Shadowlands (DC)
The Shadowlands is a dimension that features in DC Comics.
Contents |
History
Origin
During his fight against the Golden Age superheroes, the villainous Ian Karkull was seemingly killed and his body torn to shreds. However, he survived as a creature of shadow within the realm of the Shadowlands where he became devoid of a physical form as he took the better part of a century to put himself back together. He drifted within the void of that realm as he sought to get his revenge against the members of the Justice Society. (JSA v1 #7)
Obsidian then killed Karkull and stole his power which he used to spread the darkness of the Shadowlands across the Earth causing a wave of fear in people whilst others were possessed by the shadows. Sentinel attempted to reason with his son but Obsidian battled him where he was ultimately defeated by his father. This caused the Shadowlands to recede back to its realm with it calling to Todd Rice who intended to take Alan Scott with him to trap him in that realm. However, his adoptive father jumped in the way and in the scuffle the two of them disappeared into the shadows. (JSA v1 #9)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of history was created with a different series of events.
This nightmarish realm was said to be a place that had been given many names and it was claimed by some that it was where God sent the Darkness after bringing the Light. (The Flash v5 #11)
Shade's emotions and troubled past led to the corruption forming in the Shadowlands with the shadows eventually openly revolting against him. They desired for him to embrace his evil nature and wanted to spread into the real world. Initially, they began to manifest on Earth and conduct criminal acts where they took the money back to Shade. Eventually, his love Hope came to believe that he had fallen back into his criminal ways and was distraught. Then the shadows abducted her as they believed she was a stabilizing influence in his life and attempted to remove her by taking her to the Shadowlands. They took her to the newly created Tower of Darkness where they intended to use it as a gateway to enter the real world. Shade went into the Shadowlands to find his love but his weakened state meant he could not combat the rebelling shadows who kept moving Hope. He then decided he needed help and create a shadow duplicate of himself in the real world at Central City in order to bring the Flash to him. Wally West as Kid Flash believed that this shadow Shade was a villain and was incidentally dragged into the Shadowlands. Afterwards, the Flash and Iris West both entered into the Shadowlands to find him but were separated. Barry Allen in his guise as the Flash found Kid Flash and Shade who explained the events that happened along with asking him for his help to find Hope. This led to the three fighting the shadows that were vulnerable to the power of the Speed Force in speedsters. (The Flash v5 #11)
Overview
This realm was not inherently evil but subconscious feelings and emotions were able to corrupt the Shadowlands twisting it until it had a mind of its own. (The Flash v5 #11)
Inhabitants
- Ian Karkull :
- Obsidian :
- Shade :
Notes
- The Shadowlands were created by David S. Goyer, Geoff Johns and Stephen Sadowski where it made its first appearance in JSA v1 #7 (February, 2000).
Appearances
- JSA v1:
- The Flash v5:
External Links
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