As the “Infinity Countdown” event builds towards its climax, some unexpected Marvel Comics characters are starting to receive the spotlight. While the Fraternity of Raptors have played a big part in both Guardians of the Galaxy and Infinity Countdown, the original Raptor armor possessed by Chris Powell in his superhero alter-ego Darkhawk has remained largely absent. That’s about to change as Darkhawk returns in the four-part miniseries Infinity Countdown: Darkhawk. While the character played a notable role at Marvel Comics during the 1990s, he has since slipped into a role of a B-list superhero. That’s why we’ve prepared a beginner’s guide to Darkhawk for any readers who may be unfamiliar with him. Now is the perfect time to catch up as he prepares for a relaunch, not unlike the one Star-Lord experienced just 10 years ago — and look how well that went.
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Creation
Darkhawk was co-created by writer Tom DeFalco and artist Mike Manley behind the scenes at Marvel Comics. However, DeFalco was never credited within the comics. When Darkhawk made his first appearance in the pages of Darkhawk #1 in March of 1991, Mike Fingeroth was the series writer. That series would continue for more than four years with a total of 50 issues and three annual one-shots, ending in March of 1995.
During the original series run, Darkhawk would crossover with a number of other superheroes and series, most notably New Warriors. While he was never a longterm member, he was prominently placed there and throughout the rest of Marvel Comics during this time, and would continue to be associated with future teen superhero teams like the Runaways.
Origin
Chris Powell began his superhero career as a teenager from the burrough of Queens in New York City. Chris was the proud son of a police officer, and then he discovered his father taking bribes. Soon after this event, Chris found a mysterious red amulet that transformed him into the superpowered Nighthawk. When in the form of Nighthawk, Chris possessed an incredible array of abilities. He could fly, use force shields and force blasts, held razor sharp claws, see with nightvision, and utilize a litany of other minor powers. Chris funneled the anger towards his father into his new role as a superhero, swearing to fight for justice in New York City.
It would later be explained that Darkhawk was a cyborg form that took Chris’ place when the amulet was activated, transferring his consciousness from his human form to the cyborg. Whichever form was not currently being occupied by Chris would be stored in Null Space, another dimension altogether. When the Darkhawk cyborg was in Null Space it would be repaired. It was further revealed that Darkhawk was the sixth of its kind. Two alien scientists, Byron and Mondu, had created it after coming to Earth fleeing the crime lord Dargin Bokk. The scientists had created the new Darkhawk outfit to fight the original five that Bokk employed to rule his crime network.
Chris used the Darkhawk suit to battle a variety of other Marvel Comics supervillains very early in his career. He notably battled Hobgoblin, Tombstone, and Savage Steel in the original Darkhawk series. He also became a member of the New Warriors, where he developed a friendship with Nova, and later The Loners. The suit would also be modified so that it no longer replaced Chris, but appeared about him so neither needed to exist in Null Space.
War of Kings and Avengers Arena
Darkhawk’s original origin would be rewritten many years later during the events of “War of Kings”, suggesting that the alien crime lord Dargin Bokk might never have even existed. During this new cosmic Marvel Comics event, Darkhawk was introduced to a new character who shared a similar version of his own armor: Talon. Talon first appeared in a crash landing next to Chris’ home and pulled him into the events of “War of Kings.” He informed Chris that the amulet he possessed was part of an ancient tradition of warriors called the Fraternity of Raptors. The Fraternity had been created by the Shi’Ar to act as “the curators of history, and the custodians of the future.”
Together they worked to defeat multiple alien threats. However, Chris was quickly disturbed by Talon’s violent methods. Talon killed almost all of his enemies in an excessively bloody fashion. Talon even goes so far as to trick Chris into deploying his own powers in a lethal manner, upsetting the hero considerably. Chris tapped into the Datasong of the Null Source in order to verify Talon’s story and discovered that the Fraternity of Raptors did work to influence history, but used despicable means in order to do so. They relied on kidnappings, assassinations, and other criminal acts to exert control over governments. Chris encountered a similarly resistant Skrull who helped him learn that his anger was a response to resisting the armor’s control and maintaining his independence before being killed.
Chris fought with Talon, but was unable to defeat him before they parted ways. Chris returned to Earth where he was subsequently captured by Arcade and forced to fight other heroes in the series Avengers Arena. While he survived those events, he was left even more badly damaged than when he initially returned from space and was last seen being cared for by the scientists of Project PEGASUS. Talon in the meanwhile continued to recruit new members to the reborn Fraternity of Raptors.
Here and Now
The Fraternity of Raptors recently returned in the pages of Guardians of the Galaxy. Under the control of Talon, they are seeking the Infinity Stones to help them control the universe and battled the Guardians for possession of the Power Stone. It was during this battle that Nighthawk’s longtime friend Nova discovered that his own lost brother, Robbie Rider, had been transformed into the new Raptor going by the name of Talon-R. Robbie is unable to break free from the control of Talon though, and continues to follow him in his pursuit of the Infinity Stones.
Recovered from the events of Avengers Arena, Chris is finally ready to rejoin the fray as Darkhawk and is being asked by Nova to track down the Fraternity of Raptors and save Robbie. This is where he enters “Infinity Countdown” in his own miniseries and a perfect starting point for new fans.
While his origin has changed and his Earthly beginnings largely left behind, Darkhawk is still a Marvel Comics character with a (literally) killer design and lots of potential. There has never been a better time to see what this holdover from the 1990s is really capable of.
