It is a powerful, extra-dimensional energy that can be manipulated in slightly different ways by a handful of beings that are attuned to it. There are slight yet inconclusive hints that it may be a corruptive influence of some kind (at least to Cloak, possibly to Darkhawk as well) and perhaps even a sentient entity. At least one darkforce user (Quagmire) is from the parallel universe of the Squadron Supreme instead of the main Marvel Universe.
Fictional history
The Darkforce's origin is unknown. Some stories suggest that it is actually matter from a parallel universe that may be accessed by mystical means. Its first appearance was in August 1976's Champions #7, where it was shown as the source of Darkstar's powers of solid energy projection and flight.
Over the years, the Darkforce gradually became more and more of a presence among superpowered beings of the Marvel Universe. Moonstone (Karla Sofen) speculated in Avengers #238 that it could be related to the powers of the Shroud and the first Blackout. A later storyline revealed that, at the very least, it is possible to escape Blackout's energy traps by means of the Shroud's cape, as shown when Captain Marvel was trapped there by Blackout and emerged from the Shroud's cape during the Masters of Evil's attack on Avengers Mansion. New Warriors #31-33 and other storylines later expanded the number of Darkforce users even more.
Sometimes the effects of Darkforce are subtle to the point of being cosmetic. For instance, it had been deduced that both X-Men member Nightcrawler and X-Men foe Vanisher use the Darkforce Dimension during their teleportation (as revealed in Bizarre Adventures #27). However, in the Draco storyline of Uncanny X-Men, it was explained that Nightcrawler's power stems from another dimension (nicknamed the "Brimstone Dimension"). If this dimension bears any connection to Darkforce, it has yet to be revealed.
Related characters
Asylum - An unnamed woman who was hospitalized in a mental hospital for some reason, before being used by Genetech for their research in creating superhuman beings. She would be imbued with Darkforce energies that converted her body into a psionic mist which caused hallucinations in anyone who touched it and use the energies as an offensive weapon.
Henrique Manuel Gallante - A drug-addict who was placed in the Smythers drug rehabilitation clinic and whose mutant powers allow him to unconsciously tap into the Darkforce Dimension. So powerful is his access that Gallante was able to open a rift the size of Manhattan between his dimension and the Darkforce's dimension.
Cloak (of Cloak and Dagger) - His cloak is tied to Darkforce Dimension.
Darkhawk - The Darkhawk armor can produce Darkforce blasts from the amulet in the chest.
Ecstasy - Villain who temporarily gained possession of Cloak's powers.
Mister Negative - A villain of Spider-Man that gained his powers from the same experiments that Cloak (see above) did.
Nightside - A member of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard; all members of her race can tap into the Darkforce dimension.
Nightwind - A mutant who had the ability to form a Darkforce sword with various effects, depowered by the events of M-Day.
Sepulchre - Uses the Darkforce energy to manipulate energy, allowing her powers such as flight. Also known as Shadowoman.
Shroud - Gained Darkforce powers through the symbol of Kali branded on his forehead.
Silhouette (of the New Warriors) - A mutant who can simulate teleportation by using existing shadows as passages into and out of the Darkforce Dimension.
Smuggler (of the New Thunderbolts) - Gained powers from costume tied to the Darkforce Dimension
Spot (Spider-Man foe) - Creates a "portable hole" of Darkforce energy.
In the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode "The Only Light in the Darkness", Marcus Daniels is introduced, a character who gained the powers of the Darkforce after an experiment he did with Dr. Abner Croit to harness its abilities. In the episode "Parting Shot", the Russian Inhuman General Androvich who is on the side of Gideon Malick and Anton Petrov has the ability to manifest and control living shadows made of Darkforce.
Darkforce is the main focus in season 2 of Agent Carter under its alternate name of Zero Matter. The anomaly first occurred in the desert during the test of a nuclear bomb where everything that was caught in the explosion vanished into it. It soon came into the possession of Isodyne Energy. In the episode "A View in the Dark," the Council of Nine told Calvin Chadwick to discontinue the experiments with the Zero Matter. When Jason Wilkes and Calvin's wife Whitney Frost clashed over the Zero Matter, the container holding the Zero Matter dropped as Jason tells Whitney to run. The result caused an explosion of Isodyne Energy Headquarters. In "Better Angels," it is revealed that the Zero Matter had caused Jason Wilkes to end up invisible and inaudible as Howard Stark works to restore him to normal. The Zero Matter also caused Whitney Frost to have a small Zero Matter scar on her forehead which started to get bigger after Whitney unknowingly absorbed the film director Kenneth into her. In the episode "The Edge of Mystery," Whitney Frost, Joseph Manfredi, and Vernon Masters complete the bomb that would open the rift into the Zero Matter dimension. When it is opened, the rift only drags Jason Wilkes in and not Whitney Frost. The rift is neutralized by Aloysius Samberly's Gamma Cannon. In the episode "A Little Song and Dance," Whitney Frost and Joseph Manfredi use an abandoned sanitation facility in an attempt to extract the extra Zero Matter in Jason Wilkes. After Jason Wilkes is freed by Peggy Carter, he ends up in pain from what the Zero Matter is doing inside him. Jason makes his way to the room where Whitney Frost and Vernon Masters are in and explodes in front of them. In the episode "Hollywood Ending," the resulting explosion had purged the Zero Matter from Jason Wilkes as it is then absorbed by Whitney Frost. Using a device to open another rift to the Zero Matter dimension on the property of Stark Studios, Howard Stark and Peggy Carter lure Whitney to the Zero Matter where she was blasted with the Gamma Cannon. With help from Peggy Carter, Howard Stark, Edwin Jarvis, Jack Thompson, Jason Wilkes, and Aloysius Samberly, Daniel Sousa was able to manually deactivate the device to prevent the Zero Matter rift from becoming unstable.
Darkforce does not appear in Doctor Strange, but both are tie-ins to the mystical stories where everything isn't explained away as science.
