Darkhawk (2021) is a five-issue mini-series released by Marvel Comics. It features a new hero taking up the amulet of the Darkhawk armor. It is written by Kyle Higgins with artwork by Juanan Ramirez.
Connor Young was an up-and-coming basketball star with a bright future ahead of him. However, his dreams are derailed as it is revealed he has multiple sclerosis. Connor's life has another change when, having bailed from a basketball game, he finds himself under attack and he discovers a mysterious amulet, becoming the newest Darkhawk. How will Connor handle this change? Is he ready to become a new kind of hero?
Tropes Featured in this series:
- Ambiguously Brown: Connor's appearance and surname imply that he might be Asian but it's not explicitly stated.
- Bittersweet Ending: Connor succeeds in taking down Shawn while dealing a significant blow against Mr. Colt's illicit operations in the Bronx. He also forges a strong friendship with Miles Morales and comes clean to his Basketball team about his condition, in which they were nothing less but supportive. But Derek is still dead with his family in mourning while his killer Mr. Colt is still at large with a vested interest in stealing Connor's Darkhawk Armor for his own agenda.
- Brain Uploading: Just like his predecessor, Connor transfers his consciousness to a Raptor Android that instantly takes his real body's place whenever he activates the amulet. However, this takes some getting used to for Connor since his Darkhawk form is notably shorter than his real body.
- Fire-Forged Friends: The first superhero Connor ends up befriending after becoming Darkhawk is none other than Miles Morales, who saved Connor shortly after a confrontation with Mr. Colt and his cybernetically-enhanced henchmen. Sympathizing with his plight as another kid who suddenly got thrown headfirst into the superhero life after inheriting powers similar to their predecessor, Miles acts as Connor's primary confidant throughout the rest of the mini-series, lending an ear to his personal troubles while helping him get through the growing pains of being a hero.
- Handicapped Badass: Connor is afflicted with multiple sclerosis, but his neurodegenerative condition doesn't impede his ability to pilot the Darkhawk Armor.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Connor was this with his best friend Derek Lu until the former finds out the latter is a member of Shawn's gang, causing a significant rift to form between the two.
- Legacy Character: Connor is the newest holder of the Darkhawk amulet, as Chris Powell had died at the end of Darkhawk: Heart of the Hawk.
- Mythology Gag: The first Darkhawk, Christopher Powell, was a long-time ally of Spider-Man and often teamed-up with him. The new Darkhawk, Connor Young, would ironically go on to continue the tradition by befriending Miles Morales, Peter Parker's very own teenage successor.
- Not a Mask: In Connor's case, the helmet he wears when he transforms into Darkhawk actually is a seamless part of his new android body. An attempt to take it off in issue #3 disastrously ends with Connor ripping the android's head off by mistake.
- The One Who Made It Out: Subverted. Connor was a young NBA hopeful born and raised in the Bronx who was set to become this trope until he became diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This has both derailed dreams of ever making it big in basketball and could potentially cost him his ESU Scholarship if news of his condition ever leaks to the press.
- Powered Armor: The new Darkhawk Armor resembles the original, but now adds in energy wings and energy claws into its arsenal. Later issues would reveal it's also a Walking Armory capable of giving Iron Man a run for his money, right down to having a Chest Blaster that can double as a borderline Wave-Motion Gun.
- The Stinger: The final page of the mini-series reveals that Chris Powell is Not Quite Dead and has been keeping an eye on Connor, with it heavily implied that he was the one who sent his Raptor Amulet to Earth.
- You Are Not Alone: This is the main bit of advice Miles gives to Connor. Nearly everybody in the superhero community has endured a similar experience to what they've gone through and are more than ready to help out whenever he might need them, regardless if that means teaming-up to punch out the Monster of the Week or simply to talk about the little things.
