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Nighthawk
Nighthawk

Nighthawk

277 appearances Β· Silver Age Β· 1969–2025 Β· 9 key issues
Who is Nighthawk?

Kyle Richmond was a wealthy, arrogant heir who was recruited by the cosmic Grandmaster to serve as a member of the villainous Squadron Sinister, a team modeled after DC's Justice League. Outfitted with a costume granting him enhanced abilities, he later reformed and became a stalwart member of the Defenders.

Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema introduced Nighthawk to Marvel readers in The Avengers #69 back in 1969, and this Silver Age creation has proven remarkably durable β€” racking up 245 catalog appearances across more than five decades and earning nine key-issue distinctions along the way. He's most at home in the pages of The Defenders, Squadron Supreme, and Supreme Power, a trio of series that signals a character equally comfortable in street-level grit and high-concept superhero drama. The company he keeps is genuinely impressive β€” Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, and Valkyrie have all shared adventures with him β€” and that consistent presence alongside Marvel's heaviest hitters speaks to a figure who has never stopped mattering to the stories being told around him. If you haven't explored his corner of the Marvel universe yet, 56 years of history say it's well past time.

Identity

Real name. Kyle Richmond

Powers. Skilled Combatant: Nighthawk is a skilled acrobat and an experienced and capable hand to hand combatant.; Occultism: Over the years, Nighthawk has become somewhat of an expert on occult matters.

Teams & affiliations
DefendersAvengers
β˜… First appearance
The Avengers #69
Oct 1969

Trivia

  • Nighthawk made his Marvel debut as a card-carrying villain in the Squadron Sinister before the character was reworked into a heroic figure in later stories.youtube.com
  • The Squadron Sinister was engineered as a deliberate Marvel stand-in for DC's Justice League, casting Nighthawk squarely as Marvel's Batman analog in that rivalry-driven setup.youtube.com
  • A later retcon reshuffled the in-universe timeline so that the heroic Squadron Supreme served as the 'original' inspiration, meaning the first published Nighthawk was never actually the in-universe original version.youtube.com
  • Marvel has leaned into Nighthawk as a multiverse vessel for markedly different reinventions, including an Earth-31916 iteration portrayed as a Black anti-racist vigilante and an Earth-TRN852 version tied to Mephisto's reality.youtube.com
  • Sal Buscema has drawn more of Nighthawk's comics than any other artist in our catalog β€” 25 issues.

Top series

Covers through the years β€” 1969–2021

The Avengers #69 β˜… 1969
The Avengers #69
The Defenders #19 β˜… 1975
The Defenders #19
The Defenders #64 β˜… 1978
The Defenders #64
Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #1 1982
Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #1
Rom #65 1985
Rom #65
Marvel Comics Presents #50 1990
Marvel Comics Presents #50
X-Men Unlimited #24 1999
X-Men Unlimited #24
Black Panther #38 2002
Black Panther #38
Avengers: The Initiative #8 β˜… 2008
Avengers: The Initiative #8
Avengers: The Contest #[nn] 2010
Avengers: The Contest #[nn]
Deadpool #27 2014
Deadpool #27
Squadron Supreme #13 2017
Squadron Supreme #13
Black Cat Annual #1 2021
Black Cat Annual #1

Appearances (151–277 of 277, oldest first)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005 (2005)
Supreme Power (2004)
Ultimate Fantastic Four (2004)
#22
Official Handbook of the Ultimate Marvel Universe: The Ultimates & X-Men 2005 (2005)
The Thing (2006)
She-Hulk (2005)
Exiles (2001)
#77
Civil War (2006)
Thunderbolts (2006)
Essential Defenders (2005)
Squadron Supreme: Hyperion vs. Nighthawk (2007)
Avengers: The Initiative (2007)
Thunderbolts: Guardian Protocols (2007)
Marvel Zombies: Dead Days (2007)
Civil War Chronicles (2007)
What If? Annihilation (2008)
#1
The Mighty Avengers (2007)
#19
Avengers: Nights of Wundagore (2009)
Squadron Supreme: Power to the People (2009)
Guardians of the Galaxy: Earth Shall Overcome (2009)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z (2008)
#8
Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers (2003)
#9
Squadron Supreme: Bright Shining Lies (2009)
Supreme Power: Nighthawk (2009)
Avengers / X-Men: Utopia (2009)
#1
Avengers: The Contest (2010)
Squadron Supreme by Mark Gruenwald Omnibus (2010)
Fear Itself: Fearsome Four (2011)
Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus (2011)
#1
Avengers: West Coast Avengers - Zodiac Attack (2012)
Marvel Masterworks: The Defenders (2008)
Marvel Universe (2012)
#7
Guardians of the Galaxy by Jim Valentino (2014)
#1
Deadpool (2013)
#27
Marvel Classic (2015)
#1
Black Panther by Christopher Priest: The Complete Collection (2015)
#2
Squadron Supreme (2016)
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl & the Great Lakes Avengers (2016)
Drax: Guardian of the Galaxy (2016)
Nighthawk: Hate Makes Hate (2016)
Black Panther by Reginald Hudlin: The Complete Collection (2017)
#2
Occupy Avengers (2017)
Avengers: The Initiative - The Complete Collection (2017)
#1
Marvel Masterworks: The Savage She-Hulk (2017)
#1
Marvel Masterworks: Howard the Duck (2020)
#1
True Believers: Annihilation - Quasar (2020)
#1
Doctor Strange (2019)
#3
Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange (2003)
#10
Captain Britain Omnibus (2021)
Heroes Reborn: Marvel Double Action (2021)
#1
Black Cat Annual (2021)
#1
Amazing Spider-Man Annual (2018)
Amazing Spider-Man (2018)
The Death of Captain Marvel Gallery Edition (2021)
Avengers by Jason Aaron (2018)
A.X.E.: Judgment Day (2022)
Defenders: Beyond (2022)
Fortnite X Marvel : La Guerre ZΓ©ro (2022)
#1
Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions Gallery Edition (2022)
Avengers Assemble Alpha (2023)
#1
Avengers Forever (2022)
Avengers Assemble Omega (2023)
#1
Morbius : L'intΓ©grale (2022)
Marvel Two-in-One Epic Collection (2018)
#2
Avengers Forever by Jason Aaron Omnibus (2024)
Defenders Epic Collection (2016)
#2
Thanos Annual (2024)
#1
Immortal Thor Annual (2024)
#1
Incredible Hulk Annual (2024)
#1
Wolverine Annual (2024)
#1
Superman (2024)
#2
Moon Knight Annual (2024)
#1
Venomverse Reborn (2024)
#4
Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection (2013)
#12
Venomverse Reborn - Les cinq questions (2025)
Giant-Size Marvel Omnibus (2025)
Marvel Heroes (2025)
#4