The name's Darkhawk. I thought I could retire... But because of sick freaks like you, that can never happen. There's a war going on, a war between good and evil. And in war, our elders may give the orders... But it's the young who have to fight. 
- —Darkhawk[src]
History
Cover to Darkhawk #25
Chris Powell was the teenage son of Mike Powell, a cop, and Grace Powell, a District Attorney. Following his younger twin brothers, Jon and Jason, to the abandoned amusement park across from his home, Chris discovered his father taking a bribe from mob boss Phillipe Bazin.
While trying to escape with his brothers from Bazin's henchmen, Chris discovered an amulet that transposed him into the Darkhawk armor. When his father disappeared after Chris saw him, he swore to use the Darkhawk armor as an "Edge against crime."
Darkhawk's powers included a force blast which emanated from the amulet on his chest, a force shield from the same amulet, a claw cable which could serve as both a Wolverine-like claw, and a grapple cable, glider wings and later flight capability, enhanced vision and strength, and an image underneath the Darkhawk helmet which served to frighten and distract his enemies.
He often teamed up with Spider-Man. As a sometime member of the New Warriors, he befriended Speedball, Nova, and later, Turbo.
During his tenure as a crime fighter, he was often trying to rescue his father, mother or other family members.
He developed quite a roster of enemies: he would fight villains such as Hobgoblin and Tombstone, who were seeking to take his amulet, with the later succeeding. He was extremely weakened and even dying from having the amulet removed, but still able to use all of his powers except for turning back into human form to heal. Once he retrieved the amulet he was able to put it back in his chest and fully heal. Darkhawk had 2 separate encounters with Venom, who felt that Chris was good natured and held back whereas Darkhawk was greatly opposed to Venom's ideals and way of handling crime, and swore to bring him to justice, despite Venom offering to be his ally. Lodestone: a magnetically-powered villain developed by Bazin, was often pitted against Darkhawk. He also fought against some who would later ally with him, such as Portal, a teleporting mutant who killed another Darkhawk and stole parts of his armor, Savage Steel, the armor created by the secret police cabal that Chris' dad had been a member of, and Damek, a mercenary sent from the future to kill Darkhawk.
Chris learned that his armor was actually an autonomously existing android armor, one of five commissioned by an alien mob lord named Dargin Bokk, being held in a sentient space ship, Osch, in Null Space. When Chris grasped the amulet, it actually caused his body to switch places with that of the Darkhawk body, although his mind remained in control of the 'replacement' body.
After helping them several times, Darkhawk was brought aboard the Avengers West Coast as a reserve member, but saw little action with them after becoming a member, because they were dissolved shortly thereafter. Nonetheless, he did at least start a lasting friendship with Spider-Woman.
Darkhawk 2.0
Later, Chris and Darkhawk actually split into two separate entities, with the armor being updated into the "2.0" form, as it was informally known. This advanced form of armor gave Darkhawk new powers, such as the ability to form a force shield encasing his body, an actual "Hawk" construct (a gigantic force-field shaped like a hawk), and the ability to summon weapons from Osch. Darhawk 2.0 and Chris re-merged, with the prospect of no longer needing to use the amulet in order to switch bodies.
Loners
Chris joined a self-help group of ex-teenage-super-heroes, the Loners, who admitted to being addicted to their powers. Members include: Turbo, the Green Goblin IV, Richochet, Spider-Woman III, and Lightspeed. The group was hired by a mysterious benefactor -- later revealed to be Rick Jones -- to track down the Runaways in Los Angeles. He made an enemy of Nekra, a woman who seemed to be held prisoner by manufacturers of MGH.
In a divergent timeline, he was the de facto leader of the unofficial League of Losers[2].
Powell displayed trouble controlling his anger in his Darkhawk persona, leading to a short skirmish with Turbo. Dismayed with himself, Powell admitted to his teammates that he suffered a nervous breakdown.[3] 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, the Loners opted to remain together and act as a more traditional superhero team.[4]
Secret Invasion
Deciding to register with the government, Darkhawk was assigned to the position of security chief at Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.. During the Skrull invasion, he teamed up with his old teammate Nova.[5]
Fraternity of Raptors
The being known as Talon came to Earth, and offered to teach Chris how to control his amulet. They went to the Negative Zone to fight Annihilus. There, Chris bonded fully with his amulet. This allowed him to learn that the Fraternity of Raptors that Talon represented was evil and that the Fraternity had created the amulets. Evilhawk had been a hallucination caused by his mind, which had been unable to process all the information the Amulet gave him. The Raptor, known as Razor, took over Chris' body and assassinated Lilandra.
Later he fought Gyre another member of the Fraternity of Raptors that had been recruited as a pawn of the Sphinx. Darkhawk, Nova, Black Bolt, Mr. Fantastic and Namorita defeated the Sphinx and his pawns. Darkhawk was able to separate Gyre from his Kree host by using the same technique Talon used to separate Chris from Darkhawk and bring back Razor.
Avengers Arena
Arcade kidnapped Chris and fifteen teenage heroes and brought them to Murderworld, a secluded island where no one could find them, and forced them to fight each other to the death, and only the last man standing within thirty days would be allowed to leave.[6] One night, he was attacked and had his amulet removed, leaving his fate unknown.[7] His amulet would get passed around by others locked in Murderworld.[8]
Chris was later shown in a coma-like state in a strange tank along with the deceased heroes, where Arcade appeared to be healing him. Waking up, he located Arcade and knocked him out. He later reclaimed his amulet and was among the survivors of the battle.[9]
Marvel Legacy
Powell eventually resurfaced back in New York, set to marry a new fiance by the name of Miranda. With whom he'd shared all of his exploits while piloting the sentient automaton known Darkhawk. Nowadays his Amulet has become inert, not so much as even changing when he focuses his thoughts on becoming his alter ego again; but lately has been suffering from nightmares of The Tree of Shadows every time he sleeps. Following in his father's footsteps, he eventually became an officer of the law at the NYPD. Taking to the same beat Micheal Powell used to back when he was one of the police, reminiscing about how dad would listen to people and remember their names while trying to keep the peace on the streets.
Trying to be the every bit as big a man and a better cop than he was by holding the values he once thought Mike stood for before Chris found out his father was a corrupt cop. All the while ruminating on whether the world needs him as Christopher Powell, police officer or as the cybernetic hero he once was. While on patrol dispatch sent out notice of a disturbance at Wonderland Amusement Park, where he first found the Raptor Amulet.
While investigating the derelict establishment, Powell was approached by two shady cops right near the area where he first became Darkhawk. Officers Hal Fingeroth and sergeant Harold Conrad came to Powell offering certain opportunities while on the force which Chris quickly denied, when the latter opted to be a bit more forceful in his persuasion; Conrad was quickly eviscerated by members of The Raptors who'er after the young officer's de-powered amulet. Canorus and Aceptar created the odd circumstances which led to Christopher retracing his origin as a superhero in order to kill him and take what they believed was theirs by right, but the former raptor didn't go without a fight; discovering that these new raptors were in actuality just armored Shi'ar thugs given how easily Aceptar was stunned by a shock baton.
Though eventually subdued by his brother Canorus and his gem taken from him. Said assailant was able to activate it again with a damaged Razor taking his place, whom nearly beat Powell's other would be assassin to death until Chris got his attention.[10] The badly broken android grabs hole of Powell and ports him to a portion of the Datasong he calls the Perch. Where memories of previous host pilots are stored within a raptors own motherboard.
Raptor, now calling itself Darkhawk after the recombinate persona imprinted on itself due to their shared escapades as a hero. Chris learns from his other half that a whole new Fraternity has sprung up in the wake of Nova's decimation, eager to bring the universe to heel under their thrall and have been searching for a means of acquiring the Raptor Androids from the Null Space void to cement their dominance. Horrified by this development the now empathetic Razor sought to defy this mandate by said cabal of zealot pretenders by escaping his pod and severing his link to the Tree of Shadows, which was the reason why Powell couldn't become Darkhawk anymore. Severing his brethren's connection to their amulets earned their ire however, they nearly hunted him down in executed until he was summoned to Earth by Canorus. Seeing the opportunity heal itself and hoping to enlist aid in stopping the renegade Raptor sect, Darkhawk sought union with Chris Powell once again in order to recover and grow in power.
Seeing as the whole of the universe was at stake, including his own homeworld in the long run. Chris knew in spite of his misgivings about space travel and the new life he has on earth, that since his android had grown a conscience since the War of Kings. That he could not just sit by and pretend what effects the galaxy has no consequences for everybody involved, himself included. Donning the name Darkhawk once more, he took to the skies after blasting the other raptor back to his enclave in space before taking off. Wondering how Miranda will react to the change of pace.Attributes
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Abilities
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Darkhawk Amulet:
- Consciousness Transfer: Chris can transfer his consciousness into the Darkhawk's alien android while at the same time, switch the robotic body's place with that of his own body wherever he is at any time.
- Darkhawk Android: The Darkhawk Armor is advanced Shi'ar technology meshed with magic, allowing the host numerous superhuman capabilities:
- Superhuman Strength: He can bench press 2 tons. Able to knock out Venom.
- Superhuman Speed
- Superhuman Durability: Darkhawk is superhumanly durable; he is capable of shrugging off physical impacts, energy blasts, and most artillery fire.
- Superhuman Agility
- Superhuman Reflexes
- Armament Conjuration: The Android can summon weapons from the extra-dimensional expanse from whence they came, or manifest desired munitions from its own body at will.
- Flight: The retractable glider wings under his arms allow him to glide on air currents. Darkhawk can also fly at speeds that let him fly from New York to California in only a matter of hours.
- Self Repair: Even major injuries to his Darkhawk body can be repaired by switching back to his human form.
- Superhuman Vision: Darkhawk has telescopic and infra-red vision. He can see through most camouflage.
- Force Field: Chris can utilize a circular wafer-thin force field.
- Concussion Blasts: He can fire blasts of destructive dark energy from the amulet on his chest.
- Mode Shifting: Talons can morph their bodies into a host of augmentative forms. Becoming transparent, doubling body armor, projecting greater weaponry, etc.
Transportation
Notes
- Darkhawk has made two TV appearances on the Fantastic Four animated series. He appeared alongside Justice and Speedball in "To Battle a Living Planet," and with Justice in "Doomsday."
- He has also appeared in the pages of What the--? Marvel's humor comic, as Darkgeek.
Trivia
- Darkhawk's armor and appearance has been a continued source of debate amongst Marvel "True-Believers." After his series was canceled, his new appearances often reverted back to the original Darkhawk armor. As of his Excelsior appearances, he is in "DH 1.0" form, although he had appeared a few times as DH 2.0 prior to this.
- It has been a misunderstanding amongst many readers and fans of Darkhawk that he was aware of his status as a hero within the Marvel 2099 universe, in which he is known as "The Powell," one of the "most powerful, and feared, heroes in the universe." This wasn't Earth-928 (or Marvel 2099), it was a similar cyberpunk dystopia world within Chronopolis. This was resolved by DeFalco himself within the letter columns in one of the final issues of the ongoing series.
See Also
- 177 appearance(s) of Christopher Powell (Earth-616)
- 15 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Christopher Powell (Earth-616)
- 16 minor appearance(s) of Christopher Powell (Earth-616)
- 15 mention(s) of Christopher Powell (Earth-616)
- 6 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Christopher Powell (Earth-616)
- 153 image(s) of Christopher Powell (Earth-616)
- 13 quotation(s) by or about Christopher Powell (Earth-616)
- 1 item(s) used/owned by Christopher Powell (Earth-616)
Links and References
- Darkhawk Zone: The Ultimate Darkhawk Fansite
- Darkhawk @ New Warriors Continuity Conundrum
- New Warriors Message Board
Recommended Readings
- Darkhawk #1-50 (March 1991, April 1995)
- Darkhawk Annual #1-3 (1992, 1994)
- New Warriors #14, 22-25, 47-51
- New Warriors Annual #3
- Avengers West Coast #93-95
- Runaways Vol 2 #1-6
- Marvel Team-Up #15-18, 25 (2005)
- Loners #1-6 (2007)
- Nova (vol. 4) #17-#19 (November 2008, January 2009)
- War of Kings: Darkhawk #1 and #2 (February 2009 and March 2009)
- War of Kings: Ascension #1-4 (April 2009, July 2009)
References
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3
- ↑ Marvel Team-Up
- ↑ Runaways (Vol. 2) #1–3
- ↑ Runaways (Vol. 2) #6
- ↑ Nova #17–18
- ↑ Avengers Arena #1
- ↑ Avengers Arena #3
- ↑ Avengers Arena #4
- ↑ Avengers Arena #18
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Darkhawk #51
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3
- ↑ File:Darkhawk Vol 1 51 Trading Card Wraparound Variant.jpg
