- The Shade is distinct from Shade, the Changing Man. Shade the Changing Man is a Fictional Comic book character created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics in 1977
| The Shade | |
 The Shade as painted by Tony Harris on the cover of Starman #6 (1995) |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Flash Comics #33 |
| Created by | E E Hibbard/James Robinson |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Richard Swift |
| Team affiliations | Injustice Society |
| Notable aliases | Dicky, Mr. Tony Harris (born 1969 is an American Comic book artist He is most famous for Starman, winner of the 1997 Eisner for best serialized story DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company In Comic books and other stories with a long history first appearance refers to the first occurrence to feature a Fictional character. Flash Comics was an anthology comic book published by All-American Publications and later National Periodicals ( DC Comics) The Injustice Society (also called the Injustice Society of the World) is a group of fictional Supervillains in the DC Comics universe Black, Louie |
| Abilities | Shadow manipulation(ability to control darkness) - ability to travel great distances in short amounts of time, and create constructs out of shadows; does not age; virtually immortal. In generalDO NOT ADD INFORMATION THAT DOES NOT CONCERN COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS |
The Shade is a fictional character developed in the 1940's for National Comics. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company Debuted as a villain, Shade was best known in story line for fighting against two generations of superheroes, most notably the Golden Age and Silver Age versions of The Flash[1]. A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a Fictional character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of derring-do The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books generally thought as lasting from the 1930s until late 1940s during which Comic books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books predominantly those featuring the Superhero He eventually became a mentor for Jack Knight, the son of the Golden Age Starman Ted Knight whom Shade had also fought in the comic's history[2]. Starman ( Ted Knight) is a fictional Comic book Superhero in the DC Comics universe, and a member of the Justice Society
Though initially just a thief with a cane that could manipulate shadows, the character was reinvented in 1994 as a morally ambiguous Victorian era immortal who could control and manipulate shadow naturally. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar)
Contents |
History
Pre-Crisis
The Shade was introduced in Flash Comics #33, as a villain for the original Golden Age Flash. A common thief who could manipulate the shadows with his cane, he fought both the Golden Age Flash and his Silver Age counterpart Barry Allen. He was member of several supervillain teams, including the Injustice Society of America. The Injustice Society (also called the Injustice Society of the World) is a group of fictional Supervillains in the DC Comics universe Shade was the villain used for the first meeting of the two heroes in the famous Flash of Two Worlds [3] story, which reintroduced the Golden Age Flash to the Silver Age. "Flash of Two Worlds!" is a landmark Comic book story that was published in The Flash #123 (Sept
Post-Crisis
Shade returned in print in 1986, as a member of the Wizard's new incarnation of the Injustice Society. The Injustice Society (also called the Injustice Society of the World) is a group of fictional Supervillains in the DC Comics universe 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. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Crisis on Infinite Earths is a twelve-issue American comic book Limited series (identified as a "12-part maxi-series" and crossover Jay Garrick is a Fictional character, a Comic book Superhero in the DC Comics universe and the first to use the name Bartholomew "Barry" Allen is a Fictional character, a Superhero in the DC Comics universe and the second Flash This story was later retconned after the events of Zero Hour. Zero Hour Crisis in Time is a five-issue Comic book Limited series and crossover storyline published by DC Comics in 1994
Post Zero-Hour
After Zero Hour, The Shade's origin was changed drastically. The Shade was retconned to a English gentleman named Richard Swift. Retroactive continuity is the deliberate changing of previously established facts in a work of serial fiction England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The term gentleman (from Latin gentilis, belonging to a race or "gens" and "man" Cognate with the French word gentilhomme One night in London, Swift was trapped amidst an unexplained mystical tragedy which gave him his powers, making him indescribably powerful, but alienated from humanity in general in return. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Shade's powers were also changed, not being based from his cane but by tapping into an alternate dimension of shadows, which he could manipulate and shape into whatever form he wanted. He could use them to attack, and also to teleport himself and others.
Shade traveled within the literary circles of the Victorian Era England, befriending authors such as Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde. Culture The Victorian fascination with novelty resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900 was an Irish Playwright, Novelist, poet and Author of As time passed, he began using aliases for himself such as "Mr. Black", though he called himself "Shade". He also developed enemies, such as Culp and the Ludlow family. These last were, in fact, a family that had picked up the Shade while he was still reeling from the magical blast that tied him to the darkness. While at first feigning to help Shade, they actually intended to kill him and use him to stage a "failed" robbery/homicide, while making off with the intended victim's assets, a scheme they had perpetrated many other times. Unfortunately for the family, their attempt to kill him caused Shade to reflexively discover and unleash his shadow powers, killing the entire family except for two children, a girl and a boy, not present at the time. The children subsequently devoted their lives and their descendants' lives to vengeance upon Shade. Shade, in return, killed countless Ludlows until the family was all but abated with a single descendant in 1997, whom the Shade convinced to let go of his silly vendetta and live a good life with his son.
Shade eventually fell in love with the fictional United States east-coast city of 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 Setting up residence there, Shade befriended the sheriff, Brian Savage, better known as DC's Western hero Scalphunter. Scalphunter ( Brian Savage) is a Fictional character, a Wild West hero in the DC Comics Universe. He amassed a small personal fortune, including real estate in Opal, while also moonlighting as a "problem solver" using his powers.
The Shade went back to England during the early days of World War II, to aide the Allies in fighting the Nazis. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including In general allies are people groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose While on patrol with the British hero Captain X, Shade was ambushed by Culp when a bomb fell from a German fighter plane onto the two men. To survive, Culp was forced to seek shelter by merging with Shade without his knowledge.
When superheroes started fighting supervillians after the war, Shade began (unknowingly influenced by Culp) to commit crimes. A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the Villain character type commonly found in Comic books, Action movies and World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including He became known as "The Shade". He committed crimes in various cities in the DCU, most notably in Keystone City with Flash Jay Garrick as an adversary. Jay Garrick is a Fictional character, a Comic book Superhero in the DC Comics universe and the first to use the name The Shade would privately refer to his battles as "the joust," which he engaged in for the thrill of combat with other super-powered combatants. Shade would speak fondly of his time "jousting" with the Flash and other superheroes.
Despite being considered a supervillain, it was explained in Times Past that Shade would not perform a crime in Opal City, being protective to the point of using his powers to stop criminals. He even would engage in the occasional heroic act, such as saving Howard Hughes from Johnny Sorrow. Howard Robard Hughes Jr (December 24 1905 – April 5 1976 was an American Aviator, Industrialist, Film producer / director, Philanthropist Johnny Sorrow is a DC Comics Supervillain and a recurring Justice Society of America foe
Starman
James Robinson decided to use Shade, giving the character a starring role in his new Starman series in 1994. Starman is a name used by several different fictional DC Comics Superheroes most prominently Ted Knight and his son Jack. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) In the first story arc, Sins of the Father, Jack and Shade worked together to save Opal City from the Mist and his family. The Mist is the name of two DC Comics Supervillains, archenemies of the original and 1990s Starman.
Later, Jack and the reader would be privy to the Shade's journals, learning much of his life and experiences. Some of these journal entries were told in flashback issues of the comic called "Times Past". In history film television and other media a flashback (also called analepsis) is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current They often dealt with different Starmen, including Jack's father Ted, as well as other characters from the Starman mythos such as Brian Savage. Starman ( Ted Knight) is a fictional Comic book Superhero in the DC Comics universe, and a member of the Justice Society The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" Scalphunter ( Brian Savage) is a Fictional character, a Wild West hero in the DC Comics Universe. There were a total of 5 "Times Past" issues in the 80 issue series. Other "excerpts" were alternated with the comic's letters column, often giving additional background related to the story or background into Shade's motivations. These excerpts were 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 of his existence. For the Wikipedia guideline regarding editing articles see WikipediaManual of Style.
One of the many adventures the Shade undertook was aiding Jay Garrick against a fake hero calling himself the Spider during a period during a brief period of retirement on the hero's part during his middle career. The villain, a Ludlow by birth, had collected particles of the Shade's shadow-matter and attempted to plant them at a double-homicide setting, with the victims being Jay Garrick and his wife Joan, with the Shade himself bound and weakened by the only thing capable of dispelling his shadows: fire, in this case, a roaring fireplace. However, the Shade countered by revealing that to truly weaken him, he would have to be fully surrounded by fire, and using the darkness cast by his body in the fireplace's light, he killed the Spider and the would-be assassins, and delivered the evidence to the Flash. When asked why he hadn't taken the opportunity to seize control of Keystone by killing Flash, Shade replied that he did not want the city; he merely wanted the challenge to do combat with a superpowered adversary whom he perceived as worthy of his time.
While helping Jack, Shade met the O'Dare Family, a clan of police officers who assisted Jack. He befriended Matt O'Dare, a crooked cop who, after an adventure with Jack and Shade, had decided to go straight. Shade assisted him in his efforts, saying it was to put another good cop in the city that he loved.
A particularly important point in the life of Shade came when he met the demon-lord Neron. Neron offered, as he had to many supervillains before, to augment his power. However, Shade saw little use in Neron's offer, as he saw no need to increase his already substantial wealth, was already immortal, and saw little opportunity to increase his powers, seeing as how he could eventually learn to fine tune his abilities to the point he could be practically indestructible in the battlefield. Neron, angered by his rebuttal, swore vengeance against Shade.
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 blew up a large section of an Opal hospital, Shade appeared at the last minute and drew Pip into the Darklands, which serve as his power source, before the bomb could explode. The important plot twist was that his powers were unaffected by the depowerment, with a note indicating there were powers not even God wanted to have anything to do with, referencing the dark origins of the Shade's massive powers.
At various times, Culp occasionally was able to take control or subtly influence The Shade, as he did when he was fighting the Flashes. At one specific point, Culp takes momentary full control to talk to Jack, in the process making a mistake about the name of a Wilde story. Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900 was an Irish Playwright, Novelist, poet and Author of Around the time Jack returns from space in the Stars, My Destination story arc, Culp was able to assume full control over Shade's body for an extended period of time. Gathering an army of villains whom Jack had battled over the course of the series, Culp used Shade's powers to cast a spell that allowed him to trap Opal City in a bubble of shadow and force a confrontation with the city's heroes. Many of the supervillains helping Culp had been gathered by either Neron, who wished revenge upon Shade, the still-vengeful daughter of the Mist, or one of the last Ludlows in existence, the son of the false hero the Spider. The story was the climax of the series, told in the Grand Guignol arc. The Grand Guignol ( pronounced giɲɔl was a theatre ( Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol) in the Pigalle area of Paris (at 20 bis rue Shade eventually was able to cast out Culp, losing his shadow powers in the process. However, Culp underestimated the Shade, and was 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 drew all the darkness into himself, leaving Culp powerless. Shortly later, Culp attempted to buy his ticket to freedom by threatening the younger Mist, but was killed in the process by the elder Mist. This ended up being a turning point for Shade, as he now truly had freedom of choice, and was able to discern right from wrong, and therefore, able to decide whether he wished to remain a villain or became a true hero, protecting his city.
Post-Starman
Since the end of the Starman series, The Shade has made cameo appearances in several comic series, including Green Arrow, JSA, and Birds of Prey, and was listed alongside magical-based villains such as Felix Faust and Circe. For the LNER Steam locomotive, see LNER Class V2 4771 Green Arrow Green Arrow ( Oliver Jones "Ollie" Queen The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics Superhero group the first team of superheroes in Comic book history Birds of Prey is a Comic book published by DC Comics that features the adventures of the superhero Oracle and her group of superheroines. Felix Faust is a Fictional sorcerer and Supervillain that appears in stories published by DC Comics. He also had a brief appearance in DC's Brave New World in 2006. One Year Later was a 2006 event running through the DC Universe. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
Possible Futures
During the Starman story arc Stars, My Destination Jack is thrown into a future where Shade's powers overtook him due to a disease that Culp had infected him with during their final battle. His shadow began expanding into the universe and began threatening areas protected by the Legion. This is about the DC Comics superhero team For the animated television series based on this see Legion of Super Heroes (TV series. Rescuing him, the future Shade explained how Jack may be able to stop it from ever happening by using his cosmic rod on him in the past. In the final issue of Starman Jack apparently was able stop the disease before it had the chance to effect Shade, apparently changing the future that he had seen on his space voyage.
Starman Annual #1 shows a possbile 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.
Character Inspiration
It is likely that The Shade's post-Zero Hour origin is influenced by Charles Dickens' story The Old Curiosity Shop, which featured an English Rake also named Richard, and a dwarf named Quilp. 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 A rake is defined as a man habituated to immoral conduct Rakes are frequently Stock characters in novels 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 In continuity, it is suggested that Shade's story instead inspired Dickens to write The Old Curiosity Shop. In Fiction, continuity (also called time-scheme) is consistency of the characteristics of persons plot, objects places and events seen by the reader or 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 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 (born 1 June 1947 is a Welsh award-winning stage and Film actor/singer
Other Versions
- On Earth-33, there is a magician called Shade, with all his powers. The DC Multiverse is a Fictional continuity construct that exists in stories published by Comic book company DC Comics. He is a member of the League of Shamans.
- The Shade(Possibly of Earth-3). An alternate version of the heroine Nightshade, she shares with him his namesake and all his powers, and she wears a top hat and a cane. Nightshade is a Fictional character, a Comic book superheroine published by DC Comics. She's killed by Eve of the Shadows, another Nightshade counterpart.
Other media
The Shade has also appeared in the Justice League animated series, where he has appeared as a member of Lex Luthor's Injustice Gang and Aresia's Injustice Gang. Justice League is an American Animated television series about a team of Superheroes which ran from 2001 to 2004 on Cartoon Network Lex Luthor is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The Injustice Gang (also known as the Injustice Gang of the World) is a group of fictional Supervillains in the DC Comics universe. He was later recruited into Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society, although, by this time he was skeptical of its success due to seeing such efforts fail twice in the past. Gorilla Grodd is a fictional Supervillain appearing in DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of The Flash. The Secret Society of Super Villains ( SSoSV) is a group of Comic book Supervillains that exist in the DC Universe.
When Grodd's Secret Society was defeated by the Justice League in a football field in front of thousands of people, Shade stated "I knew this wouldn't work. " before attempting to flee and being stopped by Batman.
In the Justice League Unlimited series, Shade joins a fourth anti-Justice League organization, Gorilla Grodd's new Secret Society, later taken over by Lex Luthor. Justice League Unlimited (or JLU) is the name of an American animated television series that was produced by and aired on The Shade is prominently shown for the last time in the series in the episode "Alive", where he sided against Luthor during the mutiny led by Grodd, who was freed by Tala. Tala is a fictional Supervillainess in the DC Comics universe. During the mutiny, Shade, and all other villains that opposed Luthor, were frozen by Killer Frost. Killer Frost is the name of two Fictional characters, DC Comics Supervillains that appear mainly as foes of the Superhero Firestorm The Shade is voiced by Stephen McHattie. Stephen McHattie Smith (born February 3 1947) is a Canadian Actor.
In both series, his powers are a product of his staff, which he calls the "nightstick," much like that of his pre-Robinson years. When he first joined Grodd's group, he was attracted to Giganta, who seemed to return his affection. When he found out that she had once been a gorilla he is shocked, but then looks at her and shrugs with a smile on his face indicating he didn't seem to care.
See also
Notes
- ^ Vibber, Kelson (May 16, 2007). This list encompasses fictional characters with the paranormal or superhuman ability to manipulate darkness The Shade. Retrieved on 2008-03-19. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1279 - A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China.
- ^ Harrison, Tony, Starman, DC Comics, 1994
- ^ Vibber, Kelson (May 16, 2007). The Shade. Retrieved on 2008-03-19. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1279 - A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China.
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