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There are few Marvel characters more synonymous with the '90s than Night Thrasher, one of the founding members of '90s teen superhero team the New Warriors. But according to the publisher, he's "leaving the '90s behind" in a new solo limited series from writer J. Holtham and artist Nelson Dániel.
Marvel is billing the new Night Thrasher title as a big update for the character, who first appeared in 1989's Thor #411 by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, taking him away from his "super cool adventures" of the '90s with a new costume and a new mission.
Still, some of those old New Warriors era themes will carry over into the new title as Dwayne Taylor will reunite with his former paramour and fellow ex-New Warrior Silhouette. But he'll also take on an "all-new archenemy," named the OG, so it still all comes down to a totally new story for the cult-classic hero.
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And do take note, this is Dwayne Taylor as we said, the original Night Thrasher, who died in the tragic explosion that sparked the monumental 2006 Marvel Comics event Civil War. He was later revived in the 2016 story Contest of Champions, after which he seemingly retired. Now, he's coming out of retirement and returning to life as a hero.
"It’s time to thrash the night! The death of a loved one draws Dwayne Taylor back to New York City, though his days as Night Thrasher are long over," reads Marvel's announcement. "But Dwayne finds the past difficult to outrun when Silhouette, his ex-teammate from the New Warriors, seeks his help against a new criminal called The OG. And the mystery of the OG’s true identity and what’s to come will change Night Thrasher’s legacy forever!"
Generally, OG stands for "Original Gangster," potentially pointing to someone who is the original - an interesting proposition considering Dwayne Taylor's death and resurrection.
If the OG is some kind of older version of Night Thrasher, it wouldn't be the first time he had an evil doppelganger. Back when Dwayne Taylor was dead, his half-brother Donnell Taylor briefly became Night Thrasher, and had to face down an evil version of Dwayne from an alternate timeline.
"Obviously, there's a ton of '90s nostalgia floating around. It feels like a dude on a skateboard is always going to be cool and fun," said writer J. Holtham on the This Week in Marvel podcast. "I'm from the '90s and I have aged and there's a lot in this that is about, 'What's your legacy? What have you left behind?,' especially because we haven't seen him for a while. He had to go on a journey of self-discovery and hang out other places for a while to process that 'I was dead then I wasn't dead.' And then, 'What's the world like?' It’s mostly about him coming home to deal with the crap that he has not dealt with.
Night Thrasher's signature skateboard, which gives him his name thanks to long running skateboarding magazine Thrasher, doesn't actually appear on the cover of February 14's Night Thrasher #1 by Alan Quah, but we're guessing he'll still be kickflipping around.
Civil War is one of the best Marvel Comics events of all time.
