text:
List of rivers of Delaware

List of rivers in Delaware (U.S. state), grouped by type and sorted by name.

Major rivers and creeks (28)

 * Appoquinimink River
 * Blackbird Creek
 * Brandywine Creek
 * Broad Creek
 * Broadkill River
 * Choptank River
 * Christina River
 * Delaware River
 * Hershey Run
 * Indian River
 * Leipsic River
 * Lingo Creek
 * Little River
 * Marshyhope Creek
 * Mill Creek
 * Mispillion River
 * Murderkill River
 * Naamans Creek
 * Nanticoke River
 * Pepper Creek
 * Pocomoke River
 * Red Clay Creek
 * St. Jones River
 * Sassafras River
 * Shellpot Creek
 * Simons River
 * Smyrna River
 * White Clay Creek

All named streams (437)

 * Agricultural Ditch, Sussex County
 * Ake Ditch, Sussex County
 * Alapocas Run, New Castle County
 * Allabands Mill Stream (Isaac [[Branch tributary)|Allabands Mill Stream]], Kent County
 * Alms House Ditch, Sussex County
 * Almshouse Branch, Kent County
 * Alston Branch, Kent County
 * Angle Rod Creek, New Castle County
 * Appoquinimink River, New Castle County
 * Army Creek, New Castle County
 * Arnell Creek, Sussex County
 * Ash Gut, Kent County
 * Asketum Branch, Sussex County
 * Augustine Creek, New Castle County
 * Back Creek, New Castle County
 * Bacon Island Creek, Sussex County
 * Baker Mill Branch, Sussex County
 * Bald Cypress Branch, Sussex County
 * Bald Eagle Creek, Sussex County
 * Barlow Branch, New Castle County
 * Batson Branch, Sussex County
 * Beachy Neidig Ditch, Kent County
 * Bearhole Ditch, Sussex County
 * Beaver Branch, New Castle County
 * Beaver Creek, New Castle County
 * Beaver Dam Branch, Sussex County
 * Beaver Gut Ditch, Kent County
 * Beaverdam Creek, Sussex County
 * Bee Branch, Sussex County
 * Belltown Run, New Castle County
 * Bennefield Branch, Kent County
 * Big Ditch, The, New Castle County
 * Big Mill Branch, Sussex County
 * Black Arm Prong, Kent County
 * Black Savannah Ditch, Sussex County
 * Black Stallion Ditch, New Castle County
 * Black Swamp Creek, Kent County
 * Blackbird Creek, New Castle County
 * Blackwater Creek, Sussex County
 * Blackwater Creek, Sussex County
 * Blanco Ditch, Kent County
 * Bogy Run, New Castle County
 * Booth Branch, Kent County
 * Bowman Branch, Sussex County
 * Brandywine Creek, New Castle County
 * Brasures Branch, Sussex County
 * Bridgeville Branch, Sussex County
 * Bright Haines Glade Branch, Kent County
 * Brights Branch, Sussex County
 * Brittingham Branch, Sussex County
 * Broad Creek, Sussex County
 * Broadkill River, Sussex County
 * Brockonbridge Gut, Kent County
 * Browns Branch, Kent County
 * Bucks Branch, Sussex County
 * Bullock Prong, Kent County
 * Bundicks Branch, Sussex County
 * Buntings Branch, Sussex County
 * Burrows Run, New Castle County
 * Burrsville Branch, Kent County
 * Burton Prong, Sussex County
 * Butler Mill Branch, Sussex County
 * Cahoon Branch, Kent County
 * Canary Creek, Sussex County
 * Carney Run, New Castle County
 * Cart Branch, Sussex County
 * Cattail Branch, Kent County
 * Cedar Creek, New Castle County
 * Cedar Creek, Sussex County
 * Chapel Branch, Sussex County
 * Chapel Branch, Sussex County
 * Cherry Walk Creek, Sussex County
 * Chestnut Run, New Castle County
 * Choptank River, Kent County
 * Christina River, New Castle County
 * Church Branch, Sussex County
 * Clarksville Branch, Sussex County
 * Clear Brook, Sussex County
 * Cod Creek, Sussex County
 * Coffee Run, New Castle County
 * Cohee Prong, Kent County
 * Collins Creek, Sussex County
 * Connelly Mill Branch, Sussex County
 * Cool Branch, Sussex County
 * Cooper Branch, Sussex County
 * Copper Branch, Kent County
 * Corks Point Ditch, New Castle County
 * Cow Bridge Branch, Sussex County
 * Cow Marsh Creek, Kent County
 * Cowhouse Branch, Sussex County
 * Crony Pond Branch, Sussex County
 * Crooked Creek, Sussex County
 * Crystal Run, New Castle County
 * Culbreth Marsh Ditch, Kent County
 * Cypress Branch, Kent County
 * Cypress Branch, New Castle County
 * Deep Branch, Sussex County
 * Deep Branch, Sussex County
 * Deep Branch, Sussex County
 * Deep Creek, New Castle County
 * Deep Creek Sussex County
 * Deep Hole Branch, Sussex County
 * Delaware River, New Castle County
 * Derrickson Ditch, Sussex County
 * Devious Branch, Kent County
 * Dirickson Creek, Sussex County
 * Ditch Creek, Sussex County
 * Dogwood Branch, New Castle County
 * Doll Run, New Castle County
 * Dorman Branch, Sussex County
 * Doty Glade, Sussex County
 * Double Fork Branch, Sussex County
 * Double Run, Kent County
 * Dragon Creek, New Castle County
 * Drawyer Creek, New Castle County
 * Drum Creek, Sussex County
 * Duck Creek, Kent County
 * Duck Creek, Kent County
 * Dukes and Jobs Ditch, Sussex County
 * Dukes Ditch, Sussex County
 * Dutton Ditch, Sussex County
 * Dyke Branch, Kent County
 * East Branch Christina River, New Castle County
 * Ebenezer Branch, Sussex County
 * Eli Walls Ditch, Sussex County
 * Elliott Pond Branch, Sussex County
 * Fairfield Run, New Castle County
 * Fan Branch, Kent County
 * Finis Branch, Kent County
 * Fisher Creek, Sussex County
 * Fishing Branch, Kent County
 * Fishing Creek, New Castle County
 * Fivefoot Prong, Kent County
 * Fork Branch, Kent County
 * Fork Number One Pepper Creek, Sussex County
 * Freidel Prong, Sussex County
 * Gambles Gut, New Castle County
 * Georgetown-Vaughn Ditch, Sussex County
 * Gilbert Trivitts Ditch, Sussex County
 * Gill Branch, Sussex County
 * Gills Branch, Sussex County
 * Glade Branch, Sussex County
 * Gordon Branch, Sussex County
 * Goslee Creek, Sussex County
 * Graham Branch, Sussex County
 * Gravelly Branch, Kent County
 * Gravelly Branch, Sussex County
 * Gravelly Ditch, Sussex County
 * Gravelly Run, Kent County
 * Grays Branch, Sussex County
 * Grays Prong, Sussex County
 * Great Bohemia Creek, New Castle County
 * Greens Branch, Kent County
 * Green Briar Branch, Sussex County
 * Green Creek, Kent County
 * Green Spring Branch, New Castle County
 * Greenlees Ditch, Kent County
 * Green Branch, Kent County
 * Grubby Neck Branch, Sussex County
 * Guinea Creek, Sussex County
 * Gully Camp Ditch, Sussex County
 * Gum Branch, Sussex County
 * Gum Branch, Sussex County
 * Gum Branch, Sussex County
 * Guthrie Branch, New Castle County
 * Hangmans Run, New Castle County
 * Harrington Beaverdam Ditch, Kent County
 * Hawkey Branch, Kent County
 * Hawks Inlet (historical), Kent County
 * Heron Drain, Kent County
 * Herring Branch, Kent County
 * Herring Branch, New Castle County
 * Herring Branch, Sussex County
 * Herring Branch, Sussex County
 * Herring Creek, Sussex County
 * Herring Run, New Castle County
 * Herring Run, Sussex County
 * Herron Run, Kent County
 * Hickman Ditch, Kent County
 * Hill Savannah Ditch, Sussex County
 * Hitch Pond Branch, Sussex County
 * Holland Glade, Sussex County
 * Holly Branch, Sussex County
 * Hopkins Prong, Kent County
 * Hopkins Prong,	Sussex County
 * Horse Pen Branch, Sussex County
 * Horse Pound Swamp Ditch, Sussex County
 * Horsepen Arm, Kent County
 * Horsepen Ditch, Kent County
 * Houston Branch, Sussex County
 * Houston-Thorogood Ditch, Sussex County
 * Hudson Branch, Kent County
 * Hurley Drain, Sussex County
 * Hurricane Run, New Castle County
 * Husbands Run, New Castle County
 * Hyde Run, New Castle County
 * Improvement Branch, Kent County
 * Indian Branch, Kent County
 * Indian River, Sussex County
 * Ingram Branch, Kent County
 * Ingram Branch,	Sussex County
 * Ingram Branch,	Sussex County
 * Iron Branch, Sussex County
 * Iron Mine Branch, Sussex County
 * Iron Mine Prong, Kent County
 * Isaac Branch, Kent County
 * Island Creek, Sussex County
 * Island Pond Marsh Ditch, Kent County
 * Isaac Branch, Kent County
 * Jackson Branch, Sussex County
 * Jackson Prong,	Kent County
 * James Branch, Sussex County
 * Jamison Branch, Kent County
 * Jobs Ditch, Sussex County
 * Johnson Branch, Sussex County
 * Johnson Branch, Sussex County
 * Jones Branch, Sussex County
 * Jones Mill Branch, Sussex County
 * Jordan Branch,	Kent County
 * Joy Run, New Castle County
 * Kent-Sussex Line Branch, Kent County
 * Kings Causeway Branch,	Kent County
 * Lamborn Run, New Castle County
 * Layton-Vaughn Ditch, Sussex County
 * Leathermans Run, New Castle County
 * Lednum Branch,	Kent County
 * Lee Joseph Creek, Sussex County
 * Leipsic River, Kent County
 * Lewes Creek, Sussex County
 * Lewis Prong, Sussex County
 * Lingo Creek, Sussex County
 * Little Creek, Sussex County
 * Little Mill Creek, New Castle County
 * Little River, Kent County
 * Long Branch, Sussex County
 * Long Creek, New Castle County
 * Long Drain Ditch, Sussex County
 * Lost Stream, New Castle County
 * Love Creek, Sussex County
 * Luther Marvel Prong, Kent County
 * Mahon River, Kent County
 * Maidstone Branch, Kent County
 * Maple Branch, Sussex County
 * Maple Marsh and Beaver Dam Branch, Sussex County
 * Marshyhope Ditch,	Kent County
 * Martin Branch,	Sussex County
 * Massey Branch, New Castle County
 * Matson Run, New Castle County
 * Mayer Branch, Sussex County
 * McColleys Branch, Sussex County
 * McCrays Branch, Sussex County
 * McGee Ditch, Sussex County
 * Meadow Branch, Sussex County
 * Meredith Branch, Kent County
 * Middle Run, New Castle County
 * Mifflin Ditch,	Sussex County
 * Mill Branch, Sussex County
 * Mill Creek, Kent County
 * Mill Creek (White Clay Creek tributary), New Castle County
 * Mill Creek, New Castle County
 * Miller Creek, Sussex County
 * Mirey Branch, Sussex County
 * Mispillion River, Sussex County
 * Mockingbird Creek, Sussex County
 * Mockingbird Creek, Sussex County
 * Morgan Branch,	Kent County
 * Morgan Branch,	Sussex County
 * Morris Branch, New Castle County
 * Morris Branch,	Sussex County
 * Muddy Bottom Ditch, Kent County
 * Muddy Branch, Kent County
 * Muddy Run, New Castle County
 * Mullet Run, Kent County
 * Munchy Branch,	Sussex County
 * Murderkill River, Kent County
 * Naamans Creek, New Castle County
 * Narrow Ditch, Sussex County
 * New Ditch, Sussex County
 * Newell Branch,	Kent County
 * Nonesuch Creek, New Castle County
 * North Fork Green Run, Sussex County
 * North Prong, Sussex County
 * Number One Prong, Sussex County
 * Number Two Prong, Kent County
 * Old Baptist Church Branch, Kent County
 * Old Forge Branch, Sussex County
 * Old Mill Creek, Sussex County
 * Old Slaughter Creek, Sussex County
 * Owens Branch, Sussex County
 * Owens Branch, Sussex County
 * Parker and Sampson Ditch, Sussex County
 * Parker Branch, Sussex County
 * Parnell Branch, Kent County
 * Paw Paw Branch, New Castle County
 * Pemberton Branch, Sussex County
 * Penrose Branch, Kent County
 * Pepper Branch, Sussex County
 * Pepper Creek, Sussex County
 * Perch Creek, New Castle County
 * Perkins Run, New Castle County
 * Persimmon Run, New Castle County
 * Peterkins Branch, Sussex County
 * Phillips Branch, Sussex County
 * Phillips Ditch, Sussex County
 * Pigeon Run, New Castle County
 * Pike Creek, New Castle County
 * Piney Branch, Sussex County
 * Pinks Branch, Kent County
 * Pipe Elm Branch, Kent County
 * Plum Creek, Sussex County
 * Point Branch, Kent County
 * Polk Branch, Sussex County
 * Polly Branch, Sussex County
 * Pot Hook Creek, Sussex County
 * Powell Ditch, Kent County
 * Pratt Branch, Kent County
 * Presbyterian Branch, Sussex County
 * Price Prong, Kent County
 * Primehook Creek, Sussex County
 * Prong Number One, Sussex County, Delaware
 * Prong Number Two, Kent County
 * Prospect Branch, Kent County
 * Providence Creek, Kent County
 * Puncheon Run, Kent County
 * Quarter Branch, Kent County
 * Raccoon Ditch, Sussex County
 * Raccoon Prong, Sussex County
 * Ramsey Run, New Castle County
 * Red Clay Creek, New Castle County
 * Red House Branch, Kent County
 * Red Lion Creek, New Castle County
 * Rocky Run, New Castle County
 * Rogers Branch, Sussex County
 * Ross Prong, Kent County
 * Rossakatum Branch, Sussex County
 * Round Pole Branch, Sussex County
 * Roy Creek, Sussex County
 * Rum Bridge Branch, Sussex County
 * Saint Georges Creek, New Castle County
 * St. Jones River, Kent County
 * Sandom Branch, New Castle County
 * Sandtown Branch, Kent County
 * Sandy Branch, New Castle County
 * Sandy Branch, Sussex County
 * Sangston Prong, Kent County
 * Sarah Run, Sussex County
 * Saulsbury Creek, Kent County
 * Saunders Branch, Sussex County
 * Savannah Ditch, Sussex County
 * Sawmill Branch, New Castle County
 * Scott Run, New Castle County
 * Sewell Branch, Kent County
 * Sheep Pen Ditch, Sussex County
 * Shellpot Creek, New Castle County
 * Shields Prong, Kent County
 * Shoals Branch, Sussex County
 * Short and Hall Ditch, Sussex County
 * Shorts Ditch, Sussex County
 * Silver Run, New Castle County
 * Simons River, Kent County
 * Simpler Branch, Sussex County
 * Slaughter Creek, Sussex County
 * Smith-Short and Willin Ditch, Sussex County
 * Smyrna River, New Castle County
 * Snows Branch, Kent County
 * Sockorockets Ditch, Sussex County
 * South Branch Naamans Creek, New Castle County
 * Sowbridge Branch, Sussex County
 * Spring Branch, Kent County
 * Spring Creek, Kent County
 * Spruances Branch, Kent County
 * Stallion Head Branch, Sussex County
 * Stockley Branch, Sussex County
 * Stockley Creek, Sussex County
 * Stoney Branch, Sussex County
 * Stenkil Creek, New Castle County
 * Stump Creek, Sussex County
 * Sunset Branch, Sussex County
 * Swan Creek, Kent County
 * Swan Creek, Sussex County
 * Tantrough Branch, Sussex County
 * Tanyard Branch, Sussex County
 * Tappahanna Ditch, Kent County
 * Taylor Branch, Kent County
 * Terrapin Pond, Sussex County
 * Thompson Branch, Sussex County
 * Thorndyk Branch, Kent County
 * Tidbury Creek, Kent County
 * Tidy Island Creek, Kent County
 * Tom Creek, New Castle County
 * Tomahawk Branch, Kent County
 * Toms Dam Branch, Sussex County
 * Tubbs Branch, Sussex County
 * Trunk Ditch, Kent County
 * Tubmill Branch, Kent County
 * Turkey Branch, Sussex County
 * Turkey Branch, Sussex County
 * Turkey Run, New Castle County
 * Turtle Branch, Sussex County
 * Tussocky Branch, Sussex County
 * Tussocky Branch, Sussex County
 * Twiford Meadow Ditch, Sussex County
 * Tyndall Branch, Sussex County
 * Unity Branch, Sussex County
 * Vena Gains Branch, Sussex County
 * Vines Creek, Sussex County
 * Wall Branch, Sussex County
 * Ward Branch, Kent County
 * Wards Branch, Sussex County
 * Warwick Gut, Sussex County
 * Webber Branch, Kent County
 * Welsh Branch, Sussex County
 * West Branch Christina River, New Castle County
 * West Branch Gum Branch, Sussex County
 * West Branch Naamans Creek, New Castle County
 * Whartons Branch, Sussex County
 * Wheeling Branch, Sussex County
 * White Clay Creek, New Castle County
 * White Creek, Sussex County
 * White Marsh Branch, Kent County
 * White Marsh Branch, Sussex County
 * White Oak Creek, Sussex County
 * White Oak Swamp Ditch, Sussex County
 * Wildcat Branch, Kent County
 * Wiley Branch Ditch, Sussex County
 * William H Newton Ditch, Sussex County
 * Williams Creek, Sussex County
 * Willis Branch, Kent County
 * Willow Grove Prong, Kent County
 * Willow Run, New Castle County
 * Wilson Creek, Sussex County
 * Wilson Run, New Castle County
 * Wisacco Cipus (historical), New Castle County
 * Wolfe Glade, Sussex County
 * Wood Duck Run, New Castle County
 * Wright Creek, Sussex County

Delaware River and Delaware Bay

 * Naamans Creek
 * South Branch Naamans Creek
 * Perkins Run
 * Stenkil Creek
 * Fox Kill
 * Shellpot Creek
 * Matson Run
 * Turkey Run
 * Christina River
 * Brandywine Creek
 * Alapocas Run
 * Husbands Run
 * Willow Run
 * Wilson Run
 * Rocky Run
 * Hurricane Run
 * Carney Run
 * Ramsey Run
 * Beaver Creek
 * Little Mill Creek
 * Chestnut Run
 * Willow Run
 * Nonesuch Creek
 * White Clay Creek
 * Hershey Run
 * Red Clay Creek
 * Hyde Run
 * Coffee Run
 * Burrows Run
 * Mill Creek
 * Pike Creek
 * Middle Run
 * Bogy Run
 * Leathermans Run
 * Belltown Run
 * Muddy Run
 * West Branch Christina River
 * Persimmon Run
 * East Branch Christina River
 * Army Creek
 * Gambles Gut
 * Tom Creek
 * Red Lion Creek
 * Doll Run
 * Cedar Creek
 * Dragon Creek
 * Saint Georges Creek
 * Scott Run
 * Joy Run
 * Crystal Run
 * Guthrie Branch
 * Augustine Creek
 * Silver Run
 * Appoquinimink River
 * Skunk Hill Ditch
 * The Big Ditch
 * Hangmans Run
 * Drawyer Creek
 * Deep Creek
 * Blackbird Creek
 * Mill Creek
 * Fishing Creek
 * Beaver Branch
 * Barlow Branch
 * Sandom Branch
 * Angle Rod Creek
 * Smyrna River
 * Sawmill Branch
 * Corks Point Ditch
 * Morris Branch
 * Mill Creek
 * Green Spring Branch
 * Massey Branch
 * Duck Creek
 * Greens Branch
 * Providence Creek
 * Paw Paw Branch
 * Taylors Gut
 * Duck Creek
 * Quarter Gut
 * Hawkey Branch
 * Leipsic River
 * Raymond Gut
 * Dyke Branch
 * Bennefield Branch
 * Spruances Branch
 * Snows Branch
 * Alston Branch
 * Willis Branch
 * Taylor Branch
 * Pinks Branch
 * Simons River
 * Herring Branch
 * Green Creek
 * Muddy Branch
 * Mahon River
 * Old Womans Gut
 * Little River
 * Lewis Ditch
 * Sand Ditch
 * St. Jones River
 * Trunk Ditch
 * Beaver Gut Ditch
 * Cypress Branch
 * Tidbury Creek
 * Newell Branch
 * Red House Branch
 * Isaac Branch
 * Almshouse Branch
 * Allabands Mill Stream
 * Puncheon Run
 * Fork Branch
 * Murderkill River
 * Spring Creek
 * Double Run
 * Hudson Branch
 * Pratt Branch
 * Ash Gut
 * Browns Branch
 * Ward Branch
 * Indian Branch
 * Spring Branch
 * Black Swamp Creek
 * Beaverdam Branch
 * Fan Branch
 * Brockonbridge Gut
 * Mispillion River
 * Kings Causeway Branch
 * Fishing Branch
 * Old Baptist Church Branch
 * Swan Creek
 * Tubmill Branch
 * Deep Branch
 * Mullet Run
 * Bowman Branch
 * Lednum Branch
 * Johnson Branch
 * Tantrough Branch
 * Beaverdam Branch
 * Cedar Creek
 * Slaughter Creek
 * Beaverdam Branch
 * Church Branch
 * Broadkill River
 * Canary Creek
 * Broadkill Sound
 * Primehook Creek
 * North Prong
 * Sowbridge Branch
 * Ingram Branch
 * Old Mill Creek
 * Fisher Creek
 * Black Hog Gut
 * Martin Branch
 * Crooked Creek
 * Doty Glade
 * Beaverdam Creek
 * Round Pole Branch
 * Ingram Branch
 * Dutton Ditch
 * Savannah Ditch
 * Pemberton Branch
 * Brittingham Branch

Atlantic coast bays

 * Rehoboth Bay
 * Stockley Creek
 * Bald Eagle Creek
 * White Oak Creek
 * Johnson Branch
 * Love Creek
 * Arnell Creek
 * Cherry Walk Creek
 * Dorman Branch
 * Stillman Glade
 * Hetty Fisher Glade
 * Goslee Creek
 * Bundicks Branch
 * Herring Creek
 * Wilson Creek
 * Guinea Creek
 * Hopkins Prong
 * Phillips Branch
 * Unity Branch
 * Burton Prong
 * Sarah Run
 * Chapel Branch
 * Wall Branch
 * Lee Joseph Creek
 * Bacon Island Creek

 * Indian River Bay
 * Lingo Creek
 * Indian River
 * Emily Gut
 * Blackwater Creek
 * Pepper Creek
 * Vines Creek
 * Island Creek
 * Warwick Gut
 * Swan Creek
 * Whartons Branch
 * Iron Branch
 * Houston-Thorogood Ditch
 * Wiley Branch
 * Shoals Branch
 * Long Drain Ditch
 * Cow Bridge Branch
 * Stockley Branch
 * Alms House Ditch
 * Horse Pound Swamp Ditch
 * Gills Branch
 * Eli Walls Ditch
 * McGee Ditch
 * Deep Branch
 * Peterkins Branch
 * White Oak Swamp Ditch
 * Simpler Branch
 * Welsh Branch
 * Sockorockets Ditch
 * Sheep Pen Ditch
 * Mirey Branch
 * Narrow Ditch
 * Pepper Creek
 * Blackwater Creek
 * Clarksville Branch
 * Stump Creek
 * Vines Creek
 * Herring Branch
 * Deep Hole Branch
 * McCrays Branch
 * Fork No. 1
 * Collins Creek
 * White Creek
 * Spring Gut
 * Sloughs Gut

 * Little Assawoman Bay
 * Jefferson Creek
 * Miller Creek
 * Beaver Dam Ditch
 * Dirickson Creek
 * Williams Creek
 * Agricultural Ditch
 * Batson Branch
 * Bearhole Ditch

 * Assawoman Bay
 * Roy Creek
 * Drum Creek

Chesapeake Bay

 * Elk River (Maryland)
 * Perch Creek
 * Bohemia River (MD)
 * Great Bohemia Creek
 * Sandy Branch
 * Back Creek
 * Long Creek
 * Guthrie Run
 * Perch Creek
 * Sassafras River
 * Herring Branch
 * Chester River (MD)
 * Cypress Branch
 * Dogwood Branch
 * Black Stallion Ditch
 * Andover Branch
 * Sewell Branch
 * Blanco Ditch
 * Jordan Branch
 * Gravelly Run
 * Jamison Branch
 * Muddy Bottom Ditch
 * Choptank River
 * Chapel Branch (MD)
 * Garey Mill Pond Branch
 * Hopkins Prong
 * Bullock Prong
 * Price Prong
 * Spring Branch
 * Gravelly Branch
 * Herron Run
 * Shields Prong
 * White Marsh Branch
 * Greenlees Ditch
 * Sangston Prong
 * Sandtown Branch
 * Cow Marsh Creek
 * Meredith Branch
 * Wildcat Branch
 * Horsepen Ditch
 * Jackson Prong
 * Cohee Prong
 * Iron Mine Prong
 * Fivefoot Prong
 * Willow Grove Prong
 * Cow Marsh Ditch
 * Herron Drain
 * Culbreth Marsh Ditch
 * Luther Marvel Prong
 * Beachy Neidig Ditch
 * Ross Prong
 * Powell Ditch
 * Ditch Road Ditch
 * Tidy Island Creek
 * Tappahanna Ditch
 * Harrington Beaverdam Ditch
 * Nanticoke River
 * Barren Creek (MD)
 * Mockingbird Creek
 * Marshyhope Creek
 * Tanyard Branch
 * Houston Branch
 * Brights Branch
 * Jones Branch
 * Jones Mill Branch
 * Iron Mine Branch
 * Stafford Ditch
 * Double Fork Branch
 * Parker and Sampson Ditch
 * Short and Hall Ditch
 * Quarter Branch
 * Saulsbury Creek
 * Cattail Branch
 * Green Branch
 * Tomahawk Branch
 * Prospect Branch
 * Point Branch
 * Bright Haines Glade Branch
 * Prong No. 2
 * Beaverdam Branch
 * Horsepen Arm
 * Marshyhope Ditch
 * Black Arm Prong
 * Plum Creek
 * Wright Creek
 * Cod Creek
 * Owens Branch
 * Broad Creek
 * Tussocky Branch
 * Turkey Branch
 * Mill Branch
 * Wheeling Branch
 * Little Creek
 * Meadow Branch
 * Holly Branch
 * Vena Gains Branch
 * Cooper Branch
 * Rossakatum Branch
 * James Branch
 * Old Forge Branch
 * Gordon Branch
 * Hitch Pond Branch
 * Pepper Branch
 * Grays Branch
 * Thompson Branch
 * Raccoon Prong
 * Terrapin Pond
 * Saunders Branch
 * Wards Branch
 * Morris Branch
 * Figgs Ditch
 * Elliott Pond Branch
 * Beaverdam Branch
 * Miry Branch
 * Dukes and Jobs Ditch
 * Tyndall and James Ditch
 * Turtle Branch
 * Gum Branch
 * Lewes Creek
 * Butler Mill Branch
 * Horse Pen Branch
 * Green Briar Branch
 * Chapel Branch
 * Morgan Branch
 * Clear Brook
 * Herring Run
 * William Newton Ditch
 * Bucks Branch
 * Gilbert Truitts Ditch
 * Friedel Prong
 * Swain and Truitt Ditch
 * Deep Creek
 * Tubbs Branch
 * Cool Branch
 * Graham Branch
 * Baker Mill Branch
 * Old Ditch
 * Black Savannah Ditch
 * Deep Gully Ditch
 * Tyndall Branch
 * Stoney Branch
 * Asketum Branch
 * Shorts Ditch
 * Rum Bridge Branch
 * McColleys Branch
 * Layton-Vaughn Ditch
 * Raccoon Ditch
 * Mifflin Ditch
 * Georgetown-Vaughn Ditch
 * Hurley Drain
 * Gravelly Branch
 * Tussocky Branch
 * Smith-Short and Willin Ditch
 * Prong Number One
 * Maple Branch
 * Maple Marsh and Beaver Dam Branch
 * Gravelly Ditch
 * Ake Ditch
 * Turkey Branch
 * Gum Branch
 * Gully Camp Ditch
 * Toms Dam Branch
 * Long Branch
 * Crony Pond Branch
 * West Branch Gum Branch
 * Owens Branch
 * Parkers Branch
 * Stallion Head Branch
 * Bridgeville Branch
 * Polk Branch
 * Grubby Neck Branch
 * Bee Branch
 * Cart Branch
 * White Marsh Branch
 * Booth Branch
 * Kent-Sussex Line Branch
 * Wicomico River (MD)
 * North Prong Wicomico River (MD)
 * Leonard Pond Run (MD)
 * Connelly Mill Branch
 * North Prong Leonard Pond Run (MD)
 * Jackson Branch
 * Mayer Branch
 * Pocomoke River
 * Green Run (MD)
 * North Fork Green Run
 * Grays Prong
 * Gum Branch
 * Bald Cypress Branch
 * Lewis Prong
 * Grays Prong
 * Tenfoot Ditch
 * Cypress Farms Ditch
 * Cowhouse Branch

title: List of rivers of Delaware


text:
Charles Martel of Anjou

Charles Martel (Martell Károly; 8 September 1271 – 12 August 1295) of the Capetian dynasty was the eldest son of king Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary, the daughter of King Stephen V of Hungary.

The 18-year-old Charles Martel was set up by Pope Nicholas IV and the ecclesiastical party as the titular King of Hungary (1290–1295) as the successor of his maternal uncle, the childless Ladislaus IV of Hungary against whom the Pope had already earlier declared a crusade.

He never managed to govern the Kingdom of Hungary, where an agnate of the Árpád dynasty, his cousin Andrew III of Hungary ruled at that time. Charles Martel was, however, successful in asserting his claim in the Kingdom of Croatia, then in personal union with Hungary.

Charles Martel died of the plague in Naples. His son, Charles (or Charles Robert), later succeeded in winning the throne of Hungary.

Charles was known personally to Dante: in the Divine Comedy, the poet speaks warmly of and to Charles's spirit when they meet in the Heaven of Venus (in Paradiso VIII–IX).

Family
He married Clemence of Habsburg (d. 1295), daughter of Rudolph I, King of Germany.

They had three children:
 * Charles I of Hungary (1288–1342), King of Hungary
 * Beatrix (1290–1354, Grenoble), married on 25 May 1296 Jean II de La Tour du Pin, Dauphin du Viennois
 * Clementia (February 1293 – 12 October 1328, Paris), married near Troyes on 31 August 1315 Louis X of France

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Charles Martel of Anjou


text:
Black Knight (Marvel Comics)

The Black Knight is the alias of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

The first is a medieval knight created by writer Stan Lee and artist Joe Maneely, who made his first appearance in Black Knight #1 (May 1955), during the Silver Age of Comics, when Marvel Comics was previously known as Atlas Comics. The second is a supervillain descendant of the original, created by Lee and artist and co-plotter Dick Ayers, who first appeared in Tales to Astonish #52 (Feb. 1964). The third, created by writer Roy Thomas, production editor John Verpoorten, and artist George Tuska, is the villain's nephew, a superhero and a member of the superhero team the Avengers, who first appeared in The Avengers #47 (Dec. 1967). A fourth Black Knight with no revealed genetic connection debuted in The Black Panther #3 (June 2005), created by writer Reginald Hudlin and penciler John Romita Jr. A fifth, Jackie Chopra, was revealed to be the daughter of Dane Whitman.

Dane Whitman appears in the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe film Eternals (2021), portrayed by Kit Harington.

Publication history
Marvel Comics' first Black Knight, Sir Percy of Scandia, first appeared in the medieval-adventure series Black Knight #1–5 (cover-dated May 1955–April 1956) from Atlas Comics, the 1950s precursor to Marvel Comics.

Sir Percy's descendant, Professor Nathan Garrett, debuted as the modern-day supervillain Black Knight in Tales to Astonish #52 (Feb. 1964). This villainous Black Knight appeared in The Avengers #6, #14–15 (July 1964, March–April 1965), and in the feature "Iron Man" in Tales of Suspense #73 (Jan. 1966), in which he was mortally wounded.

Dane Whitman, Garrett's nephew, made his first appearance in The Avengers #47 (Dec. 1967) and became a heroic version of the Black Knight in the subsequent issue. Whitman sporadically appeared with the Avengers until becoming a core member, regularly appearing in #252–300 (1985–1989) and #329–375 (1991–1994).

The Gatherers storyline running through The Avengers #343–375 (1992–1994) placed the spotlight on the Black Knight, as the book's focus turned toward his tumultuous relationship with the Eternal Sersi and mysterious connection to the other-dimensional villain Proctor. Whitman later starred in Malibu Comics' UltraForce #8–10 (1995) and UltraForce vol. 2 #1–12 (1995–1996), leading a new team of heroes on a parallel world. Returning to the Marvel Universe proper, Whitman appeared in Heroes for Hire #1–16 (1997–1998) and, later, Captain Britain and MI13 #1–15 (2008–2009). The Black Knight has yet to return to the Avengers, the team with which the character is most closely associated. In 2015, as part of All-New All-Different, a solo series was launched featuring Dane Whitman; however, it was canceled after 5 issues due to low sales.

Whitman and Sir Percy also starred in the limited series Black Knight #1–4 (June–Sept. 1990), written by Roy and Dann Thomas and drawn by successive pencillers Tony DeZuniga and Rich Buckler. In 1995, Percy had a cameo in Namor #60 as part of the Atlantis Rising story. Whitman and Sersi then headlined the one-shot Black Knight: Exodus (Dec. 1996), written by Ben Raab and illustrated by Jimmy Cheung and Andy Lanning. Another Black Knight one-shot starring Sir Percy, written by Thomas and illustrated by Tom Grummett and Scott Hanna, was published as Mystic Arcana: Black Knight #1 (Sept. 2007), the second of four Mystic Arcana one-shot issues.

Sir Percy of Scandia
The original Black Knight is Sir Percy of Scandia, a 6th-century knight who serves at the court of King Arthur as his greatest warrior. Recruited by the wizard Merlin, Percy adopts a double identity, and pretends to be very incompetent until changing into the persona of the Black Knight. As the Black Knight, Percy wields the Ebony Blade, which Merlin forged from a meteorite. A constant foe of the evil knight Mordred the Evil (Arthur's traitorous nephew), Percy is eventually killed by him during the fall of Camelot when stabbed from behind with an enchanted blade – although Mordred then dies himself of wounds inflicted by Arthur. Merlin ensures that Percy's spirit will live on by casting a spell that will revive his ghost if Mordred should ever return. Percy's spirit has appeared several times to counsel his descendant, Dane Whitman.

Nathan Garrett
Biologist Professor Nathan Garrett is the direct descendant of Sir Percy (although it has been implied Percy's nephew Raston inherited the blade), and found Sir Percy's tomb and the Ebony Blade. Garrett's evil tendencies make him unworthy of wielding the sword, and Sir Percy’s ghost shuns him. An embittered Garrett then devises an arsenal of medieval weapons that employ modern technology and has genetic engineers create a winged horse that he names Aragorn. Calling himself the Black Knight, Garrett embarks on a life of crime to spite his ancestor. After a battle with the hero Giant-Man Garrett joins the supervillain team the Masters of Evil at the request of master villain Baron Zemo and like the others spreads Adhesive X over the city, but is first defeated by Thor. After two unsuccessful battles with the Avengers, the second time of which he was broken out of jail by Enchantress, he battled Iron Man due to Doctor Doom's mind-control machine (which made supervillains attack Mister Fantastic's and the Invisible Woman's wedding, which the affected villains subsequently forget due to a machine created by Mister Fantastic). Garrett is mortally wounded falling from Aragorn while trying to kill Iron Man. A dying Garrett reveals his secret identity to his nephew, Dane Whitman, and repents for his life of crime. Whitman then adopts the identity of the Black Knight himself.

Dane Whitman
Dane Whitman is the Black Knight who has been a longtime member of the Avengers as well as a member of the Defenders, Ultraforce, Heroes for Hire, and MI: 13. Using his uncle's notes, Whitman wielded the same equipment and created his own Aragorn.

Augustine du Lac
A Vatican Black Knight named Augustine du Lac received the Ebony Blade after Vatican agents retrieved it from an Iraqi vampire nest. In addition, Augustine created his own Aragorn. He is a member of a team of supervillains that invades the African nation of Wakanda. A devout Catholic, du Lac hopes to convert the populace to Catholicism. Black Panther takes the Ebony Blade and defeats him. Augustine's Aragorn was later captured by Alyosha Kravinoff and killed for food.

Female Black Knight
A teenage female Black Knight later appears in the Vengeance limited series as a member of the Young Masters. Like Garrett, this incarnation is a villain and appears to possess the Ebony Blade. How she came into possession of the sword and what happened to Augustine has yet to be revealed. She was with the Young Masters when they were at an abandoned HYDRA base in Pennsylvania. While inspecting Bullseye's corpse, they were attacked by Lady Bullseye. Later targeting Doctor Octopus for "execution", the Young Masters found themselves battling the Sinister Six while being assisted by the Teen Brigade, with Black Knight being assisted in taking down Sandman by Teen Brigade member Ultimate Nullifier. While visiting a nightclub, Black Knight encountered Ultimate Nullifier at the time when the Young Masters plotted to recruit a reborn Loki to their side. In the morning, Black Knight showed Ultimate Nullifier a letter that spurred the Young Masters on their quest to kill older villains along with a CIA file discussing genocide on Russian prisoners carried out by Red Skull in World War II Poland. Informing Ultimate Nullifier that she was going to leave the Young Masters and had plans that did not involve evil, she left the Young Masters' base leaving behind the CIA file for Nullifier.

Black Knight was later seen with the Young Masters where they are seen as members of the Shadow Council's Masters of Evil, which is led by Baron Helmut Zemo following Max Fury's death.

Jacks Chopra
Jackie "Jacks" Chopra - Dane Whitman's previously unknown daughter and an Arthurian history buff who shares the Black Knight mantle and the Ebony Blade with her father so that burden of doing so would not be handled alone.

The Black Knight lineage
Nathan Garrett and Dane Whitman are part of a lineage of Black Knights stretching back to the 6th century. In New Excalibur #10, the first part of the "Last Day of Camelot" storyline, it is revealed that Dane has turned Garrett Castle into a Black Knight museum with various exhibits on the Black Knights, including the body of Sir Percy. There is a long line of paintings of the Knights including, according to the curator, "Sir Ralston[sic] and Sir Eobar or lesser known knights like Sir William and Sir Henry."

These Black Knights are:

 * Sir Raston ("Ralston" appears only in New Excalibur #10) – Sir Percy's nephew, who became the Black Knight after him. He lived in the Dark Ages, but was recruited into the Anachronauts by Kang the Conqueror and travelled through time.
 * Sir Eobar of Garrington – He was the Black Knight during the Crusades.
 * Sir William – He is depicted fighting in the trenches of World War I.
 * Sir Henry – He is depicted as a swashbuckling figure.

Later in "The Last Days of Camelot", Sir Percy reveals to Dane that he was not the first Black Knight and that eight knights had carried the Ebony Blade before him, the last being King Arthur's cousin Sir Reginald. Each one had been driven mad by the sword and had to be killed until it was decided there were only three people who could take the sword, but King Arthur and Merlin were needed in other capacities, so the "burden" fell to Sir Percy who accepted despite knowing the risks.

The apparent "Last Knight" is Ernst Wythim, a member of the lineage from around 2600 AD.

History
The Ebony Blade was created by comic book writer Stan Lee in Black Knight Comics #1, published under Atlas Comics in 1955. Its history was later revealed in Marvel Super-Heroes #17 (Nov 1968), written by Roy Thomas. The blade was shown to have been carved from a meteor and enchanted by the wizard Merlin for Sir Percy of Scandia, the first Black Knight. Due to all the blood that Sir Percy shed with the blade, it acquired a curse (see below). The sword passed down through the generations until it came to Sir Percy's descendant Dane Whitman. Dane used the blade for many years. It passed briefly to Valkyrie when Dane's body was turned to stone and his soul sent back in time to the 13th century, but it was soon returned to him. Due to the curse, Dane eventually gave up the Ebony Blade by driving it deep into the same meteor that it was forged from, now residing in his castle. Only another deemed worthy would be able to withdraw it.

Sean Dolan, Dane's ex-squire, was able to draw the blade during an attack on Whitman's castle. This transformed Dolan into Bloodwraith. Dolan fought with the curse and was able to give up the sword for a brief time. During this time, it was trapped in the Negative Zone barrier outside of Attilan. In the meantime, a second Ebony Blade had been brought into this dimension by Proctor, an alternate reality version of Dane. When Proctor was killed, his blade was taken into Avengers custody.

Dolan was drawn to this second Blade, and once again became Bloodwraith. Crystal retrieved the original Blade, and The Vision threatened to destroy it if Bloodwraith did not surrender. Bloodwraith tossed the alternate Blade aside and reclaimed his own. Crystal picked up the second Blade and said it would be important to the future of the Inhumans. Bloodwraith was last known to have the Blade in his possession in Slorenia, where he was trapped by the Scarlet Witch.

At some point Dracula replaced Dane Whitman's blade with a fake one (see below), and the real Blade came to be in Iraq and was secured by the Vatican after it was found by Opus Dei in a purging of a vampire nest. The Vatican sent a new Black Knight assassin (Augustine du Lac) to kill Black Panther, who took it from the Knight for his own uses. Black Panther used the blade in several battles, including the Skrull invasion.

Upon learning the blade was fake for a second time, Dane Whitman retrieved the real blade from Black Panther's Wakandan nation where he was presented it by Queen Ororo T'Challa.

During War of the Realms event when Malekith attacked Black Knight, Union Jack, and Spitfire, he acquired the Ebony Blade and was ready to kill them until the War Avengers arrived.

It comes to light in King in Black that the wizard Merlin had lied about how a wielder uses the cursed sword. Knull, primordial dark god of all symbiotes, revealed it only gives its true power to those who prove to be the most "baneful" and hate-filled of individuals, not those who are pure in body and mind; it takes one who is able to come to grips with their own faults and push on despite them to utilize what the evil deity described as World Ender.

The sword also gives its users a state of resurrective immortality wherein if the wielder were to fall in battle, a blood offering of sorts can be used to restore them to life.

Powers and abilities
The Ebony Blade is a powerful enchanted weapon. It is said to be indestructible, and only the extremely powerful Iron Ogre, a magic creature, could split it in half. The blade has many mystical or quasi-mystical capabilities, including the ability to:

 * Shear through any physical substance with the exception of other enchanted weapons and extremely strong metals like adamantium.
 * Cleaves mystical barriers.
 * Deflect energy when angled correctly.
 * Absorb all forms of energy, including the Promethean Flame.
 * Grants retroactive immortality.
 * Manifests shadowed armor in a similar manner to a Klyntar.
 * Discharges force of its own.
 * Can absorb souls to make itself stronger.
 * Bypass intangibility.
 * Wispy armor enables wielders to fly.
 * Protection from mysticism.
 * Bestows an incredible healing factor.

Dane Whitman discovered most of these abilities through scientific testing of the Blade. Additionally, the Blade bonds to its wielder in such a way that the wielder can summon it back to himself or herself using a mystical ceremony if it is ever lost, even if it is in a different time period. The Blade cannot be used against its owner, as seen when Caden Tar tries to use it to kill Dane Whitman, but cannot pierce his skin. The Blade formerly rendered its wielder invulnerable to everything except another weapon carved from the same meteor, such as the Ebony Dagger.

Other notable wielders of the Blade include Whitman's ancestors Sir Percy of Scandia, Eobar Garrington, Valkyrie, and Ares.

Curses and influences
The Ebony Blade was afflicted with a blood curse due to all the blood the original Black Knight had spilled. Dane Whitman eventually purged the Blade of its curse at Doctor Strange's behest by plunging it into the Brazier of Truth while Strange bathed them both in magic fire. The curse returned, however, when the Sub-Mariner used it to kill his wife Marrina. The curse seems to affect different people in different ways. It turned Dane into a statue, it amplified Proctor's gann'josin-based powers, and it granted Sean Dolan great physical powers as Bloodwraith.

The Blade was sometimes known to subtly compel Dane to do things or go places that were tied to its previous wielders, as well. It was revealed by the symbiote god Knull that its power relies on the curse. As it thrives on the negative proclivities of flawed and imperfect wielders to maximize on its inherent power. Something that only the unworthy can utilize as its edge dulls when wielded by a chivalrous soul.

Fake Ebony Blade
On occasion, the Ebony Blade appears in two separate comic series simultaneously, most notably in 2006 when it was in use by Dane Whitman (Black Knight) in the New Excalibur series whilst it was in use in a Black Panther ongoing by another Black Knight and subsequently Black Panther.

In a 2006 interview, when addressing a question about the confusion of the Ebony Blades appearing in two comics, Marvel Comics' editor Nick Lowe had this response:

"The Black Knight in Black Panther wasn't ya' boy, Dane Whitman. It was an imposter who stole the sword from Dane. Now, since the imposter wasn't an idiot, he knew that if he outright stole the sword, Dane would come looking for it. So he replaced it with a different sword, so Dane didn't even know it was missing.

We're touching on this in New Excalibur #14–15."

At the end of those issues no full explanation was given. Whitman was shown to have sensed that his Ebony Blade was not the real one and left to find the original, then being used by Black Panther. Though both Captain Britain and Pete Wisdom knew the location of the real blade, Whitman had somehow forgotten it was fake during his next comic appearance in Captain Britain and MI-13 #1.

Writer Paul Cornell revealed a full explanation within the Captain Britain series, having Dracula replace Dane Whitman's blade with a fake version at some point between The Avengers vol. 3 #37 and New Excalibur #10. This fake blade has a vampire fang within it, which has shown some signs of sentience as people have talked to the blade directly. This mystical sentience has acted in the same fashion as the original's curse; convincingly enough to fool Whitman. Even after Whitman first realized it was fake in New Excalibur, it affected his memories so that he forgot, meaning he thought he held the real one by the time of Captain Britain and MI-13.

Upon learning that the blade was fake for the second time in #7 of that series, Whitman retrieved the real blade from Black Panther's Wakandan nation where he was presented it by Queen Ororo T'Challa.

Earth X
In the "Earth X" series, Ahura – the son of Black Bolt and Medusa – becomes the Black Knight. Dane Whitman was turned to stone by the Grey Gargoyle.

Marvel 2099
In the unified Marvel 2099 reality of Earth-2099, an unidentified Black Knight appears as a member of the 2099 version of the Masters of Evil where they slaughtered the 2099 version of the Avengers. As the Masters of Evil conquered some planets, Black Knight was killed by Baron Zemo for disobeying orders.

Marvel Zombies
Dane becomes one of the dozens of super-powered zombies that are laying siege to the castle of Doctor Doom. The zombies have detected delicious humans hiding inside, all of whom ultimately escape.

Ultimate Marvel
In the Ultimate Marvel universe, the Black Knight (real name Alex) is a member of the would-be superhero team the Defenders. He is long-haired, bearded, and out-of-shape, with a piece of armor, and resembles a LARPer. He later shows up in Ultimate Comics: New Ultimates, alongside the super-powered Defenders from a mysterious source.

The Dane Whitman version of Black Knight appears in the pages of Ultimate Comics: Ultimates as a member of an Ultimates team that preceded the current one by almost a decade. This Black Knight was highly unstable and was kept from officially joining the team until he stabilized. This never came to pass as the team bungled a mission and the project was shut down immediately after.

Television

 * The Nathan Garrett incarnation of the Black Knight appears in The Marvel Super Heroes, voiced by Len Carlson. This version is a member of Baron Heinrich Zemo's Masters of Evil.
 * The Sir Percy incarnation of the Black Knight appears in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode "Knights & Demons", voiced by Vic Perrin. Dane Whitman was also meant to appear, but was rejected to avoid confusion.
 * The Augustine du Lac incarnation of the Black Knight appears in Black Panther, voiced by JB Blanc.
 * The Nathan Garrett incarnation of the Black Knight appears in Iron Man: Armored Adventures, voiced by Alistair Abell. This version is a Maggia enforcer serving under Count Nefaria.
 * The Dane Whitman incarnation of the Black Knight makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episode "Come the Conqueror".

Film
Dane Whitman appears in Eternals (2021), portrayed by Kit Harington.

Video games

 * The Dane Whitman incarnation of the Black Knight appears as a playable character in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.
 * The Nathan Garrett, Dane Whitman, and Augustine du Lac incarnations of the Black Knight appear in Lego Marvel's Avengers, with Garrett and Whitman appearing in the "Masters of Evil" DLC pack while Du Lac appears in the "Black Panther" DLC pack.
 * A teenage version of Dane Whitman / Black Knight appears as a playable character in Marvel Avengers Academy, voiced by Ian Russell.
 * The Dane Whitman, Sir Percy, and Nathan Garrett incarnations of the Black Knight appear as unlockable characters in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2.

Collected editions
There are several collected editions of the comic issues featuring the different incarnations of the Black Knight:
 * Collected editions featuring Sir Percy
 * Collected editions featuring Dane Whitman

title: Black Knight (Marvel Comics)


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Something About Airplanes

Something About Airplanes is the debut studio album by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released August 18, 1998, on Barsuk Records. A tenth-anniversary edition of the album was released November 25, 2008, featuring redesigned artwork, liner notes by Sean Nelson, and a bonus disc including the band's first ever Seattle performance at the Crocodile Cafe in February 1998.

Early recordings of five songs from the album can be found on the You Can Play These Songs with Chords compilation.

Background
Airplanes was created at the group's rented house off of Ellis Street in Bellingham. It was recorded on a reel-to-reel eight-track recorder. With Walla's bedroom in the attic, the band inserted a microphone through a hole in the floor to the living room where vocals were tracked. Gibbard's writing was primarily influenced by Idaho indie rockers Built to Spill; in an interview with Vice, he noted that Perfect from Now On, the band's 1997 opus, was "the only thing I was listening to at that point." He continued: "There’s some flagrant Built to Spill ripoffs on that record. I was really influenced by Rex and Bedhead and a lot of these slower kinds of bands."

Airplanes was released through Barsuk and Elsinor Records, the label that issued the group's debut cassette, You Can Play These Songs with Chords. They pressed an initial 1,000 copies of Airplanes, which Gibbard found confounding: "We were imagining we were going to be carrying around boxes of our own records for the rest of our lives," he joked. For the album's decade anniversary, Barsuk released an expanded edition of the LP, coupling it with a live concert the band performed at the Crocodile Cafe in 1998.

Composition
At the time of the album's writing, Gibbard was just coming into his own as a songwriter. He had hoped to pen lyrics he considered "wildly descriptive and very dense and interesting," but later felt its purported profundity reads as nonsensical. Likewise, his singing voice is slightly different than on later recordings, with an adenoidal nasal tone.

"The Face That Launched 1000 Shits" is a cover of an original song by The Revolutionary Hydra, a band that DCFC guitarist Chris Walla and lead singer/guitarist Ben Gibbard belonged to. The song was written by then-bandmate Jay Chilcote. The song’s title is a play on the phrase “The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships”, attributed to Helen of Troy whose supposed unmatched beauty led to the Trojan War (after Paris, Prince of Troy, kidnapped her from Sparta and her husband King Menelaus).

Artwork
Despite the title referring to airplanes, the image on the album cover is of a rowboat. The image is actually seen through a hole in the booklet cover and a sheet of vellum. Like some of the band's 2000 releases, the text is set entirely in lower case.

Reception
An early review of the album from CMJ columnist Glen Sarvady wrote that the album "has the aura of a young band still crafting its own voice, but working fertile ground and already producing some impressive results." Ian Cohen at Pitchfork writes the album "create[s] a sonic blueprint that's subtly innovative [...] Something About Airplanes instead sounds like a private affair, which is one reason it's so treasured amongst diehards." Barry Walters at Rolling Stone writes that "Not every cut on their debut is that assured: Guitarist-producer Chris Walla hadn't yet mastered the studio, and singer Ben Gibbard's articulate moodiness isn't consistently memorable."

Morgan Enos at Billboard launched a celebration of the album for its twentieth anniversary in 2018, writing, "if you want to hear [Death Cab's] sound in chrysalis, you can’t do much better than Airplanes. The album embraces a homespun, basement vibe, but the lyrics prove that Gibbard essentially came out as a perceptive, nuanced writer fully-formed — and with a band that could bring his songs to the light." Similarly, KEXP ran a piece in commemoration, with writer Dusty Henry commenting: "Airplanes [is] such a fascinating and thrilling listen in the Death Cab canon. It's not a benchmark for the band to be measured against. It's a mystery covered in other mysteries [... the] murkiest entry in the band’s catalog. A twisted knot of wobbly guitars and banging drums held together by Gibbard's most obtuse poetry."

Personnel
Death Cab for Cutie
 * Ben Gibbard – vocals, guitar, small piano
 * Nathan Good – drums, mixing
 * Nick Harmer – bass guitar
 * Christopher Walla – guitar, organ, electric piano, things, production, mixing

Additional personnel
 * Abi Hall – vocals on "Line of Best Fit"
 * Erika Jacobs – writing and cello arrangement on "Bend to Squares" and "The Face That Launched 1000 Shits"

 * Tony Lash – mastering

Live at the Crocodile Cafe, February 1998
 * Chuck MacIan Robertson – recording
 * Sean Nelson – performer on "Sweet and Tender Hooligan"

title: Something About Airplanes


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Hendrik van Gent

Hendrik van Gent (14 September 1899, Pernis – March 29, 1947, Amsterdam) was a Dutch astronomer.

He moved to South Africa in 1928 in order to observe the southern sky at the Leiden Southern Station and the Union Observatory in Johannesburg. He obtained his PhD from Leiden University in 1931. He studied variable stars and also discovered three comets, namely C/1941 K1, C/1944 K2 and C/1943 W1. The Minor Planet Center credits him with the discovery of 39 numbered minor planets during 1929–1935.

He died of a heart attack at the age of 47 while on leave in the Netherlands. The crater Van Gent on the far side of the Moon, and the asteroid 1666 van Gent are named after him.

title: Hendrik van Gent


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User talk:Brad pitt

Hi Brad, welcome to Wikipedia. I noticed you uploaded an image of your namesake (or possibly yourself) Brad Pitt. Could you please provide us with some copyright information about the image... thanks! Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 23:08, 22 May 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:Brad pitt


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Martin Luther (disambiguation)

Martin Luther (1483–1546) was a German monk and theologian widely identified with the Protestant Reformation.

Martin Luther may also refer to:
 * Martin Luther (diplomat) (1895–1945), German diplomat from 1940–1945 and a Nazi party member
 * Martin Christian Luther (1883–1963), entrepreneur and politician from Estonia
 *  Martin Luther (1923 film), a German silent historical film
 *  Martin Luther (1953 film), a biographical film of the German priest Martin Luther
 * Martin Luther (steam locomotive), a historical traction engine in Namibia

title: Martin Luther (disambiguation)


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The Devil's Advocate (1997 film)

The Devil's Advocate (marketed as Devil's Advocate) is a 1997 American supernatural horror film directed by Taylor Hackford, written by Jonathan Lemkin and Tony Gilroy, and starring Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, and Charlize Theron. Based on Andrew Neiderman's 1990 novel of the same name, it is about a gifted young Florida lawyer invited to work for a major New York City law firm. As his wife becomes haunted by frightening visions, the lawyer slowly realizes the firm's owner, John Milton, is in fact the Devil.

The name John Milton is one of several allusions to Paradise Lost, as well as Dante Alighieri's Inferno, and the legend of Faust. An adaptation of Neiderman's novel went into a development hell during the 1990s, with Hackford gaining control of the production. Filming took place around New York City and Florida.

The Devil's Advocate received mixed reviews, with critics crediting it for entertainment value and Pacino's performance. It grossed $153 million at the box office and won the Saturn Award for Best Horror Film. It also became the subject of the copyright lawsuit Hart v. Warner Bros., Inc. for its visual art.

Plot
Kevin Lomax is a Gainesville, Florida defense attorney who has never lost a case. While defending schoolteacher Lloyd Gettys against a charge of child molestation, he realizes his client is guilty. Nonetheless, Kevin proceeds with his defense, destroying the victim's credibility through a harsh cross-examination, and securing an acquital for Gettys.

A New York City law firm asks Kevin to assist a jury selection. After the jury delivers a not guilty verdict, the head of the firm, John Milton, offers Kevin a job, which Kevin accepts. He and his wife Mary Ann move to Manhattan. Kevin is soon working long hours, neglecting Mary Ann. Kevin's fundamentalist mother Alice, who never had sex except to conceive Kevin, urges the couple to move back to Florida after meeting Milton. Kevin refuses.

Kevin is assigned to represent billionaire Alex Cullen, accused of murdering his wife, his stepson, and a maid. As a result, Kevin sees even less of Mary Ann, and begins to fantasize about his co-worker, Christabella. Meanwhile Mary Ann has visions of the partners' wives becoming demonic, and has a nightmare about a baby playing with her removed ovaries. After a doctor declares her infertile, she begs Kevin to return them to Gainesville, but he refuses. Milton suggests Kevin step down from the trial to care for Mary Ann, but Kevin says he will resent her for costing him the case.

Eddie Barzoon, the firm's managing partner, discovers Kevin's name on the firm's charter and believes Kevin covets his job. Eddie threatens to inform the United States Attorney's office of the firm's dubious activities. Kevin tells Milton. Though Milton seems to dismiss Kevin's concerns, Eddie is beaten to death in Central Park.

Preparing Melissa Black, Alex Cullen's secretary, to testify, Kevin realizes she is lying to give Cullen a false alibi. He tells Milton he thinks Alex is guilty, but Milton offers to back him regardless. Kevin proceeds, winning an acquittal with Melissa's perjured testimony. Afterwards, Kevin finds Mary Ann covered with a blanket in a nearby church. She claims Milton raped her that day, and shows Kevin her body, covered with cuts and scratches. Knowing Milton was in court with him, Kevin believes she must have injured herself, and commits her to a mental institution.

U.S. Justice Department agent Mitch Weaver warns Kevin that Milton is corrupt and also reveals that Gettys, (whom Kevin got acquitted in Florida) has now been arrested for killing a little girl. Moments later, Weaver is struck by a car and killed. At the same time, while attending Eddie's funeral service, Milton sticks his finger into holy water, which makes it boil.

Kevin, his mother Alice, and his case manager Pam Garrety, visit Mary Ann at the institution. Seeing Pam as a demon, Mary Ann hits her, barricades the room, and commits suicide. Alice reveals that Milton is Kevin's father. Kevin leaves the hospital to confront Milton, who admits to raping Mary Ann. Kevin shoots Milton, but the bullets do not harm him. Milton reveals himself as Satan. Kevin blames Milton for everything that happened, but Milton points out that he merely "set the stage". It was Kevin who chose to neglect his wife, and defend people he knew were guilty. Kevin realizes he always wanted to win, no matter the cost. Christabella appears, and Milton announces that he wants Kevin and Christabella – Kevin's half-sister – to conceive the Antichrist. Kevin initially appears to acquiesce, but then abruptly shoots himself in the head. Milton's demonic rage burns Christabella alive, revealing his demonic form before turning into a winged angel who resembles Kevin.

Suddenly, Kevin finds himself back at the Gainesville courthouse, during the recess of the Gettys trial. The entire experience was a vision of the future. Kevin returns to the courtroom and sees Mary Ann alive and well. Once the trial resumes, Kevin announces that he cannot represent his client, despite the risk of disbarment. Kevin's reporter friend Larry offers him a high-profile interview, promising to make him famous. Encouraged by Mary Ann, Kevin agrees. After they leave, Larry transforms into Milton, who breaks the fourth wall and declares, "Vanity—definitely my favorite sin."

Themes and interpretations
The Devil character's name is a direct homage to John Milton, who wrote Paradise Lost, quoted by Lomax with the line "Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n". Despite this, the thrust of Milton's epic was to rebuke the devil. As a rebel against God, complaining of being perpetually "underestimated", the Milton character, like Paradise Lost's Satan, is "Heav'n running from Heav'n" with a "sense of injur'd merit".

Professor Eric C. Brown judges the climax, in which Milton attempts to persuade Lomax to have sex with his half-sister to conceive the Antichrist, to be the most "Miltonic", as the sculptures become animated in carnal activities evoking Paradise Lost's "Downfall of the Rebel Angels". The tirade Milton gives in this sequence is at times also reminiscent of Satan's lines in Paradise Lost Books I and II. In U.S. literary education, Milton's temptation of Lomax in the climax, in which he rationalizes rebellion against God for a "Look, but don't touch" model, has been compared to Satan urging Eve to eat forbidden fruit in Paradise Lost, Book IX, lines 720–730:

"If they all things, who enclos'd Knowledge of good and evil in this tree, That whoso eats thereof forthwith attains Wisdom without their leave? and wherein lies Th' offence, that Man should thus attain to know?"

In his DVD commentary, Taylor Hackford did not name Paradise Lost as an inspiration, instead citing the legend of Faust. An underlying concept of the story is a "Faustian bargain", offered to a character with free will. Philosopher Peter van Inwagen writes Milton referring to free will as a "bitch", when Lomax contemplates selling his soul, moves away from a legalistic definition of "free will" as "uncoerced", into the philosophical realm of its definition.

As with Goethe's Faust, the Devil commonly depicted in cinema is associated with lust and temptation. Milton shows Lomax many seductive women, in order to induce his "fall". Sex or rape is usually also the means by which Satan creates the Antichrist, as in Roman Polanski's 1968 film Rosemary's Baby. In The Devil's Advocate, someone other than Satan will have sex to conceive the Antichrist, though Milton nevertheless brutally rapes Mary Ann. Incest becomes a way of creating the Antichrist, since the offspring of Satan's son and daughter will inherit much of Satan's genetic makeup.

Dante Alighieri's Inferno raised "visual potential" that informed the film. Dantean scholar Amilcare A. Iannucci argues the plot follows the Divine Comedy model in beginning with selva oscura, in Lomax losing his conscience defending a guilty man, and then entering and exploring deeper circles of Hell. Iannucci compares the office building structure to the circles, listing fireplaces where flames are always present; demonic visual phenomena; and water outside Milton's office, analogized to Dante's Satan's icy home, albeit situated at the top of Hell as opposed to the bottom. Free will is also a major theme in the Divine Comedy, with the film's musings on the concept being similar to Dante's Purgatorio, 16.82–83 ("if the present world has gone astray, in you is the cause, in you it's to be sought").

Other religious references are present. In describing New York City as Babylon, Alice Lomax invokes Revelation 18:

"Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!"

Milton tempting Lomax is possibly also inspired by the Biblical Temptation of Christ. Aside from Milton, other character names have been commented on: Author Kelly J. Wyman matches Mary Ann, the virginal figure who falls victim to Milton, to the Virgin Mary, and adds the literal translation of Christabella is "Beautiful Christ", and that the title refers to the Catholic Church's Devil's advocates and lawyers as advocates; Eric C. Brown finds Barzoon's name and character to be reminiscent of the demon prince Beelzebub. Scholars Miguel A. De La Torre and Albert Hernández observe the vision of Satan as CEO, wearing expensive clothing and engaging in business, had appeared in popular culture before, including the 1942 novel The Screwtape Letters.

Development
Andrew Neiderman wrote The Devil's Advocate as a novel, and it was published in 1990 by Simon and Schuster. Believing his story could be adapted into a film, Neiderman approached Warner Bros. and claimed to have led his successful sale with the synopsis "It's about a law firm in New York that represents only guilty people, and never loses".

Various screenplay adaptations of The Devil's Advocate had been pitched to U.S. cinema studios, with Joel Schumacher planned to direct it with Brad Pitt as the young lawyer. Schumacher planned a sequence in which Pitt would descend into the New York subway system, which would be modeled on the circles of hell in Dante's Divine Comedy. With no actor to play Satan, this project collapsed.

The O.J. Simpson murder trial and its controversial outcome gave new impetus to relaunching the project, with a $60 million budget. Warner hired Taylor Hackford to direct the new attempt. The director embraced the legal drama aspect, theorizing, "The courtroom has become the gladiator arena of the late twentieth century. Following the progress of a sensational trial is a spectator sport".

Tony Gilroy led much of the rewrite, with supervision by Hackford, who envisioned it as "a modern-day morality play" and "Faustian tale". As the screenplay developed, free will became a theme, in which Milton does not actually cause events. Hackford wanted suggestions that Milton does not kill Barzoon, as he defied his muggers, or United States Attorney Weaver, who arrogantly did not watch for vehicles before stepping onto the road.

The screenwriters added the plot element that Lomax was Milton's son, and that Milton could produce the Antichrist, neither of which are in the novel. Hackford cited the films Rosemary's Baby and The Omen as influences, and both had explored the Antichrist mythology. Another change from the novel was converting the book's lesbian client to the pedophile Lloyd Gettys, avoiding undertones of homophobia. In an early version of the screenplay, the "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven" quotation is given to Milton rather than Lomax.

Casting
Al Pacino had previously been offered the Devil role in attempts at adapting Neiderman's novel, but before final rewrites, rejected it on three occasions, for the clichéd nature of the character. Pacino suggested Robert Redford and Sean Connery for the role. Keanu Reeves chose to star in Devil's Advocate over Speed 2, despite a promised $11 million for the sequel to his 1994 hit Speed; according to Reeves' staff, the actor was averse to performing in two consecutive action films after Chain Reaction (1996). On Devil's Advocate, Reeves agreed to a pay cut worth millions of dollars so that the producers could meet Pacino's salary demands. To prepare for the role, Pacino watched the 1941 film The Devil and Daniel Webster and observed tips from Walter Huston as Mr. Scratch. He also read Dante's Inferno and Paradise Lost.

Connie Nielsen, a Danish actress, was selected by Hackford for Christabella, who speaks several languages, with Hackford saying Nielsen already spoke multiple languages. Craig T. Nelson, known for his television work, was cast against type in a villainous role.

Filming
Principal photography began in New York in 1996, but struggled by November. Delays were caused by the dismissals of the original cinematographer and assistant directors, while an anonymous source claimed Pacino found Hackford to be conceited and loud. An executive alleged Pacino was typically late to work, though producer Arnold Kopelson said this was not the case. Hackford later said Pacino was professional, even though his status meant he did not need to be.

Production designer Bruno Rubeo was tasked to create Milton's apartment, aiming for a "very loose and very sexy" appearance, "so you can't really tell where it goes". Hackford said on this set, he encouraged Reeves and Pacino to "feel the room" and develop some improvisation. Pacino came up with the idea of dancing to "It Happened in Monterey" by Frank Sinatra, and Hackford immediately adopted the idea.

When Lomax leaves to meet Milton, he walks through 57th Street in New York, which is abnormally devoid of people or vehicles. It was shot at the actual 57th Street, with the filmmakers having it emptied at 7:30 a.m. on a Sunday. The offices were shot at the Continental Club in Manhattan, and the Continental Plaza, though the water outside Milton's office was added later by computer effects. In constructing the firm sets, Hackford and Rubeo consulted one architect from Japan and one from Italy to craft an "ultra-modern" look, to display Milton's taste. Donald Trump's penthouse in Trump Tower, Fifth Avenue was lent to the production for Alexander Cullen's residence.

A number of churches and courts hosted production. The interior of New York City's Church of the Heavenly Rest was used for the scene where Theron's character says Milton raped her. The outside of Central Presbyterian Church was photographed for Barzoon's funeral, while Pacino was inside the Manhattan Church of the Most Holy Redeemer for the holy water sequence. For court scenes, New Jersey's Bergen County Court House was employed for production, as were historic courthouses in New York.

After the completion of the New York shoot in March 1997, production moved to Florida in July 1997. In Jacksonville, Florida, the interior of the Mrs. Howard's business in Riverside and Avondale was used for New York scenes. Its co-owner Jim Howard remodeled the store and appeared as an extra. The Gainesville church scenes were shot at an actual Gainesville church, after Hackford persuaded the pastor and his members to participate, and that his story was about combating Satan.

Theron had to briefly leave the United States while filming, because she was working illegally.

Post-production
At the end of the film, John Milton morphs into Lucifer as a fallen angel. The crew created the effect by combining life masks depicting Reeves, Pacino in 1997 and Pacino as he appeared in the 1972 film The Godfather. The Godfather make-up artist Dick Smith supplied the life mask he made in the 1970s to Devil's Advocate artist Rick Baker, Smith's former protégé. Additionally, Baker created images for demonic faces seen on real actresses and actors, with hands also appearing to move underneath Tamara Tunie's skin, a digital creation with the contributions of Richard Greenberg and Stephanie Powell.

Shots of ballerinas moving in water were used as a basis for Milton's animated sculpture. Special effects producer Edward L. Williams said he filmed the people for the statue effect, and that they were naked and placed in a tank next to a blue screen. It took three months to film the people and then add the computer effects, at a cost of $2 million, or 40% of the overall budget for special effects.

James Newton Howard, a past collaborator with Hackford, was tasked to write the score. Hackford dubbed over Pacino's performance of "It Happened in Monterey" with Sinatra's voice. "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones is also used for the film's conclusion.

Release
During early stages of photography, Warner aspired to a release in August 1997. The film eventually had its release on October 17, 1997, on the same day as another horror film, I Know What You Did Last Summer. To promote the release, Warner's website included the warning on hell's gate from Dante's Inferno Canto III ("Abandon every hope, ye who enter here"), with credits presented as circles of hell. The television advertising and poster were upfront as to Milton being Satan, though this is not explicitly revealed in the film itself until its later acts.

Around 475,000 copies of the VHS and DVD were produced by February 1998, but their release into the home video market was delayed pending the Hart v. Warner Bros., Inc. lawsuit. The film afterwards went into regular airings on TNT and TBS. A Blu-ray edition was released in Region A in 2012, as an "Unrated Director's Cut" in which the art in the climax previously subject to the lawsuit is digitally redone.

Box office
On its opening weekend in October 1997, The Devil's Advocate earned $12.2 million, finishing second in the U.S. box office to I Know What You Did Last Summer, which made $16.1 million. The Devil's Advocate was largely competing against thriller films aimed at youth in the Halloween season. By December 6, 1997, it grossed $56.1 million. It ended its run on February 12, 1998, with a gross of $61 million in North America and $92 million elsewhere.

Critical response
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes assigned the film an approval rating of 63% based on 60 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The site's critics consensus states: "Though it is ultimately somewhat undone by its own lofty ambitions, The Devil's Advocate is a mostly effective blend of supernatural thrills and character exploration." Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert wrote, "The movie never fully engaged me; my mind raced ahead of the plot, and the John Grisham stuff clashed with the Exorcist stuff". In The New York Times, Janet Maslin complimented the "gratifyingly light touch" of using John Milton's name, and special effects with "gimmicks well tethered to reality". David Denby wrote in New York that Devil's Advocate was "preposterously entertaining" and predicted it would get viewers debating. Entertainment Weekly gave it a B, with Owen Gleiberman declaring it "at once silly, overwrought, and almost embarrassingly entertaining", and crediting Pacino for his performance. Gleiberman later declared that Pacino had won the magazine's yearly award for Best Overacting. Variety's Todd McCarthy declared it "fairly entertaining", displaying "a nearly operatic sense of absurdity and excess". Dave Kehr of New York Daily News also preferred Pacino over Reeves, assessing The Devil's Advocate as Faust moved to Manhattan, though disappointed that a "witty undercurrent becomes an exaggerated moralism". Critic James Berardinelli wrote that it "is a highly enjoyable motion picture that's part character study, part supernatural thriller, and part morality play".

In The New York Times Magazine, Michiko Kakutani objected to trivializing Satan, reducing Paradise Lost vision of the War in Heaven to "an extended lawyer joke". The Christian Science Monitor's David Sterritt found it an unsurprising cinematic re-imagining of Faust with Satan a lawyer, but he recognized its message of "the need for personal responsibility", albeit with "more lascivious sex and shocking violence than a traditional 'Faust' rendition".

In 2014, Yahoo! named The Devil's Advocate as "Pacino's Most Underrated Film", claiming "Pacino's hammy devil never got his due" but "there's something to be said for an actor who can pull off this level of theatrics". In his 2015 Movie Guide, Leonard Maltin gave it three stars, finding Reeves credible and Pacino "delicious". Scott Mendelson wrote in Forbes in 2015 that "I love this trashy, vulgar, unapologetically puritan melodrama more than I care to admit". In 2016, The Huffington Post reported on an online debate over the possible symbolism in the costume design, as Lomax appears in suits that are light in the beginning, becoming increasingly darker as his morality slips away. The counterpoint is that this merely reflects his increasing social status.

Accolades
The film won the Saturn Award for Best Horror Film. Pacino was also nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.

Lawsuit
The film was the subject of legal action in Hart v. Warner Bros., Inc. in 1997. The claim was that the sculpture featuring human forms in John Milton's apartment closely resembled the Ex nihilo sculpture by Frederick Hart on the facade of the Episcopal National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and that a scene involving the sculpture infringed Hart's rights under copyright law in the United States. Hart and the National Cathedral jointly initiated the action, with an argument similar to architect Lebbeus Woods's successful lawsuit over imagery in the film 12 Monkeys. Defenses available to Warner were that the effect was designed without knowledge of Ex nihilo, or fair use.

After a federal judge ruled that the film's video release would be delayed until the case went to trial unless a settlement was reached, Warner Bros. agreed to edit the scene for future releases and to attach stickers to unedited videotapes to indicate there was no relation between the art in the film and Hart's work. The settlement in February 1998 meant 475,000 copies of the VHS and DVD could go into rental stores and businesses.

Adaptations
In 2014, Andrew Neiderman wrote a prequel novel, Judgment Day, about John Milton arriving in New York City and obtaining control of a major law firm. Neiderman brought the book to Warner Bros. for a television series adaptation. John Wells and Arnold Kopelson unsuccessfully attempted to adapt Devil's Advocate into a series in 2014. Produced by Warner Bros. Television, Wells and Kopelson took the project to NBC for a television pilot written by Matt Venne.

A musical play based on The Devil's Advocate is in development. Julian Woolford also launched a stage adaptation Advocaat van de Duivel in the Netherlands, in 2015.

title: The Devil's Advocate (1997 film)


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Scale insect

Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the superfamily Coccoidea due to taxonomic uncertainties. Adult females typically have soft bodies and no limbs, and are concealed underneath domed scales, extruding quantities of wax for protection. Some species are hermaphroditic, with a combined ovotestis instead of separate ovaries and testes. Males, in the species where they occur, have legs and sometimes wings, and resemble small flies. Scale insects are herbivores, piercing plant tissues with their mouthparts and remaining in one place, feeding on sap. The excess fluid they imbibe is secreted as honeydew on which sooty mold tends to grow. The insects often have a mutualistic relationship with ants, which feed on the honeydew and protect them from predators. There are about 8,000 described species.

The oldest fossils of the group date to the Late Jurassic, preserved in amber. They were already substantially diversified by the Early Cretaceous suggesting an earlier origin during the Triassic or Jurassic. Their closest relatives are the jumping plant lice, whiteflies, phylloxera bugs and aphids. The majority of female scale insects remain in one place as adults, with newly hatched nymphs, known as "crawlers", being the only mobile life stage, apart from the short-lived males. The reproductive strategies of many species include at least some amount of asexual reproduction by parthenogenesis.

Some scale insects are serious commercial pests, notably the cottony cushion scale (Icerya purchasi) on Citrus fruit trees; they are difficult to control as the scale and waxy covering protect them effectively from contact insecticides. Some species are used for biological control of pest plants such as the prickly pear, Opuntia. Others produce commercially valuable substances including carmine and kermes dyes, and shellac lacquer. The two red colour-names crimson and scarlet both derive from the names of Kermes products in other languages.

Description

Scale insects vary dramatically in appearance, from very small organisms (1–2 mm) that grow beneath wax covers (some shaped like oysters, others like mussel shells), to shiny pearl-like objects (about 5 mm), to animals covered with mealy wax. Adult females are almost always immobile (apart from mealybugs) and permanently attached to the plant on which they are feeding. They secrete a waxy coating for defence, making them resemble reptilian or fish scales, and giving them their common name. The key character that sets apart the Coccomorpha from all other Hemiptera is the single segmented tarsus on the legs with only one claw at the tip.

The group is extremely sexually dimorphic; female scale insects, unusually for Hemiptera, retain the immature external morphology even when sexually mature, a condition known as neoteny. Adult females are pear-shaped, elliptical or circular, with no wings, and usually no constriction separating the head from the body. Segmentation of the body is indistinct, but may be indicated by the presence of marginal bristles. Legs are absent in the females of some families, and when present vary from single segment stubs to five-segmented limbs. Female scale insects have no compound eyes, but ocelli (simple eyes) are sometimes present in Margarodidae, Ortheziidae and Phenacoleachiidae. The family Beesoniidae lacks antennae, but other families possess antennae with from one to thirteen segments. The mouthparts are adapted for piercing and sucking.

Adult males in contrast have the typical head, thorax and abdomen of other insect groups, and are so different from females that pairing them as a species is challenging. They are usually slender insects resembling aphids or small flies. They have antennae with nine or ten segments, compound eyes (Margarodidae and Ortheziidae) or simple eyes (most other families), and legs with five segments. Most species have wings, and in some, generations may alternate between being winged and wingless. Adult males do not feed, and die within two or three days of emergence.

In species with winged males, generally only the forewings are fully functional. This is unusual among insects; it most closely resembles the situation in the true flies, the Diptera. However, the Diptera and Hemiptera are not closely related, and do not closely resemble each other in morphology; for example, the tail filaments of the Coccomorpha do not resemble anything in the morphology of flies. The hind (metathoracic) wings are reduced, commonly to the point that they can easily be overlooked. In some species the hind wings have hamuli, hooklets, that couple the hind wings to the main wings, as in the Hymenoptera. The vestigial wings are often reduced to pseudo-halteres, club-like appendages, but these are not homologous with the control organs of Diptera, and it is not clear whether they have any substantial control function.

Hermaphroditism is very rare in insects, but several species of Icerya exhibit an unusual form. The adult possesses an ovotestis, consisting of both female and male reproductive tissue, and sperm is transmitted to the young for their future use. The fact that a new population can be founded by a single individual may have contributed to the success of the cottony cushion scale which has spread around the world.

Life cycle

Female scale insects in more advanced families develop from the egg through a first instar (crawler) stage and a second instar stage before becoming adult. In more primitive families there is an additional instar stage. Males pass through a first and second instar stage, a pre-pupal and a pupal stage before adulthood (actually a pseudopupa, as only holometabolous insects have a true pupa).

The first instars of most species of scale insects emerge from the egg with functional legs, and are informally called "crawlers". They immediately crawl around in search of a suitable spot to settle down and feed. In some species they delay settling down either until they are starving, or until they have been blown away by wind onto what presumably is another plant, where they may establish a new colony. There are many variations on such themes, such as scale insects that are associated with species of ants that act as herders and carry the young ones to protected sites to feed. In either case, many such species of crawlers, when they moult, lose the use of their legs if they are female, and stay put for life. Only the males retain legs, and in some species wings, and use them in seeking females. To do this they usually walk, as their ability to fly is limited, but they may get carried to new locations by the wind.

Adult females of the families Margarodidae, Ortheziidae and Pseudococcidae are mobile and can move to other parts of the host plant or even adjoining plants, but the mobile period is limited to a short period between moults. Some of these overwinter in crevices in the bark or among plant litter, moving in spring to tender young growth. However, the majority of female scale insects are sedentary as adults. Their dispersal ability depends on how far a crawler can crawl before it needs to shed its skin and start feeding. There are various strategies for dealing with deciduous trees. On these, males often feed on the leaves, usually beside the veins, while females select the twigs. Where there are several generations in the year, there may be a general retreat onto the twigs as fall approaches. On branches, the underside is usually preferred as giving protection against predation and adverse weather. The solenopsis mealybug feeds on the foliage of its host in summer and the roots in winter, and large numbers of scale species feed invisibly, year-round on roots.

Reproduction and the genetics of sex determination
Scale insects show a very wide range of variations in the genetics of sex determination and the modes of reproduction. Besides sexual reproduction, a number of different forms of reproductive systems are employed, including asexual reproduction by parthenogenesis. In some species, sexual and asexual populations are found in different locations, and in general, species with a wide geographic range and a diversity of plant hosts are more likely to be asexual. Large population size is hypothesized to protect an asexual population from becoming extinct, but nevertheless, parthenogenesis is uncommon among scale insects, with the most widespread generalist feeders reproducing sexually, the majority of these being pest species.

Many species have the XX-XO system where the female is diploid and homogametic while the male is heterogametic and missing a sex chromosome. In some Diaspididae and Pseudococcidae, both sexes are produced from fertilized eggs but during development males eliminate the paternal genome and this system called paternal genome elimination (PGE) is found in nearly 14 scale insect families. This elimination is achieved with several variations. The commonest (known as the lecanoid system) involved deactivation of the paternal genome and elimination at the time of sperm production in males, this is seen in Pseudococcidae, Kerriidae and some Eriococcidae. In the other variant or Comstockiella system, the somatic cells have the paternal genome untouched. A third variant found in Diaspididae involves the paternal genome being completely removed at an early stage making males haploid both in somatic and germ cells even though they are formed from diploids, i.e., from fertilized eggs. In addition to this there is also true haplodiploidy with females born from fertilized eggs and males from unfertilized eggs. This is seen in the genus Icerya. In Parthenolecanium, males are born from unfertilized eggs but diploidy is briefly restored by fusion of haploid cleave nuclei and then one sex chromosome is lost through heterochromatinization. Females can reproduce parthenogenetically with six different variants based on whether males are entirely absent or not (obligate v. facultative parthenogenesis); the sex of fertilized v. unfertilized eggs; and based on how diploidy is restored in unfertilized eggs. The evolution of these systems are thought to be the result of intra-genomic conflict as well as possibly inter-genomic conflict with endosymbionts under varied selection pressures. The diversity of systems has made scale insects ideal models for research.

Ecology

Scale insects are an ancient group, having originated in the Cretaceous, the period in which angiosperms came to dominance among plants, with only a few groups species found on gymnosperms. They feed on a wide variety of plants but are unable to survive long away from their hosts. While some specialise on a single plant species (monophagous), and some on a single genus or plant family (oligophagous), others are less specialised and feed on several plant groups (polyphagous). The parasite biologist Robert Poulin notes that the feeding behaviour of scale insects closely resembles that of ectoparasites, living on the outside of their host and feeding only on them, even if they have not traditionally been so described; in his view, those species that remain immobile on a single host and feed only on it behave as obligate ectoparasites. For example, cochineal species are restricted to cactus hosts, and the gall-inducing Apiomorpha are restricted to Eucalyptus. Some species have certain habitat requirements; some Ortheziidae occur in damp meadows, among mosses and in woodland soil, and the boreal ensign scale (Newsteadia floccosa) inhabits plant litter. A Hawaiian mealybug Clavicoccus erinaceus that fed solely on the now critically endangered Abutilon sandwicense has gone extinct as has another species Phyllococcus oahuensis. Several other monophagous scale insects, especially those on islands, are threatened by coextinction due to threats faced by their host plants.

Most scale insects are herbivores, feeding on phloem sap drawn directly from the plant's vascular system, but a few species feed on fungal mats and fungi, such as some species in the genus Newsteadia in the family Ortheziidae. Plant sap provides a liquid diet which is rich in sugar and non-essential amino acids. In order to make up for the shortage of essential amino acids, they depend on endosymbiotic proteobacteria. Scale insects secrete a large quantity of sticky viscid fluid known as "honeydew". This includes sugars, amino acids and minerals, and is attractive to ants as well as acting as a substrate on which sooty mould can grow. The mould can reduce photosynthesis by the leaves and detracts from the appearance of ornamental plants. The scale's activities can result in stress for the plant, causing reduced growth and giving it a greater susceptibility to plant diseases.

Scale insects in the genus Cryptostigma live inside the nests of neotropical ant species. Many tropical plants need ants to survive which in turn cultivate scale insects thus forming a tripartite symbiosis. Some ants and scale insects have a mutualistic relationship; the ants feed on the honeydew and in return protect the scales. On a tulip tree, ants have been observed building a papery tent over the scales. In other instances, scale insects are carried inside the ant's nest; the ant Acropyga exsanguis takes this to an extreme by transporting a fertilised female mealybug with it on its nuptial flight, so that the nest it founds can be provisioned. This provides a means for the mealybug to be dispersed widely. Species of Hippeococcus have long clinging legs with claws to grip the Dolichoderus ants which tend them; they allow themselves to be carried into the ant colony. Here the mealybugs are safe from predation and environmental hazards, while the ants have a source of nourishment. Another species of ant maintains a herd of scale insects inside the hollow stems of a Barteria tree; the scale insects feed on the sap and the ants, while benefiting from the honeydew, drive away other herbivorous insects from the tree as well as preventing vines from smothering it.

Scale insects have various natural enemies, and research in this field is largely directed at the species that are crop pests. Entomopathogenic fungi can attack suitable scales and completely overgrow them. The identity of the host is not always apparent as many fungi are host-specific, and may destroy all the scales of one species present on a leaf while not affecting another species. Fungi in the genus Septobasidium have a more complex, mutualistic relationship with scale insects. The fungus lives on trees where it forms a mat which overgrows the scales, reducing the growth of the individual parasitised scales and sometimes rendering them infertile, but protecting the scale colony from environmental conditions and predators. The fungus benefits by metabolising the sap extracted from the tree by the insects.

Natural enemies include parasitoid wasps, mostly in the families Encyrtidae and Eulophidae, and predatory beetles such as fungus weevils, ladybirds and sap beetles. Ladybirds feed on aphids and scale insects, laying their eggs near their prey to ensure their larvae have immediate access to food. The ladybird Cryptolaemus montrouzieri is known as the "mealybug destroyer" because both adults and larvae feed on mealybugs and some soft scales. Ants looking after their providers of honeydew tend to drive off predators, but the mealybug destroyer has outwitted the ants by developing cryptic camouflage, with their larvae mimicking scale larvae.

As pests
Many scale species are serious crop pests and are particularly problematic for their ability to evade quarantine measures. In 1990, they caused around $5 billion of damage to crops in the United States. The waxy covering of many species of scale protects their adults effectively from contact insecticides, which are only effective against the first-instar nymph stage known as the crawler. However, scales can often be controlled using horticultural oils that suffocate them, systemic pesticides that poison the sap of the host plants, or by biological control agents such as tiny parasitoid wasps and ladybirds. Insecticidal soap may also be used against scales.

One species, the cottony cushion scale, is a serious commercial pest on 65 families of woody plants, including Citrus fruits. It has spread worldwide from Australia.

As biological controls
At the same time, some kinds of scale insects are themselves useful as biological control agents for pest plants, such as various species of cochineal insects that attack invasive species of prickly pear, which spread widely especially in Australia and Africa.

Products
Some types of scale insect are economically valuable for the substances they can yield under proper husbandry. Some, such as the cochineal, kermes, lac, Armenian cochineal, and Polish cochineal, have been used to produce red dyes for coloring foods and dyeing fabrics. Both the colour name "crimson" and the generic name Kermes are from Italian carmesi or cremesi for the dye used for Italian silk textiles, in turn from the Persian qirmizī (قرمز), meaning both the colour and the insect. The colour name "scarlet" is similarly derived from Arabic siklāt, denoting extremely expensive luxury silks dyed red using kermes.

Some waxy scale species in the genera Ceroplastes and Ericerus produce materials such as Chinese wax, and several genera of lac scales produce shellac.

Evolution
The containing group of the scale insects was formerly treated as the superfamily Coccoidea but taxonomic uncertainties have led workers to prefer the use of the infraorder Coccomorpha as the preferred name for the group. Scale insects are members of the Sternorrhyncha. The phylogeny of the extant groups, inferred from analysis of small subunit (18S) ribosomal RNA, is shown in the first cladogram.

Phylogenetic diversification within the Coccomorpha has been analysed by the taxonomist Isabelle Vea and the entomologist David Grimaldi in 2016, combining DNA (3 gene regions) and 174 morphological characters (to allow fossil evidence to be incorporated). They showed that the main scale insect lineages diverged before their angiosperm hosts, and suggested that the insects switched from feeding on gymnosperms once the angiosperms became common and widespread in the Cretaceous. The Coccomorpha appeared at the start of the Triassic period, some 245 mya; the neococcoids some 185 mya. Scale insects are very well represented in the fossil record, with the oldest known member of the group reported from the Late Jurassic amber from Lebanon. They are abundantly preserved in amber from the Early Cretaceous, 130 mya, onwards; they were already highly diversified by Cretaceous times. All the families were monophyletic except for the Eriococcidae. The Coccomorpha are division into two clades the "Archaeococcoids" and "Neococcoids". The archaeococcoid families have adult males with either compound eyes or a row of unicorneal eyes and have abdominal spiracles in the females. In neoccoids, the females have no abdominal spiracles. In the cladogram below the genus Pityococcus is moved to the "Neococcoids". A cladogram showing the major families using this methodology is shown below.

Recognition of scale insect families has fluctuated over time, and the validity of many remains in flux, with several recognized families not included in the phylogeny presented above including extinct groups are listed below:

 * Archecoccoidea Borchsenius, 1958
 * Apticoccidae Vea & Grimaldi, 2015
 * Arnoldidae Koteja, 2008
 * Burmacoccidae Koteja, 2004
 * Callipappidae MacGillivray, 1921
 * Coelostomidiidae Morrison, 1927
 * Electrococcidae Koteja, 2000
 * Grimaldiellidae Koteja, 2000
 * Grohnidae Koteja, 2008
 * Hammanococcidae Koteja & Azar, 2008
 * Jankotejacoccidae Szwedo, Azar & Sendi, 2024
 * Jersicoccidae Koteja, 2000
 * Kozariidae Vea & Grimaldi, 2015
 * Kukaspididae Koteja & Poinar, 2001
 * Kuwaniidae MacGillivray, 1921
 * Labiococcidae Koteja, 2000b
 * Lebanococcidae Koteja & Azar, 2008
 * Lithuanicoccidae Koteja, 2008
 * Macrodrilidae Poinar, 2020
 * Marchalinidae Morrison, 1927
 * Margarodidae Cockerell, 1899
 * Matsucoccidae Morrison, 1927
 * Monophlebidae Morrison, 1927
 * Ortheziidae Amyot & Audinet-Serville, 1843
 * Pennygullaniidae Koteja & Azar, 2008
 * Phenacoleachiidae Cockerell, 1902
 * Pityococcidae McKenzie, 1942
 * Putoidae Tang, 1992
 * Serafinidae Koteja, 2008
 * Steingeliidae Morrison, 1927
 * Stigmacoccidae Morrison, 1927
 * Termitococcidae Jakubski, 1965
 * Weitschatidae Koteja, 2008
 * Xylococcidae Pergande in Hubbard & Pergande, 1898
 * Neococcoidea Borchsenius, 1950
 * Aclerdidae Cockerell, 1905
 * Albicoccidae Koteja, 2004
 * Asterolecaniidae Cockerell, 1896
 * Beesoniidae Ferris, 1950
 * Calycicoccidae Brain, 1918
 * Carayonemidae Richard, 1986
 * Cerococcidae Balachowsky, 1942
 * Cissococcidae Brain, 1918
 * Coccidae Fallen, 1814
 * Conchaspididae Green, 1896
 * Cryptococcidae Kosztarab, 1968
 * Dactylopiidae Signoret, 1875
 * Diaspididae Targioni-Tozzetti, 1868
 * Eriococcoidae Cockerell, 1899
 * Halimococcidae Brown & McKenzie, 1962
 * Hodgsonicoccidae Vea & Grimaldi, 2015
 * Inkaidae Koteja, 1989
 * Kermesidae Signoret, 1875
 * Kerriidae Lindinger, 1937
 * Lecanodiaspididae Targioni-Tozzetti, 1869
 * Micrococcidae Silvestri, 1939
 * Phoenicococcidae Stickney, 1934
 * Porphyrophoridae Signoret, 1875
 * Pseudococcidae Cockerell, 1905
 * Rhizoecidae Williams, 1969
 * Stictococcidae Lindinger, 1913
 * Tachardiidae Green, 1896

title: Scale insect