Darkoth (Desmond Pitt) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Fantastic Four #142 (January 1974), and was created by Gerry Conway and Rich Buckler.

Fictional character biography

Desmond Pitt is a former Air Force pilot and friend of Ben Grimm who originates from St. Louis, Missouri. After discovering that Doctor Doom and his agents have infiltrated a solar shuttle project he is assigned to, Pitt goes undercover to investigate them. However, Doom learns of his plans and kidnaps him before mutating him into a demonic form dubbed Darkoth. Doom brainwashes Darkoth into believing that he was always a demon, but he eventually regains his memories and helps the Fantastic Four stop Doom's Vibro-Bomb. Darkoth is later enhanced by Diablo, who recruits him to attack Doom. Darkoth stows away aboard a space shuttle piloted by the Thing. His plan is to redirect the solar generators at Doom. However, Darkoth betrays Diablo when he learns the Thing would also be hurt. Darkoth is apparently killed in a solar generator explosion in orbit. However, Darkoth is rescued by Mephisto and becomes his pawn. He is killed in a battle with Thor and transported to Otherplace. There, he kills Belasco's servant S'ym and obtains the Soulsword, gaining control of Otherplace. During the "King in Black" event, Darkoth bonds with the Bedlam symbiote and gains the ability to summon Hellnir, a copy of Mjolnir that generates hellfire rather than electricity. He battles Thor before being rendered comatose and placed in Asgard's care.

Powers and abilities

Darkoth possesses superhuman physical abilities, a prehensile tail, and antennae that can generate concussive energy blasts. He later gains the additional abilities of intangibility and shapeshifting after respectively being enhanced by Diablo and resurrected in Otherplace. Pitt was a skilled pilot and had earned a degree in aeronautical engineering, and was an Air Force Academy graduate with extensive piloting experience and military training.