The Shade Reviews

There aren't very many people who can rock a top hat and not come off looking like a complete idiot. In fact, unless you're Fred Astaire, Slash, or Johnny Depp, we would absolutely advise against it. Just don't tell The Shade, one of DC Comics' oldest supervillains, that we bagged on his headwear of choice.

The Shade, created by E.E. Hibbard and first appearing in Flash Comics#33, was introduced as a thief with the power to manipulate shadows using a magical cane. He is notable for battling two generations of superheroes -- crossing paths with the original Flash, and later with the Barry Allen incarnation.

The character was significantly retooled after Zero Hour, into a morally ambiguous Victorian-era immortal by the name of Richard Swift who acquired his ability to manipulate shadows and his immortality from an unexplained mystical accident. The unexplained catastrophe killed over a 100 people, but left Swift with only a loss of all memory before the event. In the aftermath, Swift was caught up in a scheme by members of the criminal Ludlow family who tried to kill him. It was then that Swift's deadly shadows were first unleashed.

While his feud with surviving members of the Ludlow family continued, Swift settled in Opal City, where he worked as a paid assassin. He relocated for a time to Keystone City where he first encountered the Flash (Jay Garrick), toying with him under the guise of a gimmicky villain as a smokescreen for his truly important crimes.