Deron Generally
Deron Generally
Darkhawk #51
Marvel Comics
Written by Chad Bowers & Chris Sims
Art by Kev Walker
Colors by Java Tartaglia
Letters by VC’s Travis Lanham
Chris Powell finds himself floating through Null Space, contemplating the life he used to lead and the hero he used to be until he wakes up in his bed from another nightmare. As he recounts the events that led him to becoming Darkhawk, the fact that the amulet hasn’t worked in almost a year starts weighing on Powell as he and his fiancé get ready to start their day. Powell decides to try and give the amulet to someone who might be able to do something with it as he gets ready for his day job as a police officer. He goes through his day remembering the cop his dad was and trying to do good as himself.
As Chris responds to a call from his old neighborhood, a group of cops who knew his dad are listening in and getting ready to make him a proposal. As one of the crooked cops gives Chris an ultimatum, the group is attacked by Raptors seeking revenge on Chris for his time as Darkhawk. As he fights off the two Raptors, he discovers something is different about them. Something that he wasn’t expecting. As one of the Raptors takes the amulet, he is taken over by the entity inside it and turns on his partner, giving Chris enough time to try and escape, but the entity takes Chris on a journey to discover what has been happening in their absence.
The entity explains why their connection was severed and gives Powell a choice. A choice that will alter Chris’ new life in many ways and open him up to the judgment of the universe.
Bowers and Sims have taken me back to my youth with this one shot and they have managed to hit all the marks that made the character unique when he was first introduced. The story is fun and sets up an interesting potential return for the character. I think the focus on the backstory ran a little long, but it served the overall narrative and made sense.
