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Edmund "Eddie" Black was a powerful mob boss and rival to Robert G. Durant, who controlled the waterfront section of the city.
History[]
Eddie Black had arranged a meeting with Durant in one of his warehouses near the waterfront. Being guarded by numerous henchmen and having Durant and his crew's weapons frisked away prior to the meeting, Eddie expressed displeasure at the very thought of being muscled out of his own territory and refused to sell his property to Durant. Eddie then threatened to make an example out of them by "cutting their balls off", unbeknownst to him that one of Durant's men, Skip, had a machine gun installed in his prosthetic leg. Seeing no reason to continue negotiations peacefully, Durant ordered his men to start killing off Eddie's men. Despite being outnumbered, Durant and his men were able to wipe out Eddie's gang and by the end of the chaotic firefight, Eddie was the only one left standing. Cornered by his adversary, Eddie was constrained by Guzman and Pauly while Durant himself began torturing Eddie by using his golden cigar trimmer to sever the defeated mobster's fingers one by one.
Appearances in other media[]
Comics[]
Eddie Black appeared in the comic book adaptation of the first film, where his negotiation with Durant transpired similarly to the film version.
Eddie also appeared in the succeeding 1993 comic revealing that Durant had spared Eddie's life, but as the result of Durant's torture, he was forced to replace both his hands with mechanical ones each modified to funtion similarly to guns. Eddie was able to restore his criminal organization with the help of the Metropolitan Club, courtesy of Commissioner Sanford Lowell. Eddie arranged a meeting with Scars, a local gangster once allied to Durant, demanding that the waterfront be returned to him as it was originally his territory. Once Scars refused the offer, Eddie proceeded to gun the gangster down with his new hands and ordered his men to wipe out the rest of Scars' gang. Successful in reclaiming his territory, Eddie sent his regards to Commissioner Lowell for his help.
After Darkman attacked several criminal rackets, Eddie was contacted by Lowell who offered police protection against the rampaging vigilante. Eddie chose to decline the commissioner's offer, confident that he could take on Darkman on his own. Darkman eventually intercepted one of Eddie's calls, accusing him of hiding Durant. Eddie slams the phone, calling him crazy as Durant is dead. One of Eddie's henchmen advises him to take on Lowell's offer before things get out of hand, but he again rejects it, stating that he doesn't need anybody's help. Darkman then infiltrated Eddie's warehouse, wreaking havoc inside. Waiting in his office, Eddie sent his hechman, Pfarrer, to go check on the situation. Moments later, a fearful Pfarrer returned, informing Eddie that Darkman had dispatched all of his men. Pfarrer suggests that Eddie should give in to Darkman's demand by revealing Durant's "whereabouts". Realizing that Pfarrer was an impostor, Eddie shots him, but his bullets had no effect on Darkman. As the two grapple, Darkman again accusses Eddie of hiding Durant, but he denies this, stating repeatedly that Durant is dead. Darkman eventually overpowers Eddie and rips off both of his mechanical hands. Seeing his hands gone, Eddie knelt down and breaks down into tears, swearing that Durant is really dead. Seeing Eddie now a broken man, Darkman finally believed the mobster's words and left him alone.
Behind the scenes[]
Eddie Black was portrayed by the late Jessie Lawrence Ferguson.