- "I'm sorry I scare you. I know that I'm a monster. But you're the one that can save me."
- ―Marcus Daniels to Audrey Nathan[src]
Marcus Daniels, also known as Blackout, was a man with the ability to manipulate Darkforce. He was apparently killed by Phil Coulson and Antoine Triplett while stalking his "only light in the darkness", Audrey Nathan.
Biography
Early Life
Daniels was born in 1972 in New York. His education included a science degree in physics from a university between 1990 and 1996. Before his arrest, he worked as an assistant to Dr. Abner Croit. During an experiment involving a force called Darkforce, Daniels was subjected to a lab accident that granted him the power to absorb any form of energy, empowering himself. He used his abilities to pursue the target of his affections, cellist Audrey Nathan, but his advances were thwarted by Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D., who imprisoned him in the Fridge.
However, rather than attempt to rehabilitate Daniels or remove his powers (as thought by Agent Coulson), the staff at the Fridge experimented on him, increasing his power.[1]
Raid of the Fridge
During the HYDRA Uprising, HYDRA Agents John Garrett and Grant Ward infiltrated the Fridge in order to obtain the confiscated technology that was hidden inside. As a distraction against Phil Coulson and his team, Garrett freed the prisoners using one of the weapons he collected. Among the freed prisoners was Daniels. As Daniels was escaping, Garrett told him to "follow his dreams," noting that he would keep Coulson particularly busy.[2]
Hunting Audrey Nathan
Marcus Daniels exploding
Daniels then arrived at a dock where he killed a man and stole his truck in order to get to Portland to continue his pursuit of Nathan. Daniels referred to her as "his light."
Daniels approached Nathan while she was jogging but Coulson's Team cut him off and attempted to overload him with high powered lights but he knocked them down with a blast of Darkforce. Eventually, Daniels came to the theater and was again attacked by Agents Coulson and Antoine Triplett with the concentrated lights but this time with the addition of the Gamma Power Reserve and he exploded.[1]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Blackout emitting Darkforce
Marcus Daniels obtained his powers from an accidental exposure to the Darkforce.
- Darkforce Manipulation: Daniels is able to manipulate Darkforce in a variety of ways, especially projecting bolts of Darkforce that appear as twisting black smoke and stun whomever they contact.
- Energy Absorption: Daniels is able to suck the energy out of anything around him, making the light bulbs blink when he passes and rendering most conventional weapons useless against him. Daniels can kill with a touch by absorbing the electrical impulses of a human. Daniels had a limit on how much energy he can absorb at one time. This weakness was used by Coulson to defeat him on one occasion, but Daniels claims that S.H.I.E.L.D. increased his powers, causing Coulson to use more drastic measures to defeat him.
Abilities
- Scientist: Daniels was a laboratory assistant of Abner Croit, assisting him in his search for uses for the Darkforce.
Relationships
Allies
- Abner Croit - Former Employer
- HYDRA
- John Garrett † - Rescuer
- Grant Ward † - Rescuer
- Audrey Nathan - Obsession
Enemies
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Coulson's Team
- Phil Coulson - Jailor and Killer
- Leo Fitz †
- Jemma Simmons
- Antoine Triplett †
- Coulson's Team
Trivia
- In the comics, Marcus Daniels was a laboratory assistant to Dr. Abner Croit, a physicist studying an unidentified form of radiation which he called "black star rays". Coercing his assistant into being a subject for his experiments, Croit bombarded Daniels with this unknown cosmic radiation, which was later identified as the Darkforce. Daniels became charged with its energy and learned he could project it from his body as quasi-solid blackness. Croit created a bodysuit that curtailed Daniels' body, and the extra-dimensional source of his energy was so close that Croit had to build a stabilizing device to keep Daniels' body from shifting totally into this energy dimension. Daniels became the supervillain known as Blackout
