BrooklyKnight, the Nets' Marvel-Designed Mascot, Won't Return Next Season

The Marvel Comics-designed, superhero-themed basketball mascot BrooklyKnight will be retired following this year's just-concluded NBA season, Grantland reports.

What happened? Well, the sports site puts it pretty succinctly:

The Knight was a disaster, and that had nothing to do with the fellow who played him. He's by all accounts a nice person who takes his job seriously, and the Nets did not put him in a position to succeed. Some teams are more permissive than others in allowing high-degree-of-difficulty tricks and fan interaction that pushes the envelope — aggressive "attacks" on enemy fans, leering at women, pestering security guards and referees. The Nets have not been one of those teams.

The Knight itself was the mangled result of an expensive consulting deal with Marvel and a breathless roll-out that heightened anticipation for a game-changing take on the mascot genre. Instead, we got a dude in a black spandex suit.

It only gets more damning from there, noting that the ominous look of the Knight wasn't helped by his own personal black, windowless van.

"As a Brooklynite and a hardcore hoops fan, for me to get the opportunity to help create a Super Hero for my home borough's new team was a dream come true," said Axel Alonso, Editor in Chief, Marvel Entertainment at the time the character was introduced. "Working with the Nets staff, we have created a team Super Hero that is unlike anything the NBA has ever seen; a timeless character who can stand shoulder to shoulder with icons like Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine, and Thor. Let's go, Nets!"

A comic book featuring the character--written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Mike Deodato, the creative team behind the Original Sin crossover series currently unfolding in the Marvel Universe --was given away at the mascot's first game.