Black Hole

Recovering from defeat to invade Macro Land under Sturm's command, with Hawke as his second-in-command during the Black Hole Rising campaign.

Black Hole is the primary antagonist force in Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising, a turn-based strategy game released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. Following their defeat in Cosmo Land during the events of the original Advance Wars, this faction quickly recovered to launch a massive invasion of Macro Land under the command of Sturm. Unlike the traditional Allied Nations—Orange Star, Blue Moon, Yellow Comet, and Green Earth—Black Hole operates as a unified military entity seeking total conquest. The group introduced new technologies like the Black Cannon and deployed four commanding officers: Flak, Lash, Adder, and Hawke—the latter serving as Sturm's second-in-command during the Black Hole Rising campaign. Their aggression forced the protagonists to cooperate once again, driving the conflict across five continents until the final confrontation at the Death Ray.

Quick Facts

Origin: Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising

Lore & Background

Black Hole rose again shortly after its defeat in Cosmo Land, gathering forces to invade Macro Land. Under the leadership of Sturm, who had previously led the invasion of Cosmo Land, the organization expanded its ranks by recruiting three new commanding officers—Flak, Lash, and Adder—alongside Hawke, who would serve as Sturm's second-in-command during the Black Hole Rising campaign. Flak, a strongman, was tasked with invading Orange Star; Lash, a genius inventor, was assigned to Blue Moon; Adder, a narcissistic commander, led the assault on Yellow Comet; and Hawke, Sturm's trusted second, was charged with taking Green Earth. These leaders brought specialized technologies and tactics to the battlefield. The organization's presence was marked by unique terrain features like the Missile Silo and Pipeline, as well as destructive properties such as the Black Cannon and Mini Cannons—Black Hole technology created under Sturm's authority—that fired at non-Black Hole units each turn. Their goal was absolute dominance over Macro Land's five continents. The final confrontation occurred at the Death Ray, a weapon capable of destroying half of Macro Land, which was destroyed by the Allied Nations, resulting in Sturm's death.

Reader's Guide

Players navigate a non-linear campaign across five continents, each representing one of the Allied nations under attack. The goal is to defeat all enemies or capture enemy headquarters, though special objectives often require destroying or capturing key buildings like the Black Cannon. These properties have health represented by heart icons and can be destroyed by attacking units. New features include the Neotank unit, Missile Silos for area damage, and Pipelines that act as impassable walls to create smaller maps in the editor. Commanding Officers utilize a modified CO Meter with small stars for regular CO Powers and large stars for more powerful Super CO Powers. While using a Super CO Power drains the meter completely, normal powers leave residual charge, adding strategic depth to ability usage. Completing missions earns ranks that unlock content in the Battle Maps shop.

Did You Know?

The Japanese release, Game Boy Wars Advance 2, was released in Japan without cancellation, and later included in a compilation cartridge called Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2 in 2004.
Black Hole Rising introduced two new units to the series: the Neotank and the Black Boat.
Sturm died when his Death Ray was destroyed by the Allied Nations, not killed by Hawke using Black Storm.
The game won the European Computer Trade Show's Best Handheld Game of the Year award in 2003.