The Darkness Wiki
Advertisement
The Darkness Wiki

"My name is Jackie Estacado. Few years ago, I was nothin'. My life was just another sob story. That is, until fate came callin'. And with it, came power."
Jackie Estacado. [src]

Jackie Estacado is the current human host of the Darkness, which awakened within him on the night of his 21st birthday. Jackie is an Italian-American ex-contract killer of the Franchetti crime family led by his "uncle" Paulie Franchetti. After killing both Paulie and Eddie Shrote in revenge for the murder of his girlfriend, Jenny Romano, Jackie became the don of the Franchetti family after he was offered the position by Jimmy "The Grape".

Jackie spent the next two years learning about The Darkness, as well as how to contain him. With the help of Johnny Powell, Jackie was finally able to contain the Darkness.

Biography

Early Life

After the death of his parents at a very young age, Jackie was enrolled at St. Mary's Orphanage where he spent the majority of his childhood. This is where he met his future girlfriend, Jenny Romano. During his time at the orphanage, he nailed a frog to the front door. He was adopted by Paulie Franchetti of the Franchetti crime family when he was 12. Paulie only took in Jackie due to his need for another hit man and spent the majority of the time they spent together teaching him the inner workings of the family; however, Jackie reminisces on one time when Paulie took him to the subway to count the trains for vacation.

Jackie calls it "the best two days they ever spent together." He had his first kiss with a hooker named Candy down in the train station, and he knew a guy named Mickey Fat Lips who would feed subway tokens to his cat.

The Darkness

"I remember the night of my 21st birthday, That was the first time I died."
Jackie narrating his story. [src]

The player takes the role of Jackie Estacado, with the story presented as a future-narrative on the present events observed by the player. On the eve of his 21st birthday, Jackie was targeted for assassination by the don of the New York mafia, "Uncle" Paulie Franchetti following a failed task to retrieve money for the latter. While hiding in a cemetery bathroom, the Darkness, an ancient force that has inhabited his family for several generations, awakens within Jackie and slaughters the remaining mobsters, with the benefit of Jackie becoming the possessor of seemingly unholy demonic abilities that feed off the dark.

Using these powers, Jackie is able to survive further assassination attempts and track down Paulie, but not before Paulie and the corrupt police chief, Eddie Shrote, kidnap Jackie's girlfriend, Jenny Romano. They took her to the orphanage where Jackie and Jenny grew up, and murdered her in front of a powerless Jackie, unable to save Jenny due to the Darkness deliberately restraining him.

He commits suicide out of sheer emotional stress, finding himself in the Otherworld, the realm of The Darkness with patchwork undead beings in World War I outfits fighting each other, and physical manifestations of The Four Horsemen. He meets his great-great-grandfather Anthony Estacado, who admits that it was he that brought the Darkness into the family, and tells Jackie how to free himself of The Darkness by invading the castle in the Otherworld and facing The Darkness there. Jackie is interrupted in his journey through the Otherworld and brought back to the living.

Once he recovers, he determines that he must dispose of Chief Shrote before he can face Paulie. Chasing Shrote to his apartment and then confiscating a briefcase containing illicit goods in Shrote's ownership and rigging it with an explosive, Jackie is able to lure Shrote out of hiding, but he is later shortly captured. After overhearing about a shipment of drugs that a Chicago mob is entrusting Paulie to handle, Jackie triggers the explosive, killing Shrote and his men along with himself. Jackie re-awakes in the Otherworld, and lays siege to the Darkness' castle with Anthony's help. Anthony is mortally wounded in the attack, but before he can tell Jackie the last steps needed to free himself from the Darkness, the spirit pulls him away.

Jackie faces the Darkness and surprises him by willingly being taken by the Darkness' power, allowing him to fully control the spirit back in the real world, however the Darkness tells him that while he has control now, each time Jackie takes a life, he will become more consumed by the Darkness. He lays an assault on the drug shipment, causing Paulie to flee to the safety of a lighthouse mansion for fear of retribution from the Chicago mob. Jackie takes advantage of a solar eclipse to raid the mansion and finally kill Paulie. The Darkness revels in Jackie's murderous spree, and fully envelops Jackie.

In the epilogue, Jackie finds himself in a dream in a park, lying on a bench in Jenny's arms. Jenny explains that they are only allowed a few minutes to be together one last time to say goodbye. Jackie tries to ask how, but Jenny just quiets him, allowing them to enjoy the last moments together before Jackie wakes up with the screen fading to black.

The Darkness II

Two years since the events of the first game, Jackie Estacado has become the don of the Franchetti crime family. Though he still wields the Darkness, a malevolent force that has given him supernatural powers, Jackie has suppressed the entity, thanks to guidance from estranged occultist Johnny Powell. Jackie still struggles with the death of his girlfriend, Jenny Romano, which the Darkness had prevented him from stopping.

Jackie and his gang are attacked by a rival mob at a restaurant. After being rescued from the building, a mysterious figure appears and tells henchmen working for him to continue pressing the attack. While under attack, the Darkness calls to Jackie, demanding him to embrace the spirit. Jackie relinquishes, and with the Darkness' regenerative powers, stops the attacks and pursues the attackers into the subway. There, he reunites with the Darkling, part of his sub-consciousness created by the Darkness. He observes a vision of Jenny nearby, and ends up being run over by a passing train. As before, the Darkness refuses to allow Jackie to die. Jackie wakes up in what appears to be a psychiatric ward, where Jenny and members of his mob appear as doctors, nurses, and fellow patients, telling him that his mob stories are simply hallucinations inspired by mafia fiction. One of the patients appears to be Johnny, who tells Jackie to find him.

Jackie wakes up in the subway, regroups with his men, and uses them to find and bring Johnny to his penthouse suite. Johnny explains that Jackie is being pursued by an organization called the Brotherhood who seek the Darkness' powers for themselves, using the Siphon, an object created by an entity called the Angelus to contain the Darkness. Johnny provides a lead to the Brotherhood's location at a nearby brothel.

Jackie gains entry through help of a prostitute, Venus, and finds that the Brotherhood has been tracking him, his gang, and his family for many years, before he is captured by their leader, Victor Valente. Victor orders Jackie to be crucified, and demands Jackie to release the Darkness to him, revealing that they have taken over his suite. Jackie refuses and falls unconscious from blood loss, but after another brief vision of the psychiatric ward, the Darkness heals Jackie and awakens him. Jackie escapes the brothel, set aflame by the Brotherhood, and races for his suite, mounting an attack with his men against the Brotherhood. Jackie's Aunt Sara dies in the attack as they reclaimed the suite.

At Sara's funeral, Victor launches another attack against Jackie. In battle with Bragg, one of Victor's henchmen, Bragg reveals that Victor is operating out of an abandoned theme park. Jackie kills Bragg, and then orders his men to stay low while he alone travels to the park, where more visions of Jenny appear. He is soon captured by Victor in an iron maiden, and loses consciousness from blood loss. Again, he wakes in the ward, but the janitor - acting as his Darkling - warns him that this ward is a trap for Jackie to keep him alive and away from Jenny who is still alive but in Hell. Jackie eventually wakens in the real world, The Darkness drained by Victor. The Darkling helps Jackie to escape and defeat Mr. Peevish, another henchmen of Victor given some of the Darkness' powers.

Though Jackie recovers these for himself, they are but a shell of the full power of The Darkness, and pursues Victor, discovering they have taken him to his father's mansion. Engaging Victor in a battle to recover The Darkness, Victor reveals that Jackie's father had promised the Brotherhood the Darkness but failed to heed this. Eventually, Jackie defeats Victor and recovers the Siphon. Jackie stabs himself with it, retaking The Darkness but forcing him back to the ward dream.

Now aware that the ward is a dream, Jackie attempts to kill himself within it, the Darkling sacrificing itself to aid in this effort. Here, the player can decide to stay with Jenny on the belief this is reality, upon which Jackie and Jenny slowly dance.

Instead, the player can opt to throw Jackie over the edge of the building, sending Jackie into Hell realm. Jackie fights the Darkness' forces to release Jenny, who at first thanks Jackie for his help, but soon is transformed into the Angelus. Though Jenny is still alive within her and loves Jackie, the Angelus has seen the destruction that Jackie and the Darkness have caused, and leaves them trapped in Hell as she leaves.

Personality

Jackie Estacado is a mobster originally from an orphanage, able to kill with little, if any, remorse. His upbringing and independence, as a result of his circumstances, helped contribute to his ruthlessness and success as a hitman. As a result, his performance in the mob irked Paulie eventually leading to a hit being put out on Jackie after a failed job. When his powers awakened, Jackie went from a cunning mobster to an extremely powerful killing machine as a result of the Darkness influencing, controlling and giving Jackie its powers. Despite this, he still possesses compassion and selflessness for his friends and the family. He believes in the original codes of the crime family, something that Paulie wouldn't acknowledge. This outlook attracted the older members of the family into taking Jackie's side and eventually leading to him being the new head. He enjoys the freedoms and vices of the job, and is willing to follow orders, but he wasn't blindly loyal to Paulie, and was willing to kill him after his attempted murder at the beginning of the first game. Despite his rank and life as a mobster, Jackie does not mind helping common people out which is seen in the first game when he willingly tries to help and solve other people's issues.

Jackie is shown to be a calm and collected as well as cunning individual after his first death. After learning that he cannot die, he proceeds to take out Paulie in some reckless ways and exact his revenge using his contacts such as Butcher Joyce. In the face of torture, Jackie continued to mock and belittle his captors while waiting for an opportunity. It's possible that Jackie has this confidence because he knows that he cannot permanently die and as such, has little to nothing left to lose which is in contrast to before when he immediately shot himself after Jenny's death.

As the new Don, Jackie was more "hands-on" than Paulie, as well as being more forgiving, but was still ruthless and dangerous when enraged. His lingering guilt over the death of his girlfriend still haunt him and proves to be a massive hurdle in his personal life. He constantly talks about her during loading screens, is haunted by apparitions of her during the game and was willing to betray the Darkness and try to free her from Hell.

Powers & Abilities

Current Powers

"The first time you use the Darkness, it scares you. But once you've tasted it... you can't stop. It's all you think about. Like I said, it consumes you."
Jackie regarding the Darkness. [src]
  • Darkness: As host of the Darkness, Jackie possesses seemingly unholy Demonic abilities.
    • Demon Heads: When using the Darkness, two serpent-like heads protrude from Jackie's back and serve as his primary weapons. They can devour hearts that replenish health and Darkness Energy. After the two year gap of not using the Darkness, the heads gain new appearance and abilities. The right Serpent Head can be used to attack in a slashing motion, and the left can be used to grab objects and enemies. They can also be used for special takedowns.
      • Swarm Conjuration: Through Demon Heads, Jackie can spit out a green cloud of flesh eating insects infused with Darkness energy that clings to and damages enemies, immobilizing them.
    • Darkling Conjuration: Jackie can conjure different types of imp-like Darklings that can attack foes and move cars. Some types even come with additional weapons like machetes or gatling guns and can also emit electricity or self-destruct themselves in powerful explosions. After not using the Darkness for two years, Jackie could only summon one Darkling. This particular Darkling was much more intelligent and independent than previous Jackie's creations.
    • Black Hole Conjuration: Jackie can conjure a small piece of Darkness and cause it collapse in on itself, creating a vortex of death. After not using the Darkness for two years, hole would also explode after sucking up everything around it.
    • Gun Channelling: Jackie can channel his Darkness power through whatever weapon used at the moment, increasing their power dramatically and giving infinite ammunition until the power times out. With upgrades, it can also auto-target enemies with dual-wielded weapons and allow Jackie to see and shoot through walls.
    • Darkness Armor: After two year gap of not using the Darkness, Jackie could now create a protective armor around his body. The armor was strong enough to let Jackie survive longer in the direct gunfire.
    • Healing Factor: The Darkness can heal any wounds Jackie receives, no matter how serious they are. Through out the two games, Jackie was brought back to life after shooting himself in the head and being caught in multiple explosions. The Darkness also healed Jackie's burned leg during the restaurant shoot out, his pierced palms and the damage received from the direct blast of a shotgun to the chest. Although if the damage is too great to heal immediately, the Darkness will put Jackie in one of its worlds, while it repairs its host body.
    • Levitation: After releasing the Darkness in the second game, Jackie is seen levitating up in the air. When the Darkness finishes killing the attackers and healing his leg, Jackie comes back to the ground.
    • Near Invincibility: As a host to The Darkness, Jackie is seemingly invincible as whenever he is killed in a scripted sequence such as after Jennie's death, he is brought to an Otherworld to reside in while the Darkness repairs his body. In the first game it is depicted as a hellscape with an ongoing war between unkillable beings, in the second game it's shown as a mental hospital to trick Jackie as a method to prevent him from giving up his powers. Jackie's body appears to still be active during these sections shown when he first gets back up after dying to The Darkness executing a person.

Former Powers

  • Demon Arm: Jackie could conjure a giant tentacle to impale foes, break down walls or break street lamps. After two years of not using the Darkness, Jackie seems to have lost this ability.
  • Creeping Darkness: By detaching a tentacle from his body, Jackie could send it out/control it to scout or kill opponents without approaching them himself. The tentacle can also flip switches, knock out light sources and destroy locks however, it leaves Jackie completely defenceless as he's the one controlling the tentacle. This ability is replaced with the addition of the sole Darkling in the second game which Jackie can sometimes inhibit in scripted sequences. Whether Jackie willingly does not or cannot use this power is unknown.
  • Darkness Guns: Jackie can conjure two powerful guns out of thin air. The Darkness guns act as something like infinite-ammo weapons that draw upon your Darkness Energy instead of physical ammo. There are two of them, both shaped like pistols: the one on the right will fire small bolts of darkness, and acts like an SMG, while the one on the left will fire something similar to a sonic boom and kill most enemies on impact and damaging everything in a small area. This power also came with a downside as the ammunition is dark energy which The Darkness requires in order to manifest itself. Use of the guns can cause the Darkness to withdraw much quicker when exposed to a light source as a result. After two years of not using the Darkness, Jackie seems to have lost this ability or replaced it with Gun Channelling.

Abilities

  • Master Marksman: Jackie is highly proficient in all kinds of fire arms, from pistols to shotguns. When equipped with multiple of the same guns, he has the ability to dual wield both and successfully aim and kill his targets. Aiming with a single gun can be mastered with practice but to accurately fire two guns at the same times requires even more skill.
  • Natural Leadership: Jackie's ability to recruit and impress others to his cause can be seen when he's brought forward as a candidate to take over the family at the age of only 21. He went on to successfully run the family after killing Paulie as seen in The Darkness 2.

Trivia

  • Jackie was sixteen years old when he made his first kill.
  • Jackie has "Memento Mori" tattooed on the left side of his neck. Translated from Latin it means "remember (that) you will die".

Gallery

The Darkness

The Darkness II

Advertisement