This article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style.(August 2018) |
| Black Crow | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Captain America #292 (April 1984) |
| Created by | J.M. DeMatteis (writer) Paul Neary (penciller) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Jesse Black Crow |
| Abilities | Various mystical powers, superhuman agility, skilled combatant |
Black Crow (Jesse Black Crow) is a fictional Native American superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
The Black Crow first appeared in Captain America #292 (April 1984) and was created by the writer J. M. DeMatteis and penciller Paul Neary. [1] [2]
Jesse Black Crow, a member of the Navajo Nation, was taught the traditional ways by his great-grandfather, who was a healer. Jesse left his New Mexico reservation at the age of sixteen, after his grandfather’s death, and moved to New York City, eventually becoming a construction worker on skyscrapers.
One day, while working 20 stories up, the scaffolding gave way and Jesse plunged to the ground. He survived the fall but was permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Comatose in the hospital, Jesse received a vision from the spirit of the Earth showing him the plight of the Native American people. When needed, the spirit transformed Jesse into Black Crow, a mystical warrior, and protector of his people. [1] [3]
Normally, Jesse Black Crow is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair. He has the ability to undergo a mystical transformation into the Black Crow courtesy of an "Earth Mother" spirit once worshiped by his Navajo ancestors.
In his form as Black Crow, he has superhuman strength, stamina, durability, agility and reflexes, and is a gifted unarmed combatant. He can mystically summon fog and mist and has shape-shifting powers. His two most well-known forms are that of a crow or a bolt of lightning, but he has also transformed himself into mist, and assumed the forms of Spider-Man, Puma, and an actual puma. He retains his human intelligence in any form and can speak in animal form.
Black Crow can also mystically transport himself and others into the other-dimensional land of the Anasazi of Native American myth.
Black Crow has proven capable of communicating telepathically with Captain America, paralyzing a person through mystic hypnosis, and removing specific memories from a person's mind. He possesses mystic senses that are attuned to the spirits of mortal Native Americans and to their deities. He can sense the auras of other Native Americans and thereby learn about their recent past.
He is capable of creating visions and illusions in the minds of others, leading to speculation that some of the above-mentioned feats may have been illusions as well.
He carries a spear, which he spins to perform certain mystic feats such as cleansing negative magical energies. He also carries an ordinary longbow, arrows, and knife. He wears a pouch containing mystic herbs he can employ for various purposes, involving his knowledge of mystic rituals.
He also uses "freezing mist" that can paralyze other people and blank their minds for brief periods of time.