Today in my daily RSS feed grind, I came across an iFanboy post answering user emails. The first one on the list mentioned the War of Kings and Realm of Kings story arc and went on to inquire about thoughts on Darkhawk in particular and whether he could be sustained as a monthly book. If you don’t know already, Ron is a big Darkhawk fan (having bought 25 issues of #1 when they came out) and if you aren’t following iFanboy content… DO! it’s a great source for your comic news and review and jibba-jabba needs!
Here are Ron’s thoughts on the current use of Darkhawk (condensed version):
I’ve been a huge fan of (Dan Abnett and Andy Lannings) work within the Marvel Cosmic area, specifically Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy. I was delighted to see that they were including Darkhawk in the mix as well.
I’m still torn on what they did with Darkhawk specifically though, doing a bit of a ret-con or more of an explanation of where Darkhawk’s power comes from and introducing other characters with similar armor. I didn’t hate what they did with Darkhawk, but part of the reason why I liked him was the mystery around the power, and when you explain that mystery (like with Wolverine: Origin) a little bit of the magic is gone. But that said, I’d much rather have Darkhawk, than not.
As for your second question, as much as I love the character and would love to see a Darkhawk ongoing, I have to be realistic. I don’t think that the character is strong enough to sustain an ongoing in this day and age of the comic book industry. Especially given how even though Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy have been critical hits and fan favorites, it doesn’t look like they’re coming back. So if they can’t make it, I doubt Darkhawk could. Now does this mean that Marvel shouldn’t use the character? Hell no. I think there’s a ton of potential to work with and grow the character within a book with a greater cast, much like they’ve done with Guardians of the Galaxy. I know I’d read whatever book he’s in. So here’s hoping!
So there you have it: The realistic answer that has to be a clear market-driven choice Marvel would take concerning a Darkhawk monthly. As I’ve pointed out in a previous post, I’d finally pick up an Avengers book if they put him in the Secret Avengers title. That’s where Darkhawk belongs right now… in a team environment to play off other individuals and let the new readers in the market get some more of him that way, ala The Loners or his appearance in The Runaways. In any case, I’m hoping for anything at any time, in any form. If it’s Darkhawk, I’ll buy it.
