Black Order (comics)

Black Order
Thanos and the original five Black Order members on the cover of Thanos: A God Up There Listening #3 (December 2014). Art by Dustin Nguyen.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Cameo appearance: The New Avengers #8 (September 2013) Full appearance: Infinity #1 (October 2013)
Created by	Jonathan Hickman Mike Deodato
In-story information
Base(s)	Knowhere
Member(s)	Thanos Black Dwarf Corvus Glaive Ebony Maw Proxima Midnight Supergiant Black Swan

The Black Order is a supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Jonathan Hickman, they are a group of alien warriors with various supernatural abilities who serve Thanos. The original iteration, introduced in the 2013 Infinity storyline following a cameo appearance in The New Avengers #8 (September 2013), consists of Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, Black Dwarf, and Supergiant, with Black Swan later joining the group as well.

The Black Order have been adapted from the comics into several other forms of media, such as animated television series and video games. The group (renamed the " Children of Thanos ") made their live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Avengers: Infinity War (2018). Alternate versions of the Children of Thanos later appeared in the film Avengers: Endgame (2019) and the animated Disney+ series What If...? (2021 & 2024).

Fictional team biography

Thanos' version

The Black Order is a group of ruthless aliens who serve Thanos. They help Thanos raze worlds from which they demand tribute. When Corvus Glaive sends one of their Outriders to find a new world to raze, the Outrider targets Earth. ^[1]

The Black Order arrive on Earth in search of the Infinity Gems, which are under the control of the Illuminati. ^[2] Each member of the Order targets a member of the Illuminati, with varying degrees of success. During their search for the Gems, Ebony Maw finds Thanos' son Thane, whom Thanos wishes to kill. ^[3]

During a battle with the Avengers, Black Dwarf and Supergiant are killed, while Ebony Maw betrays Thanos and frees Thane. Thane traps Thanos, Corvus Glaive, and Proxima Midnight in an amber construct which leaves them in a state of "living death". ^[4]

While Thanos is imprisoned in the Triskelion, a mysterious cloaked figure offers to help him obtain the Mjolnir of Earth-1610. To ensure success, Thanos forms a second incarnation of the Black Order with Proxima Midnight and Black Swan. He sends them to the Collector's ship to obtain Mjolnir, but they are defeated by Thor and Beta Ray Bill. Upon returning to Thanos, the cloaked figure reveals herself to be Hela and kills Swan and Midnight. She tells Thanos that she needs his help to reclaim her rulership of Hel and offers to grant him the death he has long been seeking in exchange. ^[5]

After Gamora kills and beheads Thanos, ^[6] Hela and the Black Order steal his corpse to resurrect him. ^[7] After getting Thanos' head from Annihilus, the Black Order go to Eros, who is revealed to be housing Thanos' consciousness. ^[8]

Corvus Glaive's version

After the restructuring of the multiverse and Thanos' disappearance, Corvus Glaive creates a new incarnation of the Black Order as part of his plan to create his own empire. Using a moon called the Black Quadrant that belonged to Thanos, Glaive and the Black Order begin conquering different planets. When Thanos returns, Glaive commits suicide rather than be killed by him. ^[9]

Challenger's version

During the "No Surrender" arc, the Challenger reforms the Black Order, with Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, Black Dwarf, and Supergiant being resurrected. ^[10] They are later approached by the Grandmaster, who has an offer for them. ^[11]

Members

Thanos' first version

• Black Dwarf - A member of the Black Order who has super-strength, enhanced density, and impenetrable skin. He is the brother of Corvus Glaive. He is killed by Ronan the Accuser, ^[12] but later resurrected by Challenger.
• Corvus Glaive - Thanos' most favored general and husband of Proxima Midnight, who has enhanced strength, speed, durability, and endurance and uses a bladed pike which can cut through anything and renders him immortal. ^{[9] [13]}
• Ebony Maw - A member of the Black Order who has genius-level intellect, and specializes in persuasion. He utilizes a teleportation device and force field generator.
• Proxima Midnight - A member of the Black Order. She is a master hand-to-hand combatant, has super-strength, and is highly impervious to injury. Her lance transforms into unavoidable toxic light beams. She is killed by Hela. ^[5]
• Supergiant - A member of the Black Order with telepathic abilities. She is killed by Lockjaw, ^[4] but later returns as a psychic energy being.

Corvus Glaive's version

• Corvus Glaive - Leader. Committed suicide.
• Coven - A trio of three unnamed witches. Following Glaive's death, the Coven remain allied with Thanos.

Thanos' second version

• Thanos
• Proxima Midnight
• Black Swan

Challenger's version

• Black Dwarf
• Black Swan
• Corvus Glaive
• Ebony Maw
• Proxima Midnight
• Supergiant

In other media

Television

• The Black Order appears in Avengers Assemble , with Proxima Midnight voiced by Kari Wahlgren, Corvus Glaive by David Kaye, Ebony Maw by René Auberjonois, Supergiant by Hynden Walch, and Black Dwarf having no dialogue. ^{[14] [15] [16] [17] [18]}
• The Black Order appears in Guardians of the Galaxy , with Wahlgren, Kaye, and Walch reprising their roles as Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, and Supergiant respectively while Ebony Maw is voiced by James Urbaniak and Black Dwarf by Jesse Burch. ^{[14] [15] [16] [17] [18]} In the episodes "Lyin' Eyes" and "Free Bird", Maw, Midnight, and Dwarf leave the group to join the Universal Believers.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Main article: Children of Thanos

The Black Order, barring Supergiant and alternatively referred to as the "Children of Thanos", appear in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Ebony Maw voiced and motion-captured by Tom Vaughan-Lawlor; Black Dwarf (renamed Cull Obsidian) voiced and motion-captured by Terry Notary; Proxima Midnight voiced and facial-captured by Carrie Coon, with motion capture primarily provided by Monique Ganderton; ^[19] and Corvus Glaive voiced and motion-captured by Michael James Shaw. ^[20]

• In Avengers: Infinity War , the Black Order attack the refugee ship carrying Thor and other Asgardians and are instructed to retrieve the Infinity Stones. Maw and Obsidian are sent to New York City to take the Time Stone, coming into conflict with Tony Stark, Stephen Strange, and Wong, and later Peter Parker. Maw captures Strange and takes him aboard his spaceship, while Parker and Stark board it and create a hole which sucks Maw into space. Wong sends Obsidian through a portal to Antarctica. To receive the Mind Stone, Midnight and Glaive go to Scotland and ambush Vision and Wanda Maximoff before Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, and Sam Wilson fight them off. Subsequently, Glaive infiltrates the Wakandan medical center and attacks Shuri before being killed by Vision. Maximoff kills Midnight by telekinetically pulling her into a Thresher. Bruce Banner, in Hulkbuster armor, fights Obsidian and kills him by ejecting him into the Wakandan forcefield.
• An alternate timeline variant of the Black Order appear in Avengers: Endgame . While battling the Avengers, Obsidian is killed by Scott Lang and Glaive by Okoye while Stark kills Maw and Midnight using the Infinity Stones.
• Alternate universe variants of the Children of Thanos appear in What If...? , with Coon and Vaughan-Taylor reprising their roles as Midnight and Maw while Glaive is voiced by Fred Tatasciore and Obsidian has no dialogue. ^{[21] [22] [14] [15] [16]}

Video games

• The Black Order appears in Marvel Avengers Alliance .
• The Black Order appears in Marvel Contest of Champions .
• The Black Order, minus Supergiant, appears in Marvel Strike Force .
• The Black Order appears in Marvel: Future Fight . ^[23]
• The Black Order appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 as part of the Avengers: Infinity War DLC.
• The Black Order appears in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, ^[24] with Proxima Midnight voiced by Kari Wahlgren, Corvus Glaive by David Kaye, Black Dwarf by Jesse Burch, Supergiant by Hynden Walch, and Ebony Maw by Todd Haberkorn. ^{[14] [15] [16] [17]}
• The Black Order appears in Marvel Snap . ^[25]

Collected editions

Title	Material collected	Published date	ISBN
Black Order: The Warmasters of Thanos	Black Order #1-5	April 2019	978-1302915858

References

1. Free Comic Book Day 2013 Infinity (May 2013)
2. The New Avengers (vol. 3) #8 (September 2013)
3. The New Avengers (vol. 3) #11 (December 2013)
4. Infinity #6 (January 2014)
5. The Unworthy Thor #2 - 5 (February - May 2017)
6. Infinity Wars Prime one-shot (September 2018)
7. Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 5) #1 (March 2019)
8. Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 5) #4-5 (June - July 2019)
9. Thanos (vol. 2) #1 (January 2017)
10. The Avengers #676-678 (March - May 2018)
11. The Avengers #690 (June 2018)
12. Avengers (vol. 5) #23 (January 2014)
13. Sunu, Steve (May 6, 2013). "EXCLUSIVE: Introducing the Generals of Marvel's "Infinity"". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved September 11, 2015.
14. "Proxima Midnight Voices (Marvel Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 11, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
15. "Corvus Glaive Voices (Marvel Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 11, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
16. "Ebony Maw Voices (Marvel Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 11, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
17. "Black Dwarf / Cull Obsidian Voices (Marvel Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 11, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
18. "Supergiant Voices (Marvel Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 11, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
19. Fullerton, Huwav (April 16, 2018). "Fargo's Carrie Coon to play crucial Avengers: Infinity War villain". Radio Times . Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
20. Esienberg, Eric (April 22, 2018). "We Know Who Is Playing Corvus Glaive In Avengers: Infinity War". Cinema Blend. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
21. Gallagher, Simon (August 18, 2021). "What If…? Episode 2 Cast Guide: Every New & Returning MCU Character". ScreenRant. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
22. Lethbridge, Tommy (September 8, 2021). "What If…? Episode 5 Cast Guide: Every New & Returning MCU Character". ScreenRant. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
23. Staff (March 21, 2016). "MARVEL FUTURE FIGHT THANOS' BLACK ORDER TRAILER". Cosmic Book News. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
24. Yin-Poole, Wesley (December 7, 2018). "Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 announced". Eurogamer. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
25. "New Season: Black Order". February 7, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2024.

External links

• Black Order (Thanos' version) at Marvel Wiki
• Black Order (Corvus Glaive's version) at Marvel Wiki
• Black Order at Comic Vine