Earth-982 native Reilly Tyne is the son of Elizabeth Tyne and Spider-Man’s clone Ben Reilly. Orphaned as a young child, he was briefly placed with his maternal aunt and uncle, but they were abusive addicts and he soon moved through a succession of foster homes. Developing superhuman abilities at puberty, he used them to get out of small brushes with the law. Meanwhile, the Spider-Man clone Kaine watched over him as a guardian angel of sorts. At the age of 13, cellular degeneration related to his clone heritage led to debilitating pain. Kaine took the boy to his lair, placing him in suspended animation. Kaine visited often and told Reilly of his family’s history, impacting the sleeping boy’s subconscious.
Kaine later brought a critically wounded Daredevil to the same lab where Reilly was held. Kaine offered his soul to the demon Zarathos in exchange for saving Daredevil's life, but the demon instead claimed the slumbering Reilly, whom he altered into an older youth exhibiting physical signs of demonic possession. Daredevil’s disembodied spirit intervened, entering Reilly’s body alongside Zarathos. The two spirits warred within Reilly until Daredevil drove out most of the demon’s essence. Healed by the demon’s power but still physically altered by Zarathos, Reilly later learned to hide his true appearance. Guided by Daredevil’s psychic presence, Reilly became the costumed Darkdevil and entered law school, eventually securing a position at Daredevil’s old law firm in New York. After fighting crime for some time, establishing himself as a grim and gritty hero with a sarcastic sense of humor, Darkdevil encountered Spider-Girl early in her career. Fearing for his cousin’s life, Darkdevil tried to convince her to give up super-heroics. The two of them grew to respect one another’s abilities, teaming up against menaces such as Crazy Eight, Killer-Watt and Funny Face.
Darkdevil also paid regular visits to the imprisoned Kingpin of Crime, who was trying to control the underworld from his cell. Darkdevil successfully halted the Kingpin’s attempt to fix the city’s mayoral election, but the affair brought him into conflict with Zarathos once more. Hosted by Scrier Prime, Zarathos badly wounded Darkdevil but was eventually defeated and driven into hiding.
Recently, Darkdevil was nearly killed by Venom and the Goblin Queen, allowing the shard of Zarathos within him to dominate his form. Doc Mangus and Doctor Strange journeyed into Darkdevil’s spiritual landscape and helped Daredevil free Reilly. His spiritual balance restored, Darkdevil later battled a Loki-controlled Spider-Man. He remains one of his city’s greatest champions.
