The Shadow
The Shadow is a male character who features in The Shadow.
Contents |
Biography
Pulp
Kent Allard was once a famed aviator who fought for the French during World War I, known by the alias the Black Eagle because of his fondness for flying at night. Going behind enemy lines, he became a secret agent and set up an espionage network. He located maps of several enemy air bases and entered prison camps to guide the men in their escape. He later escaped with one of the enemy's own planes, flying back to safety to France.
After the war, Allard came to find a new challenge in waging war on criminals. Allard falsified his death by crash landing his plane in Guatemala where he encountered the indigenous Xinca tribe as a result, who see him as a supernatural being and provide him with two loyal aides. Allard returns to the United States and takes residence in New York City, adopting numerous identities to acquire valuable information and conceal his true nature, and recruiting a variety of agents to aid his war on crime, only a few of whom are aware of his other identities.
Dark Horse
Kent Allard was a crime fighter who fought against corruption during the 1930s and '40s. Be it, mobsters, monster-men, Nazi's or his arch-enemy, Shiwan Khan, he was resilient in ridding the evil which lurked in the hearts of men. In the East, he was trained in the mystic arts by Marpa Tulku, a Tibetan monk. After his teachings in the paranormal, Allard returned to New York, fighting crime as a merciless, black clad vigilante, The Shadow. He recruited a network of agents to assist him in his war on crime. All of them made commitments to do what's right and see their "masters" mission to the end.
DC Comics
Kent Allard was a world-famous aviator who fought over the battlefields of Germany in the first World War. He was later awarded for his services with several medals and was able to keep the plane in which he fought in. During the Russian Revolution, he was enlisted by the Czar's family to investigate rumors of them conspiring with the Germans. He cleared their name and was given a ring, the fire opal, as a token of gratitude. He was later reassigned and became an adventurer and ended up in Shamgri-La where he was hired by Lamont Cranston for a shipping job. Unknown to Allard, Cranston was smuggling drugs. About three hours into the trip, Allard noticed a fuel leak in the plane. Hearing that Allard wanted to dump the cargo to preserve fuel, Cranston threaten the helpless pilot with a gun. Nonetheless, the gas did run out, and the plane crashed somewhere over Tibet. Both men lost consciousness, but when Allard awoke later, he realized he had no injuries. He later learned that he was "reassembled" by a strange technology that was centuries ahead of his own. He was also introduced to a new city, Shambala. Shambala was a scientifically advanced city-state hidden deep in the Tibetan mountains. It was there where Allard met Rudra Cakrin and fell in love. Lamont Cranston, on the other hand, was also involved in that fateful plane crash over Tibet. Like Allard, he too was taken to the mysterious city, Shambala. Since he survived the crash without a scratch, he did not have any reconstructive surgery.
While Allard was healing from his wounds, Cranston proved to be a threat to the Utopian city by killing some of his benefactors. He then took Rudra Cakrin as a hostage and forced Allard, once again, to pilot a plane for a smuggling run, this time with gold bullion bars. During the flight, they went back to the original crash site to pick up the abandoned heroin. Once there, Allard pushed Cranston off the snowy peak, leaving him to die. After the dirty deed, Allard flew back to Shambala with Cakrin. She continued to put him through training, making him a paladin and teaching his mind to travel beyond his body, to become a true shadow warrior. When he finally left Shambala, he became the lost city's ambassador. Back in the states, he became a mystery man and began his crime fighting campaign as The Shadow until he retired in the early 1950s. Thirty-five years later, The Shadow's agents were being ruthlessly murdered one by one. This brought him out of retirement. Accompanied by two of his older agents, Harry Vincent and Margo Lane, and a few new agents, The Shadow discovered that Lamont Cranston was still alive. It seems after his fall from the mountain top, he was then rescued by a Russian who nursed him back to health. Six years later, he sneaked back into the United States, and laid low for a while, even changing his name to "Preston Mayrock." It was he who was killing off The Shadow's agents as revenge for their earlier exploits and for Allard adopting the Cranston name thereafter. The two foes confronted one another, and The Shadow avenged his fallen comrades by killing Cranston once and for all. Now out of retirement, The Shadow continues his mission of ridding the world of its vipers, as for the citizens New York City, god help the guilty.
Overview
Personality and attributes
Upon returning to society, he came to impersonate the identity of wealthy world-traveler Lamont Cranston. Over time, he came to be known by people around the world where people knew him as Ying Ko (Mandarin: Shadow), El Ombre, La Sombra and Khaibet. During World War I, he had a fondness for flying at night leading to people giving him the alias of Black Eagle.
Powers and abilities
Along with learning skills and knowledge in Europe, Africa, and Asia, he spends time training with a Yogi priest, "Keeper of the Temple of Cobras," in Delhi and learns how to read thoughts and hypnotize people enough to "cloud" their minds, making himself invisible to them. He had the power to 'cloud men's minds' where the sight of his burning eyes could cause his foes to be filled with fears, causing them to reveal or confess to a case being investigated by him. This persuasive power can also sway the masses to his will.
The Shadow had the ability to read lips and has an amazing mastery of a variety of languages.
One of the tactics adopted by him was being the master of disguise. Such was his skill that he was able to keep his two personalities entirely distinct. No one had ever mistaken Kent Allard for Lamont Cranston, or vice versa. The Shadow also portrayed himself as several other personalities as well. One disguise was that of businessman Henry Arnaud who was a real person whose identity Allard simply assumed at times. Another identity was that of the elderly Isaac Twambley. He was also once Fritz, an old, seemingly slow-witted, uncommunicative janitor who works at police headquarters, listening in on conversations and examining recovered evidence. The Shadow had also masqueraded as celebrated criminologist George Clarendon of Chicago, a past member of the Cobalt Club and long-time friend of Commissioner Weston.
The Shadow made use of a network of agents who assisted him in his war on crime.
His costume allows him to hide in the shadows with a black slouch hat with extra wide brim, cloak collar, turned upward, often shown as red, easily hides his face but also useful in dusty, smoky environments. His thin black gloves allow for sensitivity. He also wears a cloak/cape-black exterior, sometimes with red lining with a black suit underneath. His shoes are black, with soft/padded soles for silent prowling.
On his hand was the Girasol Ring which was a unique purple ring which was a gifted from the Czar of Russia, whom Allard had befriended. Later, when he faked his disappearance in the jungles of Guatemala, he discovered a tribe of Xinca Indians who bestowed upon him a companion mystical jewel that was a second ring. It seems there were actually two identical rings, each with a fire-opal stone, which were the eyes of a Xincan idol.
Within his arsenal was a strange chemical compound called the Devil's Whisper which the Shadow rubbed on his thumb and finger. When he snapped his fingers, there was a flash of bright flame and a sharp explosion.
Notes
- The Shadow was created by Walter B. Gibson where he made his first appearance in Detective Story Hour (July, 1930).
- The 2015 video game Fallout 4 includes a quest series centered on a character called the Silver Shroud, a masked crime-fighting detective from old-world radio shows; the character was based largely on The Shadow.
Alternate Versions
In other media
Radio
- In The Shadow, the Shadow featured in the setting of the 1937 radio drama where he was voiced by actor. To explain this power, radio episodes regularly said that while a young man, The Shadow traveled around the world and then through the Orient, where he learned how to read thoughts and became a master of hypnotism, granting him "the mysterious power to cloud men's minds, so they could not see him." In the episode "The Temple Bells of Neban" (1937), The Shadow said he developed these abilities in India specifically, under the guidance of a "Yogi priest" who was "Keeper of the Temple of Cobras" in Delhi. He does not wear a mask or any disguise while invisible, and so in episodes such as "The Temple Bells of Neban" (1937) he is cautious when he meets an enemy who could potentially disrupt his hypnotic abilities, exposing his true face and instantly making him a visible target for attack. In the episode "The Death House Rescue," Cranston explains he spent years studying in London, Paris, Vienna, Egypt, China, and India, learning different fields of science as well as "the old mysteries that modern science has not yet rediscovered, the natural magic that modern psychology is beginning to understand." He states his hypnotic and seemingly telepathic abilities are not magic but based on scientific secrets most of the world has forgotten or does not yet understand. In "The Temple Bells of Neban" in 1937, he specifies that a Yogi priest, "Keeper of the Temple of Cobras" in Delhi, taught him how to be invisible by "clouding" peoples' minds. He indicates in "The Death House Rescue" that he always intended to use his acquired knowledge to secretly fight evil forces that evaded conventional authorities. In the same episode, when his companion Margo Lane suggests he work openly with the police, Cranston implies the police and general public would not understand or approve of his strange methods and abilities, concluding he is only effective by working outside of the law. The radio version of The Shadow is less ruthless than his pulp counterpart, preferring to capture his foes more often than gun them down. He sometimes openly shows compassion for his enemies, even at time criticizing society for creating circumstances that lead to certain crimes and cause some people to lose hope and support.
Films
- In The Shadow Strikes, Lamont Granston appeared in the setting of the 1937 black and white live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Rod La Rocque.
- In The Shadow, Lamont Cranston appeared in the setting of the 1994 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Alec Baldwin.
Comic Books
- In Batman/The Shadow v1 (2017), the Shadow appeared in the intercompany crossover between Dynamite Entertainment and DC Comics.
Appearances
- Detective Story Hour: (1930)
External Links
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