Publisher: Marvel Comics
First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy #7,2005
Created by:
Alias: Unknown
Citizenship: Wakanda
Height: 6’ 1” Weight: 182 lbs.
Eye Color: Brown Hair Color: Brown
Relatives: Zari (Wife), Two unidentified daughters, Kal’ti (Cousin)
Skills and Abilities: Khanata’s SHIELD, Hatut Zeraze, army training and considerable experience in the field have familiarized him with a variety of conventional and advanced armaments. Specializing in Wakandan weaponry, he is a formidable hand-to-hand opponent as well. Khanata usually wields a handgun.
Powers: None
Biography
Derek Khanata and his family are members of Wakanda’s Ghudazai ethnic minority. Derek was born late in the reign of King T’chaka, when jobs for Ghudazai were scarce, so he joined the army at a young age. His skills brought him to the attention of T’chaka’s adopted son Hunter, aka The White Wolf. Hunter recruited Khanata into his Hatut Zeraze (Dogs of War), the Wakandan political police who ruthlessly persecuted any dissent to T’chaka’s rule. As part of his initiation, Hunter branded Derek’s cheeks to mark him as a Hatut Zeraze for the rest of his life. Once Khanata discovered his Hatut Zeraze duties would include torture and assassination, he quickly became disgusted with his job but was hesitant to leave because the White Wolf horrifically punished Deserters [Official handbook of the Marvel Universe A TO Z update #2, 2010].
Khanata found his chance for escape upon the death of T’chaka and the ascension of Prince T’challa to the throne. Hunter immediately began plotting a coup to seize power from his brother, but Khanata warned the new king in time. The furious T’challa dissolved the Hatut Zeraze and exiled Hunter from Wakanda. Nevertheless, Hatut Zeraze informants and sympathizers still remained throughout the country, and T’challa feared for the safety of Khanata’s family if anyone discovered he had betrayed Hunter. The Black Panther arranged for Khanata to be transferred to the United Nations counter terrorism organization SHIELD and Khanata moved his family to New York City. Because Khanata had served in the secret police, a personal recommendation from T’challa was necessary to persuade director Nick Fury to accept Khanata. He proved to be one of Fury’s most able agents, employing technicians Ayna Sareva and Noriko Nagayoshi in his personal squad. Khanata was charged with running the freelance SHIELD operative Carmilla Black, codenamed Scorpion, who most of the world believed to be a costumed Superhero. With scorpion, Khanata’s cell thwarted an AIM attack on fort Derek, Maryland and nearly apprehended AIM supreme scientist Monica Rappaccini in Australia; in the course of his mission scorpion was forced to allow a terrorist attack on the Sudan. The Sudanese held Khanata responsible, but Nick refused to release him to them. Subsequently Khanata had scorpion investigate AIM’S research into the mysterious UNI-Power in upstate New York ad supervised her encounters with Hulk (Bruce Banner) in Australia and Venom (Marc Gargan) in Manhattan [Official handbook of the Marvel Universe A TO Z update #2, 2010].
Khanata was placed in charge of Shield investigation of agent Jimmy Woo, who was nearly killed while investigating his old enemy yellow claw, and then kidnapped from his hospital bed by his 1950’s allies who briefly comprised “The G-Men”. Khanata was kidnapped by Woo’s team and forced to accompany them as they exposed the many arms of the Claw’s empire, the Atlas Foundation. Khanata joined the team as they finally invaded the Claw’s San Francisco base, only for Woo to be offered leadership of the organization from Claw himself. Woo accepted and his team became Agents of Atlas; Khanta was set free, telling SHIELD the heroes were all dead to help them maintain their new cover [Official handbook of the Marvel Universe A TO Z update #2, 2010].
Khanata was given a place on SHIELD’s directorate council for his work on this assignment. Khanata hired Rocket Racer (Robert Farrell as a mole in Modok’s minions during their attempt to steal the Hypernova, a cosmic power source, but Rocket Racer lost the Hypernova to AIM. Around the same time, Scorpion quit SHIELD in the belief that they had withheld data on her father’s identity. After SHIELD was dismantled in favour of Norman Osborn’s agency HAMMER, Khanata was out of work and unable to obtain a place with any other intelligence organization. However Jimmy Woo gave Khanata an overseer’s position in Atlas Foundation. Reunited with his old friends, Khanata soon joined them in the field when a rogue Atlas lab in Nevada unleashed an army of mutation against the Hulk, THEN AIDED IN THE BATTLE AGAINST THE Jade Claw, ruler of Atlus splinter group, the Great Wall [Official handbook of the Marvel Universe A TO Z update #2, 2010].
His current whereabouts are unknown.
