Darkhawk (Chris Powell) is a fictional comic book superhero who appeared in his self-titled monthly series for 50 issues that was published by Marvel Comics from March 1991 to March 1995. He was created by writer and then-Marvel editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco, and artist Mike Manley. This article is about the comic book company. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to first comic book to feature a character. ... Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comics writer and editor. ... Cover to Darkhawk #1. ... Loners (originally named Excelsior) are a group of Marvel Comics characters, a support group for former teenage superheroes, founded by Turbo of the New Warriors and Phil Urich, the heroic former Green Goblin. ... The New Warriors is a Marvel Comics superhero team, traditionally consisting of young adult heroes. ... The Defenders was a comic book series about a loosely-organized team of superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. ... The West Coast Avengers was a spin-off superhero team of the Avengers, as well as the title of their comic book series. ... FicTioNaL is a Gaming Legend. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... For other uses, see Superhero (disambiguation). ... This article is about the comic book company. ... Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comics writer and editor. ... Cover to Darkhawk #1. ...

Fictional character biography

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. Chris vowed to use the amulet as "an edge against crime." In this role, Darkhawk occasionally worked with the New Warriors and was a provisional member of the West Coast Avengers. Currently, Chris has decided to 'retire' from superheroics and has joined Excelsior, a support group of former teen heroes. However, Chris has become Darkhawk once more, for a special mission for Excelsior; in which the team are trying to help the teen super-heroes known as the Runaways. With the completion of this mission, Darkhawk again appears to be an active superhero on the west coast. From the beginning of his career, Darkhawk battled a number of costumed villains, including the U-Foes and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. An amulet from the Black Pullet grimoire An amulet (from Latin amuletum, meaning A means of protection) or a talisman (from Arabic tilasm, ultimately from Greek telesma or from the Greek word talein wich means to initiate into the mysteries. ... “Mechanoid” redirects here. ... The New Warriors is a Marvel Comics superhero team, traditionally consisting of young adult heroes. ... The West Coast Avengers was a spin-off superhero team of the Avengers, as well as the title of their comic book series. ... Loners (originally named Excelsior) are a group of Marvel Comics characters, a support group for former teenage superheroes, founded by Turbo of the New Warriors and Phil Urich, the heroic former Green Goblin. ... Runaways is a Marvel Comics comic book series created by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona. ... U-Foes is the name of a Marvel comic book supervillain team that gained their superpowers by taking a cue from the Fantastic Four and going up into outer space, and getting hit by cosmic rays. ... The Brotherhood of Mutants, originally known as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and briefly as the Brotherhood, is a Marvel Comics supervillain team devoted to mutant superiority over normal humans. ...

Originally, Darkhawk's powers included force blasts and flat energy shields projected from the amulet in his chest; a set of three claws on his right arm that extended as a grappling hook (often referred to as a 'claw cable'); retractable gliding wings and enhanced vision, including night and telescopic vision. Darkhawk's face, covered by a helmet, is apparently intensely ugly or terrifying. While never revealed to the reader, nearly every character that has seen Darkhawk's face has been horrified by it. When the android body was damaged, Chris could heal it almost instantly by transforming into his human form, and then back into his android form again (injuries to Chris' human form could not be healed this way). Darkhawk originally glided through the air using his wings, but later gained the power of flight, a power which later carried over to his upgraded form. It is likely that Darkhawk could always fly, but he simply did not realize this ability until a moment of panic when his wings were damaged. A person wearing a helmet. ...

Darkhawk's second armor. Art by Ron Lim.

Chris discovered that the source of his powers was a starship in a dimension called Null Space. It was here that his and other Darkhawk bodies were stored and repaired via nanotechnology. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 472 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (815 × 1035 pixel, file size: 176 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Darkhawks 2nd armor, Art by Ron Lim. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 472 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (815 × 1035 pixel, file size: 176 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Darkhawks 2nd armor, Art by Ron Lim. ... Cover to Spider-Man Unlimited #4. ...

When Chris was Darkhawk, his human body was stored in the ship in the android's place (a feature found also in the Miracleman comic). Later, Chris and Darkhawk were split into two separate beings, each with Chris' memories. The Darkhawk body was then transformed into a new shape when it accidentally downloaded data from the ship. Miracleman, originally known as Marvelman in his native United Kingdom, is a fictional character, a comic book superhero created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son. ...

The new Darkhawk body had a single, extendable blade on each wrist replacing his claw cable, camouflage, the ability to project force blasts from his helmet's visor in addition to his amulet, and a powerful forcefield that could change its shape. The forcefield could be used in tandem with his forceblasts to make constructs similar to the effects of Green Lantern's ring. Darkhawk could also teleport weapons out of the ship's arsenal to himself instanteously. For the DJ, see DJ Green Lantern. ...

At the end of the series, Chris and Darkhawk were merged, so that Chris could change back and forth between the two without teleporting to Null Space.

Continuity Inconsistence

Darkhawk's costume changes considerably when his armor is upgraded in Darkhawk #38. The new costume is kept until the end of the series in issue #50.

But in subsequent appearances since the cancellation of his own series, Darkhawk was soon shown back in his original form, without any of his upgraded powers. No explanation was given about that fact, causing an inconsistency in Darkhawk's continuity. The reason for the change seems to be for recognition. The popularity of Darkhawk's comic waned prior to the costume change, therefore his original outfit is the one associated with the character.

Excelsior (Loners)

It has been confirmed that Darkhawk will be back, within the upcoming series The Loners beginning in April 2007; in which will pick up upon the support group originally named Excelsior. Loners (originally named Excelsior) are a group of fictional characters, a support group for former teenage superheroes, founded by Turbo of the New Warriors and Phil Urich, the heroic former Green Goblin. ...

Chris Powell joined Excelsior, a group for former teenage heroes who were struggling with their current lot in life. 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 partner Rick Jones - to track down a group of young runaways in Los Angeles. The Green Goblin is a Marvel Comics supervillain and an archenemy of Spider-Man. ... Turbo is the name of two fictional characters in the Marvel Comics universe. ... The New Warriors is a Marvel Comics superhero team, traditionally consisting of young adult heroes. ... Julie Power (also known as Lightspeed) is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. ... For the 1965 American military operation, see Operation Power Pack For other uses of the term, see Power pack The Power Pack is a team of fictional child superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. ... Ricochet was an alternate identity used by the fictional superhero Spider-Man, and later adopted by college student Johnny Gallo, who appeared in the Marvel Comics series, Slingers. ... For the breakfast dish, see Slingers (food). ... Richard Milhouse Rick Jones is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. ... For other uses, see Runaways (disambiguation). ...

Chris displayed trouble controlling his anger in his Darkhawk persona, leading to a short skirmish with Turbo. Dismayed with himself, Chris decided to never turn into Darkhawk again. This decision did not last long however, 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 super-hero team. The Avengers are a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. ... For other uses, see Ultron (disambiguation). ...

Recently, the group known as Excelsior has decided to go back into being a support group; due to the actions caused by the Civil War. However, their newest member Mattie Franklin has convinced Chris to use his powers, in order to help her take down the MGH dealers that moved to Los Angeles. Civil War is a Marvel Comics summer 2006 crossover event, based around a core limited series of the same name written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven. ... Spider-Woman (Mattie Franklin) is a fictional character, a superheroine in the Marvel Comics universe. ... Mutant Growth Hormone or MGH is a fictional drug in the Marvel Universe. ...

Other versions

U.S. War Machine

In the mini-series U.S. War Machine, set in the Marvel MAX universe, Darkhawk was a psychopathic android, which could only be controlled by running a virtual reality program. The program, a "fiction" within that universe, played out the events where Darkhawk had been a member of the Avengers West Coast within normal Marvel continuity. The program itself also appeared in the final pages of US War Machine 2.0, in which Tony Stark's damaged body is placed inside the Darkhawk program in order to keep him alive. Iron Man (Anthony Edward Tony Stark) is a fictional comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. ...

Marvel Team-Up: League of Losers

Darkhawk features in an arc of Robert Kirkman's Marvel Team-Up (vol. 3), featuring a group of C-list heroes dubbed "The League of Losers". A group of heroes including Darkhawk, Dagger, Araña, Gravity, X-23, Sleepwalker and Terror (although Araña dies along the way) go to the future to prevent the villain Chronok from stealing Reed Richards' time machine, Chronok having come to the present and already having killed all of Marvel's major heroes. Marvel Team-Up is the name of several comic book series published by Marvel Comics. ... Robert Kirkman is a American comic book writer. ... Marvel Team-Up is the name of several comic book series published by Marvel Comics. ... Cloak and Dagger (Tyrone Ty Johnson & Tandy Bowen) are a fictional teenage mutant comic book superhero duo in the Marvel Comics universe. ... Araña (Anya Sofia Corazon) is a fictional character from the Marvel Universe. ... Gravity (Greg Willis), a fictional comic book superhero in the Marvel universe with the power to manipulate gravity. ... For information on the experimental aircraft, see X-23 PRIME. X-23 (Laura Kinney also known as Laura X) is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Terror Inc. ... Mister Fantastic is a Marvel Comics superhero who is the leader of the Fantastic Four. ...

It's revealed Chronok is from the same time period as Kirkman's Mutant 2099; the group stays with him and his mentor Reed Richards to wait for Chronok. The team defeats Chronok, but at the end of the story, Richards reveals they can't go back to their present, due to time-travel and alternate timelines. The group decides to stay in the future, satisified with the impact they made, however unnoticed. Mutant 2099 suggests reforming the Avengers or the "Fantastic Nine". Effectively trapped in the future, Chris begins a romantic relationship with Dagger. Mutant is a new character in the Marvel Knights 2099 universe created by Robert Kirkman. ... The Avengers are a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. ...

Note that due to the Marvel Universe's method for resolving time travel paradoxes, this story occurred in an alternate universe. This article is about the shared universe setting used by many Marvel Comics titles. ... The grandfather paradox is a paradox of time travel, first described by the science fiction writer René Barjavel in his 1943 book Le Voyageur Imprudent (The Imprudent Traveller).[1] The paradox is this: Suppose a man traveled back in time and killed his biological grandfather before the latter met the...

Over the course of this adventure, Chris acts as the core of the "League", serving as their leader and training the mostly novice heroes for their encounter with Chronok. Reed Richards remarks that while he had never thought of Darkhawk as leader material in the past, he is impressed by Chris' efforts.

During the various battles with Chronok and his army, Chris did not appear prone to irrational violence or uncontrollable anger while in his Darkhawk form, as he had during Excelsior's encounter with the Runaways. Runaways is a Marvel Comics comic book series created by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona. ...

Powers and abilities

The Darkhawk body has enhanced physical abilities, including strength, agility and reflexes. The retractable glider wings under his arms allow him to glide on air currents, and he can also fly at speeds that let him fly from New York to California in only a matter of hours. Even major injuries to his Darkhawk body can be repaired by switching back to his human form; his Darkhawk body teleports back to its holding space on the Darkhawk ship in Null Space, where it can be repaired almost instantly.

Darkhawk can project energy from the amulet in his chest, either as concussive force blasts, or as a circular energy shield. (Chris referred to his force blasts as "darkforce blasts," until he encountered the actual Darkforce Dimension in New Warriors.) Darkhawk also has telescopic and infra-red vision, and a grappling hook on his right arm shaped like a claw. The Darkforce is a fictional concept in the Marvel Comics superhero universe. ... The New Warriors is a Marvel Comics superhero team, traditionally consisting of young adult heroes. ...

In his human form, Chris Powell has no superhuman abilities, though he has taken some karate and kendo classes. For other uses, see Karate (disambiguation). ... Kendo ), or way of the sword, is the martial art of Japanese fencing. ...

For a time, Darkhawk was upgraded to a new body design, which gave him greatly enhanced powers. His amulet could project force bubbles in various shapes and he could combine his force fields and force blasts into a giant, hawk-shaped construct around his body. He could fire heat beams from his eyes, be healed by generating an energy pod around his body, and had a single extendable claw on each wrist. He could also mentally communicate with the Darkhawk ship, and could teleport weapons from the ship when he was on Earth. At one point, he was outfitted with additional body armor on top of his android body,

In this body, he was separate from Chris Powell, and both retained Chris' memories. The two were later merged into one being in the final issue of the Darkhawk series, so that Chris could turn into Darkhawk on command. The Darkhawk android body no longer existed and the two separate entities became one.

At some point he was reverted to his original form under unrevealed circumstances.

In other media

Darkhawk made two brief cameos in the Fantastic Four cartoon. In the episode, "To Battle the Living Planet" he is seen with other New Warriors helping civilians. In "Doomsday" he is showing flying with Justice. Fantastic Four is the third animated series based on Marvels comic book series Fantastic Four. ... Vance Astrovik, aka Justice, is a fictional mutant superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. ...

Bibliography

• Darkhawk #1-50 (March, 1991 – April, 1995)
• Darkhawk Annual #1-3 (1992 – 1994)
• Amazing Spider-Man #353-354, 357-358 (1991-1992)
• The Secret Defenders #1-3
• Spider-Man: Friends and Enemies #1-4
• Sleepwalker #17
• New Warriors (vol. 1) #14, 22-25, 33-34, 47-51
• New Warriors Annual (vol. 1) #3
• Avengers (vol. 3) #1-4, 501-503
• Avengers West Coast #93-95
• Runaways (vol. 2) #1-4, #6
• Marvel Team-Up (2005 series) #15-18
• Loners (2007 mini-series) #1-5
• Deadpool/GLI Summer Fun Spectacular (2007 one-shot)

Spider-Man swinging around his hometown, New York City. ... Spider-Man swinging around his hometown, New York City. ... The Avengers are a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. ... The Avengers are a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. ...

References

• Darkhawk FAQ