Darkhawk
Characters Why I Like Them (Darkhawk)
Chris Powell aka Darkhawk
Darkhawk #1
Darkhawk (Christopher Powell) is a fictional comic book superhero who first appeared in his own self-titled series, Darkhawk #1 (March 1991). He was created by writer and then Marvel editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco, and artist Mike Manley.
Publication history
Darkhawk appeared in a self-titled monthly series for 50 issues that was published by Marvel Comics from March 1991 to March 1995, and included three standalone annuals. Although created by DeFalco, most issues of the series (including the very first) credit Danny Fingeroth as writer.
After his own series ended, Darkhawk co-starred or cameoed in other titles over the following years, such as New Warriors, Avengers/JLA, and Iron Man, eventually resurfacing in Runaways Vol.2 #1-6, followed by Marvel Team Up Vol.3 #15 and the short-lived Loners series.
Darkhawk appeared within the Secret Invasion tie-in issues of Nova (#17-18) and was the focus of the two-issue mini-series War of Kings: Darkhawk, written by C. B. Cebulski, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. War Of Kings: Darkhawkbrought closure to Chris Powell’s earthbound human relationships with his family and fellow Loners team members, and serves to establish a clean slate for the sequel series, War Of Kings: Ascension, written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.
Darkhawk will appear in Avengers Arena, a new series by Dennis Hopeless and Kev Walker.
Fictional character biography
Christopher Powell was born in Queens, New York. While witnessing his policeman father accept a bribe from a crime boss at an abandoned amusement park, teenager Chris Powell discovered a mysterious amulet. This amulet allowed him to switch places with a powerful android that his mind controlled. Powell vowed to use the amulet as “an edge against crime.” In this role, he worked with other superheroes and battled a number of costumed villains.
Darkhawk soon encountered his first supervillain, the Hobgoblin, and battled him alongside Spider-Man. He next fought Savage Steel, and then Portal. He next battled the U-Foes alongside Captain America. He battled the villain Lodestone, who attempted to remove his amulet. He battled Savage Steel again, this time alongside the Punisher. Darkhawk battled the cyborg Midnight, Thunderball, and the Secret Empire alongside Spider-Man, the Punisher, Night Thrasher, Nova, and Moon Knight. Darkhawk then battled assassins from the Foreigner‘s 1400 Club. He battled Tombstone, who successfully removed his amulet from his chest.
Darkhawk occasionally worked with the New Warriors and was a provisional member of the West Coast Avengers. Darkhawk also battled a number of costumed villains, including the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
Darkhawk’s second armor. Art by Ron Lim.
Powell discovered that the armor was stored and repaired aboard a starship in a dimension called Null Space. When he used the amulet to access the armor, his human body switched places with the armor. The Darkhawk amulet and armor were one of several commissioned by an alien crime lord named Dargin Bokk. The scientists who created the technology eventually used it to assault Bokk. After Bokk’s defeat, the Darkhawk amulet was sent to Earth for safekeeping.
However, the events of the recent War of Kings: Ascension storyline cast doubts on how much of this—even the existence of Bokk himself—was real.
Later, Powell and Darkhawk were split into two separate beings, each with Powell’s memories. The Darkhawk body was then transformed into a new shape when it accidentally downloaded data from the ship, later re-merging so that Powell could change back and forth between the two without teleporting to Null Space.
Excelsior/Loners
Powell later joined a group of former teenage superheroes who were struggling with their current lot in life called the Loners (formerly known as Excelsior). Members of this group included Phil Urich (a former Green Goblin), Turbo from the New Warriors, Lightspeed from Power Pack, and Ricochet from the Slingers. The group was hired by a mysterious benefactor – later revealed to be former Avengers sidekick and Captain Marvel and Hulk partner Rick Jones – to track down the Runaways in Los Angeles.
Powell displayed trouble controlling his anger in his Darkhawk persona, leading to a short skirmish with Turbo. Dismayed with himself, Powell admits to his teammates that he suffered a nervous breakdown. Powell decided to never turn into Darkhawk again, but this decision did not last long, as shortly thereafter the group battled the notorious Avengers villain, Ultron. Darkhawk delivered the final blow, using a darkforce blast at point blank range to blow Ultron to pieces. Following the battle and the revelation of Jones’ involvement, Excelsior opted to remain together and act as a more traditional superhero team.
Excelsior eventually change their minds about being superheroes and instead become a ‘superhero support group’ due to the events of the superhuman Civil War rendering moot their original purpose to dissuade and/or help young superheroes cope with their powers/superhuman identities, as this role was now being officially fulfilled by the U.S. government[19] (though Excelsior’s new group mission was also fulfilled by the U.S. government). However, a new addition to the group, Mattie Franklin convinces Powell to use his powers in order to help her take down the MGH dealers that moved to Los Angeles. Powell inconsistently displays his rage issues during this time, mostly acting as a peacemaker between Mattie and Ricochet after the three team up to battle crime.
Secret Invasion
Deciding to register with the government, Darkhawk is assigned to the position of Security Chief at Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.. During the Skrull invasion, he teams up with his old team-mate Nova for two issues of that character’s own title, but is also seen in the background of several issues thereafter.
War of Kings
Darkhawk is involved with the War of Kings Event in a four-issue series written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning called War Of Kings: Ascension. With the Loners series ending with low sales and unlikely to be followed with a sequel series, series writer CB Cebulski was assigned to write a two-issue War of Kings: Darkhawk series, with Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning co-scripting the second issue to ensure it tied into their own ‘Ascension’ series. A second Darkhawk armor appears near the Powell family home, and the unknown occupant of the armor forces Powell to transform to his own armored form shortly before an explosion rocks the immediate area. Powell’s family survives the blast, but his mother is critically injured. The new Darkhawk introduces himself as “Talon” and claims to be part of “The Fraternity of Raptors”, an order created as “the curators of history, and the custodians of the future,” of which he and Powell are the last two members. He also explains that Powell’s anger issues are a direct result of the amulet not being designed to work with humans. Talon offers to assist Powell with the amulet, and after some deliberation he opts to do so; the two then retreat to the Negative Zone.
The story picks up in War of Kings: Ascension. Powell and Talon are fighting a group of Chitinauts, bug troops that serve Catastrophus, a lieutenant of Annihilus, where Talon’s brutal techniques horrify Powell. Later, Powell reveals that he wanted to be just like his friend Nova. Talon explains to him that the Nova Corps are nothing compared to the Fraternity of Raptors, referring to themselves as “architects of fate”. Eventually, after being tricked by Talon into fighting just as lethally, Powell manages to connect to the Datasong of the Null Source, which gives him visions of the true past of the Fraternity—a history of kidnappings and assassinations which lead Powell to conclude that the Fraternity are “the bad guys.” At this point, Talon attacks him, purging Powell’s consciousness from the armor, which manifests a new persona: Razor.
Talon and Razor then recover the Cosmic Control Rod from Catastrophus, Talon stopping briefly to implant a suggestion in the gestating Annihilus, and proceed onward. Powell’s personality is revealed not to have been wholly destroyed yet, and a vision of his father tells him that much of what he believed about the armor was false; the prior history, even Evilhawk himself, was a lie made up by his own mind, the other armor a second configuration that took control to cover earlier anger issues. Horrified, Powell’s psyche breaks free of the prison it was locked in, only for Powell to find himself on a great tree adorned with thousands of amulets like his own, where he encounters gargoyle-like creatures that urge him to return to the one which he has just emerged from. Meanwhile, in the Negative Zone, Talon and Razor offer Blastaar the Cosmic Control Rod, in exchange for his assistance influencing the outcome of the War of Kings.
Powell encounters a Skrull on the tree mentioned earlier, who has a relationship with Talon much as Razor has with him. However, the Skrull also confides that humanity, as a newer race, cannot be wholly accounted for or controlled by the Raptors, and that Powell’s own outbursts of rage have been growing pains in his own control. With this understanding, Powell is able to reassert control over the Darkhawk armor, but not before Razor shoots several Shi’ar and kills Lilandra.
Powell later confronts Talon, and while he is able to force the other raptor to release the Skrull temporarily, he is quick to begin asserting control again. The Skrull commits suicide to prevent Talon from manifesting, but not before he charges Powell with destroying the rest of the Raptor amulets before they can bring the Fraternity of Raptors back.
Realm of Kings
The Shi’ar Imperium declares Darkhawk the “Galaxy’s Most Wanted,” making Powell an intergalactic fugitive. His old friend Nova, not willing to believe Powell could be a murderer, tracks him to the planet Shard, which is in danger of falling into a rift in space known as the Fault. Nova offers to help Powell clear his name, but they are interrupted by an attacking biomass from the Fault, and by the awakening of another Raptor, named Gyre. All three are trapped on the planet as it is disintegrated by the Fault.
Darkhawk finds himself saved, alongside Nova, by Nova’s old enemy the Sphinx, who seems unaware of Darkhawk’s presence. Together, the two heroes join past versions of Reed Richards, Black Bolt, and Namorita in helping the Sphinx combat his younger self. The young Sphinx draws his own warriors, including Gyre, into the battle, and Darkhawk faces and defeats Gyre in single combat, exorcising him from the Kree archaeologist he had possessed. During the fight, Gyre reveals that many more Raptors are re-awakening. Ultimately, the elder Sphinx defeats his counterpart, and mentally controls Darkhawk into giving him his younger self’s Ka Stone. Nevertheless, the heroes are able to defeat the double-powered Sphinx and return to their proper places in time (except Namorita, who is pulled into Darkhawk and Nova’s time).
Darkhawk returns to Earth and Project Pegasus to help Nova fight the evil Quasar from the Cancerverse on the other side of the Fault. The evil Quasar damages Darkhawk so badly that his suit shuts down, leaving him alive but unable to accompany Nova as he goes to warn the universe about the threat posed by the Fault. Nova leaves Darkhawk in the care of Pegasus’ medical team.
Avengers Arena
Darkhawk next appears in Avengers Arena. He is among the young superheroes that are abducted by Arcade and sent to Murderworld despite not being a teenager himself. Arcade expects his captives to fight to the death. Darkhawk is later attacked by an unidentified cybernetic creature, which tears his transformation amulet from his chest. The amulet is found by Chase Stein, who transforms into the new Darkhawk. The attacker was later revealed to be Deathlocket (who was, in turn, controlled by Apex).
