Marvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Comics that contained standalone material taking place inside the

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...

(

Earth-616 In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 is the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place. History of the term The term was first used in "Rough Justice", a story credited to both Alan Moore and Alan Davis p ...

). The imprint originated in 1998 when Marvel outsourced four titles (''

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

'', '' Punisher'', ''

Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superher ...

'' and '' Inhumans'') to Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti's company Event Comics; Event hired the creative teams for the Knights line while Marvel published them.

History

In 1998, Marvel Comics, which had just filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...

, 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 dubbed ''Marvel Knights''. As editors of Marvel Knights, Quesada and Palmiotti worked on a number of low-profile characters such as ''Daredevil'', ''Punisher'', ''The Inhumans'' and ''Black Panther'',Glaser, Brian. "Q+A: Joe Quesada". ''Visual Arts Journal''. School of Visual Arts. Fall 2011. pp. 50–55. encouraging experimentation and using their contacts in the independent comics world to bring in creators such as

David W. Mack David W. Mack is an American comic book artist and writer, known for his creator-owned series ''Kabuki'' and for co-creating with Joe Quesada the Marvel Comics superhero Echo. Early life Mack graduated from Ludlow High School in 1990, where h ...

, Mike Oeming,

Brian Michael Bendis Brian Michael Bendis (; born August 18, 1967) is an American comic book writer and artist. He has won five Eisner Awards for both his creator-owned work and his work on various Marvel Comics books.Bendis, Brian Michael and Oeming, Michael Avon, ' ...

, Garth Ennis and

Steve Dillon Steve Dillon (22 March 1962 – 22 October 2016) was a British comic book artist, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on ''Hellblazer'', ''Preacher'' and ''The Punisher''. Early life Dillon was born in London in 1962 and raised i ...

. Quesada himself also illustrated a ''

'' story written by film director Kevin 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. In 2000, two-and-a-half years after starting Marvel Knights — and in large part due to the imprint's success — Quesada was named editor-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-profile

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered * Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number ...

. Quesada explained that Marvel Knights... The change began with ''

'' #82, ''

'' #14, ''

Moon Knight Moon Knight is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in ''Werewolf by Night'' #32 (August 1975). The son of a rabb ...

'' #1, '' Squadron Supreme'' #1, and '' Wolverine'' #42. ''Marvel Knights Spider-Man'' became '' The Sensational Spider-Man'' with issue #23, and '' Marvel Knights 4'' (featuring the

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

) became simply ''4'' with issue #28. '' Fury: Peacemaker'', by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, was the first limited series to launch under the redefined imprint in February 2006. This was followed by '' Silver Surfer: Requiem'' by

J. Michael Straczynski Joseph Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'' ...

and Esad Ribić (2007), '' Spider-Man: Reign'' by

Kaare Andrews Kaare Andrews is a comic book writer, artist and filmmaker from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. His work includes ''Spider-Man'', '' Iron Fist'', ''Renato Jones'', and '' Incredible Hulk''. Andrews has a diverse drawing style, which ranges from hyper ...

(late 2006), ''Ghost Rider'' by Garth Ennis and Clayton Crain (2007), and ''Captain America: The Chosen'' (September 2007). Marvel Knights editor Axel Alonso wrote in a press release: Marvel Knights became dormant after 2013.McMillan, Graeme. Page 10
"Leaving an Imprint: 10 Defunct MARVEL Publishing Lines"
''Newsarama'' (10 January 2013). However, a six issue limited anniversary run entitled Marvel Knights 20th was started in 2018 and ran into 2019.

Team

The Marvel Knights team was a name given to

's unnamed superhero team. Besides Daredevil, the line-up consisted of

Black Widow Black widow may refer to: Spiders * Black widow spider, a common name for some species of spiders in the genus ''Latrodectus'' American species * ''Latrodectus apicalis'', the Galapagos black widow * ''Latrodectus curacaviensis'', the South Amer ...

, Dagger,

, Shang-Chi and Luke Cage. The Marvel Knights were initially formed to capture the Punisher.

Ongoing series

* ''

'' (vol. 3) #1–12 (November 1998 – October 1999) * ''

'' (vol. 2) #1–81 (November 1998 – March 2006) * '' Inhumans'' (vol. 2) #1–12 (November 1998 – October 1999) * ''Marvel Knights'' #1–15 (June 2000 – September 2001) * '' The Punisher'' (vol. 5) #1–37 (August 2001 – February 2004) * ''

Elektra Electra was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology. Electra or Elektra may also refer to: Greek mythology *Electra (Pleiad), one of the Pleiades * Electra, one of the Danaids, daughter of Danaus and Polyxo * Electra (Oc ...

'' (vol. 2) #1–22 (September 2001 – June 2003) * ''Marvel Knights'' (vol. 2) #1–6 (May 2002 – October 2002) * ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'' (vol. 4) #1–28 (June 2002 – August 2004) * '' Marvel Knights 4'' #1–27 (April 2004 – April 2006) * '' The Incredible Hulk'' (vol. 2) #70–76 (June 2004 – October 2004) * '' Marvel Knights Spider-Man'' #1–22 (June 2004 – March 2006) * '' Wolverine'' (vol. 3) #13–39 (June 2004 – April 2006) * '' X-Statix'' #21–26 (June 2004 – October 2004) * '' District X'' #1–14 (July 2004 – August 2005) * ''

'' (vol. 4) #1–13 (April 2005 – April 2006)

Limited series

*'' The Punisher'' (1998 4-issue limited series) *''

'' (1999 3-issue limited series) *''

Doctor Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...

: The Flight of Bones'' (1999 4-issue limited series) *'' Wolverine/ Punisher Revelation'' (1999 4-issue limited series) *'' Daredevil: Ninja'' (2000 3-issue limited series) *'' Marvel Boy'' (2000 6-issue limited series) *'' The Punisher'' (2000 12-issue limited series) *'' Sentry'' (2000 5-issue limited series) *''

'' (2001 3-issue limited series) *''

: Yellow'' (2001 6-issue limited series) *''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

'' (2001 4-issue limited series) *'' Fantastic Four: 1234'' (2001 4-issue limited series) *'' Ghost Rider: The Hammer Lane'' (2001 6-issue limited series, plus a '' Wizard'' #1/2 issue) *''

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

Smash'' (2001 2-issue limited series) *''

: Glimpse & Echo'' (2002 4-issue limited series) *''Marvel Knights Double-Shot'' (2002 4-issue limited series) *'' Spider-Man: Blue'' (2002 6-issue limited series) *'' Wolverine/

'' (2002 4-issue limited series) *''

: Gray'' (2003 6-issue limited series) *'' Marvel 1602'' (2003 8-issue limited series) *''

& Wolverine'' (2003 4-issue limited series) *''

'' (2004 6-issue limited series) *'' Bullseye: Greatest Hits'' (2004 5-issue limited series) *''

: Father'' (2004 6-issue limited series) *''

& Thing: Hard Knocks'' (2004 4-issue limited series) *''

Madrox James Arthur Madrox, also called the Multiple Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Len Wein, he first appeared in '' Giant-Size Fantastic Four'' #4 (February 1975). A ...

'' (2004 5-issue limited series) *'' Man-Thing'' (2004 3-issue limited series) *''

Strange Strange may refer to: Fiction * Strange (comic book), a comic book limited series by Marvel Comics * Strange (Marvel Comics), one of a pair of Marvel Comics characters known as The Strangers * Adam Strange, a DC Comics superhero * The title char ...

'' (2004 6-issue limited series) *'' Wolverine/ Punisher'' (2004 5-issue limited series) *''

: The Things They Say About Her'' (2005 6-issue limited series) *''

: Redemption'' (2005 6-issue limited series) *''

vs Punisher: Means and Ends'' (2005 6-issue limited series) *'' Ghost Rider: The Road to Damnation'' (2005 6-issue limited series) *''

Shanna the She-Devil Shanna the She-Devil (Shanna O'Hara, Lady Plunder) is a fictional jungle adventurer superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Carole Seuling and penciller George Tuska, she made her first appearance ...

'' (2005 7-issue limited series) *''Claws'' (2006 3-issue limited series) *'' Fury: Peacemaker'' (2006 6-issue limited series) *'' Punisher vs. Bullseye'' (2006 5-issue limited series) *'' X-Statix Presents:

Dead Girl X-Statix are a team of mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team was specifically designed to be media superstars. The team, created by Peter Milligan and Mike Allred, first appears in ''X-Force'' ...

'' (2006 5-issue limited series) *''

: The Chosen'' (2007 6-issue limited series) *''

: Battlin' Jack Murdock'' (2007 4-issue limited series) *'' Silver Surfer: Requiem'' (2007 4-issue limited series) *'' Spider-Man: Reign'' (2007 4-issue limited series) *''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

: Viva Las Vegas'' (2008; 2 issues published of an intended limited series) *'' Sub-Mariner: The Depths'' (2008 5-issue limited series) *'' Spider-Man: With Great Power'' (2008 5-issue limited series) * '' Angel: Revelations'' (2008 5-issue limited series) *''

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gover ...

'' (2008 3-issue limited series) *'' X-Men: Magneto Testament'' (2008 5-issue limited series) *'' Punisher: War Zone'' (2009 6-issue limited series) *''Strange Tales'' (2009 3-issue limited series) *''Strange Tales II'' (2010; only issues 2 & 3 of this 3-issue limited series are MK, issue 1 was published under the Max label) *''

: Flags of Our Fathers'' (2010 4-issue limited series) *'' Deadpool: Wade Wilson's War'' (2010 4-issue limited series) *'' Deathlok'' (2010 7-issue limited series) *''Spider-Man: Fever'' (2010 3-issue limited series) *'' Thor: For Asgard'' (2010 6-issue limited series) *'' Bullseye: Perfect Game'' (2011 2-issue limited series) *''

: Rapture'' (2011; 4-issue limited series) *''Marvel Knights: Hulk'' (2013 4-issue limited series) *''Marvel Knights: Spider-Man'' (2013 5-issue limited series) *''Marvel Knights: X-Men'' (2013 5-issue limited series) *''Marvel Knights 20th'' (2019 6-issue limited series)

One-shots

*''Ant-Man's Big Christmas'' (2000 one-shot) *'' Killraven'' (2001 one-shot) *'' Punisher/

Painkiller Jane Painkiller Jane is a fictional superhero created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada for Event Comics in 1995. Originally a five-issue mini-series, the character went on to star in numerous crossover titles with the likes of the Punisher, Vampirel ...

'' (2001 one-shot) *'' Sentry versus The Void'' (2001 one-shot) *'' Sentry/

'' (2001 one-shot) *'' Sentry/

'' (2001 one-shot) *'' Sentry/ X-Men'' (2001 one-shot) *''

'' (2002 one-shot) *'' Daredevil/Bullseye: The Target'' (2003; 1 issue published of an intended limited series) *'' Punisher: Red X-Mas'' (2004 one-shot) *'' Punisher: Bloody Valentine'' (2006 one-shot) *'' Punisher: Silent Night'' (2006 one-shot) *'' Captain America: White'' (2008; 1 issue published of an intended limited series; finally finished in 2015, but not under the Marvel Knights banner)

Other versions

Marvel Knights 2099

In 2004, Marvel Comics held a fifth-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 1990s Marvel 2099 books. * '' Daredevil 2099'' #1 * '' Black Panther 2099'' #1 * '' Inhumans 2099'' #1 * '' Punisher 2099'' #1 * ''

Mutant 2099 M-11 Originally known as the Human Robot, the character was given the name "M-11" in the 2006 to 2007 ''Agents of Atlas'' miniseries as an allusion to its first appearance in '' Menace'' #11 from Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics. ...

'' #1

Ultimate Marvel

The Ultimate Marvel version of the Marvel Knights team made its debut in '' Ultimate Spider-Man'' #106 in the arc called "Warriors". The members of the Ultimate Marvel version of the Marvel Knight include

, Shang-Chi,

Iron Fist Iron Fist, Iron fist or Ironfist may refer to: Military * Iron Fist (exercise), an Indian Air Force exercise held in 2013 and 2016 * Iron Fist (countermeasure), an Israeli counter-weapon system * 20th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom) or The Iron ...

, and

. 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 of Ronin 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. 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 his

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

tose 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.

In other media

Film

Marvel Knights was also the name of a production arm of

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...

intended to be used to produce some of Marvel's darker and lesser-known titles: '' Punisher: War Zone'' and '' Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance'' were the only films released under the ''Marvel Knights'' banner. The Marvel Knights books have had several influences on Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and TV shows. From the Netflix Marvel TV shows to the 2018 ''

'' film, the characters they created have been noted as coming directly from the comics. Christopher Priest credited the

Dora Milaje The Dora Milaje are fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are a team of women who serve as special forces for the fictional African nation of Wakanda. Members of the Dora Milaje appear in the Mar ...

to both Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti.

Video games

In the '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance'' video game, Marvel Knights is a team bonus granted if you have any combination of the following characters on your team: Black Panther, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Wolverine, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Elektra and Moon Knight. Similarly '' Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order'' the third installment of the ''Marvel Ultimate Alliance'' franchise will have a DLC pass featuring characters from Marvel Knights such as the Punisher, Blade,

and

Morbius the Living Vampire Morbius the Living Vampire, real name Michael Alexander Morbius, M.D.,''Morbius the Living Vampire'' (vol. 1) #1. Marvel Comics. Ph.D., is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Th ...

Animation

In 2010,

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

and Marvel Comics teamed up to release a roster of motion comic animated series on DVD. The following titles have been released thus far: #'' Astonishing X-Men: Gifted'' (September 28, 2010) #'' Iron Man: Extremis'' (November 30, 2010) #''

'' (January 18, 2011) #'' Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D.'' (June 14, 2011) #'' Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers'' (September 13, 2011) #''Astonishing X-Men: Dangerous'' (April 10, 2012) #''Astonishing X-Men: Torn'' (August 14, 2012) #''Astonishing X-Men: Unstoppable'' (November 13, 2012) #''Inhumans'' (April 23, 2013) #''Wolverine: Origin'' (July 9, 2013) #''Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk'' (September 10, 2013) #''Wolverine versus Sabretooth'' (January 7, 2014) #''Wolverine Weapon X: Tomorrow Dies Today'' (May 13, 2014) #''Eternals'' (September 16, 2014) #''Wolverine versus Sabretooth: Reborn'' (March 24, 2015)

References

External links

* {{Marvel Comics Marvel Comics imprints Marvel Entertainment franchises 1998 in comics