Ebon Samurai

Ebon Samurai
Ebon Samurai by Jhazmine Ruiz
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Alpha Flight #9 vol. 3 (January, 2005)
Created by	Scott Lobdell and Clayton Henry
In-story information
Alter ego	Kioshi Keishicho
Species	Undead human (yūrei)
Team affiliations	Big Hero 6
Abilities	Undead warrior with cursed samurai long sword Superb hand-to-hand combatant

Ebon Samurai is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. His first appearance was in Alpha Flight #9 (2005) and was created by Scott Lobdell and Clayton Henry.

Once assigned to the Imperial Guard of Japan, the elite branch of the National Police Agency responsible for protecting the Emperor, career police officer Captain Kioshi Keishicho was present years ago during an assassination attempt by the international terrorist organization known as HYDRA. Although the Emperor was not harmed in the attack, Keishicho was killed by the blade of the mutant Silver Samurai (Kenuichio Harada), who was affiliated with Hydra at the time.

Following his funeral rites, Keishicho’s soul descended to Yomi, the Shinto nether realm, where he was confronted by Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the god of primordial evil. Sensing Keishicho’s unsatiated thirst for vengeance, Mikaboshi offered to allow him to return to the mortal realm to exact revenge upon the man responsible for his death. Unaware of the strings attached to Mikaboshi’s deal, Keishicho readily accepted. However, upon his return to the land of the living as a revenant, Keishicho was shocked to discover that he was permanently bonded to a suit of ebony armor modeled after that worn by the Silver Samurai. In addition, the katana sword he now wielded was mystically bonded to the essence of a shinma demon which subconsciously reminded him of the debt owed to Mikaboshi. Struggling to maintain a semblance of humanity and resist the shinma demon’s corrupting influence, Keishicho began to investigate the whereabouts of the Silver Samurai, hoping to dispatch him as soon as possible so his soul could finally be at peace. Hearing that his target was affiliated with Big Hero 6, Keishicho infiltrated the team’s Tokyo headquarters, only to learn that the Silver Samurai had since parted ways with the team and was presumed deceased. After a brief altercation, Keishicho explained his situation to Big Hero 6 and briefly operated alongside the team as the “Ebon Samurai,” believing he had no other purpose to serve now that Silver Samurai was dead. He was among the team members present at the press conference where Big Hero 6 announced their intent to collaborate more closely with the Japanese government.