—Night Thrasher[source]The Skrull invasion got me thinking: Maybe the New Warriors didn't die in that explosion in Stamford. Maybe my brother was being impersonated by a Skrull and it was a Skrull who died instead. I am trying to find DNA evidence that will help me determine if it was truly my brother who died at Stamford. Please, let me discover my brother's fate.
History
Bandit[]
Donyell Taylor is the illegitimate half-brother of Dwayne Taylor. Donyell's wealthy father Daryl paid Donyell's mother to keep their one night stand a secret. Donyell resented Dwayne for having the money and the family he never had.[6]
At some point, Tai demanded her son-in-law Andrew Chord kill his best friend Daryl Taylor and his wife Melody. Out of guilt, Chord took their son Dwayne and raised him as his mentor. Chord was instrumental in making Dwayne into Night Thrasher, providing weaponry and training while hiding the truth of his parents. Chord influenced Night Thrasher's decision to form the hero team New Warriors.[7]
Donyell took the name Bandit and began targeting Night Thrasher's old foes to prove he was superior to Night Thrasher. He then severely beat his brother. Later wanting a rematch, Bandit abducted Silhouette, Andrew Chord's daughter and Night Thrasher's former lover, in order to lure Dwayne into a confrontation, but Night Thrasher won the rematch. Soon afterwards Bandit and Silhouette became a couple.[8]

As the Bandit
When Night Thrasher, Silhouette, and various other members of the New Warriors were sent back in time Donyell joined Andrew Chord in creating a new team of New Warriors. Bandit took on leadership responsibilities, not because he felt a need for superheroes, but because he loved Silhouette. He called upon the team's reservists Darkhawk and Turbo, their ally Dagger, and Powerpax. Bandit and his "New" Warriors took the fight against the Sphinx, and eventually defeated him with the assistance of the freed Warriors.[9]
Dwayne wanted Silhouette back, but she chose to go off with Bandit, explaining that they both shared a life of "shades of grey." Bandit took Silhouette to Chicago. They broke up at some point and he soon began dating Gambit's ex-wife Belladonna. He lived in New Orleans with her, and the two of them led both the Thieves Guild and the Assassins Guild together. But Bandit was deceiving Belladonna and going behind her back in his quest for power, and the New Orleans police assembled a large file on his activities. All of a sudden everything came to light when Gambit came back to town, and Bandit and Belladonna presumably broke up.[10]
Night Thrasher[]
The reality show incarnation of the New Warriors was the catalyst in the Super-hero Civil War. In a battle with a group of super-villains while filming season two of their hit TV series, the super-villain Nitro exploded, killing most of the team and hundreds of civilians in Stamford. Night Thrasher was among those killed. This led the government to introduce the Superhuman Registration Act. The heroes, particularly the Avengers, found themselves divided over the act, and Civil War broke out. Eventually, the pro-registration forces won the war, which led to many former New Warriors joining the Initiative.[11]
Bandit secretly became the new Night Thrasher and assembled a new team of New Warriors out of mutants who had lost their powers during M-Day. In public, he used an image inducer to make it appeared that he had lost both his legs in a car accident. His life of crime seemingly behind him, Donyell Taylor worked as an engineer and philanthropist, founding Taylordyne Industries to replenish his family's lost fortunes, and resurrecting the Taylor Foundation as a disaster relief fund to help the victims of Stamford. Night Thrasher kept his identity hidden from the New Warriors.[12]
Night Thrasher initiated a truce with Silhouette's brother Midnight's Fire. Midnight's Fire supplied Night Thrasher with one of Diablo's books and a fragment of a Ka Stone to power a time machine. Night Thrasher intended to go back in time to prevent the Stamford disaster so that he could save the former New Warriors from their deaths in Stamford, and by extension, prevent the Civil War.[13]

Leading the new New Warriors
Night Thrasher had become increasingly absent during key moments in their missions causing Wondra to become suspicious and hostile towards him. Night Thrasher was indeed creating a plan to trick his team into remaining loyal to his cause and he employed the young genius Kaz to prepare the time machine. However, he also told Kaz he intended to tell the Warriors the truth behind this plan when the time was right.[14]
Night Thrasher provided false intelligence claiming that Machinesmith had designed a techno-organic virus. The New Warriors tracked down and confronted the villain. During the battle, a section of roof came down and some of the New Warriors were left trapped inside. The trapped New Warriors cobbled together what little weapons they had to battle Machinesmith. Night Thrasher and the rest of the team burst in and attacked Machinesmith. They found his mainframe and shut it down, reducing Machinesmith to his component elements. After the battle, Night Thrasher admitted he was lying about his intelligence, but argued that it was for the good of the team.[15]
When the Skrull invasion occurred, Donyell suspected that the Night Thrasher who was killed in Stamford was actually a Skrull and wanted to find proof in the remains of his brother Dwayne. Donyell decided to go on his own but his teammates secretly followed to find out what was going on. Counter Force, former New Warriors who had joined the Initiative, also wanted to know why the New Warriors had reformed without the founding members. After Donyell revealed his true identity to both teams and his reasons to both the former and current New Warriors, Justice led all of them to a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier where their teammates' remains were stored. Donyell confirmed that his brother's, Namorita's, and Microbe's remains were authentic and had them removed from the carrier for burial.[16]
Donyell revealed the existence of his time machine. The machine didn't work as planned and sent the New Warriors into a dystopian future where Donyell's resurrected brother Dwayne had assumed Iron Man's identity. This Dwayne had taken the Registration Act to the extreme by removing all superpowered beings to the Nth dimension and only Tony Stark remained to fight him, having taken on the identity of Night Thrasher. Despite having misgivings about Dwayne's totalitarian rule, Donyell's need to reconnect with his brother led him to betray and capture the other New Warriors. However, after Dwayne tortured and killed Tony Stark, Donyell came to his senses, rescuing the others and freeing the incarcerated superheroes. Donyell was forced to kill Dwayne. Upon their return to the present, the New Warriors disbanded.[17]
Night Thrasher joined Counter Force who reclaimed the New Warriors name. They were once again wanted by the law after they were falsely blamed by Norman Osborn for letting the Thor clone loose.[18]
He was mentioned to have died at some point in time by his brother.[19]Attributes
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Powers
- Bio-Electricity Production: Bandit had bioelectrical powers -- he could emit an electric charge strong enough to stun, injure, or possibly kill someone, by touching them. He augmented the range of this power by shooting bladed projectiles connected to wires at people, basically turning himself into a living taser.[20]
Abilities
- Master Combatant: He uses a fighting style that combines numerous fighting techniques with his incredible acrobatic skills.[20]
- Firearms: He is an accomplished marksman.[20]
- Tactician: He is also a good tactician.[20]
- Business Management: He has a great business acumen.[20]
- Mechanical Engineering: He has a natural affinity for and education in engineering, robotics and technical design.[20]
- Computer Operation: He has a great aptitude for state-of-the-art computer technology.[20]
- Aviation: He is an accomplished pilot.[20]
- Archery: As Bandit he was known for using his crossbow.[20]
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Night Thrasher Armor: A lightweight, armored battlesuit composed of Kevlar and Vibranium mesh.[20]
- Superhuman Durability: The armor is airtight, bulletproof, fireproof and impact-absorbent.[20]
- Energy Construct Creation: The armor's gauntlets generate an energy that can be used to form knives, shields or battle staves.[20]
- Flight: The armor has retractable wings that allow him to fly for short distances.[20]
- Enhanced Vision: The helmet's lenses are capable of infrared vision.[20]
- Tank Armor: A bulkier and more powerful version of his armor.[20]
Weapons
- Crossbow: Bandit carried a specialized wrist mounted crossbow that fired wire-tethered quarrels tipped with miniature grappling barbs which could penetrate an opponent's flesh and then open up beneath the skin. He would then use his powers to send a debilitating bio-electric charge along the electrically conductive tether, basically making himself a living taser.[20]
- Throwing Stars: He also carries a variety of throwing stars.
- Pym Particles Gas: A gas capable of miniaturizing his foes.[20]
- Taser: A powerful taser capable of immobilizing his foes.[20]
Transportation
Notes
- Steve Rogers thought that Night Thrasher would be a perfect candidate for the Avengers Academy, but didn't expect him to agree on joining to be trained.[5]
See Also
- 51 appearance(s) of Donyell Taylor (Earth-616)
- 3 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Donyell Taylor (Earth-616)
- 1 minor appearance(s) of Donyell Taylor (Earth-616)
- 2 mention(s) of Donyell Taylor (Earth-616)
- 3 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Donyell Taylor (Earth-616)
- 39 image(s) of Donyell Taylor (Earth-616)
- 6 quotation(s) by or about Donyell Taylor (Earth-616)
- 1 victim(s) killed by Donyell Taylor (Earth-616)
Links and References
- Donyell Taylor on Marvel.com
- [1]
- Bandit's Profile on the New Warriors Continuity Conundrum
- New Warriors Message Board
- Bandit Chronology
- New Warriors.com profile on Bandit
- New Warriors Continuity Conundrum
References
- ↑ Night Thrasher #3
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 New Warriors (Vol. 4) #15
- ↑ New Warriors (Vol. 4) #6
- ↑ New Warriors (Vol. 4) #4
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Heroic Age: Heroes #1
- ↑ Night Thrasher #8
- ↑ New Warriors #25
- ↑ New Warriors #47
- ↑ New Warriors #47–50
- ↑ Gambit (Vol. 4) #10–12
- ↑ Civil War #1–7
- ↑ New Warriors (Vol. 4) #1–6
- ↑ New Warriors (Vol. 4) #7–8
- ↑ New Warriors (Vol. 4) #9
- ↑ New Warriors (Vol. 4) #11–13
- ↑ New Warriors (Vol. 4) #14–15
- ↑ New Warriors (Vol. 4) #16–20
- ↑ Avengers: The Initiative #21–35
- ↑ Night Thrasher (Vol. 2) #3
- ↑ 20.00 20.01 20.02 20.03 20.04 20.05 20.06 20.07 20.08 20.09 20.10 20.11 20.12 20.13 20.14 20.15 20.16 20.17 20.18 20.19 20.20 20.21 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #8
- ↑ New Warriors (Vol. 4) #14
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 8