Blackheart
| Blackheart | |
|---|---|
| File:Blackheart.jpg Blackheart | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Daredevil (Vol.1) #270. |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Blackheart |
| Team affiliations | Hellfire Club |
| Abilities | vast magical powers, nearly indestructible, commands legion of demons |
Blackheart is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. He is a demon, the son of Mephisto. He first appeared in Daredevil (Vol.1) #270.
Character history
Blackheart first appeared in the pages of Daredevil, and went on to menace Ghost Rider, The Punisher and Wolverine. Blackheart once killed Mephisto and briefly ruled his Hell-like dimension, but he was deposed by the Ghost Rider; his father later returned to life and took control of that realm. Blackheart was most recently seen as the Black King of the Hellfire Club.
Centuries of murder saturated the Christ's Crown area with evil until the attempted rape of a young girl named Sarah drew Mephisto to create a "son," Blackheart, from the accumulated wrongs. Slaying both rapist and victim, Blackheart explored the nature of evil under his father's tutelage, clashing with and failing to corrupt Daredevil and Spider-Man. Mephisto and Blackheart soon drew Daredevil, Brandy Ash, the genetically engineered Number Nine, and Inhumans Gorgon, Karnak, and Ahura into Hell.
Observing these mortals led Blackheart to rebel against his father and seek a newer form of evil; in retaliation, Mephisto diminished Blackheart's powers. Focusing on those who walked the line between good and evil, Blackheart tried and failed to recruit Wolverine (Logan), the Punisher (Frank Castle) and the Ghost Rider (Dan Ketch) to his rebellion. Blackheart also aided Wonder Man against Mephisto and helped Misha of the mercenary Warheads as her telepathic "Voice," using Mys-Tech's Rathcoole to obtain a mystic sword which could harm Mephisto. Returning to Christ's Crown, Blackheart altered his followers into the Corrupt, and employed Wolverine, Punisher, and Ghost Rider as a feint to allow him to anoint the sword with an innocent's blood. He apparently slew Mephisto, banishing his "father" from Hell and restoring his own powers to full strength.
As Hell's ruler, Blackheart focused on corrupting the Ghost Rider, aiding the Furies to possess mortal bodies to torment Ghost Rider and resurrecting the Scarecrow (Ebenezer Laughton) to send after Ketch. From his palace in the Burning Flesh district, Blackheart created his own Spirits of Vengeance: his consort Black Rose (the deceased Roxanne Simpson, ex-wife of Dan Ketch's brother, Johnny Blaze), Verminus Rex (a spirit who had battled the Ghost Rider during World War I), Wallow (a homicidal mortal suicide whom Ghost Rider had thwarted), Doghead (a downtrodden immigrant), and Pao Fu (who had died in the arms of Ghost Rider as he tried to save her). Blackheart bargained to free Ghost Rider's relatives from their curse; in return, Ghost Rider agreed to lead Blackheart's Spirits. However, the pair fell out and Ghost Rider destroyed Blackheart, banishing him from Hell.
While ruler of Hell, Blackheart had tormented the soul of the mutant Stryfe by manipulating the X-Force group, which attracted the attention of the mutant sorceress Selene. After banishment from Hell, Blackheart allied with Selene as the Hellfire Club's temporary Black King. After defeating Selene's enemy Alyssa Moy, Blackheart battled the Fantastic Four, Mechamage, Hellstorm, and Margali Szardos; they ultimately defeated Blackheart, binding him beneath New York's Hellfire Club. Trapped there, he continued to aid Selene, opposing X-Force in an attempt to corrupt Sunspot, while awaiting his inevitable release.
Powers and abilities
Blackheart is a powerful demon of the highest order and possesses vast supernatural powers. He is essentially invincible to anything but the most powerful magic. He has vast superhuman strength and endurance which, being magical in nature, are potentially incalculably high. His speed is also incalculably high and his intelligence surpasses some of the smartest beings alive nearing him to omniscience. His telekinetic and telepathic powers give him abilities beyond most demons of his level. He also has the ability of flight and the ability to combine his superspeed with his flight. His powers also include Phasing and teleportation. He possessesed virtually infinite psionic power which he can draw endlessly from hyperspace, from which (in the Marvel Universe) the primordial energies creating the fundamental forces of the universe, strong nuclear force, electromagnetism, the weak nuclear force and gravity flow into our plane of reality. Controlling the four fundamental forces should theoretically allow him to restructure, create or destroy matter at will down to subatomic level, as well as creating electromagnetic fields and electrical currents, making matter radioactive, manipulating gravity, causing nuclear detonations, emit enormous energy blasts, use his psionic powers to increase his physical strength and generally accomplishing nearly anything he sets his mind to. He lost his practically infinite psionic powers when he attacked Mephisto and his mind was decimated. When his mind was shattered, he lost all memory of ever having his psionic powers and was filled with nothing but hatred and greed until he was finally defeated. He has the ability to change the size and physical form of himself, and survive without food, water, sleep, or air. He can assimume human form, but prefers to remain in his true form. This may explain why in the upcoming movie "Ghost Rider" he seems to be in human form.
He can enter and leave different planes of existence and dimensions at will and has reality warping powers, which have been compared to those of Franklin Richards. He can also summon demons and other supernatural creatures to do his bidding.
Blackheart has the ability to take different forms and confuse the minds of other people, making their worst aspects dominant. He also displayed an impressive healing ability, regenerating whenever Mephisto tried to "discipline" him. Since becoming the Lord of Hell, it can be assumed Blackheart has all the powers Mephisto once held.
As an interesting side note, He smells unpleasantly of burning ink and roses, and has no discernible heartbeat.
Other media
Blackheart is also a playable character in several entries in the Marvel VS. Series of video games. In his first two appearances, he was largely a defensive character with powerful normal moves and damaging combos; in Marvel vs. Capcom 2, his ability to cancel normal moves with an airdash makes him ideal at runaway, due to his ability to summon demons of varying effects as a normal move.
According to the trade press, actor Wes Bentley plays Blackheart in the 2006 film Ghost Rider from Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures.
Blackheart also appeared in the Marvel Heroes game "War of the Gems".