Night Thrasher
Encyclopedia
Night Thrasher is a fictional character
, a superhero
published by Marvel Comics
. He first appeared in Thor
#411 (December 1989), and was created by Tom DeFalco
and Ron Frenz
.
, and head of the Taylor Foundation. Although he possesses no superhuman
powers, he has trained himself extensively in many martial arts, and is adept at building technological devices.
In X-Men vol. 2 #29 and X-Force
vol. 2 #32, it is revealed that Night Thrasher has ties to the Hellfire Club
, a mysterious group of aristocrats and adversaries of the X-Men.
Night Thrasher had two legal guardians when he debuted in the New Warriors' origin issue: Andrew Chord
and Tai
. Chord has not been seen since mid-volume 1, and Tai died in issue #25 after revealing her plans to use the New Warriors to gain immeasurable power. It is assumed that Night Thrasher has simply outgrown his need for a legal guardian (in the letters page for New Warriors #39 it was stated that Dwayne was 19 years old).
, he saw his wealthy parents slain before his very eyes. This event drove him to hone himself into a human fighting machine in the pursuit of vengeance. Over time, this desire for revenge later evolved into an obsessive desire to punish all wrongdoers.
He was unable to fully remember the exact circumstances of his parents' deaths, and was unable to remember the face of their killer, he assumed that this was due to his mind trying to block the memory. Later in life he discovered that the entire circumstances of his parents' death and his own rearing by his guardian Chord and an elderly Asian woman named Tai, had in fact all been orchestrated by Tai herself.
The driven, and conflicted young man lived a dual existence, during the day he ran the Taylor Foundation, and at night he relentlessly trained himself to human perfection, and studied with the best private tutors money could buy. He then began patrolling the streets of New York City as a crime-fighter, to provide a test-bed for his skills.
and Midnight's Fire
were operating as independent vigilantes in the streets of New York City
when they met Dwayne who was also doing the same thing but as a solo operative, a short while before he became Night Thrasher. The trio began an organized effort to lessen the influence of New York City street gangs. Silhouette and Midnight's Fire were the children of Andrew Chord who was serving at the time as Dwayne's guardian.
Their partnership ended when Silhouette was shot and paralyzed from the legs down in a sting gone badly. Midnight's Fire blamed Dwayne and became a cop killer
and a druglord in order to lure Dwayne into a physical confrontation he could not possibly win. Later the partially paralyzed Silhouette reunited with Dwayne, distancing herself from her brother's evil actions.
Dwayne created a suit of special body armor, partially as a response to the threat of Midnight's Fire who was determined to kill him, and also because he felt it was the most effective way to carry out his mission.
, with him being the Reed Richards of the group: the leader and brains. Each additional member was slated to reflect roles of each of the FF. The first of his recruits was Richard Rider, the then-retired, and supposedly depowered, Nova
(filling the role of the Thing
, due to his sheer power). Deducing he could reignite Rider's powers with a high-stress incident, Night Thrasher abducted Rider and dropped him off a building. Although Rider was understandably upset at Night Thrasher for risking his life, the fact that the incident allowed him to regain his powers, his greatest desire, made him feel obliged to join the team.
Almost immediately after gathering his other two chosen teammates, mutants Firestar
(filling the Human Torch
slot) and Marvel Boy, later known as Justice, (filling the Invisible Woman
slot) the four young superheroes became involved in an emergency. The former Herald of Galactus
, Terrax
, had re-formed his body and was causing a good deal of destruction in downtown NYC. Arriving at the scene, they found another couple of superheroes, Namorita
and Speedball
. The six young heroes battled the raging villain Terrax
and managed to neutralize him via the use of ersatz (but effective) teamwork. In the aftermath, the Avengers showed up and stole the show, leaving some of the young heroes bitter about being slighted. Nevertheless, the six agreed to form together into a new team, naming themselves what a reporter had called them — the New Warriors.
With the New Warriors, he next aided Thor
in battle against Juggernaut
. The former partnership with Midnight's Fire and Silhouette was revealed, and Night Thrasher defeated Midnight's Fire and was reunited with Silhouette. Night Thrasher first clashed with the Bengal
, and fought the Punisher
. With the New Warriors and the Fantastic Four, he again battled Terrax. With the New Warriors, he was captured by Gideon
.
The Warriors fought crime together fairly successfully for a respectable amount of time, but Dwayne stumbled across some alarming inconsistencies in the sham that was his life. He first discovered that his company was involved in very shady practices, and this initial inconsistency led him inevitably to unravel the lies that he had been fed since childhood. Nothing was as it seemed. In the end, a bizarre mystically-oriented conspiracy was revealed, along with new villains in the form of the Folding Circle
, and Tai's true role was made clear.
During this time, Dwayne became the legal guardian for Rage
, a young boy in a man's super-powered body. Rage had lost his grandmother in a revenge scheme targeted at the New Warriors' friends and family.
in order to infiltrate them, but he neglected to tell the Warriors this. His obsession with justice, still fueled by his parents' deaths, and his anger issues led to him leaving the team. He traveled with the Folding Circle to Dragon's Breadth Temple in Cambodia, and learned of Tai's responsibility for his parents' death. With the New Warriors, Darkhawk
, and Folding Circle, he thwarted Tai. He sought to prevent a hostile takeover of the Taylor Foundation and saved Chord's life. He fought rematches with Gideon and Bengal, and battled Tantrum.
In the aftermath of his departure, the Warriors were never quite the same. The lineup changed a bit, and Dwayne was an off-again, on-again ally. He suffered setbacks along the way, including losing his girlfriend and teammate Silhouette to his alleged half-brother Donyell (Bandit
). Dwayne was also no longer the undisputed leader of the Warriors. Most of the group turned first to Namorita, and then later to Justice for leadership. He later involved himself with Psionex
, but eventually returned to the team in the last issues of the volume. He played a prominent role in the final story arc of "New Warriors" (vol. 1), dealing the death stroke to the Dire Wraith Volxx.
In Nova the Human Rocket #1 (May 1999), Night Thrasher disbanded the team and decided to travel abroad, training in various martial arts disciplines. Learning of a plot against Iron Fist by the Hand
's new leader Junzo Muto
during that time, Night Thrasher helped a recently-reformed New Warriors in order to save Iron Fist's life. After the adventure, he left again. In the volume's last issue, he returned to the team, so that they could be molded into an effective superhero team again.
Dwayne Taylor eventually 'retired' from being a hero, but stayed semi-active while running the Taylor Foundation. He wished to use the foundation to make the world a better place, and became heavily involved in cancer research. He gathered a top notch staff of microbiologists, one of whom developed what appeared to be a cure for cancer
. Actually, the cure turned out to have been the work of the biologist's mutant son, who had used his powers to 'tell' the cure what to do. This revelation destroyed investor confidence in the Taylor Foundation. The scientist died trying to prove his cancer cure worked by testing it on himself.
Dwayne salvaged the remains of the Taylor Foundation, and adopted Microbe
, the mutant son of the dead microbiologist
. Dwayne approached a television production company to bankroll and promote a new team, packaging their adventures as a reality TV show. He reassembled a new team of Warriors, plus Microbe, and they traveled the country.
. When Nitro
exploded, Night Thrasher apparently died in the blast. His death was confirmed in Civil War: Front Line
#1.
In the aftermath of the Civil War, a new team calling themselves the New Warriors have appeared. They are recruiting underground, undiscovered, and de-powered heroes who strongly disagree with the Superhuman Registration Act. While most of these New Warriors are new to the team, the leader and recruiter has revealed himself as Night Thrasher, though the true identity of this person is unknown for the first few issues. Night Thrasher's grave contained only the torn remains of the costume he was wearing during the Stamford incident, with analysis of the costume revealing a surprisingly minimal amount of biological material, although the doctor who performed the analysis note that this could be explained by the fact that Taylor was only human and was within close proximity of Nitro's explosion while also being partly protected by his costume. In New Warriors #6, it was revealed that this new Night Thrasher was in fact Donyell Taylor
, Dwayne's illegitimate half-brother, whom Dwayne had previously fought as the villain Bandit.
Dwayne's remains, along with Microbe and Namorita's, are later recovered by the New Warriors and Justice's Counter Initiative team, and given a proper burial.
According to the villain Genecide, Dwayne has some unspecified "advanced DNA". And in issue #10 Emma Frost
states he was somehow naturally immune to telepathic probes; this was later revealed to have been caused by Tai, either due to her tampering with his memory or a deliberate effort on Tai's part to ensure that no one else could manipulate Dwayne and interfere with her plans for him.
Night Thrasher possesses excellent hand-to-hand fighting ability and is trained in various martial arts; he has been able to hold his own against the Punisher
(Thrasher would have won, had the Punisher not managed to discharge a submachine gun
against him at point-blank range). He is also an excellent acrobat, a talented designer of battle-suits and small armament, and a good computer "hacker." His strength was further enhanced, though not to a truly super-human degree, by his Mark II combat armor.
's brother Midnight's Fire
. The costume cannot be penetrated by bullets from conventional firearms or by knives and is fireproof. The suit is also composed of a wafer-thin L.E.D. casing that allows the suit to camouflage itself within its surroundings. The helmet contained goggles (integral) with infrared sighting, telescopic lens, magnetic resonance scanning, and camera attachment. The helmet also includes a breathing apparatus, voice scrambler, two-way radio communications device, parabolic sound enhancer, and cybernetic link to armor systems.
He also carried a pair of truncheons, Escrima sticks which he called his "Battle Staves" which attached to special slots in the back of the Mark I armor, and an armored high tech fiberglass skateboard with a retractable razor-sharp blade; the board also hooked onto the back of his armor. The armor was equipped with a titanium spring-lock blade in the right forearm. The left wrist of his armor contained a thin adamantium-alloy garrote
wire. Micro surface-to-surface (STS) missiles were also mounted on the forearms. The Mark I armor also had a hidden compartment in which he had a Micro Uzi submachine pistol stored for emergencies. His skateboard could also be used as a shield or as a weapon, with a wide concealed blade; it could also be modified for use as a snowboard
.
The wrist gauntlets on his armor could fire pepper spray
, sleeping gas or explosively launch his "Battle Staves" which were holstered alongside his forearms in the Mark II armor. His gauntlets could also deploy pneumatically-fired grapnel lines for traversing rooftops, and contained retractable blades, as well as an extendable computer tap. He also had a utility pack with various shaped explosives, plastique, napalm gel, and cordite packs, magnesium flares, smoke capsules, incendiary packs, caltrops/spur jacks, and ball bearings. The back pack also contained a glider chute. The Mark II armor also had an advanced active camouflage
system.
marketed through their Supernova line a Night Thrasher HeroClix
figurines (set of 3). Night Thrasher was featured in Marvel Universe Trading Cards
— Series 1 (1990, card #85), Series 2 (1991, cards #22 and 156), Series 3 (1992, cards #59 and 174), Series 4 (1993, card #26), and Series 5 (1994, cards #79 and 168). Night Thrasher was also included in a number of t-shirts, posters, and art prints featuring New Warriors
.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. He first appeared in Thor
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
#411 (December 1989), and was created by Tom DeFalco
Tom DeFalco
Tom DeFalco is an American comics writer and editor, well known for his association with Marvel Comics and in particular for his work with Spider-Man.-Career:...
and Ron Frenz
Ron Frenz
Ronald Wade Frenz is an American comic book artist known for his work for Marvel Comics. He is well-known for his 1980s work on Amazing Spider-Man, and more recently, for his work on Spider-Girl...
.
Publication history
Night Thrasher is the founder and leader of the New WarriorsNew Warriors
The New Warriors is a Marvel Comics superhero team, traditionally consisting of young adult heroes. They first appeared in The Mighty Thor #411 .-General publication history:...
, and head of the Taylor Foundation. Although he possesses no superhuman
Superhuman
Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...
powers, he has trained himself extensively in many martial arts, and is adept at building technological devices.
In X-Men vol. 2 #29 and X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
vol. 2 #32, it is revealed that Night Thrasher has ties to the Hellfire Club
Hellfire Club (comics)
The Hellfire Club is a fictional society within the Marvel Comics Universe that often comes into confrontation with the mutant superhero team, the X-Men...
, a mysterious group of aristocrats and adversaries of the X-Men.
Night Thrasher had two legal guardians when he debuted in the New Warriors' origin issue: Andrew Chord
Andrew Chord
Chord is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. He is African American. His first appearance was in Thor #411. Chord was the mentor of Night Thrasher and the New Warriors...
and Tai
Tai (comics)
Tai is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. A Cambodian, Tai was something of a mentor for the New Warriors in the first 25 issues of their first series.-Fictional character biography:...
. Chord has not been seen since mid-volume 1, and Tai died in issue #25 after revealing her plans to use the New Warriors to gain immeasurable power. It is assumed that Night Thrasher has simply outgrown his need for a legal guardian (in the letters page for New Warriors #39 it was stated that Dwayne was 19 years old).
Early life
Dwayne Michael Taylor led a hard life. As a child in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, he saw his wealthy parents slain before his very eyes. This event drove him to hone himself into a human fighting machine in the pursuit of vengeance. Over time, this desire for revenge later evolved into an obsessive desire to punish all wrongdoers.
The driven, and conflicted young man lived a dual existence, during the day he ran the Taylor Foundation, and at night he relentlessly trained himself to human perfection, and studied with the best private tutors money could buy. He then began patrolling the streets of New York City as a crime-fighter, to provide a test-bed for his skills.
Early adventures
SilhouetteSilhouette (comics)
Silhouette is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in New Warriors #2, , and was created by Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley...
and Midnight's Fire
Midnight's Fire
Midnight's Fire is a fictional supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. He first appeared in New Warriors #2, , and was created by Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley...
were operating as independent vigilantes in the streets of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
when they met Dwayne who was also doing the same thing but as a solo operative, a short while before he became Night Thrasher. The trio began an organized effort to lessen the influence of New York City street gangs. Silhouette and Midnight's Fire were the children of Andrew Chord who was serving at the time as Dwayne's guardian.
Their partnership ended when Silhouette was shot and paralyzed from the legs down in a sting gone badly. Midnight's Fire blamed Dwayne and became a cop killer
Cop Killer
Cop Killer or cop killer may refer to:*A person who kills a police officer*"Cop Killer" , a 1992 song by Body Count*Cop Killer , the English translation of the ninth book in the detective series written by Sjöwall and Wahlöö...
and a druglord in order to lure Dwayne into a physical confrontation he could not possibly win. Later the partially paralyzed Silhouette reunited with Dwayne, distancing herself from her brother's evil actions.
Dwayne created a suit of special body armor, partially as a response to the threat of Midnight's Fire who was determined to kill him, and also because he felt it was the most effective way to carry out his mission.
The New Warriors
Night Thrasher meticulously researched several young solo heroes, and selected three as targets for recruitment. He based his group on the Fantastic FourFantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
, with him being the Reed Richards of the group: the leader and brains. Each additional member was slated to reflect roles of each of the FF. The first of his recruits was Richard Rider, the then-retired, and supposedly depowered, Nova
Nova (comics)
Nova is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Upon becoming a member of the galaxy's Nova Corps , the youth gained enhanced strength, flight, injury resistance, and a specialized uniform with life support.In May 2011, Nova placed 98th on IGN's Top 100 Comic...
(filling the role of the Thing
Thing (comics)
The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
, due to his sheer power). Deducing he could reignite Rider's powers with a high-stress incident, Night Thrasher abducted Rider and dropped him off a building. Although Rider was understandably upset at Night Thrasher for risking his life, the fact that the incident allowed him to regain his powers, his greatest desire, made him feel obliged to join the team.
Almost immediately after gathering his other two chosen teammates, mutants Firestar
Firestar
Firestar is a fictional mutant superhero in the . Debuting in 1981 on the NBC animated television series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, she has the ability to generate and manipulate microwave radiation, which allows her to generate intense heat and flames, and to fly...
(filling the Human Torch
Human Torch
The Human Torch is a fictional character and superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, he is a member of the superhero team the Fantastic Four, debuting in The Fantastic Four #1...
slot) and Marvel Boy, later known as Justice, (filling the Invisible Woman
Invisible Woman
Susan "Sue" Storm Richards is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superheroine created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 in November 1961, and was the first female superhero created by Marvel in the Silver Age of Comics...
slot) the four young superheroes became involved in an emergency. The former Herald of Galactus
Galactus
Galactus is a fictional character appearing in comic books and other publications published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby, the character debuted in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue story later known as "The Galactus...
, Terrax
Terrax
Terrax the Tamer is a fictional character that appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #211 and was created by Marv Wolfman and John Byrne.-Fictional character biography:...
, had re-formed his body and was causing a good deal of destruction in downtown NYC. Arriving at the scene, they found another couple of superheroes, Namorita
Namorita
Namorita Prentiss is a fictional superhero in the Marvel Universe, commonly known by the name of Nita. She is a mutant clone of her mother, Namora, and a member of the New Warriors. She was killed in the explosion in Stamford that started the Superhero Civil War.-Publication history:Namorita first...
and Speedball
Speedball (comics)
Robert "Robbie" Baldwin is a comic book superhero character, appearing in books published by Marvel Comics.Originally known as Speedball, the character was created by artist Steve Ditko and writer Tom DeFalco, initially as a candidate for Marvel's separate New Universe imprint.Baldwin first...
. The six young heroes battled the raging villain Terrax
Terrax
Terrax the Tamer is a fictional character that appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #211 and was created by Marv Wolfman and John Byrne.-Fictional character biography:...
and managed to neutralize him via the use of ersatz (but effective) teamwork. In the aftermath, the Avengers showed up and stole the show, leaving some of the young heroes bitter about being slighted. Nevertheless, the six agreed to form together into a new team, naming themselves what a reporter had called them — the New Warriors.
With the New Warriors, he next aided Thor
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
in battle against Juggernaut
Juggernaut (comics)
The Juggernaut is a fictional character that appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in X-Men #12 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby....
. The former partnership with Midnight's Fire and Silhouette was revealed, and Night Thrasher defeated Midnight's Fire and was reunited with Silhouette. Night Thrasher first clashed with the Bengal
Bengal (comics)
Bengal is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe who first appeared in Daredevil #258 in September 1988. He was created by Fabian Nicieza and artist, Ron Lim.-Fictional character biography:...
, and fought the Punisher
Punisher
The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
. With the New Warriors and the Fantastic Four, he again battled Terrax. With the New Warriors, he was captured by Gideon
Gideon (comics)
Gideon is a fictional character, a mutant supervillain appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza...
.
The Warriors fought crime together fairly successfully for a respectable amount of time, but Dwayne stumbled across some alarming inconsistencies in the sham that was his life. He first discovered that his company was involved in very shady practices, and this initial inconsistency led him inevitably to unravel the lies that he had been fed since childhood. Nothing was as it seemed. In the end, a bizarre mystically-oriented conspiracy was revealed, along with new villains in the form of the Folding Circle
Folding Circle
The Folding Circle is a team of comic book supervillains in Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe. They were created by Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley in New Warriors Volume 1 #21...
, and Tai's true role was made clear.
During this time, Dwayne became the legal guardian for Rage
Rage (comics)
Rage is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. He is African American. Rage was created by Larry Hama and Paul Ryan in The Avengers vol. 1 #326...
, a young boy in a man's super-powered body. Rage had lost his grandmother in a revenge scheme targeted at the New Warriors' friends and family.
The Folding Circle
Night Thrasher confronted the crime-lord Tatsu'o in Japan, and quit the New Warriors. He battled and was forcibly inducted into the Folding Circle. During this time, Dwayne pretended to join the Folding CircleFolding Circle
The Folding Circle is a team of comic book supervillains in Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe. They were created by Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley in New Warriors Volume 1 #21...
in order to infiltrate them, but he neglected to tell the Warriors this. His obsession with justice, still fueled by his parents' deaths, and his anger issues led to him leaving the team. He traveled with the Folding Circle to Dragon's Breadth Temple in Cambodia, and learned of Tai's responsibility for his parents' death. With the New Warriors, Darkhawk
Darkhawk
Darkhawk is a fictional comic book superhero who first appeared in his own self-titled series, Darkhawk #1...
, and Folding Circle, he thwarted Tai. He sought to prevent a hostile takeover of the Taylor Foundation and saved Chord's life. He fought rematches with Gideon and Bengal, and battled Tantrum.
In the aftermath of his departure, the Warriors were never quite the same. The lineup changed a bit, and Dwayne was an off-again, on-again ally. He suffered setbacks along the way, including losing his girlfriend and teammate Silhouette to his alleged half-brother Donyell (Bandit
Bandit (comics)
Night Thrasher also known as Bandit is a fictional character from Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Night Thrasher #3 , and was created by Fabian Nicieza and Ken Lashley...
). Dwayne was also no longer the undisputed leader of the Warriors. Most of the group turned first to Namorita, and then later to Justice for leadership. He later involved himself with Psionex
Psionex
Psionex are a team of comic book supervillains and occasional anti-heroes in the Marvel Comics universe. They were created by Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley, first appearing in New Warriors vol. 1 #4.-Profiles:*Pretty Persuasions - Heidi P...
, but eventually returned to the team in the last issues of the volume. He played a prominent role in the final story arc of "New Warriors" (vol. 1), dealing the death stroke to the Dire Wraith Volxx.
In Nova the Human Rocket #1 (May 1999), Night Thrasher disbanded the team and decided to travel abroad, training in various martial arts disciplines. Learning of a plot against Iron Fist by the Hand
Hand (comics)
The Hand is a fictional supervillainous organization in the Marvel Comics universe.The Hand is an order of evil mystical ninja who are heavily involved in organized crime and mercenary activities such as assassination plots. The Hand covets power above all other objectives. They are primarily based...
's new leader Junzo Muto
Junzo Muto
Junzo Muto is a fictional character, featured in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a short, physically fit Asian with black hair, with no particularly distinguishing features. He first appeared in New Warriors #5, published February 2000, in a story entitled "Responsibility"...
during that time, Night Thrasher helped a recently-reformed New Warriors in order to save Iron Fist's life. After the adventure, he left again. In the volume's last issue, he returned to the team, so that they could be molded into an effective superhero team again.
New Warriors (vol. 3)
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. Actually, the cure turned out to have been the work of the biologist's mutant son, who had used his powers to 'tell' the cure what to do. This revelation destroyed investor confidence in the Taylor Foundation. The scientist died trying to prove his cancer cure worked by testing it on himself.
Dwayne salvaged the remains of the Taylor Foundation, and adopted Microbe
Microbe (comics)
Microbe is a fictional character, a superhero from Marvel Comics. He debuted in New Warriors Vol. 3 #1. He is a mutant with the ability to communicate with germs and other microscopic organisms. He was a member of the New Warriors.-Origin:Smith has a rather tragic past...
, the mutant son of the dead microbiologist
Microbiologist
A microbiologist is a scientist who works in the field of microbiology. Microbiologists study organisms called microbes. Microbes can take the form of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protists...
. Dwayne approached a television production company to bankroll and promote a new team, packaging their adventures as a reality TV show. He reassembled a new team of Warriors, plus Microbe, and they traveled the country.
Civil War
Night Thrasher was among the four New Warriors involved in the incident that led to the Marvel Civil WarCivil War (comics)
Civil War is a 2006-2007 Marvel Comics crossover storyline built around a self-titled seven-issue limited series written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven, which ran through various other titles published by Marvel at the time...
. When Nitro
Nitro (comics)
Nitro is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. He first appeared in Captain Marvel #34 and was created by Jim Starlin....
exploded, Night Thrasher apparently died in the blast. His death was confirmed in Civil War: Front Line
Civil War: Front Line
Civil War: Front Line is an 11-issue, limited series tie-in to Marvel Comics's Civil War event which started in August 2006.Part of the story is told from the perspective of two reporters embedded in the opposite camps of the war...
#1.
In the aftermath of the Civil War, a new team calling themselves the New Warriors have appeared. They are recruiting underground, undiscovered, and de-powered heroes who strongly disagree with the Superhuman Registration Act. While most of these New Warriors are new to the team, the leader and recruiter has revealed himself as Night Thrasher, though the true identity of this person is unknown for the first few issues. Night Thrasher's grave contained only the torn remains of the costume he was wearing during the Stamford incident, with analysis of the costume revealing a surprisingly minimal amount of biological material, although the doctor who performed the analysis note that this could be explained by the fact that Taylor was only human and was within close proximity of Nitro's explosion while also being partly protected by his costume. In New Warriors #6, it was revealed that this new Night Thrasher was in fact Donyell Taylor
Bandit (comics)
Night Thrasher also known as Bandit is a fictional character from Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Night Thrasher #3 , and was created by Fabian Nicieza and Ken Lashley...
, Dwayne's illegitimate half-brother, whom Dwayne had previously fought as the villain Bandit.
Dwayne's remains, along with Microbe and Namorita's, are later recovered by the New Warriors and Justice's Counter Initiative team, and given a proper burial.
Post Civil War
Some time later, the New Warriors use a time machine to attempt to go back to the past and save Dwayne, but are accidentally sent to a future timeline, where Iron Man has used the Initiative to place the entire world under a reign of tyranny. Donyell confronts Iron Man, only to find that it is not Tony Stark who is wearing the armor, but a resurrected Dwayne. Overjoyed that his brother is alive, Donyell helps to capture his own teammates, despite his misgivings about Dwayne's dictatorship. When this alternate Dwayne kills the captive Tony Stark in cold blood, Donyell turns against him, freeing the New Warriors and eventually killing him.Powers and abilities
Emma Frost
Emma Grace Frost is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 , and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne....
states he was somehow naturally immune to telepathic probes; this was later revealed to have been caused by Tai, either due to her tampering with his memory or a deliberate effort on Tai's part to ensure that no one else could manipulate Dwayne and interfere with her plans for him.
Night Thrasher possesses excellent hand-to-hand fighting ability and is trained in various martial arts; he has been able to hold his own against the Punisher
Punisher
The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
(Thrasher would have won, had the Punisher not managed to discharge a submachine gun
Submachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
against him at point-blank range). He is also an excellent acrobat, a talented designer of battle-suits and small armament, and a good computer "hacker." His strength was further enhanced, though not to a truly super-human degree, by his Mark II combat armor.
Equipment
Night Thrasher wore a special suit of light articulated combat armor composed of Kevlar/boro and silicate-oriented fiber in ceramic matrix, 2 layers, 8 mm/16 mm thick, and the cloth composed of micro-mail titanium nitride; he originally designed the battle-suit to survive physical combat with SilhouetteSilhouette (comics)
Silhouette is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in New Warriors #2, , and was created by Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley...
's brother Midnight's Fire
Midnight's Fire
Midnight's Fire is a fictional supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. He first appeared in New Warriors #2, , and was created by Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley...
. The costume cannot be penetrated by bullets from conventional firearms or by knives and is fireproof. The suit is also composed of a wafer-thin L.E.D. casing that allows the suit to camouflage itself within its surroundings. The helmet contained goggles (integral) with infrared sighting, telescopic lens, magnetic resonance scanning, and camera attachment. The helmet also includes a breathing apparatus, voice scrambler, two-way radio communications device, parabolic sound enhancer, and cybernetic link to armor systems.
He also carried a pair of truncheons, Escrima sticks which he called his "Battle Staves" which attached to special slots in the back of the Mark I armor, and an armored high tech fiberglass skateboard with a retractable razor-sharp blade; the board also hooked onto the back of his armor. The armor was equipped with a titanium spring-lock blade in the right forearm. The left wrist of his armor contained a thin adamantium-alloy garrote
Garrote
A garrote or garrote vil is a handheld weapon, most often referring to a ligature of chain, rope, scarf, wire or fishing line used to strangle someone....
wire. Micro surface-to-surface (STS) missiles were also mounted on the forearms. The Mark I armor also had a hidden compartment in which he had a Micro Uzi submachine pistol stored for emergencies. His skateboard could also be used as a shield or as a weapon, with a wide concealed blade; it could also be modified for use as a snowboard
Snowboard
Snowboards are boards, usually with a width the length of one's foot, with the ability to glide on snow. Snowboards are differentiated from monoskis by the stance of the user...
.
The wrist gauntlets on his armor could fire pepper spray
Pepper spray
Pepper spray, also known as OC spray , OC gas, and capsicum spray, is a lachrymatory agent that is used in riot control, crowd control and personal self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears...
, sleeping gas or explosively launch his "Battle Staves" which were holstered alongside his forearms in the Mark II armor. His gauntlets could also deploy pneumatically-fired grapnel lines for traversing rooftops, and contained retractable blades, as well as an extendable computer tap. He also had a utility pack with various shaped explosives, plastique, napalm gel, and cordite packs, magnesium flares, smoke capsules, incendiary packs, caltrops/spur jacks, and ball bearings. The back pack also contained a glider chute. The Mark II armor also had an advanced active camouflage
Active camouflage
Active camouflage or adaptive camouflage, is a group of camouflage technologies which allow an object to blend into its surroundings by use of panels or coatings capable of altering their appearance, color, luminance and reflective properties...
system.
Merchandise
Various items have been marketed featuring Night Thrasher (Dwayne Taylor). In November 2006 WizkidsWizKids
WizKids, Inc. is an American New Jersey-based company that first made its mark in the game industry producing collectible miniatures wargames. WizKids was purchased by and is a subsidiary of National Entertainment Collectibles Association. The company was founded in 2000 by Jordan Weisman, a...
marketed through their Supernova line a Night Thrasher HeroClix
HeroClix
HeroClix is a collectible miniatures game that uses the Clix system. Originally designed and produced by WizKids, it is now owned and marketed by NECA. Players construct teams of comic book heroes, villains, and other characters from popular video games such as Street Fighter, Gears of War, and Halo...
figurines (set of 3). Night Thrasher was featured in Marvel Universe Trading Cards
Marvel Universe Cards
Marvel Universe Cards were collectible trading cards based on the characters and events of the Marvel Universe.The first series was published by Impel in 1990. The cards featured categories such as Super Heroes, Super Villains, Rookies, Famous Battles and Team Pictures...
— Series 1 (1990, card #85), Series 2 (1991, cards #22 and 156), Series 3 (1992, cards #59 and 174), Series 4 (1993, card #26), and Series 5 (1994, cards #79 and 168). Night Thrasher was also included in a number of t-shirts, posters, and art prints featuring New Warriors
New Warriors
The New Warriors is a Marvel Comics superhero team, traditionally consisting of young adult heroes. They first appeared in The Mighty Thor #411 .-General publication history:...
.