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Shade (comics)
Encyclopedia
The Shade is a comic book
character
developed in the 1940's for National Comics
. Debuting as a villain, the Shade was best known for fighting against two generations of superhero
es, most notably the Golden Age
and Silver Age
versions of the Flash
. He eventually became a mentor for Jack Knight
, the son of the Golden Age Starman
Ted Knight, a hero the Shade had also fought.
Though initially portrayed in the Golden Age
comics
as a thief with a cane that could manipulate shadows, the character was reinvented in 1994 as a morally ambiguous Victorian era immortal who gained the ability to manipulate shadows and his immortality from an unexplained mystical event. In 2009, the Shade was ranked as IGN
's 89th Greatest Villain of All Time.
. Shade was one of three villains used for the first meeting of the two heroes in the famous Flash of Two Worlds
story, which reintroduced the Golden Age Flash to the Silver Age. He was jailed along with the Wizard
and Fiddler
. In the "Crisis on Earth-S" story (Justice League of America #136) he is one of King Kull
's agents positioned on Earth-S to wipe out humanity there. With Doctor Light he causes perpetual night and darkness on either side of the planet, but is met by Bulletman and Hawkman
.
The Shade was at the Louvre
Museum, where he was causing all the figures in the classical paintings to become real people and move off their canvasses. Bulletman found that as he got close to any of the figures, his hand began changing, becoming two-dimensional. Hawkman’s wings blew the painted people away, and the two heroes went after the Shade. Bulletman was able to use his Gravity Helmet to repel the Shade’s darkness cane out of his hands. As Hawkman attempted to use it to stop the darkness (which was being caused by an overhead satellite), even the Shade was surprised that nothing happened. As the heroes got together again to discuss their options, they decided to use each weapon to move the satellites until they crashed together. The destruction of the two devices caused everything to revert back to normal, including the transformed body parts of the heroes.
. The Shade's next appearance was in a flashback story in Secret Origins
#50 (1989), which explained the story of the post-Crisis
first meeting of Jay Garrick and Barry Allen.
Post Zero Hour
After Zero Hour, The Shade's origin was changed drastically. The Shade was retconned to an English
gentleman
named Richard Swift, a young man in the year 1838. One night in London
, Swift was trapped amidst an unexplained mystical tragedy, which killed 104 people. The most immediate of effects upon him was the permanent loss of all memory before the incident; fortunately, a carriage appeared and took him in. The gentleman who had picked him up gave him the name Piers Ludlow, and offered to help him reencounter his past. Accepting his "kindness", Swift was taken to Ludlow's house and was taken to a house the next evening. However, the whole affair was a setup; the whole Ludlow family was in fact a band of killers and swindlers, and they had perpetuated a scheme many times over: to kill one of their wealthy, reclusive business partners and have a vagrant killed in his vicinity to give the impression of a failed robbery/homicide. However, when they intended to repeat the scheme with Swift as the scapegoat, he reflexively unleashed his shadows, killing all the present Ludlows. Only a young pair of twins, absent from the excursion, survived. The following evening Swift met one of his true friends prior to the incident: the author Charles Dickens
.
For decades thereafter, Swift lived a relatively normal life, one which changed when Rupert Ludlow, one of the surviving twins, appeared and ambushed him along with a band of hired killers, informing him of the murderous intent of the family and of its exponential growth. Though grievously injured, Swift still managed to kill Ludlow, (by then he had already discovered his immortality). Afterward, he left England and started a career as an adventurer/assassin/observer on life, which spanned whole continents and led him to many adventures. While traveling, he met Brian Savage (Scalphunter
) and visited Opal City
for the first time. He established himself in Opal, acquiring real estate and generally living well, even encountering Oscar Wilde
, although he never quit the adventuring life, ensuring he would always have a considerable fortune waiting for him. However, during his journeys, he also met a similar immortal born of the same incident and bearing his same powers: a dwarf by the name of Simon Culp, who would become his mortal adversary.
During all of the Shade's escapades, he had been pursued quite actively by the Ludlows, whom he abated with little remorse, killing dozens of the family before meeting Marguerite Croft, a young lady, with whom he fell in love and established with in Paris during the thirties. Unfortunately, she proved to be a Ludlow, and tried to kill Shade by poisoning him. Shade survived the toxins, and was forced to kill Marguerite when she confessed that though she loved him, she would make more attempts on his life due to loyalty to her family. This left Shade with a sense of general depression and the feeling he could never love again. Because of this and the death of Brian Savage, he resumed his activities as an assassin.
During World War II
, he left America to defend his country from the bombing raids, and fought Simon Culp again. A bomb blast, falling on top of them, sent Culp into Shade's body. Unaware of this, the Shade returned to America and to Keystone City
. This was the time of the Golden Age of Heroes, and of them all he chose one as his adversary: Jay Garrick, the first Flash. For him, it was little more than a game, posing as a gimmicky villain (influenced by Culp) to get away with his truly important crimes unnoticed, and felt genuinely disappointed with the retirement of Garrick. This lasted until another "superhero", the Spider
, came along. Shade, feeling curiosity for the Spider's motives, discovered he was in fact a criminal, getting rid of the competition, and a Ludlow by birth. Shade defended Keystone by killing the Spider and rescuing Flash and his wife from a murder attempt. When asked as to his own motives, he responded he truly enjoyed Garrick for his wit and humor, and that he already had a city to love and devote to (he protected Opal from harm several times, even saving Starman from a murder attempt and not committing even a single crime within its limits).
During the 1960's he briefly teamed up with Doctor Fate
to take down what was apparently one of Culp's criminal ventures, a mystic organization of madmen, the Wise Fools, who wished to repeat the ritual that created him by apparently summoning a wild, uncontrolled bubble of shadow (actually Culp's shadow, separated from the Shade by Culp). Unaware that Culp's consciousness was actually within the Shade, he and Dr. Fate destroyed the Wise Fools operation and threw the bubble into an empty dimension (where it continued to immensely grow in power and size), unaware that Culp had foreseen all of it and that it was only a step in a much larger plan, one which almost culminated in the destruction of Opal City.
series in 1994. In the first story arc, Sins of the Father, Jack
apparently finds an enemy in Shade when he kidnaps his father, retired Starman Ted Knight
on the orders of the senile Mist
, who wishes for a final showdown. Shade later betrays the Mist by allying himself with the O'Dare Family, a clan of police officers who assist Jack in memory of their father Billy O'Dare, a policeman who had often assisted the original Starman. Shade, with the O'Dares, assaults the Mist's hideout and rescues Ted Knight. Out of the O'Dares, he befriended the family's "black sheep", Matt O'Dare.
Much of the Shade's past is revealed through journal entries included in the Starman comics, including the flashback
issues called "Tales of Times Past". They often dealt with different Starmen, including Jack's father Ted
, as well as other characters from the Starman mythos
such as Brian Savage
. There were a total of 10 "Times Past" issues in the 80-issue series. "Excerpts" from the Shade's journal often replaced the Starman letters column, frequently giving additional background related to the story or background into Shade's motivations. These excerpts are written as prose
, as opposed to a more traditional comic style, with occasional illustrations, and as journal entries being written by the Shade himself at different points in his existence.
Shade has an active part in an adventure of Jack's involving a demon hidden within a poster that can snatch innocent people and drag them into Hell
. Shade, as always, wishes peace for Opal, and also does not like Merritt, the human guardian of the poster, who has gained immortality for his protection of it, and consequently become the inspiration for Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray
. In a fight for possession of the poster, Matt O'Dare is dragged within and Shade follows. Within the poster, Shade agrees to sell his soul in exchange for the liberation of all the souls contained within (something that, unknown to Shade, Jack Knight and Matt O'Dare have also agreed to do), but the demon, unable to accept a selfless deal, releases all of them. Following this, Matt decides to turn over a new leaf and put his crooked past behind him. Shade assists him in his efforts, partly influenced by the revelation O'Dare is, in fact, the reincarnated lawman Scalphunter, an old friend.
A particularly important point in the life of Shade comes when he meets the demon-lord Neron
. Neron offers, as he has to many supervillains before, to augment Shade's power. However, Shade sees little use in Neron's offer, as he has no need to increase his already substantial wealth, he sees no way of heightening his shadows' power, and is already immortal. Neron, angered by his rejection, swears vengeance against Shade.
Over the years the Ludlows have apparently ceased to attack him, which Shade sees as a respite. This lasts until the wife of the last Ludlow by blood calls him to the city of Ludlow to talk her husband out of attempting an attack on him that would certainly cost him his life. Shade answers the summons and talks Ludlow out of his silly vendetta, apparently burying a legacy of hate that has lasted more than one hundred and fifty years.
Another notable point during the series' run came when the Godwave
struck the DC universe, depowering almost all superheroes. In a confrontation between Starman, Matt O'Dare, Green Lantern
, and The Infernal Doctor Pip, in which Pip almost blows up a large section of an Opal skyscraper, Shade appears at the last minute and draws Pip into the Darklands, which serve as his power source, before the bomb can explode. The plot twist is that his powers are unaffected by the depowerment, with a note indicating there are powers not even God wants anything to do with, referencing the dark origins of the Shade's massive powers.
At various times, Culp is able to take control over or subtly influence The Shade. At one specific point, Culp takes full control to talk to Jack, in the process making a mistake about the name of a Wilde
story. Around the time Jack returns from space in the "Stars, My Destination" story arc, Culp is able to assume full control over Shade's body for an extended period of time and imprison or neutralize most of Opal City's heroes in a bid to loot and destroy Opal - with no other motive than to destroy what Shade loves most. Gathering an army of villains whom Jack has battled over the course of the series, Culp absorbs Shade's powers, in addition to the ever-growing and tremendously powerful shadow force Shade and Dr. Fate had exiled decades before, to cast a spell allowing him to trap Opal City in an impenetrable bubble of shadow and force a confrontation with the city's heroes. Many of the supervillains helping Culp have been gathered by either Neron, the still-vengeful daughter of the Mist, or one of the last Ludlows in existence, the son of the false hero the Spider. This story is the climax of the series, told in the "Grand Guignol" arc.
Shade eventually is able to cast out Culp, losing his shadow powers in the process. However, Culp underestimates the Shade, and is tricked into allowing a small shadow imp loyal to Shade to be absorbed into his own shadow, leading to a battle of wills in which Shade draws all the darkness into himself (adding Culp's shadow's might to it, augmented by the Wise Fools ritual), leaving Culp powerless. Shortly thereafter, Culp attempts to buy his freedom by threatening the younger Mist, but is killed in the process by the elder Mist. This is a turning point for Shade, as he now has freedom of choice, is able to discern right from wrong, and therefore able to decide whether he wishes to remain a villain or become a true hero, protecting his city. He is present at the final showdown with the Mist and leaves the building with Ralph Dibny
, Jack, and Theo Kyle Knight.
and JSA
and was listed alongside magical-based villains such as Felix Faust
and Circe
. He also has a brief appearance in DC's Brave New World
in 2006. During the Infinite Crisis
, he is seen using his powers to help Opal citizens, by protecting the buildings they are in (though, in a remark full of his trademark cynicism, reminiscent of his status as a solitary man, he comments he is not doing it to save the citizens themselves, but, rather, he is "saving the architecture").
He shows up in Robinson's Justice League: Cry for Justice
, waiting for his old rival Jay Garrick
in his home. He informs Garrick that the insane supervillain Prometheus
has ordered a series of attacks on various superheros (including Batwoman
, Barry Allen
, Crimson Avenger
, and Stargirl) in order to distract them from a sinister master plan. Shade then accompanies Jay to the JLA Watchtower in order to warn the other heroes of the impending doom. He and Jay arrive at the Watchtower just as Prometheus (who had disguised himself as Freddy Freeman and defeated the entire League) attempts to escape. Though Jay is easily floored, the Shade proves difficult to defeat (as he is technically not a "hero", meaning Prometheus has no file on how to stop him), and ultimately ends up stopping Donna Troy
from killing the supervillain after he has been beaten into submission. However, the Shade later creates a portal that gives Green Arrow access to Prometheus' otherdimensional lair, where the archer kills Prometheus in revenge for Star City, the dismemberment of his former protege Red Arrow
, and the death of Red Arrow's daughter.
During the Blackest Night, Shade is in a relationship with Hope O'Dare, and claims that he is in love with her. After a night of sex, Shade and Hope are confronted by David Knight, reanimated as a Black Lantern. David rips out Shade's heart, but, due to his powers, he survives, unable to be killed and resisting the call of a black ring that seeks to turn him into another undead. After David threatens to kill Hope and later Jack, an enraged Shade uses his powers to trap the Black Lantern within the Shadowlands after decrying the Lantern as a mockery and a fake, saying he has "no light of his own", and uses his own heart as a channel to bind and banish him. Afterwards, Hope admits that she loves Shade as well, and the two lovers depart from the scene of the battle.
Shortly after the events of Blackest Night, the Shade is approached by Hal Jordan
and Barry Allen
, and he takes them to the Ghost Zone where they find the rotting corpse of Prometheus.
It was recently announced by Robinson that a solo Shade series is currently in development.
During Brightest Day
, Jay Garrick arrives at the Shade's home alongside Doctor Mid-Nite, Sebastian Faust
, and Wildcat
in order to see if he can help them track down the missing Obsidian
, who possesses abilities similar to those of the Shade. After entering the house, the JSA members find Obsidian and Doctor Fate standing over the Shade's comatose body. Obsidian, now possessed by a cosmic entity known as the Starheart
, tells the heroes that the Shade would have told them his "secrets", and that the Starheart commanded that he and Fate silence him. Following the defeat of the Starheart, Congorilla
mentions that the Shade has been missing since his assault at the hands of Obsidian, and that nobody has been able to contact him.
Shade's disappearance is explained shortly after this, when it is revealed that he had been captured and brainwashed by Eclipso
. Realizing that Shade could turn the tide of the battle, Saint Walker
sends the Atom and Starman inside his body to fight off the effects of Eclipso's brainwashing. The heroes narrowly manage to free the Shade's mind, and he turns against Eclipso and ultimately helps the Justice League defeat the villain once and for all.
is thrown by a shadowy corridor created by a future Shade across time and space into a future where Shade's powers overtake him due to a disease that Culp had infected him with during their final battle (the absorption of Culp's shadow, along with the mystical enhancements brought as a consequence of the Wise Fools ritual). His shadow begins expanding into the universe and threatens areas protected by the Legion
. Rescuing him, the future Shade explains how Jack may be able to stop it from ever happening by using his cosmic rod on him in the past. He later opens another time portal to allow Jack to journey across time again to reach his destination, Throneworld. In the final issue of Starman, Jack apparently is able stop the disease before it has the chance to affect Shade; this apparently changes the future that he had seen on his space voyage.
Starman Annual #1 shows a possible future for Shade, as the protector of a Utopian planet thousands of years from the present. As with the current Shade, he enjoys telling tales of his past. The planet's technology and possibly the planet itself seemed to made almost entirely out of Cosmic Rod technology inspired by Starman and his legacy.
, with the exception of the color of the constructs), transport himself and others through it over massive distances, and can, if necessary, use it as a last-ditch prison dimension. The darkness itself can be dispelled by sufficiently bright blasts of energy. Eventually, his experience with the shadows allows him to create corridors through time (the most dramatic instance being when he sends Jack Knight's spaceship from a point in space in late twentieth century to the neighborhood of Xanthu
in the Legion of Super-Heroes
' era and from there to Krypton
, several decades before its destruction). These powers have also granted Shade agelessness and immortality. Overall, his powers are formidable to the point that Dr. Fate once remarked that even The Spectre
would have serious difficulty dealing with him, possibly due to the origin of his powers (the former realm of a divine entity on par with God
). He is heavily resistant to damage, as seen when a demolition bomb falls on him, leaving him only slightly dazed. Even with his heart torn out of his chest by Black Lantern David Knight, he remained alive and unable to die.
His only weakness (if it can be called such) is the fact that if he loses his shadow, he becomes vulnerable. However, this can only occur if a survivor from the same event in 1838 drains him of it, or in the event of a light strong enough to completely surround him, to the point that he is unable to cast a shadow. Since Simon Culp, the last known survivor of the 1838 event besides Shade himself, has now been killed, there appears to be no one left who is capable of draining his shadow.
story The Old Curiosity Shop
, which featured an English Rake
also named Richard, and a dwarf named Quilp. In continuity
, it is suggested that Shade's story instead inspired Dickens to write The Old Curiosity Shop
. James Robinson has stated that he drew some inspiration for the Shade's mannerisms and speech patterns from the British stage and screen actor Jonathan Pryce
.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
developed in the 1940's for National Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. Debuting as a villain, the Shade was best known for fighting against two generations of superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
es, most notably the Golden Age
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
and Silver Age
Silver Age of Comic Books
The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those in the superhero genre. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an interregnum in the early to mid-1950s, the Silver Age is considered to cover the...
versions of the Flash
Flash (comics)
The Flash is a name shared by several fictional comic book superheroes from the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in Flash Comics #1 ....
. He eventually became a mentor for Jack Knight
Starman (Jack Knight)
Starman is fictional character, a comic book superhero in the , and a member of the Justice Society of America. He is the son of the original Starman, Ted Knight...
, the son of the Golden Age Starman
Starman (Ted Knight)
Starman is a fictional comic book superhero in the , and a member of the Justice Society of America. Created by artist Jack Burnley and editors Whit Ellsworth, Murray Boltinoff, Jack Schiff, Mort Weisinger, and Bernie Breslauer, he first appeared in Adventure Comics #61 .-Fictional character...
Ted Knight, a hero the Shade had also fought.
Though initially portrayed in the Golden Age
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
as a thief with a cane that could manipulate shadows, the character was reinvented in 1994 as a morally ambiguous Victorian era immortal who gained the ability to manipulate shadows and his immortality from an unexplained mystical event. In 2009, the Shade was ranked as IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's 89th Greatest Villain of All Time.
Pre-Crisis
The Shade was introduced in Flash Comics #33, as a villain for the original Golden Age Flash. He was portrayed as a thief who could manipulate the shadows with a magical cane. He fought both the Golden Age Flash and his Silver Age counterpart Barry Allen. He was a member of several supervillain teams, including the Injustice SocietyInjustice Society
The Injustice Society is a group of fictional supervillains in the . They are the main antagonists of the Justice Society of America.-Original team:...
. Shade was one of three villains used for the first meeting of the two heroes in the famous Flash of Two Worlds
Flash of Two Worlds
"Flash of Two Worlds!" is a landmark comic book story that was published in The Flash #123 . It introduces Earth-Two, and more generally the concept of the multiverse, to DC Comics...
story, which reintroduced the Golden Age Flash to the Silver Age. He was jailed along with the Wizard
Wizard (DC Comics)
The Wizard is a fictional DC Comics Golden Age supervillain.-Fictional character biography:Born approximately 1913, William I. Zard grew up living a life of crime. As a gun man for various crime bosses, he ultimately ended up in jail. With the passage of time, he formulated a strategy to become a...
and Fiddler
Fiddler (comics)
The Fiddler is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain and a recurring foe of the first Flash . He first appeared in All-Flash #32 .-Fictional character biography:...
. In the "Crisis on Earth-S" story (Justice League of America #136) he is one of King Kull
King Kull (DC Comics)
King Kull is a comic book supervillain originally published by Fawcett Comics and now owned by DC Comics and appearing as a foe of Captain Marvel. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist C. C. Beck, Kull's first appearance was in Captain Marvel Adventures #125...
's agents positioned on Earth-S to wipe out humanity there. With Doctor Light he causes perpetual night and darkness on either side of the planet, but is met by Bulletman and Hawkman
Hawkman
Hawkman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics #1, published by All-American Publications in 1940....
.
The Shade was at the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
Museum, where he was causing all the figures in the classical paintings to become real people and move off their canvasses. Bulletman found that as he got close to any of the figures, his hand began changing, becoming two-dimensional. Hawkman’s wings blew the painted people away, and the two heroes went after the Shade. Bulletman was able to use his Gravity Helmet to repel the Shade’s darkness cane out of his hands. As Hawkman attempted to use it to stop the darkness (which was being caused by an overhead satellite), even the Shade was surprised that nothing happened. As the heroes got together again to discuss their options, they decided to use each weapon to move the satellites until they crashed together. The destruction of the two devices caused everything to revert back to normal, including the transformed body parts of the heroes.
Post-Crisis
The Shade returned in print in 1986, as a member of the Wizard's new incarnation of the Injustice SocietyInjustice Society
The Injustice Society is a group of fictional supervillains in the . They are the main antagonists of the Justice Society of America.-Original team:...
. The Shade's next appearance was in a flashback story in Secret Origins
Secret Origins
Secret Origins is the title of three American comic book series published by DC Comics.The title began in 1961 and for one issue, all reprints. The title Secret Origins of Super Heroes went onto a second series, also reprints, which ran for seven issues from 1973-1974...
#50 (1989), which explained the story of the post-Crisis
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
first meeting of Jay Garrick and Barry Allen.
Post Zero HourZero Hour (comics)Zero Hour: Crisis in Time is a five-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by DC Comics in 1994. In it, the former hero Hal Jordan, who had until then been a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps, mad with grief after the destruction of...
After Zero Hour, The Shade's origin was changed drastically. The Shade was retconned to an EnglishEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
gentleman
Gentleman
The term gentleman , in its original and strict signification, denoted a well-educated man of good family and distinction, analogous to the Latin generosus...
named Richard Swift, a young man in the year 1838. One night in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Swift was trapped amidst an unexplained mystical tragedy, which killed 104 people. The most immediate of effects upon him was the permanent loss of all memory before the incident; fortunately, a carriage appeared and took him in. The gentleman who had picked him up gave him the name Piers Ludlow, and offered to help him reencounter his past. Accepting his "kindness", Swift was taken to Ludlow's house and was taken to a house the next evening. However, the whole affair was a setup; the whole Ludlow family was in fact a band of killers and swindlers, and they had perpetuated a scheme many times over: to kill one of their wealthy, reclusive business partners and have a vagrant killed in his vicinity to give the impression of a failed robbery/homicide. However, when they intended to repeat the scheme with Swift as the scapegoat, he reflexively unleashed his shadows, killing all the present Ludlows. Only a young pair of twins, absent from the excursion, survived. The following evening Swift met one of his true friends prior to the incident: the author Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
.
For decades thereafter, Swift lived a relatively normal life, one which changed when Rupert Ludlow, one of the surviving twins, appeared and ambushed him along with a band of hired killers, informing him of the murderous intent of the family and of its exponential growth. Though grievously injured, Swift still managed to kill Ludlow, (by then he had already discovered his immortality). Afterward, he left England and started a career as an adventurer/assassin/observer on life, which spanned whole continents and led him to many adventures. While traveling, he met Brian Savage (Scalphunter
Scalphunter (DC Comics)
Scalphunter is a fictional character, a Wild West hero in the DC Comics Universe. Scalphunter first appeared in Weird Western Tales #39 and was created by Sergio Aragones and Joe Orlando.-Fictional character biography:...
) and visited Opal City
Opal City
Opal City is a fictional city set in the DC Universe. Created by James Robinson and Tony Harris, Opal City first appeared in Starman vol. 2 #0 . "The Opal" has been established as the home of several DC Comics characters, most notably several super-heroes who have operated under the name of Starman...
for the first time. He established himself in Opal, acquiring real estate and generally living well, even encountering Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, although he never quit the adventuring life, ensuring he would always have a considerable fortune waiting for him. However, during his journeys, he also met a similar immortal born of the same incident and bearing his same powers: a dwarf by the name of Simon Culp, who would become his mortal adversary.
During all of the Shade's escapades, he had been pursued quite actively by the Ludlows, whom he abated with little remorse, killing dozens of the family before meeting Marguerite Croft, a young lady, with whom he fell in love and established with in Paris during the thirties. Unfortunately, she proved to be a Ludlow, and tried to kill Shade by poisoning him. Shade survived the toxins, and was forced to kill Marguerite when she confessed that though she loved him, she would make more attempts on his life due to loyalty to her family. This left Shade with a sense of general depression and the feeling he could never love again. Because of this and the death of Brian Savage, he resumed his activities as an assassin.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he left America to defend his country from the bombing raids, and fought Simon Culp again. A bomb blast, falling on top of them, sent Culp into Shade's body. Unaware of this, the Shade returned to America and to Keystone City
Keystone City
Keystone City is a fictional city in the . Specifically, it is the home of both the original Flash, Jay Garrick, and the third Flash, Wally West...
. This was the time of the Golden Age of Heroes, and of them all he chose one as his adversary: Jay Garrick, the first Flash. For him, it was little more than a game, posing as a gimmicky villain (influenced by Culp) to get away with his truly important crimes unnoticed, and felt genuinely disappointed with the retirement of Garrick. This lasted until another "superhero", the Spider
Alias the Spider
Alias the Spider was a fairly obscure comic book feature from the Golden Age of Comic Books that appeared in Crack Comics for nearly three years...
, came along. Shade, feeling curiosity for the Spider's motives, discovered he was in fact a criminal, getting rid of the competition, and a Ludlow by birth. Shade defended Keystone by killing the Spider and rescuing Flash and his wife from a murder attempt. When asked as to his own motives, he responded he truly enjoyed Garrick for his wit and humor, and that he already had a city to love and devote to (he protected Opal from harm several times, even saving Starman from a murder attempt and not committing even a single crime within its limits).
During the 1960's he briefly teamed up with Doctor Fate
Doctor Fate
Doctor Fate is the name of a succession of fictional sorcerers who appear in books published by DC Comics. The original version was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, and first appeared in More Fun Comics #55...
to take down what was apparently one of Culp's criminal ventures, a mystic organization of madmen, the Wise Fools, who wished to repeat the ritual that created him by apparently summoning a wild, uncontrolled bubble of shadow (actually Culp's shadow, separated from the Shade by Culp). Unaware that Culp's consciousness was actually within the Shade, he and Dr. Fate destroyed the Wise Fools operation and threw the bubble into an empty dimension (where it continued to immensely grow in power and size), unaware that Culp had foreseen all of it and that it was only a step in a much larger plan, one which almost culminated in the destruction of Opal City.
Starman
James Robinson decided to use Shade, giving the character a starring role in his new StarmanStarman (comics)
Starman is a name used by several different fictional DC Comics superheroes, most prominently Ted Knight and his sons David and Jack.Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Jack Burnley, the original Starman, Ted Knight, first appeared in Adventure Comics #61...
series in 1994. In the first story arc, Sins of the Father, Jack
Starman (Jack Knight)
Starman is fictional character, a comic book superhero in the , and a member of the Justice Society of America. He is the son of the original Starman, Ted Knight...
apparently finds an enemy in Shade when he kidnaps his father, retired Starman Ted Knight
Starman (Ted Knight)
Starman is a fictional comic book superhero in the , and a member of the Justice Society of America. Created by artist Jack Burnley and editors Whit Ellsworth, Murray Boltinoff, Jack Schiff, Mort Weisinger, and Bernie Breslauer, he first appeared in Adventure Comics #61 .-Fictional character...
on the orders of the senile Mist
Mist (comics)
The Mist is the name of two DC Comics supervillains, archenemies of the original and 1990s Starman. For the DC Comics superhero, see The Omega Men.-Mist :...
, who wishes for a final showdown. Shade later betrays the Mist by allying himself with the O'Dare Family, a clan of police officers who assist Jack in memory of their father Billy O'Dare, a policeman who had often assisted the original Starman. Shade, with the O'Dares, assaults the Mist's hideout and rescues Ted Knight. Out of the O'Dares, he befriended the family's "black sheep", Matt O'Dare.
Much of the Shade's past is revealed through journal entries included in the Starman comics, including the flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
issues called "Tales of Times Past". They often dealt with different Starmen, including Jack's father Ted
Starman (Ted Knight)
Starman is a fictional comic book superhero in the , and a member of the Justice Society of America. Created by artist Jack Burnley and editors Whit Ellsworth, Murray Boltinoff, Jack Schiff, Mort Weisinger, and Bernie Breslauer, he first appeared in Adventure Comics #61 .-Fictional character...
, as well as other characters from the Starman mythos
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
such as Brian Savage
Scalphunter (DC Comics)
Scalphunter is a fictional character, a Wild West hero in the DC Comics Universe. Scalphunter first appeared in Weird Western Tales #39 and was created by Sergio Aragones and Joe Orlando.-Fictional character biography:...
. There were a total of 10 "Times Past" issues in the 80-issue series. "Excerpts" from the Shade's journal often replaced the Starman letters column, frequently giving additional background related to the story or background into Shade's motivations. These excerpts are written as prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
, as opposed to a more traditional comic style, with occasional illustrations, and as journal entries being written by the Shade himself at different points in his existence.
Shade has an active part in an adventure of Jack's involving a demon hidden within a poster that can snatch innocent people and drag them into Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
. Shade, as always, wishes peace for Opal, and also does not like Merritt, the human guardian of the poster, who has gained immortality for his protection of it, and consequently become the inspiration for Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde, appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890, printed as the July 1890 issue of this magazine...
. In a fight for possession of the poster, Matt O'Dare is dragged within and Shade follows. Within the poster, Shade agrees to sell his soul in exchange for the liberation of all the souls contained within (something that, unknown to Shade, Jack Knight and Matt O'Dare have also agreed to do), but the demon, unable to accept a selfless deal, releases all of them. Following this, Matt decides to turn over a new leaf and put his crooked past behind him. Shade assists him in his efforts, partly influenced by the revelation O'Dare is, in fact, the reincarnated lawman Scalphunter, an old friend.
A particularly important point in the life of Shade comes when he meets the demon-lord Neron
Neron
Neron is a fictional demon, a comic book character published by DC Comics. He first appeared in the DC Comics cross-over event Underworld Unleashed #1, , and was created by Mark Waid and Howard Porter.- Publication history :...
. Neron offers, as he has to many supervillains before, to augment Shade's power. However, Shade sees little use in Neron's offer, as he has no need to increase his already substantial wealth, he sees no way of heightening his shadows' power, and is already immortal. Neron, angered by his rejection, swears vengeance against Shade.
Over the years the Ludlows have apparently ceased to attack him, which Shade sees as a respite. This lasts until the wife of the last Ludlow by blood calls him to the city of Ludlow to talk her husband out of attempting an attack on him that would certainly cost him his life. Shade answers the summons and talks Ludlow out of his silly vendetta, apparently burying a legacy of hate that has lasted more than one hundred and fifty years.
Another notable point during the series' run came when the Godwave
Genesis (DC Comics)
"Genesis" was a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self titled, four-issue, weekly mini-series and published by DC Comics in August 1997. The series was written by John Byrne and drawn by Ron Wagner and Joe Rubinstein...
struck the DC universe, depowering almost all superheroes. In a confrontation between Starman, Matt O'Dare, Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
, and The Infernal Doctor Pip, in which Pip almost blows up a large section of an Opal skyscraper, Shade appears at the last minute and draws Pip into the Darklands, which serve as his power source, before the bomb can explode. The plot twist is that his powers are unaffected by the depowerment, with a note indicating there are powers not even God wants anything to do with, referencing the dark origins of the Shade's massive powers.
At various times, Culp is able to take control over or subtly influence The Shade. At one specific point, Culp takes full control to talk to Jack, in the process making a mistake about the name of a Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
story. Around the time Jack returns from space in the "Stars, My Destination" story arc, Culp is able to assume full control over Shade's body for an extended period of time and imprison or neutralize most of Opal City's heroes in a bid to loot and destroy Opal - with no other motive than to destroy what Shade loves most. Gathering an army of villains whom Jack has battled over the course of the series, Culp absorbs Shade's powers, in addition to the ever-growing and tremendously powerful shadow force Shade and Dr. Fate had exiled decades before, to cast a spell allowing him to trap Opal City in an impenetrable bubble of shadow and force a confrontation with the city's heroes. Many of the supervillains helping Culp have been gathered by either Neron, the still-vengeful daughter of the Mist, or one of the last Ludlows in existence, the son of the false hero the Spider. This story is the climax of the series, told in the "Grand Guignol" arc.
Shade eventually is able to cast out Culp, losing his shadow powers in the process. However, Culp underestimates the Shade, and is tricked into allowing a small shadow imp loyal to Shade to be absorbed into his own shadow, leading to a battle of wills in which Shade draws all the darkness into himself (adding Culp's shadow's might to it, augmented by the Wise Fools ritual), leaving Culp powerless. Shortly thereafter, Culp attempts to buy his freedom by threatening the younger Mist, but is killed in the process by the elder Mist. This is a turning point for Shade, as he now has freedom of choice, is able to discern right from wrong, and therefore able to decide whether he wishes to remain a villain or become a true hero, protecting his city. He is present at the final showdown with the Mist and leaves the building with Ralph Dibny
Elongated Man
The Elongated Man is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC universe. He is a reserve member of the Justice League. His first appearance was in The Flash vol. 1, #112...
, Jack, and Theo Kyle Knight.
Post-Starman
Since the end of the Starman series, the Shade has made cameo appearances in several comic series, including Green ArrowGreen Arrow
Green Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
and JSA
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
and was listed alongside magical-based villains such as Felix Faust
Felix Faust
Felix Faust is a fictional character and supervillain who appears in stories published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in 1962 as an adversary of the Justice League of America...
and Circe
Circe (comics)
Circe is a fictional character, a villainous sorceress and a major adversary of Wonder Woman appearing in DC Comics publications and related media. Based upon the Greek mythological character of the same name who imprisoned Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey, the comic book incarnation of Circe first...
. He also has a brief appearance in DC's Brave New World
One Year Later
"One Year Later" was a 2006 storyline event running through the DC Universe. As the title suggests, it involves a narrative jump exactly one year into the future of the DC Comics Universe following the events of the Infinite Crisis event, to explore major changes within the continuities of the many...
in 2006. During the Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
, he is seen using his powers to help Opal citizens, by protecting the buildings they are in (though, in a remark full of his trademark cynicism, reminiscent of his status as a solitary man, he comments he is not doing it to save the citizens themselves, but, rather, he is "saving the architecture").
He shows up in Robinson's Justice League: Cry for Justice
Justice League: Cry for Justice
Justice League: Cry for Justice is a seven-issue comic book limited series, written by James Robinson, drawn by Mauro Cascioli, and published by DC Comics in 2009...
, waiting for his old rival Jay Garrick
Jay Garrick
Jay Garrick is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe and the first to use the name Flash.-The Flash:...
in his home. He informs Garrick that the insane supervillain Prometheus
Prometheus (comics)
Prometheus is the name of three fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.The first Prometheus debuted in New Teen Titans vol. 2, #24 and was created by Marv Wolfman and Eduardo Barreto . The second version debuted in New Year's Evil: Prometheus Prometheus is the name...
has ordered a series of attacks on various superheros (including Batwoman
Batwoman
Batwoman is the name of several fictional characters, female counterparts to the superhero Batman. The original version was created by Bob Kane and Sheldon Moldoff. Her alter ego is Kathy Kane. This character appears in publications produced by DC Comics and related media beginning in Detective...
, Barry Allen
Barry Allen
The Flash is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Comics universe. He is the second character known as the Flash. The character first appeared in Showcase #4 , created by writers Robert Kanigher and John Broome and penciler Carmine Infantino. His name combines talk show hosts Barry Gray...
, Crimson Avenger
Crimson Avenger
The Crimson Avenger is the name of three separate fictional characters, superheroes who exist in the DC Comics universe.-Lee Walter Travis:The original Crimson Avenger made his first published appearance in Detective Comics #20...
, and Stargirl) in order to distract them from a sinister master plan. Shade then accompanies Jay to the JLA Watchtower in order to warn the other heroes of the impending doom. He and Jay arrive at the Watchtower just as Prometheus (who had disguised himself as Freddy Freeman and defeated the entire League) attempts to escape. Though Jay is easily floored, the Shade proves difficult to defeat (as he is technically not a "hero", meaning Prometheus has no file on how to stop him), and ultimately ends up stopping Donna Troy
Donna Troy
Donna Troy is a comic book superheroine published by DC Comics. She first appeared in The Brave and the Bold vol. 1 #60 , and was created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani...
from killing the supervillain after he has been beaten into submission. However, the Shade later creates a portal that gives Green Arrow access to Prometheus' otherdimensional lair, where the archer kills Prometheus in revenge for Star City, the dismemberment of his former protege Red Arrow
Roy Harper (comics)
Roy Harper is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics Universe. He was known for over fifty years as Green Arrow's teenage sidekick Speedy. He first appeared alongside his mentor in More Fun Comics #73...
, and the death of Red Arrow's daughter.
During the Blackest Night, Shade is in a relationship with Hope O'Dare, and claims that he is in love with her. After a night of sex, Shade and Hope are confronted by David Knight, reanimated as a Black Lantern. David rips out Shade's heart, but, due to his powers, he survives, unable to be killed and resisting the call of a black ring that seeks to turn him into another undead. After David threatens to kill Hope and later Jack, an enraged Shade uses his powers to trap the Black Lantern within the Shadowlands after decrying the Lantern as a mockery and a fake, saying he has "no light of his own", and uses his own heart as a channel to bind and banish him. Afterwards, Hope admits that she loves Shade as well, and the two lovers depart from the scene of the battle.
Shortly after the events of Blackest Night, the Shade is approached by Hal Jordan
Hal Jordan
Harold "Hal" Jordan is a DC Comics superhero known as Green Lantern, the first human shown to join the Green Lantern Corps and a founding member of the Justice League of America. Jordan is the second DC Comics character to adopt the Green Lantern moniker...
and Barry Allen
Barry Allen
The Flash is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Comics universe. He is the second character known as the Flash. The character first appeared in Showcase #4 , created by writers Robert Kanigher and John Broome and penciler Carmine Infantino. His name combines talk show hosts Barry Gray...
, and he takes them to the Ghost Zone where they find the rotting corpse of Prometheus.
It was recently announced by Robinson that a solo Shade series is currently in development.
During Brightest Day
Brightest Day
Brightest Day is a year-long comic book maxi-series that began in April 2010. The story follows the ending of the series Blackest Night and how the aftermath of these events affect the entire DC Universe.-Plot:...
, Jay Garrick arrives at the Shade's home alongside Doctor Mid-Nite, Sebastian Faust
Sebastian Faust
Sebastian Faust, or simply Faust, is a fictional character, a comic book superhero from DC Comics, loosely based on the protagonist of the German legend who sold his soul to the Devil. He was introduced in the 1993 Outsiders comic book series....
, and Wildcat
Wildcat (comics)
Wildcat is the name of several fictional characters, all DC Comics superheroes. The first and most famous of these is Ted Grant, a long-time member of the Justice Society of America...
in order to see if he can help them track down the missing Obsidian
Obsidian (comics)
Obsidian is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in All-Star Squadron #25 , and was created by Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway. According to an Infinity, Inc...
, who possesses abilities similar to those of the Shade. After entering the house, the JSA members find Obsidian and Doctor Fate standing over the Shade's comatose body. Obsidian, now possessed by a cosmic entity known as the Starheart
Alan Scott
Alan Scott is a fictional character, a superhero in the and the first superhero to bear the name Green Lantern.-Publication history:The original Green Lantern was created by young struggling artist Martin Nodell, who was inspired by the sight of a New York Subway employee waving a red lantern to...
, tells the heroes that the Shade would have told them his "secrets", and that the Starheart commanded that he and Fate silence him. Following the defeat of the Starheart, Congorilla
Congorilla
Congorilla, originally a human character known as Congo Bill, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and Vertigo Comics. Originally co-created by writer Whitney Ellsworth and artist George Papp, he was later transformed into Congorilla by Robert...
mentions that the Shade has been missing since his assault at the hands of Obsidian, and that nobody has been able to contact him.
Shade's disappearance is explained shortly after this, when it is revealed that he had been captured and brainwashed by Eclipso
Eclipso
Eclipso is a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. The character is the incarnation of the Wrath of God and the Angel of Vengeance that turned evil and was replaced by the Spectre...
. Realizing that Shade could turn the tide of the battle, Saint Walker
Saint Walker
Saint Walker is a fictional comic book character published by DC Comics. Created by writer Geoff Johns and artist Ethan Van Sciver for the Green Lantern series, Saint Walker is an alien member of the intergalactic Blue Lantern Corps, an organization dedicated to spreading peace and harmony...
sends the Atom and Starman inside his body to fight off the effects of Eclipso's brainwashing. The heroes narrowly manage to free the Shade's mind, and he turns against Eclipso and ultimately helps the Justice League defeat the villain once and for all.
Possible futures
During the Starman story arc "Stars, My Destination" JackStarman (Jack Knight)
Starman is fictional character, a comic book superhero in the , and a member of the Justice Society of America. He is the son of the original Starman, Ted Knight...
is thrown by a shadowy corridor created by a future Shade across time and space into a future where Shade's powers overtake him due to a disease that Culp had infected him with during their final battle (the absorption of Culp's shadow, along with the mystical enhancements brought as a consequence of the Wise Fools ritual). His shadow begins expanding into the universe and threatens areas protected by the Legion
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
. Rescuing him, the future Shade explains how Jack may be able to stop it from ever happening by using his cosmic rod on him in the past. He later opens another time portal to allow Jack to journey across time again to reach his destination, Throneworld. In the final issue of Starman, Jack apparently is able stop the disease before it has the chance to affect Shade; this apparently changes the future that he had seen on his space voyage.
Starman Annual #1 shows a possible future for Shade, as the protector of a Utopian planet thousands of years from the present. As with the current Shade, he enjoys telling tales of his past. The planet's technology and possibly the planet itself seemed to made almost entirely out of Cosmic Rod technology inspired by Starman and his legacy.
Powers and abilities
Shade is at present one of the best, if not the ultimate, channeler of the power of the Darklands, a quasi-sentient, extra-dimensional mass of malleable darkness which he can channel to various effects, both as an absence of light and a solid substance: he can summon and control "demons" from there, summon and dispel shields and areas of complete darkness, create all kinds of constructs out of shadows (in a similar manner to a Green LanternGreen Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
, with the exception of the color of the constructs), transport himself and others through it over massive distances, and can, if necessary, use it as a last-ditch prison dimension. The darkness itself can be dispelled by sufficiently bright blasts of energy. Eventually, his experience with the shadows allows him to create corridors through time (the most dramatic instance being when he sends Jack Knight's spaceship from a point in space in late twentieth century to the neighborhood of Xanthu
Xanthu
Xanthu is a fictional planet in the 30th century .Xanthu is a modern world with full membership in the United Planets.Xanthu is the homeworld of Legionnaire Thom Kallor aka "Star Boy" and later aka Justice Society of America member "Starman"...
in the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
' era and from there to Krypton
Krypton (comics)
Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman and, in some tellings, Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog. Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman's flight from the planet, with exact details of...
, several decades before its destruction). These powers have also granted Shade agelessness and immortality. Overall, his powers are formidable to the point that Dr. Fate once remarked that even The Spectre
Spectre (comics)
The Spectre is a fictional character and superhero who has appeared in numerous comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in a next issue ad in More Fun Comics #51 and received his first story the following month, #52...
would have serious difficulty dealing with him, possibly due to the origin of his powers (the former realm of a divine entity on par with God
Great Evil Beast
The Great Evil Beast, also known as The Great Darkness or The Ultimate Darkness, is a powerful cosmic entity that appeared in the DC Comics Swamp Thing storyline, "American Gothic."-Fictional character biography:...
). He is heavily resistant to damage, as seen when a demolition bomb falls on him, leaving him only slightly dazed. Even with his heart torn out of his chest by Black Lantern David Knight, he remained alive and unable to die.
His only weakness (if it can be called such) is the fact that if he loses his shadow, he becomes vulnerable. However, this can only occur if a survivor from the same event in 1838 drains him of it, or in the event of a light strong enough to completely surround him, to the point that he is unable to cast a shadow. Since Simon Culp, the last known survivor of the 1838 event besides Shade himself, has now been killed, there appears to be no one left who is capable of draining his shadow.
Character inspiration
It is likely that The Shade's post-Zero Hour origin is influenced by Charles Dickens'Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
story The Old Curiosity Shop
The Old Curiosity Shop
The Old Curiosity Shop is a novel by Charles Dickens. The plot follows the life of Nell Trent and her grandfather, both residents of The Old Curiosity Shop in London....
, which featured an English Rake
Rake (character)
A rake, short for rakehell, is a historic term applied to a man who is habituated to immoral conduct, frequently a heartless womanizer. Often a rake was a man who wasted his fortune on gambling, wine, women and song, incurring lavish debts in the process...
also named Richard, and a dwarf named Quilp. In continuity
Continuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
, it is suggested that Shade's story instead inspired Dickens to write The Old Curiosity Shop
The Old Curiosity Shop
The Old Curiosity Shop is a novel by Charles Dickens. The plot follows the life of Nell Trent and her grandfather, both residents of The Old Curiosity Shop in London....
. James Robinson has stated that he drew some inspiration for the Shade's mannerisms and speech patterns from the British stage and screen actor Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce, CBE is a Welsh stage and film actor and singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and meeting his longtime partner English actress Kate Fahy in 1974, he began his career as a stage actor in the 1970s...
.
Other versions
- On Earth-33Multiverse (DC Comics)The DC Multiverse is a fictional continuity construct that exists in stories published by comic book company DC Comics. The DC Multiverse consists of numerous worlds, most of them outside DC's main continuity, allowing writers the creative freedom to explore alternative versions of characters and...
, there is a magician called Shade, with all his powers. He is a member of the League of Shamans. - The Shade (possibly of Earth-3). An alternate version of the heroine NightshadeNightshade (comics)Nightshade is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine published by DC Comics. Created by Joe Gill and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in Captain Atom v2 #82 originally published by Charlton Comics.-Charlton Comics:...
, she shares with him his namesake and all his powers, and she wears a top hat and a cane. She's killed by Eve of the Shadows, another Nightshade counterpart. The possibility exists that this Shade is actually a female version of Shade from the gender-reversed world Earth-11.
Television
- The Shade first appeared in the two-part Justice LeagueJustice League (TV series)Justice League is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 2001 to 2004 on Cartoon Network. The show was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It is based on the Justice League of America and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics...
episode "Injustice For All" voiced by Stephen McHattieStephen McHattieStephen McHattie is a Canadian actor.-Life and career:McHattie was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia....
. In this version, his powers are a product of his staff, which he calls the "nightstick," much like that of his pre-Robinson years. In his first appearance, Star SapphireStar Sapphire (comics)Star Sapphire is the name of several supervillains in DC Comics, all connected in origin. Within DC continuity, an immortal race of warrior women were depicted as having the ancient tradition of choosing physically identical mortals from across the cosmos to serve as the host body for their queen....
remarks how he is "nothing" without his night stick, but by the time he joins Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society, he has learned martial arts and is able to hold his own in a confrontation against Batman (if only briefly). He is attracted to GigantaGigantaGiganta is a fictional character, a red-haired super-villainess appearing in DC Comics publications and related media. A longtime enemy of Wonder Woman and an occasional foil for The Atom, Giganta possesses the superhuman ability to increase her physical size and mass, effectively transforming into...
, who seems to return his affection. When he finds out that she had once been a gorilla he is shocked, but then looks at her and shrugs with a smile on his face. He first appears as a member of Lex LuthorLex LuthorLex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
's Injustice GangInjustice GangThe Injustice Gang is a group of fictional supervillains in the DC Comics universe. They are antagonists of the Justice League.-First Formation:The original Injustice Gang's membership consisted of:...
. In "Fury" Shade appears as a member of Aresia'sFury (DC Comics)Fury is the codename shared by three DC Comics superheroes, two of whom are mother and daughter, both of whom directly connected with the Furies of mythology, and the third who is an altogether different character.-Pre-Crisis:...
Injustice Gang. In "Secret Society" Shade is later recruited into Gorilla GroddGorilla GroddGorilla Grodd is a supervillain appearing in DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of The Flash. He debuted in Flash v.1 #106 , and was created by writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino....
's Secret SocietySecret Society of Super VillainsThe Secret Society of Super Villains is a group of comic book supervillains that exist in the DC Universe...
, although, by this time he is skeptical of its success due to seeing such efforts fail twice in the past. When Grodd's Secret Society is defeated by the Justice League in a football field in front of thousands of people, Shade states "I knew this wouldn't work" before attempting to flee and being stopped by BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
.
- In the Justice League UnlimitedJustice League UnlimitedJustice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...
series, Shade joins a fourth anti-Justice League organization, Gorilla Grodd's new Secret Society, later taken over by Lex Luthor. The Shade is prominently shown for the last time in the series in the episode "Alive", where he sides against Luthor during the mutiny led by Grodd. During the mutiny, Shade and the other villains that opposed Luthor, are frozen by a turncoat Killer FrostKiller FrostKiller Frost is the name of two fictional characters in the DC Comics universe. They are both supervillains that appear mainly as foes of the superhero Firestorm.-Crystal Frost:...
and ultimately killed when the resurrected DarkseidDarkseidDarkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
destroys the Society space station.