in the martial arts and the stealthy ways of the ninja. In particular, he encouraged Logan to embrace his humanity instead of succumbing to his animal instincts. [Wolverine (2nd series) #89, 103] However, Ogun also strayed from his own path of honor. In search of immortality and power, Ogun turned to the dark arts and became corrupted. He learned rituals for prolonging his life, ignoring the effects of mortal injury, and even sustaining his spirit in the absence of flesh. Given his legend, Ogun likely began studying these practices long before he met Logan, but the darkness within him became undeniable while Logan was his student. By the time the two men parted, Logan feared Ogun more than he respected him. [Wolverine (2nd series) #169]
In modern times, the oyabun (crime lord) Heiji Shigematsu acquired controlling interest in the Chicago bank owned by Carmen Pryde. Shigematsu Enterprises intended to illegally launder money through Pryde’s business, but Carmen Pryde’s moral compass made him reluctant to comply. Shigematsu had contracted the services of Ogun and sent him and his bodyguard Shumai to persuade Pryde to see reason. Ogun met with Pryde in Chicago when his daughter Kitty visited the bank. Carmen agreed to return to Japan with Ogun and Shumai to meet with Shigematsu if they left his daughter alone.
Kitty Pryde was already a member of the X-Men and recognized that her father was in trouble, despite the surface politeness of the meeting. She used her phasing powers to stow away on a flight to Japan and spied on Carmen’s meeting with Shigematsu. While escaping from Shigematsu’s men, Kitty exposed her powers and basic combat training. Her potential intrigued Ogun, and he told Shigematsu he would deal with the girl. In fact, Kitty’s life would serve as payment in full for the services he rendered to the oyabun. By this point, Kitty was confused, jetlagged and feverish, allowing Ogun to easily catch up to her, despite her phasing powers. He used a drugged powder to knock her out and took the teenager for conditioning.
The next week was an extensive course of brainwashing and psychological conditioning for Kitty, combined with the drugs and ninja magic Ogun practiced. He paralyzed Kitty, stripping away her existing identity and subjecting her to a metaphorical death. With “Kitty” dead, Ogun stepped in to place himself at the center of her universe. She was reborn as an infant and psychically underwent a lifetime of martial arts training under the tutelage of her sensei. In a matter of days, Kitty Pryde mastered the arts of the ninja and the samurai through Ogun’s guidance. Ogun and Ogun’s student became one, as Kitty Pryde now carried a copy of Ogun’s psyche within her mind, both guiding her and replacing her at the same time.
Wolverine learned of Kitty’s disappearance, and so Ogun’s old student came to Japan searching for her. Ogun decided the perfect test of Kitty’s skill and obedience would be to kill Logan for him. Dressed in Ogun’s demon mask, Kitty Pryde fought Wolverine across the rooftops of Tokyo before her mask slipped. In that moment of surprise, Logan hesitated and Kitty ran him through with her 
blade. Logan nearly died, but the shock was enough to shake Kitty from the full effects of Ogun’s conditioning. They retreated to a mountainside home for the Clan Yashida. Logan recovered while training Kitty’s mind and body to thrive without Ogun’s influence. She rejected Ogun’s control but knew she could never be sure he was gone until she faced him again. She snuck away from Logan to return to Tokyo alone.
Ogun wished to punish Logan for his interference, so he sought out Wolverine’s lover, Mariko Yashida, and their foster daughter, Amiko. Kitty Pryde, now called Shadowcat, anticipated how 
Ogun would think and got there first. Shadowcat fought well, but she was at a disadvantage trying to protect the women as well as beat Ogun. He used her split priorities to strike Kitty with drugged shuriken, depriving her of her phasing powers. Despite her injuries and fatigue, Shadowcat refused to yield to Ogun. He attempted to force his spirit upon her once more, to continue her conditioning, but Shadowcat was now strong enough to resist his psychic pull. Ogun was denied access to her body and mind.
By this point, Wolverine had caught up to Shadowcat and Ogun. Logan could not defeat his old sensei man-to-man and suffered first blood. He ran instead, drawing Ogun away from Kitty, Mariko and Amiko for the moment. As their match continued, Shadowcat caught up with the men, but she 
was too tired to be of much help. To protect Kitty, Logan realized he needed to abandon the idea of matching Ogun’s skills as a warrior. Instead, he gave in to the berserker rage of his animal side. This was a savagery for which Ogun did not have a defense, and Logan soon disarmed the master and crushed his demon mask.
Wolverine called out to Kitty, offering her the chance to deliver the final blow and kill the beaten warrior. Shadowcat instinctively grabbed Ogun’s katana and lunged for him. At the last possible moment, though, she only touched his brow with the blade. Kitty refused to kill a helpless 
opponent, the last test to prove Ogun’s influence had left her system. As Logan walked Kitty away and congratulated her on her fortitude, Ogun regained his strength, grabbed his katana, and tried to swipe at them from behind. Both men struck at each other through the phased body of Kitty Pryde. Ogun’s blade bounced off of Logan’s Adamantium bones, but Wolverine’s claws struck true to Ogun’s heart. The ninja master fell to the ground, dead. [Kitty Pryde and Wolverine #1-6]