In an undisclosed city, a notorious gangster named Eddie Black is poised for a confrontation with his rival, Robert Durant, who has been steadily infringing on Black's territory. Surrounded by his loyal henchmen, Black waits to settle the score. Upon Durant's arrival, he and his crew are subjected to a thorough weapon search before being granted entry into a dimly lit warehouse. Black lays down his ultimatum, demanding that Durant vacate his claimed ground. In a shocking turn of events, Durant signals to his accomplice Smiley, who opens fire on Black's men using an Uzi concealed within a prosthetic leg. The ambush results in carnage, with Black's crew swiftly eliminated while Black himself is left vulnerable. Durant, demonstrating his brutal resolve, uses a cigar cutter to sever one of Black's fingers for each of his conditions, revealing a chilling trophy collection of his victims' digits.
Meanwhile, in the confines of a laboratory, Dr. Peyton Westlake experiments tirelessly on artificial skin cells. Despite his efforts, every creation falters, deteriorating after a mere 99 minutes of exposure to light. Later, his girlfriend, Julie Hastings, visits him, bringing a private memo that alludes to dubious actions by her superior, Louis Strack. When Strack cautions Julie to cease her investigation, she stands her ground, leading to a complicating moment in their relationship as Westlake proposes marriage, only to be met with hesitance.
As Westlake immerses himself back into his research, a power outage strikes the lab just as he inches closer to success; his assistant Yakatito discovers that the skin cells can endure beyond the critical mark. However, disaster strikes when Durant and his henchmen invade the lab, seeking the incriminating memo that Julie had inadvertently left behind. Westlake, under duress and intense brutality, is subjected to a vicious beating, culminating in a horrific encounter with boiling chemicals that leaves him grotesquely burned. A violent explosion obliterates the lab, and as the flames erupt, a heart-wrenching scene unfolds where Julie arrives only to witness the devastation.
Following the chaos, a medical team mistakenly identifies Westlake as a vagrant and performs a ruthless procedure to sever his pain nerves, inadvertently amplifying his rage and strength. Though he escapes to the streets, his impeded appearance disallows any recognition from Julie, forcing him to retreat into the shadows. Determined to reclaim his former self and exact revenge on Durant, Westlake commandeers an abandoned factory, salvaging what remained of his laboratory equipment. As he adapts his technology, he also embarks on a mission of vengeance, starting with the abduction of one of Durant's henchmen.
Westlake now uses his tech to replicate faces, beginning with the unfortunate Paulie, whose identity he takes on for a speculative money drop. The stakes grow higher as Westlake's scheme leads to Paul's brutal demise, witnessed by an unassuming Westlake himself, cloaked under his disguise. Yet, the artificial skin formula remains elusive, complicating his plans further. In the meantime, he reconnects with Julie under false pretenses, sharing a tender moment amidst his deception.
As the tension escalates, Westlake directly confronts Durant, embedding himself within the criminal's ranks. After a series of clever maneuvers, including extorting a Chinese gangster for funds, the climactic confrontation looms closer. With bullets flying and lives at stake, Westlake’s fight for vengeance reaches a riveting peak aboard a helicopter. As he grapples with the notorious Durant and faces Strack's treachery, the line between his quest for retribution and personal redemption blurs.
In the riveting finale, Westlake battles not only for Julie's safety but for his own reclaiming of identity, resulting in an explosive climax filled with desperation and a decisive battle against the evildoers. Ultimately, despite the harrowing ordeal, Westlake embraces his fate as a masked vigilante known as Darkman, leaving behind a legacy steeped in vengeance, sacrifice, and the struggle for acceptance in a world turned against him.
