D-DOG

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Terrestrial deceased canine

Occupation: Deceased warrior;
    former stray, would-be superhero, pet

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Bats, Chewie (Chewbacca Sassy Danvers of Earth-58163), Myron Darkwater, Duchess, Edwin Jarvis, Juniper, Lockjaw, Lucky, Redwing, Throg (Simon Walterson), Valkyrie (Brunnhilde), Valkyrie (Jane Foster), Valkyrie (Runa)

Enemies: A.I.M. (Brad, Lionel, Stan, others), Blackheart, the Fifth Street Bite Boys, Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff);
    formerly Myron Darkwater

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "Dee," "Dog-Dog," "the Justice That Barks," "Sobaka" (nicknames)

Base of Operations: Valhalla, Niffleheim;
    formerly an unidentified sewer and city dump on Earth

First Appearance: Marvel Unleashed I#1 (October, 2023)

Powers/Abilities: D-Dog had no superhuman powers but she had a relentless desire to right wrongs and defend the defenseless, fiercely risking her life to protect others.

    She was also really great at catching balls but not so great at mysteries.

    As a dog, D-Dog possessed a keen sense of smell, able to track individuals into entirely other towns, as well as sharp claws and teeth. She was also adept in the usage of the Midnight Bark, a series of howls passed from one dog to another to deliver messages across vast distances.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 2'4" at the shoulder)
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 80 lbs.)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

History:
(Marvel Unleashed I#1 (fb)) - On a cold, rainy night, a small puppy was abandoned at the city dump. Standing in the rain and watching as her people drove away, the puppy vowed bring justice to an unjust world. She soon dug up a tattered old superhero mask at the dump and took it as a sign that she could be a hero in a desperate world. Donning the old mask, the dog became D-Dog, the Justice Who Barks!, and she made her "secret headquarters" inside of a sewer. At some point, D-Dog rescued the cat Duchess from the Fifth Street Bite Boys gang, establishing herself as a heroic defender. When the dog Juniper's owner went missing, they came to D-Dog for help but, knowing she wasn't great at mysteries, D-Dog sought to find others to help find Juniper's missing human.

(Marvel Unleashed I#1) - Knowing that fellow dog Lucky's human was an "Arrow Hero" (Hawkeye), D-Dog and Juniper sought out Lucky, soon finding him looking through a trash can for food before his pet setter noticed he had slipped out. A bit skeptical of D-Dog's status as a superhero since she had no powers, Lucky informed the canine duo that, while Hawkeye was out of town on a mission, he was pretty good at clues and was willing to take a look at the situation. Juniper happily thanked Lucky and D-Dog remarked that it couldn't hurt for Lucky to take a look. The trio of dogs then made their way back to Juniper's home and along the way, Lucky asked how D-Dog became a hero. At first feigning uncertainty of whether she should give her "secret origin" since she had a secret identity to maintain, D-Dog quickly went right into the story. Upon hearing D-Dog's story, Lucky commended D-Dog on the nickname of "the Justice Who Barks!" and Juniper admitted that D-Dog's story was a sad one. When Juniper followed up by asking if D-Dog truly did not have a home, D-Dog commented that it was true she did not have a home but, as a super hero, she had a secret headquarters. After announcing that she hoped to one day be the greatest hero who ever lived, D-Dog was reminded by Juniper that the act of saving lives was its own reward rather than the recognition and D-Dog agreed before hanging her head and admitting that it would be nice to be called a good dog.

    The trio soon arrived at Juniper's home and began searching it for clues to the whereabouts of Juniper's human. D-Dog quickly announced that she had found something and when they asked what, D-Dog presented a ball, prompting Lucky to facepalm while Juniper agreed it was one of her favorite balls. Lucky soon noticed a lot of scientific equipment and Juniper confirmed that her human enjoyed tinkering. The group soon found various mystic tomes together with photos of several superheroes and D-Dog immediately expressed a dislike for the way the items smelled. When they uncovered an A.I.M. uniform, Lucky immediately recognized it as bad news and they departed Juniper's home. Lucky then informed the two other dogs that they were out of their league and needed assistance on the case. The trio then went to Avengers Mansion in an effort to recruit the Avengers but they found only Edwin Jarvis, who proved unable to understand the dogs' barking. Redwing, Falcon's falcon partner, interrupted them to explain how Jarvis could not understand them and he agreed to assist the dogs, noting that the Avengers were currently off-planet battling a sentient cosmic debris cloud. Captain Marvel's Flerken pet Chewie also offered to help despite Redwing's reluctance to include a cat.

    As they left Avengers Mansion, Redwing about D-Dog and why she smelled like a garbage dump, at which point Juniper explained that D-Dog was a stray. When Redwing asked about D-Dog's possible affiliation with the heroic Demolition-Man and D-Dog was unfamiliar with him, Redwing followed up by asking what the D in D-Dog stood for. D-Dog happily replied that the D stood for "Dog" and Lucky questioned whether her codename actually stood for "Dog-Dog," prompting Juniper to remind Lucky and the others that D-Dog had once saved the cat Duchess from the Fifth Street Bite Boys. Redwing sarcastically replied that he must have been busy saving the world from Kang the Conqueror alongside Captain America during D-Dog's rescue of Duchess. Upon returning to Juniper's home, Redwing confirmed the A.I.M. uniform and that the other foul-smelling items involved dark magic before suggesting they all use the famous dog senses of smell to track down Juniper's human. D-Dog quickly got a scent and when she confirmed that the scent led out of town, Lucky suggested he take Juniper back home, as their legs weren't made for long distances. D-Dog promised Juniper they would find their human before departing.

    Continuing to follow the scent, D-Dog, Chewie and Redwing discussed Lucky's missing eye and when Redwing mentioned that Lucky would be whole again after passing the Rainbow Bridge, D-Dog wondered what the Rainbow Bridge was. After Redwing explained how particularly loved animals are restored in the afterlife at the Rainbow Bridge and how their human would meet them there to spend time together for eternity, D-Dog questioned what would happen if the animal didn't have a human and Redwing responded by suggesting the animal would spend eternity alone. A saddened D-Dog hung her head, commenting that an eternity alone sounded awful, but Chewie reassured her and the trio followed the scent to an old warehouse. Despite Redwing's speech that they had to act strategically, D-Dog knocked on the door and was greeted by a small group of A.I.M. agents. Redwing realized D-Dog had only tracked the scent of the A.I.M. suit and not specifically Juniper's human and D-Dog began asking if any of the A.I.M. agents had seen Juniper's human, Myron Darkwater. The agents heard only barking and Redwing ordered the animals to fan out to search for Myron. Thinking the animals were simply running amuck, the A.I.M. agents attempted to capture them and D-Dog managed to bite one agent's behind before she picked up Myron's scent again and the animals retreated to continue tracking. D-Dog soon led the animals to a cave, where they spotted the captured Inhuman Lockjaw. D-Dog confirmed that Myron was also present and the trio watched as Myron summoned the demon Blackheart to Earth. Recognizing Blackheart, Redwing informed D-Dog and Chewie of the dire nature of the situation and when D-Dog asked they would defeat a demon, Redwing suggested they find a god.

(Marvel Unleashed I#2) - D-Dog, Chewie and Redwing ventured off to discuss what their next course of action should be and moments after Redwing suggested summoning Throg the Thunderfrog from Central Park, the animals were spotted by Myron Darkwater's ally, Kraven the Hunter. Redwing cautioned them against engaging Kraven but D-Dog insisted she would never be a great hero if she couldn't protect her friends. She then lunged to attack Kraven but Kraven easily flipped D-Dog into the rock wall. Chewie rushed to check on D-Dog while Redwing distracted Kraven, who was ultimately and secretly dealt with by the Flerken Chewie. With Kraven downed, the animals continued on with their plan to summon Throg against Blackheart and when Redwing suggested flying to Central Park, D-Dog insisted on them letting her use the Midnight Bark to get a message to Throg. While D-Dog was indeed successful in getting the messages across to Central Park, Blackheart quickly overheard the howling and captured the animals, torturing them with intent to kill. The torture was interrupted by the arrival of Throg and the ghost dog Bats, who had relayed D-Dog's message to the Thunderfrog. Throg engaged Blackheart and during the distraction, Redwing urged D-Dog, Chewie and Bats to help free Lockjaw from Myron's captivity. Myron attempted to shoo the animals away, unable to understand D-Dog's barking for him to stop his nonsense and return home to Juniper. When Blackheart used Myron's unstable teleportation machine to transport Throg's hammer from the battlefield, it malfunctioned, sending D-Dog, Chewie, Bats, Redwing, Throg and Marvin into Blackheart's Tenth Circle of Hell base of operations.

(Marvel Unleashed I#3) - D-Dog continued to bark incessantly at Myron, who was still unable to understand D-Dog. Bats eventually translated, explaining to Myron how D-Dog was yelling that Myron should have been home with Juniper instead of making deals with demons. Realizing his error, Myron considered himself the worst pet owner ever, a term that angered both D-Dog and Bats. The animals and Myron eventually decided that Lockjaw might be the key to defeating Blackheart and they ventured out to search for the Inhuman while Blackheart ordered his demonic legions to find his enemies and eradicate them. As they traveled, D-Dog expressed hope that they would find Blackheart's headquarters soon, only to witness her allies fall into a trance of illusory fears. Sniffing out the culprit behind the illusions, D-Dog bit the demon, freeing her friends from the illusions. D-Dog then assisted in battling Blackheart's demonic legions until Chewie revealed her Flerken nature by devouring them all, an act that Redwing completely missed. During the battle, Myron was captured and the animals continued their trek towards Blackheart's headquarters to now rescue both Lockjaw and Myron. Along the way, D-Dog remarked that she might never be a great hero without powers like Chewie but Chewie reassured D-Dog that she had been the one to free them from the illusions, reminding D-Dog that there were plenty of great heroes without powers. As they approached Blackheart's castle, Bats and Throg discussed the afterlife for pets and when Throg questioned why D-Dog had not been earlier affected by the fear-inducing illusions, Bats replied that, as a stray, D-Dog already lived an animal's worst fears on a daily basis. The group soon discovered a lessly guarded castle entrance and Throg took out the guards, allowing D-Dog and the others to get inside the castle undetected. Unfortunately, they were immediately spotted by Blackheart, who swiped the teleportation machine from Myron and opened a portal to Earth.

(Marvel Unleashed I#4) - With Blackheart sufficiently distracted by his impending invasion of Earth, the animals opted to have Myron free Lockjaw and when Myron expressed concern that Blackheart's legions would try to stop him, D-Dog announced that she would hold off the legions as long as possible to buy the others time to free Lockjaw. Bats agreed to help D-Dog by possessing one of the demons to help fight back and as they ran into battle thousands of demons, Bats asked how D-Dog planned to pull off the attack. Recalling all of the loved pets on Earth, D-Dog proclaimed that they would do what all good dogs do: protect. While D-Dog and Bats began to turn the tide against Blackheart's legions, Redwing sent Chewie out to assist them and Chewie arrived just in time to witness one of the legions attack and kill D-Dog from behind. While Bats and Chewie informed the others of D-Dog's death, D-Dog awoke to find herself on the Asgardian Rainbow Bridge. Realizing that she was doomed to spend eternity there alone, D-Dog laid down and began to cry, remarking that she had at least accomplished some good in the life that she was given. Moments later, she was met by her animal friends and despite D-Dog at first thinking she had failed and caused the death of her friends, she soon learned that her actions had earned her place in Valhalla, the Asgardian realm of the honored dead. Greeted there by three Valkyries, D-Dog asked why she was chosen to live in Valhalla and Throg explained that great heroes went there when they died. Again assured that she was indeed a great hero, D-Dog was informed that her living friends could not stay there but that they would always think of her fondly. They then said their goodbyes to D-Dog and departed Valhalla.

Comments: Created by Kyle Starks and Jesus Hervas.

    Marvel Unleashed was told from the perspective of the animals so they each communicated to each other in English for the benefit of us, the readers. When shown interacting with humans, the animals are seen barking or meowing or grunting, etc., confirming that they aren't actually speaking English.

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
D-Dog should be distinguished from:

• D-MACHINE - Black Panther device used to traverse dimensions--Avengers I#76
• D-MAN (Dennis Dunphy) - also known as Demolition-Man--Thing I#28
• other "D" or "Dog" characters, groups, items, races or events
  

Appearances:
Marvel Unleashed I#1 (October, 2023) - Kyle Starks (writer), Jesus Hervas (art), Alanna Smith (editor)
Marvel Unleashed I#2 (November, 2023) - Kyle Starks (writer), Jesus Hervas (art), Alanna Smith (editor)
Marvel Unleashed I#3 (December, 2023) - Kyle Starks (writer), Juan Gedeon (art), Alanna Smith (editor)
Marvel Unleashed I#4 (January, 2024) - Kyle Starks (writer), Jesus Hervas (art), Alanna Smith (editor)

First posted: 07/15/2025
Last updated: 07/15/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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