Black Noir

Biodata

Background / History

Vought’s covert assassin

Black Noir worked for Vought International for decades, becoming Stan Edgar’s trusted assassin and one of the company’s most effective cleaners. His assignments included assassinating political figures and Supes, suppressing scandals, and eliminating witnesses. Two years before Edgar discussed the matter with him, he seized the Yasakani Blood Jade from Takeda in San Francisco and destroyed the group’s West Coast base 9 33 164 205.

His service under Soldier Boy left lasting physical and psychological injuries. Soldier Boy beat him and burned his face with a heated shield; Black Noir subsequently betrayed him to the Russians. Madelyn later described Noir as someone whose brain damage had left him somewhat simple, but who retained kindness beneath his treatment as an emotionless weapon 161 178 250.

In his first appearance, Noir returns wounded from a Texas operation involving a rogue Supe who had taken over a police department. Vought had sent him to eliminate the Supe and everyone who knew about the incident. Madelyn orders medical treatment and rest after noticing the damage to his armor 9 10.

Japan escort assignment

Edgar assigns Noir to accompany Lynn and the children to Japan, officially to guarantee their safety. Lynn recognizes that the assignment also places Edgar’s most dangerous operative close to the household as surveillance and a warning. Their initial confrontation ends peacefully when Noir accepts Lynn’s blueberry muffins, while recognizing that John would kill him immediately if he threatened Lynn 67 68.

During the trip, Noir silently intercepts a Kamo disciple, disables samurai attempting to ambush Lynn, and kills the Kamo young master after receiving an unspoken instruction through two pats on the shoulder. He carries out the killing after Lynn has led the children away 72 75 77.

Lynn also includes him in ordinary recreation rather than treating him solely as security. Noir joins the group’s Street Fighter games and defeats Lynn and the children. On the return flight, he allows Annie’s pink-edged blanket to remain draped over his knees 79 80 83.

Joining the Long Island household

At the estate, Annie draws with Noir and encourages him after he accidentally breaks a crayon. He also joins the children’s high-speed baseball game. When Edgar recalls him after the Japan assignment, Annie gives him a drawing of their game, which he accepts with exceptional care; Lynn tells him he is welcome to return 85 87 88 91.

Lynn later negotiates Noir’s permanent move to Long Island. In exchange, he promises Edgar John’s assistance if Vought faces uncontrollable test subjects or threats beyond the military’s capabilities. Vought publicly accounts for Noir’s absence through an internal announcement of prolonged closed-door training 105.

Lynn prepares a room for painting and carving, while Noir becomes John’s combat instructor. Their first lesson overturns John’s assumption that overwhelming strength is enough: with his powers heavily restrained, John is repeatedly thrown, redirected, and pinned. Months of instruction eventually allow John to match Noir in pure technique without using superpowers 106 130.

Stormfront and Soldier Boy

Noir accompanies Lynn to Manhattan after Lynn decides Stormfront remains a threat to the family. He ultimately kills her in Edgar’s office at Edgar’s command. Edgar later uses footage of the killing to try to turn Soldier Boy against the family that has accepted him 146 153 185.

When an anonymous message announces Soldier Boy’s return, Noir becomes visibly terrified. He warns Lynn that Soldier Boy is John’s biological father and urges the household to leave. Although Lynn believes he is departing to hide, Noir instead heads toward the coast, intending to die confronting Soldier Boy so that the estate will be spared 162 163 164.

On the Cross-sea Bridge, his special-alloy dagger snaps against Soldier Boy’s neck, and his subsequent attacks cannot injure him. Reggie intervenes before Soldier Boy can kill him, and Lynn brings him back into the group. Noir then watches John use the techniques he taught him to overpower his former abuser 165 167.

Soldier Boy’s presence initially continues to frighten Noir even after the fight. Lynn reassures him that nobody in the house will be allowed to hurt him, and the children openly stand between them. When Soldier Boy finally apologizes, Noir neither retaliates nor makes a speech: he hands him a dirty paintbrush bucket to wash and returns to painting with the studio door open, accepting him into their shared domestic life 175 176 178.

Teaching the turtles and opposing Vought

Lynn selects Noir to teach the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because of his weapons expertise, practical technique, and patience. In the sewers, Noir demonstrates the difference between strength and skill by disarming Michelangelo with a chopstick, then begins training all four brothers together 195 201.

During the Bigfoot Gang’s capture operation, Noir intervenes to prevent the turtles from being netted. The enhanced gang members survive normally disabling wounds and swarm him, leaving him able to defend himself but unable to reach the others. Afterward, Lynn makes surviving ten moves against Noir the turtles’ benchmark before seeking revenge 211 217.

In the coordinated assault on Vought’s operations, Noir joins Reggie, Tommy, Annie, and Kevin in attacking transit warehouses and captive fantastic-beast holding sites. He silently eliminates machine gunners by cutting the exposed gaps around their body armor 247 249.

Ten-year vigil and later counsel

During Lynn’s ten years in a cryogenic chamber, Noir remains at the estate while the children increasingly occupy themselves elsewhere. He maintains the chamber and is present when John returns with a dark red serum and injects Lynn 288.

After Lynn’s return, Noir cautions him that retaliating against Vought’s overseas human-material suppliers could damage John’s reputation and expose Lynn to danger alone 300.

He later identifies a crucial limitation in Deadpool’s multiversal scheme: photographs or footage of John’s happy family cannot come from another world, because that household exists only in theirs. His written reasoning leads Lynn and John to realize they may intercept Deadpool before he obtains and distributes the material 375.

Appearance

• Build: Tall, broad-shouldered, and powerfully built 10 85.
• Usual clothing: Black tactical armor, gloves, and a fully enclosed hood or mask that generally conceals even his eyes 9 68.
• Facial injuries: Burn scars cover his chin and lower face, visible when he lifts his mask while painting 178.
• Domestic clothing: At the estate, he also wears work clothes or a paint-stained apron instead of combat armor 112 178.
• Bearing: Often sits cross-legged without moving, blending into dark corners and giving little outward indication of what he is thinking 68 73 79.

Personality

Noir is unable to speak and normally communicates through gestures, brief written notes, and drawings. His professional manner is restrained and efficient: he can move directly from quiet domestic activity to armed readiness when the household appears threatened 91 107 110 201.

Vought accustomed him to obedience, fear, and being treated as equipment. Lynn’s casual offers of refreshments and inclusion in family activities initially unsettle him more than hostility would. Drawing serves as a private emotional refuge, while Annie’s encouragement gives him a way to share it with someone else 79 85.

His attachment to the estate becomes stronger than his fear of Soldier Boy. Knowing he cannot win, he chooses to confront his abuser because he believes his own death might protect the home where he first felt like a person rather than a weapon 164 165.

His recovery is gradual rather than immediate. Even after John defeats Soldier Boy, Noir initially locks himself in his studio. With the household’s protection, he eventually faces Soldier Boy without fear and responds to his apology through an ordinary request for help rather than revenge 175 176 178.

Abilities & Skills

Martial Arts and Grappling

Noir’s fighting style prioritizes leverage, balance, vulnerable anatomy, and eliminating unnecessary movement 106 108 167.

• Redirects an attacker’s momentum through shoulder throws, sweeps, joint locks, armbars, and chokeholds 106 107 113.
• Reads shifts in an opponent’s center of gravity to evade and counter attacks 106.
• Disarms armed opponents through precise wrist and nerve strikes; a wooden chopstick is enough to make Michelangelo drop a heavy iron pipe 75 201.
• Teaches John to generate force through his waist and whole body rather than striking with his arms alone 107 115.

Assassination and Weapons Expertise

An elite assassin trained by Vought, Noir specializes in silent, decisive attacks against exposed weak points 195 211.

• Expertly handles paired ninja swords and concealed weapons 195.
• Targets throats, arteries, joints, and gaps in body armor 165 211 249.
• Performs accurate thrown-knife attacks, including the fatal strike against Stormfront 153.
• Can incapacitate several armed guards within seconds without drawing his own blades 75.

Enhanced Physical Capabilities

Noir possesses strength, speed, and endurance beyond an ordinary human’s 75 87 88.

• Throws a baseball hard enough to produce a sonic blast 87.
• Catches John’s returning throw despite being driven half a meter backward through the lawn 88.
• Crosses more than ten meters almost instantly when attacking Soldier Boy 165.
• Endures treatment of a deep, scorched wound without crying out 10.
• Limits: Soldier Boy’s durability defeats both his blade and unarmed attacks. Large numbers of enhanced opponents can also pin him down and prevent him from protecting others 165 211.

Instruction

Noir teaches through physical demonstrations, corrections, sparring, and gestures rather than speech 107 108.

• Trains John to control overwhelming strength through precise technique; John eventually reaches a technical draw with him 106 130.
• Adjusts training weapons to the turtles’ size and has the four brothers attack together 201.
• Recognizes the turtles’ potential while focusing on correcting their inefficient use of strength 202.

Art and Practical Skills

• Drawing and painting: Produces recognizable portraits, detailed landscapes, and expressive comics; uses illustrated explanations when he suspects the turtles cannot read 85 162 201.
• Woodcarving: Carves at the estate and makes appropriately sized wooden training blades 108 201.
• Household maintenance: Repairs the estate’s gate lock, clears snow, washes dishes, and tends plants 112 146 161 271.
• Video games: Transfers his spacing, timing, and counterattacking instincts into Street Fighter, defeating Lynn’s Ken with Guile without losing health 80.
• Tactical reasoning: Identifies the need for Deadpool to enter their world to obtain evidence of John’s family life 375.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Black tactical suit and armor — His standard mission clothing; Soldier Boy shatters its chest protection with one punch 9 165.
• Special-alloy short blade — Designed to cut through a Supe’s skin. His special-alloy dagger nevertheless breaks against Soldier Boy’s neck 33 165.
• Paired ninja swords — His principal paired weapons; also used for improvised household repair work 112 195.
• Assault rifles and concealed weapons — Part of his established weapons experience 85 195.
• Pocket notebook and short pencil — Used for written communication and quick sketches 91 201 375.
• Art supplies and carving tools — Easels, paints, brushes, palette knives, and a small woodcarving knife 108 109 162 178.
• Annie’s crayon drawing — A farewell gift showing him playing baseball with the children; he carefully places it inside his vest 91.

Relationships

• Lynn — Gives Noir a permanent home and room for artistic work, protects him from Soldier Boy, and treats his safety as a household responsibility 105 106 175 178.
• John — His martial arts student. John’s use of Noir’s techniques against Soldier Boy becomes an emotionally significant reversal of their former powerlessness 106 130 167.
• Annie — Drawing companion and art student; her uncomplicated affection helps draw him into family life 83 85 91 106.
• Reggie — Gaming rival and fellow household member who helps rescue him on the Cross-sea Bridge 106 165.
• Soldier Boy / Benjamin — Former abusive superior whom Noir betrayed to the Russians. Their relationship later changes into shared household life after Soldier Boy apologizes 161 178.
• Stan Edgar — Former commander who deploys him as an assassin and surveillance operative, then trades his transfer to Lynn for access to John’s power 33 67 105.
• Madelyn — Vought superior who orders treatment for his injuries and later risks leaking Soldier Boy’s return to warn him 9 250.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — Students whom he trains in practical combat and attempts to protect during the Bigfoot Gang’s ambush 201 211 217.
• Buddy — Familiar household companion whom Noir readily pets and patiently tolerates 106 195.