History:
(Darkhawk II#1 (fb)) - Derek Lu was a student at Woodlawn High School
in Woodlawn Heights, the Bronx, New York and was a member of Woodlawn
High's Banshees basketball team.
DEREK LU
Real Name: Derek Lu
Identity/Class: Human technology user
Occupation: Student, would-be criminal
Group Membership: Woodlawn High School Banshees basketball team (Marc, Connor Young, others)
Affiliations: Coach Pavlich, Darkhawk (Connor Young), Woodlawn High School Banshees, Spider-Man (Miles Morales of Earth-1610), Shawn Trella, Connor Young, Harris Young
Enemies: Mister Colt
Known Relatives: Sarah Lu
(sister), unidentified parents, unidentified aunt
Aliases: "Bro," "Man"
Base of Operations: Woodlawn Heights, Bronx, New York, USA
First Appearance: Darkhawk II#1 (October, 2021)
Powers/Abilities: Derek Lu did not have any
superhuman powers but he was a relatively competent high school
basketball player.
While in the employee of Shawn Trella, Derek wore an
armored costume that enhanced his durability and he carried advanced
pulse guns capable of blowing a hole through a stone wall.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'2")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 123 lbs.)
Eyes: Dark brown
Hair: Black
History:
(Darkhawk II#1 (fb)) - Derek Lu was a student at Woodlawn High School
in Woodlawn Heights, the Bronx, New York and was a member of Woodlawn
High's Banshees basketball team.
(Darkhawk II#1) - Derek participated
in a Banshees
basketball game in which he successfully scored a three point shot. His
teammate Connor Young then got the ball and made a rush towards the
hoop, passing by the open Derek and scoring the winning point. Moments
later, the local news interviewed Connor about the last ten seconds of
the game and Connor admitted that he could only think about how he
needed to make that short or his friend Derek would never let him live
it down. As Connor pulled Derek in front of the camera, Derek exclaimed
that Empire State University was about to get a beast in Connor. Derek
then accompanied the team back to the locker rooms, where Coach Pavlich
proclaimed how he liked the Banshees' chances against the Lions next
week. Unaware that Connor was suffering a medical episode, Derek
subsequently tapped Connor on the back of the head, bringing Connor out
of his episode. Noticing that Connor was sweating severely, Derek asked
if Connor was okay and Connor claimed he was suffering from a
"temperature thing" that happened sometimes and assured Derek he would
be fine once they got outside.
The two then left the locker room and on the way, they came across a police incident in which they learned the culprits were a trio of criminals using some sort of pulse guns. Derek and Connor then discussed their opinions on why the crime had occurred before they ran into former high school sports star Shawn Trella and two of his friends. Excited to see someone he had looked up to in middle school, Connor willingly discussed his own potential with Trella before introducing Trella to Derek as well. Connor soon ended the conversation, admitting that he needed to get home, and both Connor and Derek continued on their way, with Trella warning them away from a further police stop a few blocks down. The next night, Derek stopped by Connor's home after failing to reach Connor but he was met by Connor's father Harris, who informed Derek that it was not a good time to visit. When Derek noticed Coach Pavlich there as well, he was asked to come inside, where Connor revealed to Derek that he had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Derek than silently sat down next to Connor and tried to comfort his friend. Connor soon went to lie down and Derek stayed to discuss Connor's diagnosis with Coach Pavlich and Connor's father, asking questions about what exactly multiple sclerosis affected. When pizza arrived, Derek paid for it and admitted that he wanted to do something to help get Connor back to normal so he could watch Connor dominate at ESU basketball games. Connor emerged from his room in time to reply "Nice fantasy." to Derek and when Derek asked what Connor meant, Connor expressed his expectations that ESU would rescind their scholarship upon learning of Connor's medical diagnosis.
(Darkhawk II#2 (fb) - BTS) - At some
point, Derek's aunt
sent him a big Amazm gift card for a birthday present that Derek sold
for cash.
(Darkhawk II#1) - Weeks later, Derek Lu had secretly joined up with Shawn Trella, who sent Derek and two others on a robbery assignment. Wearing a suit of armor and wielding pulse-like weaponry, Derek and the others caused an explosion, unaware that Connor was nearby. When Connor found a strange alien amulet and was transformed into the new Darkhawk, he took the fight directly the armored criminals, unaware that Derek was among them. Darkhawk made quick work of the inexperienced Derek and the others and they escaped back to Trella. Shawn Trella berated his goons' amateur work then ordered Derek to retrieve the Darkhawk armor to prove himself.
(Darkhawk II#2 (fb) - BTS) - The next morning, before
coming to visit Connor, Derek spoke with Connor's father to make sure
Connor was free.
(Darkhawk II#2) - Derek Lu came over to visit Connor Young and talk about the new exclusive PVRMO shoes. When Connor seemed disinterested, Derek reminded him how they had both been so excited for the shoes to drop but Connor reminded Derek that the shoes were too expensive with his new medical bills and claimed he had doctor visits to deal with. Derek replied to Connor's claims but revealing how he had earlier spoke with Connor's father and knew Connor was free. When Derek continued to seem shocked that Connor was no longer interested in the shoes, Connor reminded Derek how expensive his medical bills were and how his father was not even sure he could go back to work with Connor suffering from multiple sclerosis. Upon hearing Connor's predicament, Derek quietly apologized for giving Connor such a hard time about the shoes and then suggested he would buy the shoes for Derek himself. When Connor tried to object, Derek claimed he had a sold an Amazm gift card for cash and asked Connor to just let him do something for him. Connor reluctantly agreed and the two then walked towards the store, passing by the site where Derek had secretly fought Darkhawk the night before. The two discussed the damage done to the town and when Connor asked why anyone would single out Woodlawn, Derek claimed that the whole city was going to hell and that Woodlawn wasn't super great anyway. Connor came to Woodlawn's defense but Derek reminded Connor of his scholarship to ESU and remarked that once Connor got his MS meds sorted out, ESU would not know what hit them. Connor replied that Derek's optimism was starting to sound like a fantasy but Derek informed Connor that there was an NBA player who had MS. Their conversation continued, with Derek reiterating that there was nothing special about Woodlawn and how the thieves might have thought they would take what they wanted instead of waiting for a best case scenario of working at one of the Woodlawn stores that were robbed. Derek then flipped Connor's question of why robbers would single out Woodlawn by asking why a hero like Darkhawk would be slumming it up in Woodlawn and Connor replied that perhaps Woodlawn was the hero's home.
The two eventually made their way to
the PVRMO store but upon seeing the long line, Derek announced Connor
Young's presence in line and used Connor's basketball star status to
get them both to the front of the line, passing by Miles Morales, who
was also waiting in line for shoes. After acquiring the shoes, Derek
and Connor headed back towards home with Derek commenting that he
didn't care that his shoes were a size thirteen, as he would wear extra
socks to fit. Some thugs soon confronted the teens and stole their new
shoes and an angry Derek chased the thugs until he ran into an entire
group of them. When the thugs ordered Derek to leave, Derek refused but
before the thugs could attack, Derek was rescued by Darkhawk. Watching
Darkhawk force the thugs to flee, Derek soon hit Darkhawk with a
sophisticated grenade and pointed a gun at the downed hero. Darkhawk
asked Derek to stop and a surprised Derek asked how Darkhawk knew his
name and Darkhawk revealed himself to be Connor. Connor then realized
that Derek had been one of the thieves from the night before and Derek,
feeling as if Connor was judging him, reminded Connor that he didn't
have the jump shot Connor did. Derek then revealed that he could move
very high up with his employers if he played his cards right but Connor
attempted to reach Derek, reminding Derek that he was so much better
than a thief. Derek then demanded the Darkhawk armor, explaining how he
couldn't just say no to his employers, but Connor refused to give up
the armor. Connor then prepared to armor up again as a tearfully
emotional Derek prepared to fight him, only for the two friends' fight
to be interrupted by the arrival of Spider-Man (Miles Morales). Not
wishing to draw Spider-Man's further attention, neither Connor nor
Derek incriminated the other and sent Spider-Man searching down a
nearby road for the shoe thieves. By the time Connor finished speaking
with Spider-Man, Derek had left and returned to the Whiskey Cave bar,
where Shawn Trella based himself. Explaining to Trella that he could
not obtain the Darkhawk armor, Derek admitted that perhaps becoming a
criminal was not for him and attempted to leave Trella's employ.
Unfortunately, Trella's boss, Mr. Colt, appeared and remarked that it
wasn't Trella Derek had to worry about. A terrified Derek attempted to
apologize to Colt but Mr. Colt announced that Derek was merely living
up to his full potential before Colt shot Derek. Colt then commented
that Derek's full potential was not going to be good enough before
shooting Derek a second time.
(Darkhawk II#3 (fb) - BTS) - Derek's body was found
out on the docks.
(Darkhawk II#3 - BTS) - After not hearing from Derek for hours, Connor filmed a video in which he discussed his origin as Darkhawk and wondered aloud what Derek had gotten himself into but he quickly deleted the video when his father called for him. Going downstairs, Connor found Coach Pavlich, who informed Connor of Derek's death. Immediately going over to the Whiskey Cave bar, Connor confronted Shawn Trella, who remarked that he had heard of Derek's death and that he was too young to die. Connor then asked what else Trella had heard, such as who murdered Derek, and when Trella learned that Connor knew Derek had been up to something bad with Trella, Trella threatened Connor to just walk away or risk suffering the same fate. Connor walked out then returned moments later as Darkhawk and threatened Trella, demanding to know if Trella had killed Derek for not being able to acquire the Darkhawk armor. After Darkhawk nearly dropped Trella to his death, a terrified Trella revealed that Mr. Colt had killed Derek and where Mr. Colt based himself. Trella further admitted that Derek had been working for Colt and Trella, pulling robbery jobs and kicking back money to Colt and Trella. Trella also informed Darkhawk that Derek had gotten too flashy, causing an explosion and robbing places too close to home, and that Colt had killed Derek when Derek proved unable to make back the tech lost during Derek's first encounter with Darkhawk.
(Darkhawk II#4 - BTS) - After Spider-Man (Miles
Morales) rescued Darkhawk from the river following an encounter with
Mr. Colt, Darkhawk revealed himself to Miles as Connor Young and the
two young heroes went for coffee, where Connor also revealed his MS
diagnosis and admitted that Miles was the first person he had told
aside from Derek Lu. Spider-Man then asked if Derek was the friend he
had seen Connor with the day they had bought their PVRMO shoes and
Connor confirmed, further explaining how Derek had been killed by Mr.
Colt.
(Darkhawk II#5) - Derek Lu's funeral was held and attended by the
entire Banshees basketball team as well as Connor Young and his father.
At the funeral, Derek's sister Sarah met with Connor and talked about
how much Derek looked up to Connor. When the press tried to snap photos
of Connor from outside, Sarah remarked that Derek couldn't even be free
of Connor's shadow in death. Connor tried to apologize but he was soon
met by Coach Pavlich, who introduced Connor to ESU's Coach Woodward,
prompting Sarah to walk away, annoyed that Derek's funeral was again
being made about Connor. Connor tried to get Sarah to wait up but Coach
Woodward began apologizing to Connor about the loss of Derek as Sarah
walked over to view Derek's corpse in his casket. Connor soon saw Shawn
Trella at the funeral and confronted Trella, angry that Trella would
show up despite his role in Derek's death. The two then went outside
and fought until Darkhawk managed to down Trella before taking a moment
to call his father, who suggested Connor return to Derek's funeral to
be there for Derek's family.
Comments: Created by Kyle Higgins and Juanan Ramirez.
According to Derek Lu's funeral, Derek was born
in 2004 and died in 2021, though with Marvel's sliding time scale,
these specific dates would be topical.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Derek Lu should be distinguished from:
| --Darkhawk II#1 (#5, |
Coach Pavlich was the coach of the Woodlawn High School Banshees basketball team that counted Derek Lu and Connor Young as members. After Connor Young was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Coach Pavlich visited the Young home to speak with Connor and his father about Connor's future. Days later, Coach Pavlich visited the Young home again to inform Connor Young of Derek's death. Coach Pavlich later attended Derek Lu's funeral, where he introduced Connor Young to ESU's Coach Woodward. Following the funeral, Coach Pavlich welcomed Connor Young back to the Banshees and tried to make sure Connor would be okay.
--Darkhawk II#1 (#3, #5,
Sarah Lu was Derek's sister. Following Derek's death, Sarah Lu met with Connor Young at Derek's funeral and revealed how much Derek had looked up to Connor. When the press attempted to snap photos of Connor at the funeral, Sarah angrily exclaimed that Derek couldn't even escape Connor's shadow in death and she walked away when Coach Pavlich showed up to introduce Connor to ESU's Coach Woodward. Despite his desire to make amends with Sarah, Connor soon got pulled away when Shawn Trella interrupted the funeral to confront Connor. Following the funeral, Sarah refused to answer Connor's calls.
--Darkhawk II#5
PVRMO was a shoe store that offered exclusive,
stylish shoes that Derek Lu and Connor Young both were excited about.
Following Connor's multiple sclerosis diagnosis, he somewhat lost
interest in the shoes but Derek convinced Connor to let Derek purchase
a pair of the newly-released shoes for Connor. The two then visited the
PVRMO store, only to find a long line out front. Derek used Connor's
basketball star status to get them to the front of the line but Derek
only ended up purchasing a pair of much-too-big size thirteen shoes,
which Derek hoped he could still wear by doubling up his socks. As the
two departed the store, a group of thugs robbed them of the PVRMO shoes
but Derek pursued and had to be rescued by Darkhawk. After attempting
to forcibly steal the Darkhawk armor, Derek learned that Darkhawk was
actually Connor and left the shoes behind when Spider-Man showed up to
investigate the shoe theft. Connor Young was later wearing his PVRMO
shoes when he confronted Shawn Trella about Derek's death.
--Darkhawk II#2 (#3,
Appearances:
Darkhawk II#1 (October, 2021) - Kyle Higgins (writer), Juanan Ramirez
(art), Darren Shan (editor)
Darkhawk II#2 (November, 2021) - Kyle Higgins (writer), Juanan Ramirez
(art), Darren Shan (editor)
Darkhawk II#3 (January, 2022) - Kyle Higgins (writer), Juanan Ramirez
(art), Darren Shan (editor)
Darkhawk II#4 (February, 2022) - Kyle Higgins (writer), Juanan Ramirez
(art), Darren Shan (editor)
Darkhawk II#5 (March, 2022) - Kyle Higgins (writer), Juanan Ramirez
(art), Darren Shan (editor)
First posted: 02/17/2022
Last updated: 02/17/2022
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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The Banshees
