The Shade (Richard Swift) is a comic book character developed in the 1940s for National Comics, first appearing in the pages of Flash Comics in a story titled "The Man Who Commanded the Night", scripted by Gardner Fox and illustrated by Hal Sharp. Debuting as a villain, the Shade was best known for fighting against two generations of superheroes, 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.Harris, Tony, Starman, DC Comics, 1994
Though portrayed in Silver 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 immortality from an unexplained mystical event. In 2009, the Shade was ranked as IGN's 89th-greatest villain of all time.Shade is number 89 IGN. Retrieved 10-05-09
The Shade appeared as a major character from the season 1 finale onwards in Stargirl, played by Jonathan Cake.
Publication history The Shade first appeared in Flash Comics #33 (September 1942), and was created by Gardner Fox and Harold Sharp.
Shade received a solo series in late 2011, written by Robinson and drawn by Cully Hamner, Darwyn Cooke, Javier Pulido, and others. It deals with Shade and his descendants, flashing back to various points in his life as he travels the globe trying to find who is behind a plot to kill him.
Fictional character biography The Shade draws his alias from Dante Alighieri's epic poem The Divine Comedy, specifically its first book, Inferno, which provides a classical depiction of Hell and its environs. The description by Dante of the various people he encounters as "the Shade" are references to the perpetual darkness of Hell itself.
Pre-Crisis The Shade was introduced in Flash Comics #33, as a villain for the original Flash, Jay Garrick. He was portrayed in his first and only Golden Age appearance as a thief with a machine that caused darkness by removing light-reflecting dust particles; in later Silver Age stories he instead used a magical cane which could manipulate shadows. He fought both Garrick and the second Flash, Barry Allen. He was a member of several supervillain teams, including the Injustice Society. Shade was one of three villains used for the first meeting of the two heroes in the "Flash of Two Worlds" story, which reintroduced the Golden Age Flash to the Silver Age. He was jailed along with the Wizard and the Fiddler.
In the "Crisis on Earth-S" story, King Kull paired Shade up with Doctor Light, Joker of Earth-Two, and Weeper of Earth-S to wipe out humanity on Earth-S. With Doctor Light he causes perpetual night and darkness on either side of the planet, but is met by Bulletman and Hawkman.Justice League of America #136. DC Comics.
Post-Crisis The Shade returned in print in 1986, as a member of the Wizard's new incarnation of the Injustice Society. The Shade's next appearance was in a flashback story in Secret Origins #50 (1989), which presented a post-Crisis retelling of "Flash of Two Worlds".
Post-Zero Hour After Zero Hour, the Shade's origin was changed drastically; he was retconned to be a 19th-century Englishman named Richard Swift stricken with amnesia after surviving an unexplained mystical tragedy. Swift accepts an offer from a stranger, Piers Ludlow, for shelter while he tries to regain his memories. What he doesn't know is that the entire Ludlow family is in fact a collection of thieves and murderers plotting to kill him. Acting on instinct, Swift unleashes his shadows and slaughters the entire family. Only a young pair of twins, absent from the excursion, survive.The Shade miniseries #1 (DC Comics, 1997). DC Comics.
Decades later, Swift is ambushed by Rupert Ludlow, one of the surviving twins, and kills him. He then takes up life as a wandering assassin while indulging his personal interests in history and culture. While traveling, he meets and befriends Brian Savage (Scalphunter) and visits Opal City for the first time. He then decides to settle there and becomes rich from property investments, even encountering Oscar Wilde. During his journeys, he meets a similar immortal born of the same incident and bearing his same powers, a dwarf by the name of Simon Culp, who becomes his mortal enemy.The Shade #2 (1997). DC Comics.
During all of the Shade's escapades, he is pursued by the Ludlows, whom he kills by the dozens. He is nearly killed by one Ludlow, Marguerite Croft, when he falls in love with her in Paris during the 1930s. She tries to kill Shade with poison but is unsuccessful. When Marguerite admits that she feels no remorse and in fact is already working on more plans to kill him, Shade strikes her down unhesitatingly. The experience changes him permanently, as he realizes that his powers are as much a curse as a blessing, and that he will never truly have the respectable life he wants. Instead, he resumes his former work as an assassin.The Shade #3 (1997). DC Comics.
During World War II, he leaves America to defend England, and fights Simon Culp again. An exploding bomb causes Culp's body to fuse with that of Shade. Unaware of this, the Shade returns to Keystone City. This was the time of the Golden Age of Heroes, and of them all he chooses Jay Garrick, the first Flash, as his adversary. During this time, Culp is able to subtly affect the Shade's behavior, and was even able to take over Shade's body completely when the latter is tired.
When the Flash retires in the 1950s, a new hero called the Spider takes his place. Shade investigates the Spider's background and discovers he is both a criminal (using his role to get rid of the competition) and a Ludlow by birth. Ludlow's move to Keystone City was part of his plan to kill the Shade. Shade instead kills the Spider, and rescues Flash and his wife from a murder attempt.Starman vol. 2 #46 (1997). DC Comics.
During the 1960s, Shade briefly teams up with Doctor Fate to take down one of Culp's criminal ventures, a mystic organization called the Wise Fools, who wished to repeat the ritual that created him by summoning a wild, uncontrolled bubble of shadow (actually Culp's shadow, separated from the Shade by Culp). Unaware that Culp's consciousness is actually within the Shade, he and Dr. Fate destroy the Wise Fools operation and throw the bubble into an empty dimension (where it continues to grow in power and size). This was all part of Culp's larger plan, one which almost culminates in the destruction of Opal City.Showcase #4–5 (1996). DC Comics.
Starman (vol. 2) James Robinson gave the character a starring role in his new Starman series in 1994. In the first story arc, Sins of the Father, Jack believes Shade to be his enemy when he kidnaps Jack's father, retired Starman Ted Knight, on the orders of the senile Mist, who wishes for a final showdown. Shade later betrays Mist by allying himself with the O'Dare family, a clan of police officers who assist Jack in the memory of their father Billy O'Dare, a policeman who had often assisted the original Starman. Shade, with the O'Dares, assaults Mist's hideout and rescues Ted Knight. Shade befriends the family's "black sheep", Matt O'Dare.Starman vol. 2 #0–6 (1997). DC Comics.
Much of the Shade's past is revealed through journal entries included in the Starman comics, including the flashback issues called "Times Past". They often deal 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.Starman vol. 2 #11, 18, 28, 36, 42, 44, 46, 54 and 74 (1997). DC Comics.
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 does not like Merritt, the human guardian of the poster, who has gained immortality for his protection of it, and was 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. Inside the poster, Shade, Jack and Matt separately agree to sell their souls in exchange for the liberation of all the souls contained within. The demon, unable to accept a selfless deal, is forced to release everyone, but takes Merritt's soul instead. Matt decides to turn over a new leaf and put his crooked past behind him. Shade assists him in his efforts, while influenced by the revelation that O'Dare is the reincarnated lawman Scalphunter, who happens to be an old friend.Starman vol. 2 #24–26, 41 (1997). DC Comics.
A particularly important point in the life of Shade comes when he meets the demon-lord Neron. Neron offers, as he has done so with many supervillains before him, to enhance Shade's power. Shade sees little use in Neron's offer, as he has no need to increase his already substantial wealth, sees no way of heightening his shadows' power, and is already immortal. Neron, angered by his rejection, swears vengeance against Shade.Showcase '95 #12 (1995). DC Comics.
Over the years, the Ludlow attacks have dwindled. This lasts until the wife of the last Ludlow calls him to talk her husband out of attempting an attack that would certainly cost him his life. Shade talks Ludlow out of pursuing his family's vendetta, burying a legacy of hate that has lasted more than 150 years.The Shade #4 (1997). DC Comics.
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, Pip almost blows up a large section of an Opal skyscraper, but Shade appears at the last minute and draws Pip into the Darklands, which serve as his power source, before the bomb can explode.Starman vol. 2 #30–33 (1997). DC Comics.
At various times, Culp is able to take control over or subtly influence Shade. At one point, Culp takes full control to talk to Jack, in the process making a mistake about the name of a Oscar 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 seemingly no motive other 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 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 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" story arc.