Marvel Knights is an imprint of

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

that contained standalone material taking place inside the Marvel Universe ( Earth-616). The imprint originated in 1998 when Marvel outsourced four titles ('' Black Panther'', '' Punisher'', '' Daredevil'' and '' Inhumans'') to Joe Quesada and

Jimmy Palmiotti James Palmiotti (born August 14, 1961) is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film. Early life Palmiotti attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City. Career Palmiotti star ...

'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, 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, Mike Oeming,

Brian Michael Bendis Brian Michael Bendis (; born August 18, 1967) is an Americans, American comic book writer and artist. Starting with crime fiction, crime and hardboiled, noir comics, Bendis eventually moved to mainstream superhero fiction, superhero work. While a ...

, Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. Quesada himself also illustrated a '' Daredevil'' story written by film director

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...

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 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 — Quesada was named

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

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. Quesada explained that Marvel Knights... The change began with '' Daredevil'' #82, '' Black Panther'' #14, '' Moon Knight'' #1, '' Squadron Supreme'' #1, and ''

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

'' #42. ''Marvel Knights Spider-Man'' became ''

The Sensational Spider-Man ''The Sensational Spider-Man'' is a comic book series starring Spider-Man (Ben Reilly) published by Marvel Comics for 35 issues (#0–33, with #−1 published in July 1997 between #17 and 18), from January 1996 until November 1998. Publication ...

'' with issue #23, and '' Marvel Knights 4'' (featuring the Fantastic Four) 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, known as J. 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 known as the creator of the science fiction televi ...

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

Kaare Andrews Kaare Kyle Andrews (born 1975) is a comic book writer, comics artist, artist and filmmaker from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. His work includes ''Spider-Man'', ''Iron Fist (character), Iron Fist'', ''Renato Jones'', and ''The Incredible Hulk (comic bo ...

(late 2006), ''Ghost Rider'' by Garth Ennis and

Clayton Crain Clayton Crain (born 1975) is an American comic book artist known for his digital painted work on Marvel Comics books such as ''Ghost Rider'', ''X-Force'', and ''Carnage (character), Carnage'', and also on the Valiant Comics series ''Rai (comics) ...

(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. In March 2025, it was announced that a new miniseries entitled ''Marvel Knights: The World to Come'' would begin publication in June that same year. The series, written by Christopher Priest and illustrated by Quesada, is set in a hypothetical future of the Marvel Universe following the aftermath of T'Challa's death.

Team

The Marvel Knights team was a name given to Daredevil's unnamed superhero team. Besides Daredevil, the line-up consisted of Black Widow,

Cloak and Dagger "Cloak and dagger" was a fighting style common by the time of the Renaissance involving a knife hidden beneath a cloak. The term later came into use as a metaphor, referring to situations involving intrigue, secrecy, espionage, or mystery. Over ...

, Morbius, Elektra,

Blade A blade is the Sharpness (cutting), sharp, cutting portion of a tool, weapon, or machine, specifically designed to puncture, chop, slice, or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they a ...

, Ghost Rider, The Punisher, Moon Knight, Shang-Chi, Black Knight and Luke Cage.

Ongoing series

* '' Black Panther'' (vol. 3) #1–12 (November 1998 – October 1999) * '' Daredevil'' (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'' (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 created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

'' (vol. 4) #1–28 (June 2002 – August 2004) * '' Marvel Knights 4'' #1–30 (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) * ''

'' (vol. 3) #13–39 (June 2004 – April 2006) * '' X-Statix'' #21–26 (June 2004 – October 2004) * '' District X'' #1–14 (July 2004 – August 2005) * '' Black Panther'' (vol. 4) #1–13 (April 2005 – April 2006)

Limited series

*'' The Punisher'' (1998 4-issue limited series) *'' Black Widow'' (1999 3-issue limited series) *'' Doctor Strange: The Flight of Bones'' (1999 4-issue limited series) *''

/ 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) *'' Black Widow'' (2001 3-issue limited series) *'' Daredevil: Yellow'' (2001 6-issue limited series) *'' Daredevil/

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

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

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

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

'' (2003 4-issue limited series) *'' Black Widow'' (2004 6-issue limited series) *'' Bullseye: Greatest Hits'' (2004 5-issue limited series) *'' Daredevil: Father'' (2004 6-issue limited series) *''

& Thing: Hard Knocks'' (2004 4-issue limited series) *'' Madrox'' (2004 5-issue limited series) *'' Man-Thing'' (2004 3-issue limited series) *'' Strange'' (2004 6-issue limited series) *''

/ Punisher'' (2004 5-issue limited series) *'' Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her'' (2005 6-issue limited series) *'' Daredevil: Redemption'' (2005 6-issue limited series) *'' Daredevil 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'' (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'' (2006 5-issue limited series) *''

: The Chosen'' (2007 6-issue limited series) *'' Daredevil: Battlin' Jack Murdock'' (2007 4-issue limited series) *''

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...

: 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. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

: 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'' (2008 3-issue limited series) *''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

: 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) *''

/ Black Panther: 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'' (2001 one-shot) *'' Sentry versus The Void'' (2001 one-shot) *'' Sentry/ Fantastic Four'' (2001 one-shot) *'' Sentry/

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

'' (2001 one-shot) *''

/ Daredevil'' (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'' #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 Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Shang-Chi, Iron Fist, Moon Knight, 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 comatose 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 Entertainment Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and Marvel Enterprises, Inc.) was an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, formed by the merger of #Marvel Entertainment Group, Marvel Ente ...

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 '' Black Panther'' film, the characters they created have been noted as coming directly from the comics. Christopher Priest credited the Dora Milaje to both Joe Quesada and

Video games

* The team appears in ''Marvel: Ultimate Alliance'' series, excluding the second game: ** 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,

, Luke Cage,

, Elektra Natchios and Moon Knight. ** In the video game '' Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order'', the current members of Marvel Knights consist those who are also the members of either Defenders, Midnight Sons or both. The initial playable characters consist

, Daredevil, Elektra Natchios, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Loki Laufeyson, Doctor Strange, Elsa Bloodstone and Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze); while Defenders Valkyrie (Brunnhilde) and Jessica Jones serves as non-playable allies of the group. The DLC pass adds additional Marvel Knights Punisher, Blade, Moon Knight and Michael Morbius.

Animation

In 2010, Shout! Factory and

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) #'' Black Panther'' (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