Guardians of the Galaxy 2's Missing Superhero Has The Perfect Answer

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 nearly featured the MCU debut of a cosmic superhero from the Marvel Comics universe, and it’d have had the perfect place for him as well. Tom DeFalco and Mike Manley’s Darkhawk (a.k.a. Christopher Powell) nearly appeared in Guardians 2, according to James Gunn, and while the director didn’t elaborate further on where the hero would appear, a place for his inclusion can be extrapolated. Darkhawk’s potential position in Guardians 2 may also provide a clue as to where he could appear in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 or another cosmic MCU property.

Christopher Powell is an ordinary New Yorker who discovers an amulet that lets him transfer his consciousness into an advanced android body. In his earliest adventures, Powell fought crime in New York City alongside Spider-Man, The Punisher, Captain America, and Moon Knight, but he eventually took his superhero activities beyond Earth. By 2019, Darkhawk had worked alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy, making interest in James Gunn adapting him to the MCU understandable since Darkhawk’s stories can be anywhere from Queens to the far reaches of space.

James Gunn revealed that Darkhawk was nearly in Guardians 2, but didn’t explain anything about where the cosmic New Yorker would have appeared. The best answer to where Darkhawk might have been if he’d appeared in Guardians 2 is that he’d be a member of the Ravagers, a galaxy-spanning collection of pirates and other outlaws. While Darkhawk is a heroic character in the comics, he’d probably have been at least somewhat reimagined as a Ravager in Guardians 2, and this potential position gives him the perfect opportunity to appear in Guardians 3 as well.

The MCU’s Ravagers adapted numerous cosmic Marvel Comics characters to the franchise, including many members of the original iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians 3000, who appeared as Ravager clan leaders at the end of Guardians 2. Since Darkhawk was never an official member of the modern Guardians of the Galaxy or Guardians 3000, his potential MCU counterpart most likely wouldn’t be a Ravager leader. Instead, Darkhawk would be a member of a Ravager clan, and possibly the only member of Yondu’s group (aside from Kraglin) to both survive and remain loyal to Yondu.

Killing off Darkhawk or drastically changing his character would be wasteful, and his lack of inclusion in Guardians 2 ultimately makes sense. Darkhawk is a human superhero who simply places his mind into an advanced android, making him fundamentally similar to Peter Quill (a.k.a. Star-Lord), a half-human, half-Celestial Ravager. Should Darkhawk make his MCU debut as a Ravager in Guardians 3, he may have a better opportunity to connect with Star-Lord than he would in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which would have become overcrowded with such a potentially important character.

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