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Infinity Countdown: Darkhawk #1-4
Infinity Countdown: Darkhawk
Years ago, Chris Powell discovered a mysterious amulet that transformed him into the spacefaring gladiator known as Darkhawk! During his time as a hero, he faced some of the most extreme threats the universe could throw at him — but that was then. Now, when two members of the Fraternity of Raptors descend on New York, it’s not Darkhawk who must rise to the challenge — it’s NYPD officer Chris Powell! As INFINITY COUNTDOWN begins, the hero reborn must patrol twin jurisdictions — from the streets of Manhattan to the edge of the cosmos! Darkhawk is the galaxy’s best line of defense against the Raptors — but can he serve and protect the brother of his good pal, Nova? One of the 1990s’ hottest stars is back to police the 21st-century Marvel Universe!
Collects Darkhawk #51 And Infinity Countdown: Darkhawk #1-4
Collects Darkhawk #51 And Infinity Countdown: Darkhawk #1-4
136 pages, Paperback
First published September 19, 2018
7 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Chris Sims
163 books22 followersChris Sims has played roleplaying games for 30 years, and he has helped produce games for nearly 10. Before he laired in the Seattle exurbs, he was an editor/designer at Wizards of the Coast. There, he worked Duel Masters, Dungeons & Dragons, and Magic: The Gathering.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 25, 2019
Wow, I don't think I've read any Darkhawk since his series back in the early 90's and that wasn't even very good. Surprisingly, this was alright. This collects the Legacy one-shot and then the Infinity Countdown mini. The Legacy book reestablishes the original Darkhawk on Earth, while the mini sends him to space to deal with the Fraternity of Raptors. I'd say if you are curious about Darkhawk read it, otherwise skip this. It's only ancilliar to the main Infinity Countdown series as it just shows the Fraternity of Raptors off doing their own thing after they leave the main series.
January 15, 2019
This one's mainly for the hardcore Darkhawk fans.
What?
No, I'm absolutely sure they exist!
Reasonably sure, anyway...
For those of us who consider Darkhawk to be a superhero whose comic we read but mainly because at the time we were reading Marvel's entire range, this is... OK, I suppose?
To be honest, it felt like a flashback to Marvel's cosmic run, back when Abnett and Lanning were producing the vast majority of it, before the Guardians of the Galaxy movie came along.
It had Rich Rider in it, so I was happy.
Reasonably happy, anyway...
What?
No, I'm absolutely sure they exist!
Reasonably sure, anyway...
For those of us who consider Darkhawk to be a superhero whose comic we read but mainly because at the time we were reading Marvel's entire range, this is... OK, I suppose?
To be honest, it felt like a flashback to Marvel's cosmic run, back when Abnett and Lanning were producing the vast majority of it, before the Guardians of the Galaxy movie came along.
It had Rich Rider in it, so I was happy.
Reasonably happy, anyway...
April 3, 2021
I didn't know a thing about Darkhawk and the Raptors when I grabbed this book, so I was a bit confused, but I was left intrigued with the origin story and the intergalactic conflict going on, felt a bit incomplete though, lets see how it plays out in Infinity Wars storyline.
May 14, 2019
I know I’m completely biased. Darkhawk was my favorite hero growing up in the 90s. I loved me some Darkhawk; Sleep Walker, Night Thrasher, Nova, and the New Warriors. So I will gobble up all things Darkhawk related and ask for more please. I’m hoping he has a good sized presence in Infinity Wars.
August 13, 2018
[Read as single issues]
Chris Powell’s been through the wringer lately. After an unsuccessful visit to the Avengers Arena, he’s faded into obscurity – although, that could just be the way he likes it. Free to live a normal life with his girlfriend Miranda, Chris can put the whole Darkhawk thing behind him...right? But the amulet is calling, and it’s not about to take no for an answer. Soon Chris finds himself battling the Fraternity Of Raptors once again, and a life-shattering revelation regarding the way the amulet works puts Chris head first into the war for the Infinity Stones!
I have a soft spot for Darkhawk; I haven’t read very much with him in it, but I always gravitate towards him when he’s in anything. It could just be because his name’s Chris, I suppose. Or it could be that he feels like a very human character, with human problems, and human approaches to solving the cosmic crises he finds himself faced with. Writers Chris Sims and Chad Bowers are able to take Chris and throw him into some bonkers situations, but Chris never feels out of his depth even in the middle of outer space.
This volume collects Darkhawk #51, which was an experimental one-shot issue from Marvel to see if Darkhawk could float again in this volatile comic market. This single issue unpacks all of Chris’s history and manages to both explain it and turn it on its head in 20+ pages, so it’s no surprise that it led to an Infinity Countdown tie-in mini-series. The mini flows directly out of #51 and threads Chris through the events of Infinity Countdown by pitting him against the Raptors who we haven’t seen since War Of Kings, as well as throwing in Rich Rider and Death’s Head for fun. The mini moves quickly, getting Chris into the thick of the action as soon as possible, but it never forgets the reasons he’s fighting at all, which makes him come off as a lot more human than Nova for certain.
The art in the single issue is by Kev Walker, whose blocky style and gritty line is a decent fit for Chris’s earthbound adventure. Gang Hyuk Lim pencils all four issues of the main series however, and this is where the visuals really come to life. We get shapeshifting Raptors, giant space battles, Death’s Head, and some really bonkers cosmic spreads that are all rendered beautifully; Lim has a very smooth line, and it makes Chris and his foes look very sleek and aerodynamic, which is the name of the game if you’re a Hawk or a Raptor.
Infinity Countdown: Darkhawk tackles a side-story from the main Infinity Countdown series; it’s not essential by a long shot, but it’s definitely the highest on the list if you’re going to read any Infinity Countdown tie-ins at all. The writers have a firm grasp on the character and how to make his complicated history work for them, and the artwork’s very impressive. And on top of that, it’s all building to something even bigger, so this manages to be a complete story in itself as well as a tantalizing taste of things to come. Highly recommended.
Chris Powell’s been through the wringer lately. After an unsuccessful visit to the Avengers Arena, he’s faded into obscurity – although, that could just be the way he likes it. Free to live a normal life with his girlfriend Miranda, Chris can put the whole Darkhawk thing behind him...right? But the amulet is calling, and it’s not about to take no for an answer. Soon Chris finds himself battling the Fraternity Of Raptors once again, and a life-shattering revelation regarding the way the amulet works puts Chris head first into the war for the Infinity Stones!
I have a soft spot for Darkhawk; I haven’t read very much with him in it, but I always gravitate towards him when he’s in anything. It could just be because his name’s Chris, I suppose. Or it could be that he feels like a very human character, with human problems, and human approaches to solving the cosmic crises he finds himself faced with. Writers Chris Sims and Chad Bowers are able to take Chris and throw him into some bonkers situations, but Chris never feels out of his depth even in the middle of outer space.
This volume collects Darkhawk #51, which was an experimental one-shot issue from Marvel to see if Darkhawk could float again in this volatile comic market. This single issue unpacks all of Chris’s history and manages to both explain it and turn it on its head in 20+ pages, so it’s no surprise that it led to an Infinity Countdown tie-in mini-series. The mini flows directly out of #51 and threads Chris through the events of Infinity Countdown by pitting him against the Raptors who we haven’t seen since War Of Kings, as well as throwing in Rich Rider and Death’s Head for fun. The mini moves quickly, getting Chris into the thick of the action as soon as possible, but it never forgets the reasons he’s fighting at all, which makes him come off as a lot more human than Nova for certain.
The art in the single issue is by Kev Walker, whose blocky style and gritty line is a decent fit for Chris’s earthbound adventure. Gang Hyuk Lim pencils all four issues of the main series however, and this is where the visuals really come to life. We get shapeshifting Raptors, giant space battles, Death’s Head, and some really bonkers cosmic spreads that are all rendered beautifully; Lim has a very smooth line, and it makes Chris and his foes look very sleek and aerodynamic, which is the name of the game if you’re a Hawk or a Raptor.
Infinity Countdown: Darkhawk tackles a side-story from the main Infinity Countdown series; it’s not essential by a long shot, but it’s definitely the highest on the list if you’re going to read any Infinity Countdown tie-ins at all. The writers have a firm grasp on the character and how to make his complicated history work for them, and the artwork’s very impressive. And on top of that, it’s all building to something even bigger, so this manages to be a complete story in itself as well as a tantalizing taste of things to come. Highly recommended.
November 10, 2018
Finally got to read this. Darkhawk #51 is superb, a great love-letter to the character. The rest is pretty fun but loses a lot of steam by having to tie-in with that awful event. Good to have The Powell back, I hope this time he sticks for good.
April 3, 2019
As a fan of the original series, I really wanted to like this new mini series, in hopes of the character being picked up again for a proper series, or at least back in the mainstream continuity. Alas, while it isn't terrible, it isn't great either. As with a lot of the space/intergalactic characters in Marvel the storyline becomes quickly convoluted, introduces too many characters, has a universe threatening plot that is then quickly resolved over the 4 issues. It speaks volumes that the first issue that is set entirely on Earth is the superior part of the story, which I think is really where Darkhawk belongs, but due to the characters now expanded back story where he is unknowingly part of an intergalactic assassins league (I know), he seems forced to be part of that confused storyline. Darkhawk becomes ridiculously over powerful at times (at one point he becomes a giant mech version of himself?!) and at others is easily beaten. When the character was picked up in Avengers Arena and The Losers I think they were far more interesting character arcs than what is dealt with here. The art is okay, Kev Walker doing a better job to Gang Hyuk Lim in my opinion. Hopefully this won't be that last we see of Chris Powell and Darkhawk, but next time the story is set closer to home.
March 19, 2025
Now here is a character that I haven't seen in quite some time.
I remember Darkhawk from the 90's and to be honest, I didn't remember much about him. So starting off, there is a lot of back story here that is referenced and if you are not aware of how Darkhawk's powers work, and who he would routinely interact with, you may be a bit lost - like I was. But the story is easy enough to pickup on and follow as we see the titular Darkhawk having to learn how his powers work now - and going up against a bunch of "space hawks" that are much more deadly.
This book was pretty straightforward, and outside of mentioning the infinity stones here and there, didn't really have much to do with this whole "infinity countdown" storyline. I think Chris Sims did a good job of making the book feel modern and fun - while Gang Hyuk Lim's art really shone. I think the art was the highlight of the book for me.
If you're a fan of this character I would definitely recommend it. If you're reading this for the tie in aspect of the infinity countdown storyline, I can safely say this one can be skipped.
I remember Darkhawk from the 90's and to be honest, I didn't remember much about him. So starting off, there is a lot of back story here that is referenced and if you are not aware of how Darkhawk's powers work, and who he would routinely interact with, you may be a bit lost - like I was. But the story is easy enough to pickup on and follow as we see the titular Darkhawk having to learn how his powers work now - and going up against a bunch of "space hawks" that are much more deadly.
This book was pretty straightforward, and outside of mentioning the infinity stones here and there, didn't really have much to do with this whole "infinity countdown" storyline. I think Chris Sims did a good job of making the book feel modern and fun - while Gang Hyuk Lim's art really shone. I think the art was the highlight of the book for me.
If you're a fan of this character I would definitely recommend it. If you're reading this for the tie in aspect of the infinity countdown storyline, I can safely say this one can be skipped.
July 18, 2018
I really like Darkhawk... but I LOVE Death's Head.
While this started out strong - Darkhawk #51, a Marvel: Legacy (not an event!, LOL) tie-in, was fantastic - the Infinity Countdown issues were quite weak. Death's Head, sadly, was the weakest point. He did not look like himself. He did not use abilities which would have been very useful in his situation. He did not behave like himself. Very passive, very dull. I really enjoy Sims' & Bowers' writing, usually, but it really felt here as though they were using Death's Head 'cause they could, not because they had a story to tell with him.
Also, the whole Dark Starhawk thing escaped me. It seems like it would be particularly relevant to the core series, but was shoehorned into a spin-off, with no explanation. Dark Starhawk shared a fundamental design with my precious Stakar Vaughn (Starhawk), so you'd think there'd be a connection, but I guess not? Unless there is and it is important and they just forgot to share it with us?
I really don't know what this was supposed to be about, frankly. But Darkhawk #51? Totally worth it.
While this started out strong - Darkhawk #51, a Marvel: Legacy (not an event!, LOL) tie-in, was fantastic - the Infinity Countdown issues were quite weak. Death's Head, sadly, was the weakest point. He did not look like himself. He did not use abilities which would have been very useful in his situation. He did not behave like himself. Very passive, very dull. I really enjoy Sims' & Bowers' writing, usually, but it really felt here as though they were using Death's Head 'cause they could, not because they had a story to tell with him.
Also, the whole Dark Starhawk thing escaped me. It seems like it would be particularly relevant to the core series, but was shoehorned into a spin-off, with no explanation. Dark Starhawk shared a fundamental design with my precious Stakar Vaughn (Starhawk), so you'd think there'd be a connection, but I guess not? Unless there is and it is important and they just forgot to share it with us?
I really don't know what this was supposed to be about, frankly. But Darkhawk #51? Totally worth it.
August 11, 2021
Darkhawk is a complicated character, because everyone who writes Darkhawk decides to make him even more complicated. It doesn't really fix anything- he has a cool costume and fights things, what more could you want? Well actually he's a cop, and he's going to become a space cop to fight the evil space cops from turning the cosmos into a religion police state. Also he's tied to this mystical realm of biotech dreams and shapeshifting powers, and ancient martyrs, and and and... some of it can be fun! Seeing giant mechs fight spaceships and gods sounds really cool! But it's all a confusing mess.
You need to have read the previous Darkhawk stuff, like the War of Kings stuff, to understand this. You also need to have read Gerry Duggan's Guardians of the Galaxy run. And some of the Infinity Countdown stuff this is a tie-in to. That's a lot of required reading for something that isn't very good and exists only to set up further Infinity Wars plots instead of being satisfying on its own.
You need to have read the previous Darkhawk stuff, like the War of Kings stuff, to understand this. You also need to have read Gerry Duggan's Guardians of the Galaxy run. And some of the Infinity Countdown stuff this is a tie-in to. That's a lot of required reading for something that isn't very good and exists only to set up further Infinity Wars plots instead of being satisfying on its own.
January 11, 2019
Event tie in series are almost always very bad...I don't know why I continue to read them!
Infinity Countdown: Darkhawk was no exception. This was my first introduction to the character and I have no interest in reading any more. We've got all the standard super hero cliches and a really uninspiring story. I don't know why this story exists other than to try to capitalize on the Infinity Countdown event's name.
The character is uninteresting and the back story is convoluted. He's got a magic amulet that turns him into a space super hero! But also there's a giant cosmic bird entity possessing his soul! No, not the Phoenix Force, the OTHER giant cosmic bird entity.
Infinity Countdown proper is an okay event series, but this adds almost nothing to that story, and isn't nearly compelling enough for me to recommend it to anyone.
Infinity Countdown: Darkhawk was no exception. This was my first introduction to the character and I have no interest in reading any more. We've got all the standard super hero cliches and a really uninspiring story. I don't know why this story exists other than to try to capitalize on the Infinity Countdown event's name.
The character is uninteresting and the back story is convoluted. He's got a magic amulet that turns him into a space super hero! But also there's a giant cosmic bird entity possessing his soul! No, not the Phoenix Force, the OTHER giant cosmic bird entity.
Infinity Countdown proper is an okay event series, but this adds almost nothing to that story, and isn't nearly compelling enough for me to recommend it to anyone.
March 23, 2019
I think the whole "Infinity Countdown" title on some of these series are a little misleading. While this wasn't bad, and really, for Darkhawk fans it's pretty good, I still don't see this being essential to the upcoming Infinity stones storyline. Maybe I'm wrong and it will turn out to be essential, but this read more like a good somewhat stand alone Darkhawk mini series rather than a part of something bigger. I think this is more important to the Darkhawk character rather than the Infinity crossover. We also have Nova show up, and his appearance isn't just "because", but plays an essential part for reasons I won't get into here. Overall the whole Infinity Countdown event was an okay read, but not something I found great.
October 29, 2018
I read Infinity Countdown: Darkhawk as single issues.
Individual Issues: One, Two, Three, Four
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Individual Issues: One, Two, Three, Four
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
May 23, 2019
This was pretty good. I like it when Darkhawk goes out into space, like he did in War of Kings, and I love the mythos they cooked up for him after spending a decade-plus being mostly a street-level hero. Darkhawk’s mythos is expanded upon a bit more, tying the Tree of Shadows to the Elders of the Universe. All that, and we get Death’s Head and Richard Rider (though he’s quite the jerk here). And the possibility that the original Guardians of the Galaxy character of Starhawk is also a raptor or raptor by-product is pretty interesting (even if totally not the case).
August 4, 2019
Darkhawk always felt like one of those weird artifacts of the 90's as yet another spinoff hero that found a start in the Spider-Man books, somehow wandered into the New Warriors and only had sporadic appearances since then. In recent years they rebooted his story to some degree and made things a lot more intense with the Darkhawk suit actually being some Shi'ar killing machine creation known as a Raptor. They've further developed his role in things as part of the Infinity Countdown event and the continued investment in his mythos is really paying off.
December 23, 2018
Collects Darkhawk issue #51, and Infinity Countdown: Darkhawk issues #1-4
Going into this reading, I didn't know much about Darkhawk other than the fact that he existed. This collection gave me more information about the history of the character, but overall, I wasn't that impressed with the story. I think this will have some sort of tie-in to "Infinity Wars," but it feels like it could be so much on the periphery that the impact will be minimal.
Going into this reading, I didn't know much about Darkhawk other than the fact that he existed. This collection gave me more information about the history of the character, but overall, I wasn't that impressed with the story. I think this will have some sort of tie-in to "Infinity Wars," but it feels like it could be so much on the periphery that the impact will be minimal.
November 10, 2018
Reading this was a step into nostalgia for me. I had read the Darkhawk comics as a kid and always wanted more details. Infinity Countdown Darkhawk gave me the background I was looking for in my Darkhawk comics - the mythical background and origin story I had searched for beyond “kid finds a magic amulet that transforms him”, and this background was far richer than I expected.
February 10, 2019
'Old School' style comic. Plenty of fun. Nice shout outs to Darkhawk's creators. Don't need to read the other Infinity Countdown books. Not sure I like the new giant Transformer style ability. Cameos by Nova and Death's Head, yes?
February 23, 2019
The girlfriend character is very flat. She just supports Darkhawk in whatever it is he wants to do. And this is perhaps the least entertaining Death's Head yet.
Still, I'll be darned if the book didn't make me care about Darkhawk.
Still, I'll be darned if the book didn't make me care about Darkhawk.
June 16, 2019
Pro ably more of a boring 2, but I was glad to see Death's Head so I will bump it up once. A '90s nostalgia book especially with the final reveal, but boring for the most part. Probably could have been done in 2 issues instead of 4.
January 28, 2019
Meh...
1 star for the artwork.
Other than that, it wasn't interesting for me and it got boring pretty fast halfway through.
1 star for the artwork.
Other than that, it wasn't interesting for me and it got boring pretty fast halfway through.
April 8, 2019
Better than I expected but maybe not quite good enough to convince me characters like Darkhawk and Sleepwalker aren't better off left in the 90s.
July 17, 2019
Good but it sets up for so much more. Darkhawk now has connections to the skrulls, shi ar, and the Phoenix force. He needs to be used more in the marvel universe.
December 7, 2021
Экстра-балл за шикарный арт Кан Хек Лима.
May 29, 2022
Lots of MU continuity introversion although open to new /remote readers. Highlights in return of Deaths Head 1.0, loyally written to form tho visually a different interpretation.
December 10, 2022
How do you mess up Death’s Head’s design so badly?
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews