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Darkhawk (2021) #1-5
Darkhawk: Airborne
Contiene:
Darkhawk: Heart of the Hawk (2021) #1, Darkhawk (2021) #1/5
Un volume che celebra il trentennale di Darkhawk, con le sue storie passate, presenti e future!
• Danny Fingeroth e Mike Manley riprendono il loro eroe urbano che viene dallo spazio!
• Debutta qui Connor Young, il nuovo Darkhawk, in una saga che ha già fatto parlare di sé!
• Ospite speciale: un certo amichevole Spider-Man di Brooklyn!
Darkhawk: Heart of the Hawk (2021) #1, Darkhawk (2021) #1/5
Un volume che celebra il trentennale di Darkhawk, con le sue storie passate, presenti e future!
• Danny Fingeroth e Mike Manley riprendono il loro eroe urbano che viene dallo spazio!
• Debutta qui Connor Young, il nuovo Darkhawk, in una saga che ha già fatto parlare di sé!
• Ospite speciale: un certo amichevole Spider-Man di Brooklyn!
168 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2022
2 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 31, 2022
Begins with a 30th anniversary issue that passes the torch to the new Darkhawk by having the original creative team of Danny Fingeroth and Mike Manley return for a retro adventure. Then Dan Abnett and Andrea Di Vito check in with Chris Powell from the War of Kings era where the whole idea of the Raptors came about and the origins of the armor were explored. Finally, there is the passing of the mantle to the new Darkhawk by the current creaive team, Kyle Higgins and Juanan Ramirez.
Now onto the new Darkhawk miniseries. The new Darkhawk is a high school basketball star, one of the top basketball recruits in the country who finds out he has MS and discovers Darkhawk's amulet in the same week. The series deals with MS in a very real way. Higgins consulted with nuerologists to get accurate information about the disease and how it might affect a teenager. (MS is a strange disease that affects everyone very differently. My wife lost the ability to walk out of nowhere one day. That was our introduction to the disease. Thankfully, with a lot of hard work and medication she regained the use of her legs. Others we've met have periods of blindness or other symptoms.)
The vilains in this are very lacking. They're bad because they just want to get theirs. I really liked Miles Morales coming around to mentor Darkhawk. I do like the design of the new suit. This Darkhawk's powers differ as well. I think it's pretty clear this will turn out to be a diferent raptor armor than the original Darkhawk.
Now onto the new Darkhawk miniseries. The new Darkhawk is a high school basketball star, one of the top basketball recruits in the country who finds out he has MS and discovers Darkhawk's amulet in the same week. The series deals with MS in a very real way. Higgins consulted with nuerologists to get accurate information about the disease and how it might affect a teenager. (MS is a strange disease that affects everyone very differently. My wife lost the ability to walk out of nowhere one day. That was our introduction to the disease. Thankfully, with a lot of hard work and medication she regained the use of her legs. Others we've met have periods of blindness or other symptoms.)
The vilains in this are very lacking. They're bad because they just want to get theirs. I really liked Miles Morales coming around to mentor Darkhawk. I do like the design of the new suit. This Darkhawk's powers differ as well. I think it's pretty clear this will turn out to be a diferent raptor armor than the original Darkhawk.
March 7, 2022
Is this really a 5 star book. Probably not. Probably a 4 but it’s Darkhawk so it’s always going to be a 5 from me. Darkhawk was the first series I collected as a kid along with Spider-Man.
Chris Powell is no longer Darkhawk they hint at what’s happened to him but they don’t give you all the information. Hopefully the series will continue and we get more Darkhawk stories.
Read 3/7/22
Chris Powell is no longer Darkhawk they hint at what’s happened to him but they don’t give you all the information. Hopefully the series will continue and we get more Darkhawk stories.
Read 3/7/22
April 16, 2023
Het was weer even geleden dat ik tijd had gemaakt om een stripboek te lezen en deze stond inmiddels te stuiteren in de kast om gelezen te worden. Lange tijd ben ik ernaar opzoek geweest, om 'm uiteindelijk tijdens de afgelopen zomervakantie te vinden. Hij krijgt van mij sowieso 5 sterren, omdat ik het fantastisch vind dat deze superheld MS heeft. Achterin het boek staan ook een aantal interviews met mensen die iets met MS te maken hebben (zelf MS of artsen). Zo krijgt de ziekte hopelijk ook meer bekendheid en aandacht.
Daarnaast is Darkhawk ook een fijne superheld en vind ik het leuk dat er ook andere superhelden in voor komen. Hopelijk volgen er nog meer boeken van de nieuwe Darkhawk.
Daarnaast is Darkhawk ook een fijne superheld en vind ik het leuk dat er ook andere superhelden in voor komen. Hopelijk volgen er nog meer boeken van de nieuwe Darkhawk.
May 18, 2022
As a HUGE fan of Darkhawk, I was so unbelievably excited by the news that the series was getting a reboot. Yeah, I'll be sad to see Chris go, but it happens, right? Plus, I already adore Connor Young. I've always felt that Darkhawk was a seriously underrated character, so it's nice to see him getting some much needed love here.
Darkhawk: Airborne, is brought to you by a large and impressive group of creatives. Kyle Higgins, Dan Abnett, and Danny Fingeroth were all involved in the creation and writing. While artists included: Mike Manley, Juanan Ramirez, Andrea Di Vito, Chris Sotomayor, Erick Arciniega, Sebastian Cheng, and Travis Lanham.
This volume introduces a new version of Darkhawk (in case that wasn't obvious): the mantle is officially being passed down to Connor Young. Conner Young was just your average teenage boy. Well, with a few exceptions. He's a basketball star with so many plans waiting for him. But his life is about to get flipped upside down – in more than one way.
Connor's origin story is full of emotion, pain, and so much more. It's probably one of the strongest origin stories I've seen in recent years, and I personally really hope that we'll see more of him in the future.
Writing
Wow. So there's quite a lot to take in here. Darkhawk: Airborne goes beyond being a triumphant return. Kyle Higgins captured some very human elements when introducing this new hero. Conner Young's story is immediately compelling, but it kicks off in ways I had not anticipated.
Long story short: there's more going on in Conner's life than basketball. A lot more. He's dealing with medical issues, an uncertain future, and a few other surprises. It makes for a shockingly well-rounded character right out the gate.
Additionally, I love that Higgins reached out to those with this condition to write Connor's story. It certainly added to the realism and impact of the situation while also giving a voice to the community.
I'm just going to say it, I always have and will always love it when heroes make surprise appearances in other series. In this case, having another hero show up helps add some legitimacy to the new Darkhawk and his adventures. At least, that is how I'm seeing it.
While I love everything on the Conner side of the story, I wish there was more going on with the antagonists. I understand they are a threat (clearly), but something feels lacking in their presence. I can't quite put my finger on what it is.
Artwork
The artwork for Darkhawk: Airborne is sublime. The colors, character designs, and lettering are like a perfect storm of artwork. Naturally, what first caught my attention was the cover itself: I love seeing Darkhawk with vibrant purple covers. I'll never get over that thrill. I also adore all the variant covers available (and will be hunting as many of them down as possible, thank you very much).
I love the new take on Darkhawk designs. Likewise, the sense of motion in this graphic novel is stellar – which is pretty important, given that a.) Conner plays basketball, and b.) the way Darkhawk tends to move. Finally, I respect that bruises and other injuries are lingering on our characters. This is yet another grounding feature.
The colors in this volume perfectly match the story and tone. There are times when the colors are bold and bright, and others are almost respectfully somber. It's a brilliant balance, though naturally, I'm more drawn to the brighter pages.
VC's Travis Lanham's lettering is perfect, as always. It's easy to underestimate the value of lettering, but it is critical. Especially here.
Conclusion
Overall I would have to say that I was happy with Darkhawk: Airborne. It's always nerve-wracking seeing a character (mantle) go back to the origin story stage, but I think this newest version is fascinating. I truly hope that we'll see Connon again sometime, hopefully soon. I certainly feel as if his story is far from over.
Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Comics
Darkhawk: Airborne, is brought to you by a large and impressive group of creatives. Kyle Higgins, Dan Abnett, and Danny Fingeroth were all involved in the creation and writing. While artists included: Mike Manley, Juanan Ramirez, Andrea Di Vito, Chris Sotomayor, Erick Arciniega, Sebastian Cheng, and Travis Lanham.
This volume introduces a new version of Darkhawk (in case that wasn't obvious): the mantle is officially being passed down to Connor Young. Conner Young was just your average teenage boy. Well, with a few exceptions. He's a basketball star with so many plans waiting for him. But his life is about to get flipped upside down – in more than one way.
Connor's origin story is full of emotion, pain, and so much more. It's probably one of the strongest origin stories I've seen in recent years, and I personally really hope that we'll see more of him in the future.
Writing
Wow. So there's quite a lot to take in here. Darkhawk: Airborne goes beyond being a triumphant return. Kyle Higgins captured some very human elements when introducing this new hero. Conner Young's story is immediately compelling, but it kicks off in ways I had not anticipated.
Long story short: there's more going on in Conner's life than basketball. A lot more. He's dealing with medical issues, an uncertain future, and a few other surprises. It makes for a shockingly well-rounded character right out the gate.
Additionally, I love that Higgins reached out to those with this condition to write Connor's story. It certainly added to the realism and impact of the situation while also giving a voice to the community.
I'm just going to say it, I always have and will always love it when heroes make surprise appearances in other series. In this case, having another hero show up helps add some legitimacy to the new Darkhawk and his adventures. At least, that is how I'm seeing it.
While I love everything on the Conner side of the story, I wish there was more going on with the antagonists. I understand they are a threat (clearly), but something feels lacking in their presence. I can't quite put my finger on what it is.
Artwork
The artwork for Darkhawk: Airborne is sublime. The colors, character designs, and lettering are like a perfect storm of artwork. Naturally, what first caught my attention was the cover itself: I love seeing Darkhawk with vibrant purple covers. I'll never get over that thrill. I also adore all the variant covers available (and will be hunting as many of them down as possible, thank you very much).
I love the new take on Darkhawk designs. Likewise, the sense of motion in this graphic novel is stellar – which is pretty important, given that a.) Conner plays basketball, and b.) the way Darkhawk tends to move. Finally, I respect that bruises and other injuries are lingering on our characters. This is yet another grounding feature.
The colors in this volume perfectly match the story and tone. There are times when the colors are bold and bright, and others are almost respectfully somber. It's a brilliant balance, though naturally, I'm more drawn to the brighter pages.
VC's Travis Lanham's lettering is perfect, as always. It's easy to underestimate the value of lettering, but it is critical. Especially here.
Conclusion
Overall I would have to say that I was happy with Darkhawk: Airborne. It's always nerve-wracking seeing a character (mantle) go back to the origin story stage, but I think this newest version is fascinating. I truly hope that we'll see Connon again sometime, hopefully soon. I certainly feel as if his story is far from over.
Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Comics
February 17, 2022
Darkhawk has changed a lot over the years. He used to be a B list hero. Mid 90s weren't too kind to him. It was the era of 'The Sleepwalker', so creativity might have been diverted elsewhere. As time passed, he got updated and upgraded. He featured heavily in the 'War of Kings' crossover and other space adventures.
Now, we get a reboot and restart with a new hero picking up the crystal. Connor Young is a high school basketball player living the good life. He's the MAN. Then....he gets injured.
It's MS. Multiple Sclerosis. His whole world is turned upside down. What's one more neighborhood explosion in the grand scheme of things? There's a crystal...and low and behold..it's the Darkhawk crystal.
Looks like he has to battle evil and fight off MS. Looks like an interesting take on teen heroics.
Now, we get a reboot and restart with a new hero picking up the crystal. Connor Young is a high school basketball player living the good life. He's the MAN. Then....he gets injured.
It's MS. Multiple Sclerosis. His whole world is turned upside down. What's one more neighborhood explosion in the grand scheme of things? There's a crystal...and low and behold..it's the Darkhawk crystal.
Looks like he has to battle evil and fight off MS. Looks like an interesting take on teen heroics.
March 2, 2022
This new series is a bit disappointing. The original Darkhawk is replaced by a new kid with MS. It’s important to mention that detail because he doesn’t bring anything new or interesting to the title otherwise. It’s a bit of a retread of the old ‘90s series, but without being as fun. The art is nothing to write home about, either.
Worst of all, this title commits the cardinal sin of any new character. Not even halfway through, he teams up with Captain America and the other Spider-man (Miles Morales). A new character should not be sharing his title before we even get a chance to know him on his own. It’s a declaration that this guy can’t carry his own book.
The best issue in this tpb is the opening “Heart of the Hawk” one shot, which is tells stories of the classic Darkhawk by his various creators.
Worst of all, this title commits the cardinal sin of any new character. Not even halfway through, he teams up with Captain America and the other Spider-man (Miles Morales). A new character should not be sharing his title before we even get a chance to know him on his own. It’s a declaration that this guy can’t carry his own book.
The best issue in this tpb is the opening “Heart of the Hawk” one shot, which is tells stories of the classic Darkhawk by his various creators.
October 6, 2022
Such mixed feelings about this book. I never read the original Darkhawk, so I have no connection to that version of the character. I do like the MS representation. It's very thoughtful, and a well done disabled superhero is hard to find. Most of the dialog is well-written. Miles shows up quite a bit, which makes sense. This new Darkhawk is also a teenager in roughly the same area as Miles, and he's a great mentor character for him. That said, the villains are paper thin, evil for the sake of being evil with no real stated motivations. It's a shame, because this could have been a really good book with a better antagonist.
January 4, 2026
Darkhawk is a character that has never been much of a hit and I remember him more during the War Of Kings storyline. Here, a new Darkhawk was introduced and it was surprisingly well done. The character, Connor Young, has some things that make him different that your normal teen hero. The story is actually grounded considering the concept and takes some turns that were unexpected. The antagonists were solid and the family/health drama was very good. The really enjoyed Juanan Ramirez's art. Overall, this book was fine and decent starting point for a new character.
July 31, 2023
While I do enjoy the origin story for the new Darkhawk, the overall run here is not long enough to reach a point where it feels wholly distinctive. More than likely, I feel this book will appeal to Marvel Snap players who recognize the cover as a notorious variant in the game rather than comics fans who find the story gripping. The opening story in particular is confusing for anyone who has never read a Darkhawk story, but the characterization of MS here feels like the book’s true strength.
May 17, 2022
I did not like the fist book in this collection at all and ended up skimming it to get to Higgins' work. I liked the main Darkhawk story, but it did feel like a low rent version of Radiant Black with a few new twists peppered in. I would read more if it ever happens though because it was engaging and moved at a good pace for an action book.
June 28, 2023
I had no experience with Darkhawk stories before this one - I just thought the cover looked good. I was then really pleasantly surprised to find a book with a lot of heart and several twists on the superhero origin genre. I found myself unable to put it down thanks to a combination of an interesting story and amazing art. Looking forward to seeing what comes next from DH.
July 11, 2022
A reboot that is a little confusing at time. I enjoyed the younger hero who becomes a mentor in this offering.
August 6, 2023
90’s kids get it.
July 2, 2024
Chris Powell passes the torch to the next generation to weild the Darkhawk armour.
Full disclosure, I love Darkhawk. I grew up reading him and his was the first series I bought at issue 1 and followed to the end and picked up every appearance I could find...and yet this is, at best, a 3 star book. The biggest problem here is why they felt the need to get rid of Chris Powell. To me, he is Darkhawk as much as Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Expand the universe, introduce new cast members - but dont change the headline act.
The Heart of the Hawk intro stories are top tier easing the transition with stories from original Darkhawk scribe Danny Fingeroth and later one Dan Abnett, to deliver some touching tribute tales. They build up to a decent cliffhanger as to why Chris surrenders the DH amulet that leads up to the main new storyline. And for me, this is where it goes downhill. I'm not sure what Kyle Higgins brief was here but essentially he just rehashes the original origin tale with a new Darkhawk, Connor Young. From a single parent family Connor finds his inner circle touched by crime, finds the amulet and uses it to become a superhero - Spider-man (Miles Morales) even makes a guest appearance (as he did in Chris' early adventures). As a character, Connor finding out he has MS adds some depth to the story, but the main narrative is almost a carbon copy of Chris Powell's origin...so I'm just wondering what was the point? To be fair the final page hints at a deeper story but I cant see this garnering either new fans or satisfying old ones like me.
The new suit design is impressive, but again we get no explanation as to why, why he is so overpowered and so quickly gets the hang of everything. The quandry of someone battling an illness that a superpower frees them from (but may also be exacerbating) again isnt new (Jane Foster/Thor). So is this worth reading? Yes, for Heart of the Hawk at least, but I'm still waiting for this to get 'airborne'.
Full disclosure, I love Darkhawk. I grew up reading him and his was the first series I bought at issue 1 and followed to the end and picked up every appearance I could find...and yet this is, at best, a 3 star book. The biggest problem here is why they felt the need to get rid of Chris Powell. To me, he is Darkhawk as much as Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Expand the universe, introduce new cast members - but dont change the headline act.
The Heart of the Hawk intro stories are top tier easing the transition with stories from original Darkhawk scribe Danny Fingeroth and later one Dan Abnett, to deliver some touching tribute tales. They build up to a decent cliffhanger as to why Chris surrenders the DH amulet that leads up to the main new storyline. And for me, this is where it goes downhill. I'm not sure what Kyle Higgins brief was here but essentially he just rehashes the original origin tale with a new Darkhawk, Connor Young. From a single parent family Connor finds his inner circle touched by crime, finds the amulet and uses it to become a superhero - Spider-man (Miles Morales) even makes a guest appearance (as he did in Chris' early adventures). As a character, Connor finding out he has MS adds some depth to the story, but the main narrative is almost a carbon copy of Chris Powell's origin...so I'm just wondering what was the point? To be fair the final page hints at a deeper story but I cant see this garnering either new fans or satisfying old ones like me.
The new suit design is impressive, but again we get no explanation as to why, why he is so overpowered and so quickly gets the hang of everything. The quandry of someone battling an illness that a superpower frees them from (but may also be exacerbating) again isnt new (Jane Foster/Thor). So is this worth reading? Yes, for Heart of the Hawk at least, but I'm still waiting for this to get 'airborne'.
December 13, 2022
Darkhawk got a bit of a bad rap in recent years when they introduced the concept of the Raptors their conflict with the Shi'ar empire. And even our previous human hero got entangled in everything and a lot of weird (mostly bad) stuff happened.
I picked up this title since I'll always have a bit of an affinity for characters like this that I mostly encountered in the Spider-Man books (hello Sleepwalker!) So I had no idea this was going to be a reboot title - especially since the compilation starts with Chris Powell, the previous Darkhawk.
But the resulting story is an interesting one that acts as a good exploration of a new young hero with a world of problems. His life was going well until an unfortunate diagnosis then seemingly randomly he also ends up with the Darkhawk crystal. Great choice of bringing Miles Morales into this arc and he acts as a great companion/guide for our new hero. They share the same challenge of sharing a hero name as a previous one and that can be a lot to live up or a lot of overcome.
I hope we get to see more of him, even if this comic didn't really pick up.
I picked up this title since I'll always have a bit of an affinity for characters like this that I mostly encountered in the Spider-Man books (hello Sleepwalker!) So I had no idea this was going to be a reboot title - especially since the compilation starts with Chris Powell, the previous Darkhawk.
But the resulting story is an interesting one that acts as a good exploration of a new young hero with a world of problems. His life was going well until an unfortunate diagnosis then seemingly randomly he also ends up with the Darkhawk crystal. Great choice of bringing Miles Morales into this arc and he acts as a great companion/guide for our new hero. They share the same challenge of sharing a hero name as a previous one and that can be a lot to live up or a lot of overcome.
I hope we get to see more of him, even if this comic didn't really pick up.
July 9, 2023
Childhood
One of my favorite titles from childhood... The original was good because it spoke to the times (my generation basically) this version however is not that bad I saw what they were trying to do but it just came of a but contrived (which could be my doing since I've already read the original story and it was that captivating to me at the time) I'm not that moved by the story nor the characters... But it does somewhat sticks to the original premise... It's just not that good.
One of my favorite titles from childhood... The original was good because it spoke to the times (my generation basically) this version however is not that bad I saw what they were trying to do but it just came of a but contrived (which could be my doing since I've already read the original story and it was that captivating to me at the time) I'm not that moved by the story nor the characters... But it does somewhat sticks to the original premise... It's just not that good.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews