Radiant Black is anAmerican comic book series created byKyle Higgins and Marcelo Costa. The ongoing series began publication byImage Comics on February 10, 2021.[1][2] It is a part of Image'sMassive-Verse,[3] A collection of comic titles—Rogue Sun,Dead Lucky,Inferno Girl Red, and others—take place within the same shared universe with stories and plot points often intersecting and crossing over between titles.[4][5]
The series follows two best friends, Nathan and Marshall, who encounter a small black hole looking object that grants its wielder superpowers. As they slowly discover the object's extraterrestrial origins, they realize that its creators have come searching and will stop at nothing to retrieve it.[6]Radiant Black is the flagship title of the Massive-Verse and has spun-off several other titles likeRadiant Red andRadiant Pink.[7][8]
The series follows Nathan Burnett, a failing 30-year-old writer with a massive incurred credit-card debt, forced to move back to his hometown of Lockport,Illinois, to live with his parents, and Marshall Ward, Nathan’s deadbeat lifelong best friend who works at aDVD rental store. One night, they both discover the cosmic Black Radiant, a small floatingblack-hole-like entity which bonds with Nathan and grants him a sleek high tech black and white full body suit, andGravity basedSuperpowers. Nathan becomes thesuperhero Radiant Black, starts using his abilities to help people and fight crime, and later encounters another radiant powered individual with different abilities who uses them to commit crime. After Nathan is injured in a confrontation with the other Radiant user that leaves him hospitalized and in acoma,[9] Marshall takes over as Radiant Black for his best friend.
Marshall confronts the other Radiant powered individual responsible for his friends condition, but they are interrupted by a ruthless alien foe who plans to forcefully remove their Radiants at the cost of their lives. Their confrontation with the alien leads them to meeting up with the other two Radiant powered heroes revealing them to be four in number. They all later realize that the Radiants belong to powerful cosmic beings on their way to earth, beings who would stop at nothing to reclaim the Radiants.
Nathan Burnett: is a failing writer living in Los Angeles, California. He works as aride-share driver as a second job—struggling to secure a loan due to his massive credit card debt. This financial strain ultimately leads him to return to Lockport to live with his parents, and reunite with his lifelong best friend, Marshall. There, he and Marshall discover a small floatingblack hole that grants Nathan enhanced strength, speed and gravity basedsuperpowers (flight,telekinesis, energy projection), which prompts him to become thesuperhero Radiant Black.
Marshall Ward: Nathan'ssuperhero movie-loving best friend, and employee at The Reel World, aDVD rental shop. Marshall and Nathan attended the same High-School, Marshall has been shown to have a history of anger-prone outbursts and violence, but has always been caring and sardonic to his friends and would do anything to protect those he loves. After an incident with a fellow Radiant user puts Nathan out of commission, Marshall gains his best friends abilities and becomes the second Radiant Black while also struggling with facing his violent tendencies and proving to others that he’s changed and developed self control. Following a fan vote at the end of issue 24 and the events of the ''Catalyst War'' storyline, Marshall became the permanent Radiant Black.
Satomi Sone: AnAsian-American middle school teacher who becomes Radiant Red, a radiant powered individual in a red and black full-body super-suit who can absorb matter and energy to bulk-up, drastically increasing in size, strength and durability. She initially used her abilities for crime causing the hospitalization of Nathan during their super powered encounter, but later atones for her crimes and helps protect the planet on various occasions. She later headlines her own five-issue miniseries titled Radiant Red.
Eva Reyes: An energeticGen Zinternet gaming streamer who becomes Radiant Pink, a radiant powered superhero in a pink and black full-body super-suit with the ability to teleport great distances and massive objects and people. She later headlines her own five-issue miniseries titled Radiant Pink.
Wendell George: He was anelectrical engineer (with aPhD) working at a factory, then a BestBuy employee who became Radiant Yellow after finding the Yellow Black Hole in an abandoned donut shop. The powers of the Yellow Radiant allow him to see into the future, but are later revealed to be far closer to time travel and timeline manipulation.
001: orKor, is one of the first villains in Radiant Black. He’s from analien race of highly skilled and heavily armed technologically advancedwarriors, originally loyal to the creators of the Radiants and hell-bent on forcing the Radiant heroes to return their Black Holes and powers to the Cosmic Beings that wish to reclaim them, to prevent the Catalyst War against Earth. He later helps Radiant Black and the others to stop the Catalyst War
Guy/Shift: A recurring foe and leader of his own syndicate who has the ability to "shift" between places. He hunts down the Radiant heroes with alien technology from 001’s ship which grant him his abilities. He intend to use the Radiants from the heroes to power and recharge he and his syndicate’s technology.
Radiant Black is a creator-owned superhero series by writer Kyle Higgins and artist Marcelo Costa, launched by Image Comics in February 2021.[10] Higgins (known forPower Rangers andUltraman) conceived the book as a personal, “millennial” take on superheroes. He describes it as a “love letter to the superhero stories I love” designed for a “whole new generation”.[11] Costa notes the series mixes “superheroes andSentai” (Japanesetokusatsu) – essentially blending Western heroics with Power Rangers–style action.[12] Indeed, press comparedRadiant Black toPower Rangers andInvincible, and evenSpider-Man-style storytelling.[13][14] Higgins has said the story filters real-world “generational issues” – debt, career struggles and second chances – through a superhero lens.[15][16] The main creative team (writer Higgins, artist Costa, letterer Becca Carey and editor Michael Busuttil) remained largely intact for the series; one exception was Issue #6, which was co-written by Cherish Chen (with art by David Lafuente) to tell a guest character’s origin.[17]
Radiant Black debuted on February 10, 2021, as Image Comics’ flagship of the new “Massive-Verse”—a shared superhero universe created by writer Kyle Higgins and artist Marcelo Costa. Over the next four years, it released 32 main issues on a roughly monthly schedule, punctuated by five “.5” or special one-shots (#0, #26.5, #27.5, #28.5, #29.5, and #30.5) that provided recaps, character spotlights, and bridges into crossover events.[18][19] Its issues have been gathered into six trade paperbacks (Vol. 1 – Vol. 6) between August 2021 and January 2025, plus two deluxe hardcover “Massive Edition” omnibuses (Vol. 1 in October 2024; Vol. 2 forthcoming).[20] In late 2024 the series tied into the Massive-Verse “Catalyst War” crossover: issues #30–30.5 formed a combined event, and Image even reprinted them as a double-sized special.[21] A free recap issue—Radiant Black: The Story So Far, released in January, 2025, summarized the Catalyst War and set up the next “Rebuild” era of the franchise.[22] As of mid-2025 the main series is ongoing (Image’s site lists issue #35 for June 25, 2025 and #36 for July 30, 2025).[23]
The series spun off three mini-series in 2022—Radiant Red, Radiant Pink, and the Supermassive crossover series, while participating in the Massive-Verse “Catalyst War” event across multiple titles likeRogue Sun, Dead Lucky, and Inferno Girl Red.[24][25][8] Digital singles remain available onComiXology and Image’s app, and translated editions have appeared in Italian (Oct 2024) with French and more on the way. In April 2025 issue #35 closed out Catalyst War and set the stage for the “Rebuild” era, with a #0 one-shot scheduled for July 2025 and further crossovers planned.[6]
Daniel Gehen fromComics Bulletin wrote "Radiant Black #1 lays the foundation for what may be the best new superhero since Robert Kirkman'sInvincible".[32] Matthew Aguilar ofComicBook.com liked the main character.[33]
The 32 released chapters of Radiant Black—including the 6 released volumes have gotten positive reviews from critics and users alike, holding a collective average critic rating of 8.7 out of 10 for 179 reviews, and an equal user rating of 8.7 out of 10 for 483 reviews on the review aggregator website—Comic Book Roundup.[34]
At launchRadiant Black sold extremely well by independent-comics standards. Early orders for issue #1 broke the 70,000 mark at Diamond’s Final Order Cutoff.[35] Comichron’s estimate is about 73,000 copies shipped by Diamond (making #1 among the top-seller independents that month).[36] Image’s publicity noted that #1 quickly went to a second printing,[37] and #2 “sold out in a snap” and was also reprinted.[38] Subsequent issues saw the common post-launch drop: Diamond figures show #2 at 38,800 and #3 at 32,900 copies sold in 2021.[39] Sales then gradually tapered into the 20–30K range (e.g. issues #4–#6 were in the high 20Ks ).[40] By late 2021 the monthly issues stabilized around the high teens with issue #9 at 18,120 copies,[41] issue #10 at 17,090 copies,[42] and issue #11 at 18,026 copies sold.[43] Notably, by October 2024 the publisher again reported rush printings—an all-star #30/#30.5 special sold strongly.[44]
Trade paperback sales have been modest. According to Diamond/Comichron tallies,Radiant Black Vol.1 (Not So Secret Origin, TPB) sold about 5,900 copies via comics shops in its first year,[45] whileVol.2 (Team-Up) shipped roughly 3,000 copies in its debut month (March 2022).[46] Later volumes have similar performance for a creator-owned indie. Digital editions of each issue and collection have been made widely available (on ComiXology, Kindle, Apple Books, etc.),[47] though specific digital sales figures are not publicly released. Overall,Radiant Black became a standout hit for Image: it sold out multiple printings of its early issues and sustained respectable retailer orders throughout its run, fueled by both the creators’ fanbase and buzz from events like the “Catalyst War.”[48][49]
On February 23, 2022, the first issue of the Massive-Verse superhero crossover event series titled Supermassive, written by Kyle Higgins & Ryan Parrott, and illustrated by Mat Groom & Francesco Manna aired. Starring Radiant Black along with the Image Comics debut of INFERNO GIRL RED and the first appearance of Rogue Sun and Dead Lucky. The title has since then seen a total of 3 releases—Supermassive(2022), (2023), and (2024).[96][97]
A 5-issue miniseries spinoff titled Radiant Red, written by Cherish Chen and Illustrated by David Lafuente & Miquelon Muerto, set in the same Massive-Verse as Radiant Black—following another radiant-powered hero named Satomi Shen—a middle school teacher who gains the ability to absorb matter from the red Radiant and initially uses it to commit crime, was announced and has completely aired, with the first issue released on May 9, 2022.[98][99]
Another 5-issue miniseries spinoff titled Radiant Pink, written by Meghan Camarena & Melissa Flores, and illustrated by Emma Kubert set in the Massive-Verse has fully aired, with the first issue releasing on December 7, 2022. It follows Eva—a video game streamer who gains the ability to teleport from the pink Radiant and is secretly the Superhero Radiant Pink—using her alter ego to increase her stream views, which invites a squad of mercenaries hunting for the radiant that powers her.[100][101]
A one minute long animated trailer for the comic series featuring the original song "RADIANT" by Crisis Couture was released on January 8, 2021.[102] An animated short film called "VERSUS" about a fight between the characters Radiant Black and Blaze ofC.O.W.L. was released onYouTube on June 22, 2022[103] and aQR code to the video was hidden as aneaster egg inRadiant Black #15. The film was written by Kyle Higgins and Alec Siegel, animated by Tiger Animation and featured the voices ofWill Friedle as Radiant Black,[104] Reginald James, Rick Cramer andDavid Sobolov.[103]
In April 2024, it was announced anaudiobook adaptation ofRadiant Black would release later that year.Rider Strong is set to play the voice of Nathan with Friedle reprising his role as Marshall from the animated short. Higgins will serve as writer, director, and narrator for the adaptation.[105] Further casting was announced atSan Diego Comic-Con 2024, includingKim Rhodes as Mrs. Burnett,Loren Lester as Mr. Burnett,Todd Stashwick as <001>,Melissa Navia as Eva Reyes / Radiant Pink, Anne Yatco as Satomi Sone / Radiant Red,Troy Baker as Guy / Shift,Ross Marquand as the Radiant Black Colossal,Damion Poitier as Officer Peters, Kevin Porter as Officer Mills,Kaiji Tang as Owen Fujimoto, andPhil Morris as Wendell George / Radiant Yellow.
