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''The Darkness'' is an American comic book series published by Top Cow Productions. The series was created by Marc Silvestri, Garth Ennis, and David Wohl. ''The Darkness'' is the story of Mafia hitman Jackie Estacado who on his 21st birthday became the bearer of the Darkness, an elemental force that allows access to an otherworldly dimension and control over the demons who dwell there. ==Fictional character biography== The Darkness is an ageless power dating back beyond human history. The Darkness is one of the two primal forces of the Universe and is the equal and opposite of the Angelus. The Darkness and the Angelus have been at war since the Creation, before which the Darkness was the original void of primordial chaos. To avert mutual destruction, the Darkness and the Angelus forged a truce through consummation and became the parents of the Witchblade as a result. Since then, the Darkness has always taken a male human host. Usually passed from father to son, leaving the previous host, and taking his life, as the child is conceived. The Darkness' powers remain dormant within the host until they awaken on the host's 21st birthday. Jackie Estacado is the current wielder of the Darkness and a former hitman for the Franchetti Family mob. He is a very violent and sexual man who, though he lives life on the wrong side of the law and can kill without remorse, has a strict set of morals, and a fierce loyalty to those that earn it. Yet the only thing keeping him from being purely evil is his true love Jenny Romano as well as his love for his daughter Hope and others. Jackie Anthony Estacado was born October 29, 1981 in New York City. He has Italian and Spanish heritage. Jackie joined the Mafia at 6, after being adopted by Mafia don Frankie Franchetti, who was told by a mysterious stranger named Sonatine that Jackie's presence in his mob would make Frankie powerful. Jackie came to the Mafia life easily, losing his virginity to a female officer during interrogation at age 14,〔''The Darkness'' vol. 1, #2〕 and making his first hit at 16. He matured very quickly, and soon enjoyed the life of sex and violence. His actions within the mob caused Franchetti to become the most powerful don in the city, fulfilling Sonatine's prophecy. However, when he turned 21, his dark powers awakened and he learned of his evil heritage. Jackie spent much of his time escaping from or fighting the Angelus and Sonatine and his Brotherhood of the Darkness. Eventually, Jackie chose to quit the mob and turned on his adoptive uncle, Don Frankie Franchetti, to get a clean slate and exit from his life of crime after a meeting with Batman. However, Frankie kidnapped Jenny, a childhood friend of Jackie's, killed her and sent a videotape to Jackie in revenge. Jackie could not take this and called out Franchetti's mob, leading them to an abandoned warehouse covered in gasoline. When the crew arrived to kill Estacado, Jackie and the Darklings threw down their lighters and blew the place and all its occupants to bits, killing Frankie and burning Jackie alive. Over the course of this series, Jackie has made uneasy and often flirtatious alliances with Sara Pezzini, the current user of the Witchblade. Jackie spent two days afterward wandering around Hell while searching for Jenny until Tom Judge came and gave him hope, a gift that allows men to exit Hell. Jackie's body was then reconstructed by the Darkness.〔''The Darkness'' vol. 2, #1〕〔''Universe'' #3〕 Jackie returned to find the Franchetti mob taken over by Frankie's amateur cousin, Paulie. Paulie was able to discover Jackie's secret as well as a long-lost sister of Jenny's. Using this information, Paulie blackmailed Jackie into doing hits for him. Along the way, Jackie learned how to construct a gun out of the Darkness. Later, Jackie discovered the identity of the hitman following Jenny's sister, killed him, and took his revenge on Paulie as well. This led to Jackie taking control of the Franchetti family. With control of the Franchetti family, Jackie vastly expanded his mafia, taking on the Triads, and fought the Russian Mafia in Atlantic City. Being the Don of the Italian Mafia in New York did not last long however. In searching for revenge, the new Angelus confronted Jackie at the height of her power, but with the help of Patience and Danielle Baptiste, Estacado managed to crush her, losing everything he had gained. He fled to Sierra Muñoz in hope of establishing a new empire there.〔''Darkness'' vol. 3 #1〕 Jackie Estacado is also the biological father of Hope Pezzini, Sara Pezzini's mystical child. The Darkness entity itself said that it used Jackie as the raw material to settle the matter with the Angelus once and for all. Jackie then established a drug cartel in Sierra Muñoz with a Darkness-based narcotic made from his own bodily fluids thanks to the help of a scientist named Professor Kirchner. With the Darkness, Jackie was able to take control of the small tropical republic, build himself an impenetrable fortress, an army and, eventually, even a lover he calls 'Elle'. Most of this came at a price since the residents of Sierra Muñoz did not take very kindly to him. To express their distaste, they performed various acts of guerrilla warfare and suicide bombings in their struggle for liberation. They managed to find themselves a sponsor in their struggle: the United States military, who were assigned by the Department of Defense to capture Jackie for both experimentation and to learn about his armor. Jackie went to fight the army head-on and, using the Darkness, he was able to take out the entire fleet. Returning to his fortress, he was betrayed by Kirchner and lost control of all of his power, with his Darklings turning on him. Jackie was left for dead after being shot in the neck and falling down a waterfall. Upon his capture he made a deal with the local rebels agreeing to rid the island of the drug he created. In doing so he crossed paths with Elle and she revealed to Jackie that she is pregnant with his baby: a spawn of the Darkness itself. The Darkness, however, killed Elle upon birth, grew to full maturity and killed Professor Kirchner. A fight between Jackie and the Darkness ended when Jackie left the creature in the upper atmosphere just as dawn was breaking. The Darkness was then destroyed by the rays of the morning sun. After crashing to Earth following this battle, Jackie was weakened and battered. He flees Sierra Munoz and headed back to the States. But the road home is no easy journey as he runs afoul of Mexican witches and wannabe gangsters. During one such fight, he was knocked out and soon discovers his battle with the Darkness cast his soul into Hell while leaving his body and mind on Earth after he meets and makes a deal with a devil who calls himself the Sovereign, an arch-demon who promises, in return for a number of assassinations, to reunite Jackie's body and soul.〔''The Darkness: Accursed'' Vol. 2〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Darkness (comics)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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