Story #2Deadly foes of Darkhawk
Writer: Danny Fingeroth. Penciler: Reggie Jones. Inker: Andy Mushynsky. Colorist: Ariane Lenshoek. Letterer: Susan Crespi.
Synopsis
Chris Powell muses over the enemies he's fought as Darkhawk. As soon as he found the amulet that transforms him he fought the demonic version of
Jason Macendale's
Hobgoblin. Then semi-Darkhawk
Portal, Savage Steel,
Midnight (
Jeff Wilde) & fellow cyborg
Lynn Church as part of the Secret Empire, the
U-Foes,
Lodestone, the
Folding Circle (while with the New Warriors),
Venom,
Tombstone and his persistent foe
Philippe Bazin.
Story #3Cold Fire
Writer: Danny Fingeroth. Penciler: Phil Gascoine. Inker: Phil Gascoine. Colorist: Steve White. Letterer: Jim Novak.
Synopsis
Chris goes on a camping trip with his pal
Headset and 2 others. But he leaves them with the excuse of fishing for supper. He really wants to test the powers of Darkhawk's armour. He lifts a big boulder and then blasts it to smaller and smaller pieces - and then shields himself from shrapnel. He then tests the range of his claw cable, and lets it reel him up to the top of a cliff.
From his vantage point he spies a kid being menaced by an angry bear. He extends his glider wings and swoops down to frighten the bear off. But in the process he gets a cut on the leg. However transforming to Chris loses the gash, and it's still gone when he goes back to Darkhawk mode again. Meanwhile the kid's run off and found his mom.
Now he dives into a lake to confirm that he doesn't need to breathe as Darkhawk. And while he's there he catches hold of a fish. But he lets it go because he feels it's unfair. As he exits the lake he also remembers that he didn't need to eat while he was stuck as DH for
#12-15. And as he returns empty-handed to his friends he muses that he still doesn't know where the amulet and armour come from.
Story #4Dawn of the Darkhawk revisited
Writer: Danny Fingeroth. Penciler: Al Bigley. Inker: George Wildman. Letterer: Jim Novak.
Synopsis
Note: 'D of the D' was the title of #1
Chris stands over his father's grave in Cypress Hills Cemetery, although he knows it's empty.
Mike Powell died on a Caribbean island in
#14 and was assumed washed out to sea. He had an empty coffin funeral in
#16. (In true
Marvel fashion he'll turn out not to be dead in
#34.)
He remembers back to family life:- Dad the cop, mom
Grace the DA, and the 2 younger twins
Jason and
Jonathan. And then he remembers his origin as Darkhawk. It was 1 day (during school holidays) when he was home looking after the twins while his parents were at work. But he slipped out to be with his friends. When he came home his mother was there but the twins weren't.
Chris knew the twins wanted to go to the old amusement park site so he went there looking. An old wino named
St Johnny told him to look in the Hawk's place the Funhouse. Chris found found his brothers laughing at the distorting mirrors.
But on the way out they saw their cop dad taking a bribe. Then 1 of the thugs KO'd Mike with a gun and the young boys cried out. The bad guys chased them. Chris hid the twins and led the goons away from them. He came across the large diamond-shaped amulet and picked it up to use as a weapon ... and was transformed into Darkhawk. His unfamiliar powers still enabled him to win the day. And when he wished to become human again he did.
Dad couldn't deny what Chris had seen, and he went on the run. Chris resolved to use his powers as a superhero. On the way out cryptic St Johnny called him Darkhawk. And later Chris found out that Mike was only pretending to be corrupt.
Story #5The Cabal
Writer: Danny Fingeroth. Penciler: Kev Hopgood. Inker: Bud LaRosa. Colorist: Ariane Lenshoek. Letterer: Jack Morelli.
Synopsis
Arthur Vale is in prison after his Savage Steel exploits. Not all the Cabal were captured in
#15 and 1 of them named
Vinnie has been sent to kill Vale. But another cop
Jim Zafar stops him and helps Arthur escape. Zafar used to be in the Cabal but got disillusioned by their methods.
On the way out Jim stops at a storeroom where 3 cops are beating on another prisoner. He's ex-cop
Harry Lennox who was unmasked in the Savage Steel armour in
#12. We learn here that he stole the suit from the Cabal and tried to use it as a genuine hero. And the Cabal think he was working against them with Mike Powell. The ringleader here
Billy claims to be the man who was wearing the armour in the earlier issues.
Zafar bursts in with Vinnie's gun and gets the drop on them. He and Lennox handcuff the others to pipes. Billy says Zafar is added to the list of enemies the Cabal will kill, like
Johnny Leone who (behind the scenes) freed Grace Powell from their clutches in
#15. Jim claims that he and Mike had helped form the Cabal and get the Steel armour because they wanted their own superhero to help cops. But the rest of the Cabal twisted that idea.
Zafar, Lennox and Vale leave but when they get outside they are gunned down from a passing car. The
Daily Bugle reports that they were murdered by Philippe Bazin's gang. But then we find the 3 alive with Johnny Leone in an FBI safehouse. They're going to testify for DA Powell and then go into witness relocation. As long as nobody messes it up. But Arthur Vale has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic...