Origin
Blackouts albino like appearance may be the cause of his physical sensitivity to light and sunlight. His vampire like qualities led him to have himself enhanced by having enhanced claws and fangs implanted. His most prominent ability is his power to create darkness in his immediate vicinity.
Little is known about Blackout’s past. He first appeared in Ghost Rider volume 2 #2. He was employed by Deathwatch to steal some containers. He would later ditch Deathwatch after being caught by Kingpin‘s men and take to containers himself. He was stopped by Ghost Rider (Dan Ketch). When he tried to bite Ghost Rider in the neck, hellfire shot out and the fire burned Blackout’s face which left him disfigured. Since that fight, he has had a strong grudge against Ghost Rider.
Later on Blackout would learn about Ghost Rider’s identity. This would lead him to murder Dan Ketch’s sister Barbara. Her murder happened while Ghost Rider was fighting Scarecrow. Also during this time, he killed the Morlock Pixie. Months later he fought both Ghost Rider and Blaze and lost. He would soon be committed to the FIRM to catch Ghost Rider. But Blackout had plans of revenge. He killed Dan Ketch but the Ghost Rider lived on and buried Blackout alive in a stone coffin with Stern.
Character Creation
Blackout was created by Howard Mackie and Javier Saltares in 1990 and first appeared in Ghost Rider # 2.
Character Evolution
Later on Blackout would be reunited with his demon mother Lilith. He found out about her existence from Ghost Rider who whispered her name while having a preminition. It turns out his is a distant relative of Lilith, he is her grandson. During the final battle of the Midnight Sons and the Lilin in Greenland, Blackout was killed by Blade by having a sword impaled right threw his heart while protecting Lilith. After the fight, Litith was left for dead. She would spend the next few days feeding on the bodies of her dead children, including Blackout. Liltih would soon give rebirth to the Lilin and Blackout. After his rebirth, Blackout was now a full-breed demon with real fangs and claws, as well as his scarred face healed. He was sent on a mission right away to kill the separated Midnight Sons. Blackout went directly to Ghost Rider. Back in the city, Blackout seeked out to get Ghost Rider’s attention by killing an innocent couple. The fight would lead them to Dan’s mother’s house where Blackout would kill her, but he was scared once again but this time by having Ghost Rider’s fire-covered chain lodged into his skull. He would then join his mother Lilith in the Siege of Darkness. He lead an attack at a police station with Lilin Meatmarket and Dark Legion. He then joined in on the attack on Doctor Strange‘s Mansion. He would be stopped by the Spirits of Vengence but he was not sent to the Darkside Dimension like his fellow Lilin. After the Seige he went into a type of depression and was living as a bum in the streets.
Back to the Old Ways
Months later he snapped out of his depression and back to his old ways. He decided to abandon the Lilin and go back to being an assassin. In the end, he told Ghost Rider he won’t bother him again if he stays out of his way. Ghost Rider then denied Blackout’s proposal and fought him. Later on Blackout would meet his fate when he was beaten by Ghost Rider and was chained to a building until the sun came out to burn him alive.
Major Story Arcs
Years later it turned out that Blackout survived the burns and would later reunite with Deathwatch and work for The Hood against the Avengers and help the Hood become the new Kingpin. He would also join the Hood’s Gang to defeat the invading Skrulls during the Skrull invasion.
For reasons unknown, Blackout is now working with his old foe Daniel Ketch along side Doghead, Orb, and Death Ninja. He was told he would be paid by Ketch after he does a job at attacking Caretaker‘s mysterious shack. He attacks Caretaker and is stabbed in the crotch by him but survives and tries to kill Caretaker, but is stopped by Ketch. Who then kills Caretaker himself. Later Blackout attacks Johnny Blaze but was quickly defeated even after he used is darkness manipulation power. Blackout is now fully working for Zadikiel. He is alongside The Deacon broke the Orb out of a medical hospital and now the three of them are out on a mission to find the right villain to kill Ghost Rider. He is last scene at a bar with a new gang consisting of Deacon, Big Wheel, Madcap, Scarecrow, Trull, The Orb, and finally recruits Kowalski the new Vengeance who just killed a bunch of people in a bar. He later joins Vengeance and Orb in attacking the church filled with the gun armed nuns. He clocks the place in darkness threatening and mocking the nuns but is stopped by being shot with bullets that were covered in holy water. Blackout runs away screaming in paint into the night.
After the victory of the Ghost Riders over Zadkiel, Blackout is seen alive at a strip club with Anton Satan. Anton talks of plans to take over the world but Blackout doesn’t seem to care.
Recently he and his old employer Deathwatch team up again and stand in the background while Sin attacks a town. Blackout teases Deathwatch about his craving of death. The two are about to attack the town until the new Ghost Rider attacks Black and Deathwatch with a stronger penance stare and strikes both of them down.
After his defeat Blackout decides to gain back his reputation by killing the toughest man in New York City. Choosing Spider-Man as his target Blackout targets Peter Parker, a known associate of the web slinger, and his Aunt May. Unaware that Parker and Spider-Man are the same person and that the hero’s body is home to the mind of Otto Octavius he kidnaps May to force Peter to sabotage Spider-Man’s tech and spider patrols. Getting Intel on Blackout from Doctor Strange and his old foe Ghost Rider, Spider-Man hunts down Blackout and after a brief skirmish beats him to a bloody pulp in front of Aunt May before asking him to carry a message that Peter Parker and his associates were not to be targeted by any villain’s or they would end up like him. Before leaving Spider-Man took a fang from Blackout for further study on Spider Island.
Known Kills and Crimes:
Murdered a cop and his family in cold blood.
The death of Barbara Ketch who was Danny Ketch’s sister.
Murdered a few Morlocks among them Pixie.
Killed reporter Stacy Wei.
Killed Dan Ketch biting his neck apart but the Ghost Rider survived.
Powers & Abilities
Blackout is a demon that can manipulate light areas into complete darkness. This darkness would serve as a tool to surprise his victims in the dark. His darkness manipulation can stretch out hundreds of yards. He also had implanted steel fangs and claws which he uses as a weapon. When he was reborn by Lilith, the fangs and claws became real. He has super-human strength and speed. Though he is weak against Hellfire, and had a chain jabbed into his skull, he was still able move to safety. And even thought he was reborn a demonic vampire, little is known on how powerful his vampirism is. It is not known if he can infect others by biting them. As a hired assassin, Blackout was also very talented when sneaking up on victims.
He also seems immune to Deathwatch’s telepathic powers.
Personality
Blackout is extremely violent and shows no remorse for his prey. He also has a strong urge of revenge on his mind. Especially when it comes to Daniel Ketch. It also seems like Blackout is very sentimental about his face. When ever he got damaged he would say something like, “My beautiful face!
Mental state: He is stable at some points however he is very sadistic when he gets in the mood to kill someone.
Film
Blackout is going to be the main villain in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. He will be played by Johnny Whitworth. This version won’t be faithful to comics he has the same appearance and the powers to fight Ghost Rider. He’s turned like this by the Devil to complete his job and steal Nadya’s son, Danny.
He starts out as a Merc known as Carrigan. He works for the Devil to capture Danny. He first fights Ghost Rider and knocks him out with a grenade launcher. The second time he fights Ghost Rider he is defeated and is near death with a boulder crushing him. The Devil then gives him supernatural powers and brings him back to life. He later finds Danny and kills a group of monks. He brings him to the Devil for the ritual. He finally fights Ghost Rider on a moving truck and is thrown underneath the truck, presumably killing him.