American comic books have adopted the character type for stories of their own like the mutant-villain Silver Samurai of Marvel Comics. The design of this character preserves the samurai appearance; the villain is “Clad in traditional gleaming samurai armor and wielding an energy charged katana” (Buxton, 2013). Not only does the Silver Samurai make over 350 comic book appearances, the character is playable in several video games, such as Marvel Vs. Capcom 1 and 2. In 2013, the samurai villain was depicted in James Mangold’s film The Wolverine. Ten years before the Wolverine debuted, another film helped pave the way to ensure the samurai were made known to American cinema: A film released in 2003 titled The Last Samurai, starring Tom Cruise, is inspired by the samurai way of life. In the film, Cruise’s character finds himself deeply immersed in samurai culture. The character in the film, “Nathan Algren, is a fictional contrivance to make nineteenth-century Japanese history less foreign to American viewers”.(Ravina, 2010) After being captured by a group of samurai rebels, he becomes empathetic towards the cause they fight for. Taking place during the Meiji Period, Tom Cruise plays the role of US Army Captain Nathan Algren, who travels to Japan to train a rookie army in fighting off samurai rebel groups. Becoming a product of his environment, Algren joins the samurai clan in an attempt to rescue a captured samurai leader. “By the end of the film, he has clearly taken on many of the samurai traits, such as zen-like mastery of the sword, and a budding understanding of spirituality”. (Manion, 2006)
Who did Tom Cruise play in The Last Samurai?
US Army Captain Nathan Algren