 Logo | |
| Parent company | Marvel Comics |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | New York City |
| Key people | Joe Quesada Jimmy Palmiotti |
| Publication types | Comic books |
| Owner(s) | Marvel Comics |
Marvel Knights is animprint ofMarvel Comics that contained standalone material taking place inside theMarvel Universe (Earth-616). The imprint originated in 1998 when Marvel outsourced four titles (Black Panther,Punisher,Daredevil andInhumans) toJoe Quesada andJimmy Palmiotti's companyEvent Comics; Event hired the creative teams for the Knights line while Marvel published them.
In 1998, Marvel Comics, which had just filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy, asked Quesada and Palmiotti to work for Marvel in a more exclusive capacity, and contracted them and their Event Comics partners to produce a line of Marvel books dubbedMarvel Knights. As editors of Marvel Knights, Quesada and Palmiotti worked on a number of low-profile characters such asDaredevil,Punisher,The Inhumans andBlack Panther,[1] encouraging experimentation and using their contacts in the independent comics world to bring in creators such asDavid W. Mack,Mike Oeming,Brian Michael Bendis,Garth Ennis andSteve Dillon. Quesada himself also illustrated aDaredevil story written by film directorKevin Smith with Palmiotti inking the title book.
Marvel Knights stepped away from the long-running story arcs and heavy focus on continuity that was a prime feature of Marvel Comics during this period; instead, the imprint focused on strong stand-alone stories and high production qualities.[2]
In addition to the headlining Daredevil title with Smith/Quesada/Palmiotti, the line also featured initial release titles of Punisher (from Christopher Golden, Bernie Wrightson and Jimmy Palmiotti); the Inhumans (Paul Jenkins, Jae Lee and Jose Villarrubia) and Black Panther (Christopher Priest and Mark Texeria). Several of these titles laid the ground work for several Marvel TV and movie story ideas and concepts. The title went on to feature Black Widow, new Punisher titles, the Sentry and several more events.
In 2000, two-and-a-half years after starting Marvel Knights — and in large part due to the imprint's success[2] — Quesada was namededitor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. Palmiotti remained involved in some of the titles for a limited period either inking or editing before leaving.
In early 2006 Quesada announced that all ongoing titles under the "Marvel Knights" banner would move to the Marvel Universe imprint and that "Marvel Knights" would afterward contain high-profilelimited series. Quesada explained that Marvel Knights...
is the showcase for "evergreen events" — self-contained limited series thatthink outside the box, that challenge readers to re-think their favorite Marvel characters and re-evaluate the legends that surround them. In other words, Marvel Knights will be a place for top talent to work without constraints, and deliver the kind of product fans deserve![3]
The change began withDaredevil #82,Black Panther #14,Moon Knight #1,Squadron Supreme #1, andWolverine #42.Marvel Knights Spider-Man becameThe Sensational Spider-Man with issue #23, andMarvel Knights 4 (featuring theFantastic Four) became simply4 with issue #28.[3]
Fury: Peacemaker, byGarth Ennis andDarick Robertson, was the first limited series to launch under the redefined imprint in February 2006. This was followed bySilver Surfer: Requiem byJ. Michael Straczynski andEsad Ribić (2007),Spider-Man: Reign byKaare Andrews (late 2006),Ghost Rider by Garth Ennis andClayton Crain (2007), andCaptain America: The Chosen (September 2007).
Marvel Knights editor Axel Alonso wrote in a press release:
These stand alone stories won't just challenge readers to re-think their favorite Marvel legends. . . . Oftentimes, we'll focus on characters that are off the beaten path — boiling these archetypes down to their cores. We want to build on the tradition of limited series likeEnnis andCrain'sGhost Rider,Frank Cho'sShanna, the She-Devil andRobert Rodi andRibić'sLoki — each of which offered very distinct visions for Marvel characters, and each of which — judging by sales numbers — were embraced by fandom.[4]
Marvel Knights became dormant after 2013.[2] However, a six issue limited anniversary run entitledMarvel Knights 20th was started in 2018 and ran into 2019.[5]
The Marvel Knights team was a name given toDaredevil's unnamed superhero team. Besides Daredevil, the line-up consisted ofBlack Widow,Cloak and Dagger,Morbius,Elektra,Blade,Ghost Rider,The Punisher,Moon Knight,Shang-Chi,Black Knight andLuke Cage.
In 2004, Marvel Comics held afifth-week event called "Marvel Knights 2099", which took place in the future on an alternate world (Earth-2992) that was not identical to the alternate Marvel Universe on Earth-928 featured in the 1990sMarvel 2099 books.
TheUltimate Marvel version of the Marvel Knights team made its debut inUltimate Spider-Man #106 in the arc called "Warriors". The members of the Ultimate Marvel version of the Marvel Knight includeDaredevil,Doctor Strange,Shang-Chi,Iron Fist,Moon Knight, andSpider-Man.
After Shang-Chi made an unsuccessful attack on the Kingpin, he was recruited by Daredevil to help bring down the Kingpin for good. Later, Daredevil, as Matt Murdock, met Spider-Man and asked him to join the group, with the plan of killing the Kingpin. Spider-Man objected to killing, and the group agreed to let Moon Knight, under the persona ofRonin join the Kingpin's employ. Ronin forcibly brought Spider-Man to the Kingpin as a captive. The Kingpin ties him up, unmasks him and tortures him and mocks him for being a teenager. After revealing that he knew that Ronin was Moon Knight, Kingpin had him beaten nearly to death, and let Spider-Man leave with the knowledge that one of the Knights was a traitor.[7]
After a bomb destroyed the law offices of Matt Murdock, Iron Fist was revealed as the traitor, though only because Kingpin threatened his daughter. Iron Fist was sent back to Kingpin to distract him while Daredevil tried to kill hiscomatose wife. After a standoff between Daredevil, Kingpin, and Spider-Man, Kingpin agreed to leave the country in exchange for his wife's safety, but he secretly and furiously plotted to have Daredevil killed, Dr. Strange's hands broken, and Spider-Man's school blown up. Meanwhile, Moon Knight went to the police, revealed his secret identity, and said that Kingpin tried to kill him, which gave the police enough to arrest Kingpin on attempted murder charges. At the end of the arc there were brief images of the team going their separate ways: Shang-Chi caught a train out of town, Iron Fist returned to his daughter, Dr. Strange went back to his sanctum, and Daredevil berated himself at a church.[8]
Marvel Knights was also the name of a production arm ofMarvel Entertainment intended to be used to produce some of Marvel's darker and lesser-known titles:Punisher: War Zone andGhost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance were the only films released under theMarvel Knights banner.[citation needed]
The Marvel Knights books have had several influences onMarvel Cinematic Universe movies and TV shows. From theNetflix Marvel TV shows to the 2018Black Panther film, the characters they created have been noted as coming directly from the comics.Christopher Priest credited theDora Milaje to bothJoe Quesada andJimmy Palmiotti.[9]
In 2010,Shout! Factory andMarvel Comics teamed up to release a roster ofmotion comic animated series on DVD.[10] The following titles have been released thus far:[11]
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