Unforgiven is a 2023 comic book storyline from Marvel Comics, released as a set of one-shot crossover specials. It's written by Tim Seeley, with art by Sid Kotian and color art by Edgar Delgado.
Set in the shared Marvel Universe, it centers around the Forgiven, a group of heroic vampires introduced during Marvel's 2011 Crisis Crossover, Fear Itself.
Led by the Japanese vampire Raizo Kodo, the six vampires come from very different clans and backgrounds. Seeking to become more than monsters, they do not drink blood and seek to help humanity - and, protected by their lightbenders, they need no longer fear daylight.
The arc starts with the team welcoming a new member, Redblood, and then allying with Spider-Man to face the demonic power of Salome.
The first part of the story, Spider-Man: Unforgiven, was released on March 01, 2023.
Unforgiven contains examples of the following tropes:
- Back for the Dead: The Forgiven's leader Raizo Kodo makes his first appearance since 2012 in Spider-Man: Unforgiven, only to be betrayed and murdered in a First-Episode Twist.
- Bat Family Crossover: Unforgiven is a self-contained crossover running through the three one-shots, co-starring Spider-Man, the X-Men and Captain America.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Spider-Man: Unforgiven is the Forgiven's first appearance for a decade.
- In Spider-Man: Unforgiven, the old woman Salome's chasing is revealed to be Zawadi, a Wakandan renegade who was one of the Monster Hunters in Marvel Universe (a series set in the 1950s and published in 1998). It's her first appearance since that series, an absence of over 20 years.
- In Captain America: Unforgiven, the vampire hunter Inka seduces is Elizabeth Nikos, the main antagonist from Morbius's 2019 series.
- Continuity Nod: When Spider-Man realises he's dealing with magical threats, he asks if this is a Midnight Sons thing and offers to call the Ghost Rider.
- Crossover: As a whole, the storyline is a Bat Family Crossover. But each one-shot is also a crossover in its own right, pairing the Forgiven with a different hero.
- Danger Room Cold Open: Spider-Man: Unforgiven starts with a nervous young woman alone in a graveyard, who's then attacked by a vampire. It's a training exercise for the Forgiven's newest recruit, Corey Leach, who's duelling the other team members as a final test.
- First-Episode Twist: The end of Spider-Man: Unforgiven reveals that Redblood's The Mole - and she murders Raizo Kodo by stealing his lightbender while they're in daylight.
- Foreshadowing: At the start of Spider-Man: Unforgiven, during the training sequence, Corey accidentally dislodges Inka's lightbender during the fight, leaving her vulnerable to sunlight. Fortunately, it's the middle of the night. At the end of the same issue, Corey reveals herself as The Mole by removing Raizo Kodo's lightbender while they're in bright daylight, incinerating him.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Redblood, now The Atoner, opts for Redemption Equals Death, using a modified lightbender as a sun-bomb to destroy Quench. But then Inka decides that Redblood should be made to live with her past, and sacrifices herself instead.
- Killed Off for Real:
- The Forgiven's leader Raizo Kodo is betrayed and killed by Redblood at the end of the first chapter. He's still dead at the end of the finale, with Zawadi replacing him as their new leader.
- Inka performs a Heroic Sacrifice in the last chapter, killing herself and Quench with a "sun-bomb", a modified lightbender.
- Kryptonite-Proof Suit: The vampires of the Forgiven carry lightbenders which protect them from sunlight, originating from Curse of the Mutants.
- Let's You and Him Fight: In Spider-Man: Unforgiven, Salome's able to set Spider-Man against the Forgiven by magically twisting his thoughts and perceptions. It's not exactly Brainwashed and Crazy, as it simply exploits the fact that the Forgiven are vampires.
- Sixth Ranger Traitor: Spider-Man: Unforgiven starts with a training sequence as Corey Leach passes her final test and joins the Forgiven as 'Redblood'. It ends with Corey betraying the team and murdering their leader Raizo Kodo.
