Issue(s): Darkhawk #35, Darkhawk #36, Darkhawk #37
Cover Date: Jan-Mar 94
Title: Operation Symbiote: "The trap" / "Seek and hide" / "The greater evil!"
Credits:
Danny Fingeroth - Writer
Todd Smith - Penciler
Ian Akin - Inker
John Lewandowski - Assistant Editor
Nel Tomtov - Editor

Review/plot:
Venom returns for another guest appearance in this series.

But we start with a continuation of the subplots from the last arc, where the psychopath Broderick Bazin (son of the crime lord Phillippe Bazin from the early issues of this series) has kidnapped Darkhawk's brother Jason and has been trying to corrupt him. Broderick's sister Allegra has gone to Jason's mom to warn her. The last arc ended with Broderick having seemingly killed Jason, but it turns out that he's just murdered a random person. He now takes Jason to where Darkhawk (as Chris) has been staying, at his friend Headset's house. Broderick wants Jason to kill Chris. Allegra and Mrs. Powell show up as well. But all ends relatively well, with Jason not having been corrupted.

Chris is able to stop Broderick without transforming into Darkhawk. Broderick is arrested, and Allegra is taken away as well. Chris breaks up with Allegra and reconciles with his family, although he's going to continue to live apart from them for the time being.

Meanwhile, we see Mr. Powell wake up from his coma (his family thinks he's dead, but it was confirmed that he was alive in the last arc). He's being kept alive alongside the comatose Phillippe Bazin by a mysterious organization. They let Powell make a phone call to see if he'll give any information on whatever they're after, but Mr. Powell just manages to call his family and leave a message on the answering machine telling them that he's alive and somewhere near San Francisco before he passes out again. Later, Chris hears the message and heads to San Francisco. He runs into Venom, and he's angry because in their last encounter Venom let Darkhawk believe that he'd killed him, and Darkhawk had apparently been "plagued" with guilt about that. But their reunion is interrupted by an attack from Danny Fingeroth's favorite characters, the Seekers, including some (never to be seen again) new ones.

Darkhawk helps Venom escape from the Seekers since Venom is vulnerable to their fire and sonic attacks. But Darkhawk also feels obligated to capture Venom, since he's a villain. So we go through a few iterations of Darkhawk helping Venom against the Seekers and then fighting him once they're free.

During the fights, Darkhawk tries to turn into Chris and back again, because that allows his Darkhawk body to heal. But he finds it difficult to change back into Darkhawk. The final time he changes into Chris, he finds a note in his pocket warning him not to transform again.

Darkhawk surmises that the note is from Ochs, the intelligent spaceship that holds the 'hawk bodies when they're swapped.

The Seekers were, conveniently enough, sent by the man who is holding Darkhawk's dad. The man, Louis Cale, seems to be responsible for the creation of the Savage Steel armor, but now thinks that Venom's symbiote would be even better material for the suits. So Chris disregards the warning and transforms back into Darkhawk, and goes to Cale's mansion, fighting alongside Venom.

Darkhawk beats the Seekers.

And stops Venom from killing Cale.

In the confusion, Cale pulls a gun on Mr. Powell, but Mrs. Powell shows up with the FBI to stop him. Venom escapes. Darkhawk finds that he can't transform himself back into Chris.

In a subplot with St. Johnny and Ned Dobbs, there is talk of renewed psionic attacks. St. Johnny transforms...

...and goes to Avengers Mansion to retrieve Evilhawk's amulet (which Darkhawk gave to the Avengers last arc).

St. Johnny then teleports to Darkhawk, warning him that Evilhawk is trying to come back, and he convinces Darkhawk to let him teleport him away to deal with it.

As with the last arc, it's not terrible, but it still does nothing to make people interested in Darkhawk. And the upcoming story revisiting the origin related stuff (and Evilhawk!) is not promising. The use of Venom also feels gratuitous and the relationship between him and Darkhawk is repetitive and tedious. On the one hand, i might have preferred more stories like the last arc where Darkhawk just did regular super-hero stuff. On the other hand, i don't know if anything could have increased my interest in Darkhawk. But despite the cancellations that abounded at the end of 1993 and beginning of 1994, Darkhawk will manage to continue for quite a while, and as you can see below, sales were actually pretty good.

Statement of Ownership Total Paid Circulation: Average of Past 12 months = 248,600. Single issue closest to filing date = 186,275.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Continues directly from the subplot with the Bazins and Chris' family (enough time seems to have passed for newspapers to be published featuring Darkhawk's battle with 'Cuda, but Broderick Bazin and Jason Powell don't seem to have left the park). The next storyline, Amulet Quest, in Darkhawk #38-41, continues directly from this arc. Venom and Captain America's appearances are context free.

References:

• Darkhawk learned thanks to a time travel adventure in Darkhawk #29 that his father was probably still alive.
  
• Venom let Darkhawk think that he killed him in Darkhawk #14.
  
• Venom makes reference to being cast out by his father, which we learned about in Venom: Lethal Protector.
  
• St. Johnny transformed into a techo-creature previously, in Darkhawk #23.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A