Blackout (Lilin)

Blackout
Blackout II. Art by Leinil Francis Yu.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Ghost Rider vol. 3 #2 (June 1990)
Created by	Howard Mackie Javier Saltares
In-story information
Alter ego	Unknown
Species	Human/Demon Hybrid
Team affiliations	Assassins Guild The Firm
Partnerships	Deathwatch Lilin
Abilities	Superhuman strength, speed, durability, and reflexes Psionic ability to extinguish light in his vicinity Teeth and fingernails are replaced with mechanical prosthetics

Blackout is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is depicted as a half-demon, and is the second character to use The Name, an arcane blessing which bestows vampiric powers.^{[ citation needed ]}

Johnny Whitworth portrayed a character based on Blackout in the 2011 film Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance .

Publication history

Blackout first appeared in Ghost Rider #2 (June 1990), and was created by Howard Mackie and Javier Saltares.^{[ citation needed ]} He would continue to appear intermittently throughout Ghost Rider volume 3 (published from 1990 to 1998) as well as other comics like New Avengers and Deadpool: Assassins.

Fictional character biography

Battling Ghost Rider

Blackout is a professional criminal who can create light-dampening fields that negate all visible light in their radius. He is extremely sensitive to light and possesses metallic teeth and nails.

Blackout is employed by the demonic crime lord Deathwatch as an enforcer and assassin. Deathwatch orders Blackout to search for bio-toxin canisters stolen by a youth gang named the Cypress Hill Jokers under their leader Paulie Stratton. Blackout murders detective Frank Loretti and his family, as well as Ralph D'Amato's parents before battling the Ghost Rider (Daniel Ketch). ^[1] Deathwatch and Blackout then attack the NYPD's 75th Precinct police station, murder several police officers, steal the bio-toxin canisters, and abduct Paulie and the Cypress Hill Jokers.

Powers and abilities

Blackout's demonic heritage gives him supernatural powers, including enhanced strength, durability, and reflexes. His eyesight is particularly sensitive even in total darkness which gives him superior night vision but can be exploited to temporarily blind him. Blackout is able to immediately extinguish any source of light - be it natural or artificial - in his immediate vicinity; cloaking the affected area in an unnatural veil of darkness which acts as a sensory-deprivation field to everyone but himself.

As a possible drawback due to the shadow-rooted nature of his abilities, Blackout's skin is extremely photosensitive. Exposure to harsh artificial sources can cause irritation, while exposure to direct sunlight or ultraviolet light results in severe burns and blisters. Prolonged exposure can prove potentially fatal. He also makes an effort to avoid large bodies of fire for the same reasons and lives an almost entirely nocturnal lifestyle. In addition to his demonic attributes, Blackout has had his canine teeth and fingernails replaced with razor-sharp mechanical prosthetics capable of easily rending through flesh and bone similar to a vampire.

In other media

• A character loosely inspired by Blackout named Ray Carrigan appears in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance , portrayed by Johnny Whitworth. In creating Carrigan, the production team chose to base his characterization solely on the comic book incarnation's appearance and not his history. ^[2] Additionally, Whitworth stated that he plays "the villain who, at the beginning, up until like page 70, is human, [...] I'm not a very nice guy. I'm bad. I get turned into, for those who read 'Ghost Rider', the character Blackout. I get turned into him by the devil to complete my job. That gives me the fortitude to fight Ghost Rider and the supernatural abilities to compete on some level with that guy." ^[3] Carrigan is a mercenary, drug dealer, and gun runner who is hired by Roarke to kidnap the former's ex-girlfriend Nadya's son Danny, who Roarke fathered with her. This brings Carrigan into conflict with Ghost Rider, who defeats Carrigan and leaves him for dead. Roarke later finds Carrigan empowers him with the ability to decay anything he touches and darkness manipulation so he can finish the job. Nonetheless, Blackout is eventually killed by Ghost Rider.
• Blackout appears in the Ghost Rider film tie-in game, voiced by Lex Lang.^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. Ghost Rider vol. 3 #2. Marvel Comics.
2. "Ghost Rider Sequel's Blackout Won't Follow Marvel Mythology". 28 October 2011.
3. "Superherohype.com: Blackout Confirmed for 'Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance'". 17 March 2011.

External links

• Blackout (Lilin) on Marvel Database , a Marvel Comics wiki