Character/Image

The Darkness Bearer

Jackie Estacado, Top Cow / Image

The Darkness is a source of power in the Top Cow Universe which grants its wielder the ability to create anything they desire. It is one of the 13 Artifacts and the opposite force of Angelus, the power of the light. The Darkness and the Angelus have an offspring which serves to balance the two opposing forces: The Witchblade. A weakness of The Darkness is that it only functions in the absence of light, so day fighting can pose challenges, but anything which obscures light can be used to overcome this setback including a thick fog or a dark room. A wielder of The Darkness passes it down to their next of kin through sex, a transition during which the Darkness wielding father dies. In order to avoid this, Darkness wielders can create sentient humanoids out of the Darkness with which to experience sexual gratification. It has been said that The Darkness could create its own offspring to pass itself on to, as it is a whole being in itself, requiring no Bearer to have sexual intercourse for that purpose. This question comes to bear in the 'First Born' story arc when it is revealed that The Darkness takes over Jackie Estacado's body and has intercourse with Sara Pezzini as she lies comatose in the hospital, producing their daughter, Hope.