Marcus Daniels
Marcus Daniels was born in Flushing, Queens, New York City. He works as a laboratory assistant to Abner Croit, a physicist hoping to build a device capable of tapping into energies from other dimensions. Croit looks down on Daniels, making him feel useless. An accident bathed Daniels in Darkforce energy, giving him the ability to control it. Despite his powers threatening to go out of control, he escapes from Croit's attempts to cure him and flees.
Blackout returns to Croit's laboratory to find a stabilizer device needed to control his energy. Slowly losing his sanity, Blackout comes to believe that Croit had been researching energies from "Black Stars" and willfully subjected him to experimentation in exchange for dropping charges against him.
Nova encounters Blackout on his way to exact revenge and is easily defeated. Before Nova can catch up with him, Blackout returns to the labs, killing Croit and his new assistant by shunting them into the Darkforce. Following another skirmish with Nova, Blackout vanishes into the Darkforce when he falls onto the stabilizer, destroying it. [1]
The stabilizer ends up at Project Pegasus, a government energy research laboratory. An attack by the Lava Men and the presence of Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) activates the device, which returns Blackout to Earth. Believing that Croit is still alive and out to harm him, Blackout attempts to escape. He is coerced by another Project Pegasus captive, Moonstone, into freeing her, Electro, and Rhino to gain revenge on their captors. Blackout and Moonstone escape after causing the nuclear core of the complex to melt down as a distraction.
Moonstone, a former psychiatrist, treats Blackout to learn his true origin, but he remains in an irrational state. When the Avengers track them down, Blackout sucks himself and Moonstone into the Darkforce. [2] Moonstone helps Blackout navigate through the dimension, eventually arriving on the surface of the Moon. The two encounter the Inhumans and their ally, Dazzler, who return them to Earth. [3]
Blackout and Moonstone are recruited by Helmut Zemo into the Masters of Evil. By this time, Blackout has entered a nearly catatonic state, only responsive to Moonstone's commands. Zemo, with the help of the Fixer, creates a device to mentally force Blackout to obey his commands. Blackout assists in Zemo's takeover of the Avengers Mansion by transporting it into the Darkforce. Doctor Druid uses his psychic abilities to break through Zemo and Moonstone's manipulations, restoring some of Blackout's mental faculties. Blackout resists Zemo's mental commands, which causes him to suffer a fatal cerebral hemorrhage. [4] [5]
During the "Secret Empire" storyline, Blackout is seen alive and living as a married family man under the alias of Bob Hofstedder until he is found by Baron Zemo, who persuades him to join the Army of Evil. [6] Blackout helps Zemo surround Manhattan in a Darkforce dome to further Hydra's plot. [7] Maria Hill locates Blackout and kills him, destroying the dome. [8]
During the "Damnation" storyline, Blackout is revived when Doctor Strange uses his magic to restore Las Vegas. [9]
