The Darkling

Born in the Bronze Age from the imagination of Rich Buckler, The Darkling made their entrance in The Mighty Crusaders #3 in 1983 — stepping into Archie Comics' superhero universe alongside a colorful roster that includes The Jaguar, The Web, and The Shield. Across four decades of publication, from 1983 all the way to 2024, this character has woven through The Mighty Crusaders, New Crusaders, and Blue Ribbon Comics, proving a quiet but persistent presence in Archie's heroic corner of comics history. Eight catalog appearances may sound modest, but for fans who love the underdog legacy characters of the Bronze Age, The Darkling is exactly the kind of discovery that makes digging through back issues so rewarding.