The Darkness
The Darkness is a comic book character that first appeared in Witchblade #10
Jackie Estacado is the current wielder of the Darkness, an ancient power belonging to the triad of power encompassing the Darkness, the Witchblade, and the Angelus.
Characteristics
Height: 6'1''
Weight: 195 lbs
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Personality
Not good..
Origin
Enter: The Darkness
Shortly after being born, Jackie was enrolled in Saint Gerald's orphanage. He was enrolled on the same hour of the same day as another orphan, Jenny. Jenny's mother died when she was two months old due to a batch of bad heroin. Jackie developed a sibling-like fondness for Jenny, believing that she was the only good thing in his life. Growing up in Saint Gerald's was brutal for the orphans. The monks would frequently beat the children in their care.
Frank Franchetti
Jackie was ruthless, knowing exactly who to hit and how hard to hit them to get the job done. Jackie would live his life in the fast lane, indulging himself with expensive clothes, fast cars, and beautiful women. Despite his lifestyle, Jackie continued to look in on Jenny, acting as her protector until she was old enough to leave. After she left, Jackie provided Jenny with a job as a bartender at a club he frequented and continued to provide her protection and assistance. Over the years Jackie continued to feel for Jenny as a sort of younger sister, completely oblivious to the love an affection she harbored for him.
The Beginning
Jackie's 21'th birthday
As a black aura surrounded Jackie, demon-like creatures poured out from around him and destroyed both groups of unknown assailants. As one of them lay dying he told Jackie that he needed to get to Liberty. As Jackie stood up he was greeted by a rival hit-man that told him his uncle was already hit by the Marchianni family. Jackie used his new found powers to slay his would be killer, and then went off to take out the head of the Marchianni family as well. The next day Jackie woke up in the dumpster behind the club Jenny worked at. As Jenny helped Jackie regain his footing the memories of the previous night came flooding back, including one word in particular, "Liberty." Knowing of only one liberty, the Statue of Liberty, Jackie set out to Ellis Island to if he could figure out what was happening. It was there he met with a magician named Sonatine. Sonatine explained to Jackie that he was the leader of a group called the Brotherhood of the Darkness, a cult that followed the Darkness Power. He explained that the Brotherhood of the Darkness was formed centuries ago by Miguel Estacado, a prior wielder of the Darkness. Miguel envisioned of a world where he ruled using the Darkness power. He formed the Brotherhood out of his followers to rule under him. It was here that Jackie would also learn of the two powers linked to the Darkness--the Witchblade and the Angelus. While the Witchblade was a warriors weapon, the Angelus was the opposite of the Darkness, a power based of light.
The Darklings
Sonatine was able to stop Jackie before he made a fatal mistake, and Jackie killed the warrior sent by the Angelus. In order to get Jackie to cooperate, Sonatine had also taken Jenny hostage. With Jenny as leverage, Sonatine convinced Jackie to come with him in order to gain a better understanding of the powers which he possessed. Sonatine took Jackie out into the country during the middle of the day, to a place where Jackie would not have access to his powers.
Jackie was enraged at the trickery, but had little time to react as Angelus showed up with several of her warriors. Angelus had been keeping tabs on Sonatine, and watched him play Jackie right into her hands--to a place where he was powerless to stop her from destroying him. Jackie grabbed a gun from one of Sonatine's henchmen and asked whether she was bulletproof. Sonatine replied that her warriors would be unharmed by gunfire, and Angelus herself even more protected, however the warrior closest to her appeared mortal and was most likely her companion or confidant. Jackie fired upon her, clipping her wings and bringing her down. With a knife at the fallen angel's throat Jackie and Sonatine were able to get back into the limo with their new hostage and make a hasty retreat for Liberty.
Jackie kidnapping Angelus's lover
After Vinnie was killed Frank came out of the coma he had slipped into. Knowing for the first time in his life that what Frank had told him about his parents was a lie, Jackie asked his Uncle who his father really was. For the first time Frank came clean explaining that he was not actually related to Jackie by marriage. He said that Jackie's father, Danny, was well known in the criminal underworld. He explained to Jackie Danny's particular brand of ruthlessness and pension for leaving his hits more than simply dead. It was for this reason that Frank had not done business with Danny. It was after Danny's death that on his balcony that Frank was approached by a strange man that Jackie realized fit Sonatine's description. Sonatine explained to Frank that Danny had a son located at the orphanage, and that if Sonatine were to bring Jackie into their crew he would mean big things for Frank. Frank would not see Sonatine again, however Jackie's involvement pushed Frank into a position of importance.
Uh-oh..
Demon in the pants..
He had instructed Wenders to inform Sonatine that they would all meet that morning too, and that Jenny was to be present, but did not inform either of his intention to invite Angelus.
Jackie vs Angelus
The next morning Jackie had to watch as Jenny boarded a train headed away from the city. She knew that she could never be with Jackie in the way she truly desired, and that with his new power he would be lost to her in a world she did not want to be a part of. Jackie could only stand and watch as what he perceived as the only good thing in his life departed.
Appolonia
From here certain events take place, one notably is the coming home of Uncle Paulie’s daughter and Jackie’s half-sister Appolonia. At the same time Wenders comes to the door of Jackie telling him he might have a solution for the little sex problem, he tells Jackie he can’t have sex because of the possibility he might conceive a child. However, he does not have that problem if he were to have sex with a man and offers himself. Disgusted by the idea Jackie tosses Wenders out the window into a garbage container, from there he’s picked up by one of Appolonia’s henchmen and brought to her place.After this little ‘encounter’ Jackie meets up with his half-sister and notices there’s still a lot of resentment between them, she demonstrates her hatred for him when she kills her own cat, which she raised from birth, in front of his eyes just to send a message to Jackie. From there on, Appolonia with the help of a master torturer questions Wenders, and after a lot of torturing he finally tells her all he knows about the Darkness and the Angelus. Interested by this information she seeks the help of the Angelus force fo herself. But not before she is approached by a dark man who offers his help to her, Sonatine.
Appolonia
She herself becomes a vegetable now. This enrages the mother and flies out of the mansion, only to return in a few hours to take revenge on Jackie. In the meantime Jackie sends everyone out of the mansion including Franchetti with the only explanation that he has to do it by himself. Jackie takes on the Angelus force and makes a doppelganger of himself which Angelus kills. Thinking she had defeated Jackie she leaves the battlefield.
The Magdalena
Nailed to a cross
When the church finds out the Magdalena was send out against Jackie while she wasn’t ready yet they immediately call for Cardinal Innocent, he blames Jasper and unknowingly takes the blame for his trust in Cardinal Innocent. It seems Cardinal Innocent hoped the Magdalena would die for his own profit. The Magdalena however had escaped her first encounter with Jackie and was now hiding in the church where she was awaited by the sisters of the order of the Magdalena. They helped her learn a new power, Jackie learned of her whereabouts however and busted into the church. Magdalena uses her new found powers on Jackie, a power that shows him all the sins of his life. However the glow coming from her hand with this power also created shadow, Jackie managed to resist the power and attacked her with his Darkness powers saying ‘Where there’s light, there’s shadow, and where there’s there will always be Darkness’. After this, he quickly disposed of them and nailed them to the cross. The tip of the Spear of Destiny however, somehow managed by a strange twist of circumstances to make it’s way under Appolonia’s pillow in the hospital and glowed up blue.
The hit
Hit on his life
Adrienne Estacado
When he gets there he finds out that the woman who put a price on his head is really his grandmother, Adrienne Estacado. She was shot while being pregnant of his father, if he she died the lineage would stop but the Darkness wouldn’t let her die and transferred a little bit of Darkness power to her. She wanted Jackie dead on this specific day so she would get his Darkness powers, however, he survived and was no use to her no. She would wait until next year to try it again. Jackie tried to use his powers on her but it wouldn’t attack her because she had a little bit of Darkness in her, so he decide to shoot her. But she healed from the shot wound in her head in mere seconds. Then she showed Nicoletta in her helicopter, if Jackie wouldn’t let her go, Nicoletta would die. Jackie let her go, when they were in the air Nicoletta was tossed out of the helicopter and Jackie jumped after he to save her. He managed to save her by growing wings with the Darkness powers and send Nicoletta home. But his grandmother escaped.
Destroying Wyrmwood
Town of Wyrmwood
We see Jenny on the run for what seems to be Darklings in the city of Wyrmwood, she manages to stay out of their hand and call Jackie, but all she gets is his answering machine. She leaves a message saying that she’s in the town of Wyrmwood and she needs Jackie’s help. Jackie is talking with Frankie about a major overhaul in the organization, when Jackie returns to his apartment from his meeting with Frankie he listens to the message from Jackie. Outraged by the thought of someone hurting Jenny he contacts Butcher for help on the location of the town of Wyrmwood, it shows on none of the maps, Butcher tells him it’s basically a legend and if he really wants to know that he should contact Mandolin, a strange man but with great knowledge about the supernatural. Jackie saves him from two corrupt cops and goes to city of Wyrmwood with him. When he finally entered Wyrmwood he was greeted by zombies holding Jenny hostage.It would appear that Jackie’s forefather Antonio Estacado destroyed the entire city and its residents. But he didn’t have the Darkness power fully under control and a bit of it was left behind. Causing the residents to turn into zombies. Now they wanted Jackie to set them free so they could remake the world Wyrmwood’s image. Jackie didn’t agree to it of course and knew this city was made from Darkness. With his fullest concentration he sucked the entire city into his body with all its residents. After which Jenny said goodbye to Jackie once more as she still needed to figure out her own path in life, but not without kissing Jackie goodbye, after which he felt like he could take on the world.
First Born
Jackie vs Angelus warriors
When she finally does, he has some concerning news for her, namely ‘I don’t know that I’m exactly your type Sara.. But I’m pretty sure I’m the father of your baby’. In the meantime we see Dani (bearer of the Witchblade) flying towards Sara’s apartment to warn her that the Angelus is coming, however she was being followed by the Angelus. Jackie explains to Sara how he knows this, he ‘persuaded’ the Angelus warrior he kidnapped to tell him everything. It seemed that The Darkness had taken control of Jackie, without him ever knowing, and had sex with Sara when she was in the hospital. It seemed that if the Darkness used Jackie to father a child he wouldn’t die. The Darkness apparently hoped that by creating a child with the bearer of the balance (Witchblade ), it would produce a pawn powerful enough to finally eradicate the Angelus for good. So the Angelus is now after them to take the child for herself.
Lucky Jackie..
They go to a cave far under New Jersey where Jackie explains to Dani and Sara that this used to be a sacred site for the Indians, but is now used as a safe house for the Franchetti family where Jackie himself hid for a long time. They immediately bring Sara into the house because she’s going into labor. But are quickly spooked by someone approaching them from the stairs, however it’s a false alarm as it’s an old acquaintance, namely the Magdalena who came to help them. That’s who Sara called earlier.
His daughter Hope
However, Sara is quickly defeated by the Angelus and took her baby. With Angelus holding the baby, some sort of chain reaction happens as a large sort of exposion happens which only seemed to affect the Angelus and her warriors. They were all gone, and the Angelus slowly withered away. When they finally get out of the cave all danger is gone and now Jackie holds his daughter for the first time, they decide on a name together for the baby, Hope. Jackie and Sara share one last kiss together and then Jackie takes off, as there’s now nothing left of his organization. We see Gleason and Sara in the hospital, whom apparently survived the stab in his chest, and the last thing we see of Jackie is him getting on a plane somewhere.
The Darkness: level
Killing Germans
Happy 21'th birthday
Just as the group of hit men means to kill Jackie the clock strikes midnight, it’s now Jackie’s 21’th birthday and the darkness manifests inside of him. With ease he now disposes of the men and makes his way to Jenny. Just as he wants to tell Jenny about him being a hit man and that he loves her he receives a phone call from Butch, a friends of him who he can trust, and he needs to go. To get back at his uncle Paulie Jackie decides to kill his dealers and he does so with the help of his new found powers, it is here that he finds out his powers don’t work in the light.
Jenny shot by Paulie
Killing his attackers
Jackie agrees and points at some propane tanks shooting at them followed by a huge explosion that kills everyone, including Jackie himself for the second time.
Saying goodbye..
When they notice Jackie is attacking they switch on all lights around the base to try and limit Jackie’s powers. With his powers he makes a huge flock of bat like darklings who completely destroy the lights and the men guarding it. He kills everyone in the mansion and is now face to face with uncle Paulie. He decides not to kill him yet, but after a unfortunate joke about Jenny that Paulie makes, Jackie changed his mind. The last we see of Jackie is him standing by Jennie’s grave saying it’s a very dark place without her.
Powers
The Darkness unleashed
This includes everything from solid constructs such as armor and weaponry to living, sentient beings controlled by the Darkness. One of the most common manifestations of the darkness includes darkness armor around Jackie as well as demon-like creatures to do his bidding. A primary weakness of the Darkness is that it only functions in the absence of light. When light hits anything created of the Darkness it vanishes, and Jackie cannot access his power in the light. This leaves Jackie particularly vulnerable to attack during the day.
Jackie, and all wielders of the Darkness, pass on the Darkness to their heirs through sex. Upon the conception of their child they die, so males in Jackie's family generally die during intercourse. This is quite the burden on Jackie, who lost his virginity at 14 to a female police officer on the interrogation desk.
For more information see also: The Darkness.
#148 in
Power Rank
Rank Game
| Super Name: | The Darkness |
| Real Name: | Jackie Estacado |
| Aliases: |
Jackie Estacado El Ocaso Terry Stoller Jack Estes The Black Captain |
| Publisher: | Top Cow |
| Gender: | Male |
| Character Type: | Human |
| 1st Appearance: | Witchblade #10 |
| Appears in: | 181 issues |
| Birthday: | |
| Died: |
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