A first look at the return of the dark '90s hero Darkhawk

Darkhawk: Heart of the Hawk #1
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

With one Marvel Falcon reaching new heights by co-starring in his first TV series, Marvel's other falconer - the dark falconer, if you will - is preparing to return to the scene.

In April 14's Darkhawk: Heart of the Hawk #1, the cult-favorite '90s hero returns with three stories - one from the past, one from his recent cosmic days, and the last about possibilities for the future.

"The intention of this story is to close the door on one era and crack open another one, for something new," writer Kyle Higgins tells Newsarama. "Hopefully, that will make more sense when you see the book. It's tough-talking about it without huge spoilers!"

Check out this unlettered preview from Darkhawk: Heart of the Hawk #1:

Higgins and an unnamed artist are doing a story portending Darkhawk's future, while Guardians of the Galaxy writer Dan Abnett is writing the second story - about Chris Powell's comic days.

"Though his powers were cosmic in origin, Darkhawk started out very much as an 'Earth' hero, a setting in which he flourished and in which great stories were told. When I was writing Marvel’s cosmic titles like Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy, it seemed like a great idea to put Darkhawk in that setting for a change, and explore his cosmic origins," Abnett says. 

"As a cosmic hero, I liked Darkhawk because he was an outsider…  not a rogue, like say Star Lord or Drax, and not a recognized hero and force of justice like Nova - but a mysterious figure on the edge, whose agenda was less clear and whose heroism often want unrecognized."

And as many fans can attest, a cool costume thanks to co-creator Mike Manley - who is returning with co-creator Danny Fingeroth for the story from the character's early years.

Darkhawk: Heart of the Hawk #1 goes on sale on April 14, with a primary cover by Inhyuk Lee and variants by Logan Lubera and Russell Dauterman. Here they are:

Darkhawk: Heart of the Hawk will be available digitally the same day as in print. For the best digital comics experience, check out our list of the best digital comics readers for Android and iOS devices.

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)

Read more
The SilverHawks line up.
39 years after its final animated episode, cult cartoon SilverHawks is back in a new comic that writer Ed Brisson calls "The Untouchables in space"
Jaoquin Torres as played by Danny Ramirez
Who is Joaquin Torres in Captain America: Brave New World? The weird-but-true comic book origins of the new Falcon
Captain Planet #1
33 years after his cartoon was canceled, Captain Planet is back (and kinda hot) in a new comic book
Batman (2025) #1
DC’s new Batman relaunch finally has me excited to follow the Caped Crusader again
Huck runs with a heart-shaped box.
10 years after the original comic, Mark Millar's feel-good superhero series Huck returns for a sequel
Gold Tiger battles a hoard of zombies.
New Wakandan hero Gold Tiger is the latest to join Marvel's New Champions
Latest in Comics
King Kong wrestling a giant squid monster
The Monsterverse expands with Return to Skull Island, a comic tying into Netflix's King Kong-centric animated series
Close up on Emma Frost's face as she sits on a throne on the cover of Emma Frost: White Queen #1
"Bow down to the White Queen" as Emma Frost gets her own X-Men solo comic that flashes back to her time as a villain
The Biker Mice From Mars.
Oni Press's new Biker Mice From Mars comic will take a "hard-hitting approach to the stories" and "definitely won't pull any punches"
Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #12
Gwen Stacy and Loki team-up for a cosmic adventure in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost Spider #12
An alien attacks.
Xenomorphs have taken the island as Alien: Paradiso nears its endgame
Cover art from Resurrection Man: Quantum Karma #1.
13 years after his New 52 series ended, cult DC hero Resurrection Man is back in Quantum Karma
Latest in News
Balatro
Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition
Hideo Kojima reveals Death Stranding 2: On the Beach release date, and the Collector's Edition includes exactly what I predicted it would
Kingmakers
Kingmakers is a strategy game about taking on medieval armies with a gun, but its devs thought the giant mech was too much
The Witcher 3 lead says "not many games" were trying to match the RPG back in 2015, and that meant "there was a risk" to making it in the first place
The Blood of Dawnwalker
The Witcher 3 dev says his new vampire RPG Blood of Dawnwalker wants to challenge genre conventions, but only if "we're changing them to actually achieve some goal"
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip