Blackwolf

Origin

Thiab Al-Daham was an assassin sent to kill Rughal by a business competitor. Though he professed admiration and respect for Rughal, he refused the villain's initial offer to switch allegiances for money and tried to carry out the assassination, only to witness dumbfounded how his victim's flesh turned into a shadow-like mist. Rughal revealed then that this transformation was the result of Thiab reacting to the presence of one of Rughal's artificial copies of the Noor gems. After being offered this ability for himself and an eternity of power as Rughal's right hand man, the newly dubbed Blackwolf agreed to become the first of his superpowered enforcers.

Creation

Dan Panosian is given credit for Blackwolf's character design in the 2007 issue in which he first appears.

Major Story Arcs

Mumita the Destroyer

Blackwolf first encounters the 99 during their mission to extract gembearer Mumita the Destroyer from an underground fight circuit run by Rughal's men. Since Blackwolf had taken Mumita out of the streets and trained her for years to make her the general of Rughal's parahuman army, her decision to escape with the 99 enrages Thiab who tries to kill her and Jabbar, only to be incapacitated by Noora's light and Darr's painwave powers.

Capturing the 99

Some time later, Blackwolf forces Jami the Assembler to supply Doctor Ramzi with false information that allows Blackwolf to ambush and capture several members of the 99 with the assistance of Al-Ashrar, Rughal's team of super-minions. Unfortunately for Blackwolf, Ramzi himself escapes and asks Raqib the Watcher to assemble a second team that manages to release the imprisoned gembearers. In the ensuing battle, Al-Ashrar is soundly defeated and Blackwolf almost dies when his shadow form is shattered by an attack combining the strength of Jabbar, Darr's pain and Mumita's destructive abilities.

Return

Months after being shattered, Rughal's researchers manage to put together Blackwolf's shadow form and the assassin is immediately put to work training an army of mass produced drone warriors empowered with artificial Noor energy, that is used to lure the 99 away from the Foundation, giving Thiab a golden opportunity to cut the head of the enemy by kidnapping Ramzi. When the doctor tries to convince him to switch allegiances, Blackwolf angrily refuses to abandon the side of the man he regards as a brother.

However, when he returns to Mamluk International after failing in his task, a depressed Rughal states that he has had quite enough of failure and decides to kill Blackwolf by dissolving his shadow-form with a device designed for that purpose. Minutes later, Thiab (aided by the experience gained from his previous destruction) manages to reform and avenges himself by throwing his former boss into an alchemical experiment that seemingly disintegrates him. Now in charge of a vast business empire, Blackwolf hands over to the 99 all the Noor stones that Rughal has collected in exchange for a ceasefire and is revealed to have been preparing for such an eventuality with the collaboration of fellow Al-Ashrar member, the Sphinx.

Retreat Assault

Some time later, Blackwolf resurfaces with an assault against the Retreat, a sanctuary for Noor stone wielders hidden in the Himalayas, which had been infiltrated by the Sphinx prior to his attack. An unexpected increase in the power of gembearer Sami the Listener results in yet another defeat and Thiab decides to betray his new partner when they are cornered by the 99 by flying away, leaving the Sphinx to deal on her own with the 99 and their allies.

Recent Events

Blackwolf has sent the supervillain Tremor against the 99 in their new base near Seville, Spain, as a distraction within a greater plan to obtain the Noor stones that is going to put him in conflict with the 99 and the recently resurrected Rughal.

Powers

Shadow-form

Blackwolf can transform his flesh into a shadow-like substance, the density and shape of which he can control. By lowering his density enough he can become completely incorporeal, which allows him to fly and walk through solid obstacles, or he can make his body as hard as metal, which combined with his limited shape-shifting lets him turn his limbs into weapons. With his recently improved control over his shadow form, he can also recover quickly from extreme levels of damage.