Kent Allard (Earth-One)

The Shadow knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men. He was one of the first mysterymen in the 1930s, serving as an inspiration for many other heroes.

History

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, and beyond, the racketeers, gangsters, and criminal masterminds who chose to operate in New York City were relentlessly hunted, and frequently killed, by a mysterious figure known only as "The Shadow." Almost all other of the "Mystery Men" of that era, in New York and other cities, followed in his footsteps.

Hardly anyone knew where he came from or how he gained his seemingly superhuman abilities. Even his secret identity had a secret identity, as The Shadow's civilian persona, that of dissolute New Jersey playboy Lamont Cranston, was stolen from its real owner, and adopted as a cover for his older identity, as soldier of fortune Kent Allard. Only a small cadre of courageous agents, each of them indebted to The Shadow for their very lives, had any inkling of his operations or motives. He may have studied Ninjutsu in Japan.^[1] He was an extremely capable hypnotist, pilot, tactical psychologist, swimmer, escape artist, and gunfighter. It is said that his trademark peals of loud, mocking laughter could cause armed men to freeze in place from terror.

Some time in the 1950s, the Shadow saved a young Bruce Wayne, in the process of disrupting a violent crime.^[2] Years later, The Shadow came out of inactivity and helped Batman capture a gang of criminals, unaware that he was the same kid he had saved years prior.^[3]

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

Aviation: The Shadow was a fighter pilot during WW1 and remains skilled at flying.
Disguise: He is adept at altering his appearance with theatrical make-up.
Espionage: The Shadow is very skilled at gathering intelligence, investigating crimes, and relaying encrypted information.
Firearms: He is a supremely talented two-handed marksman.
Genius Level Intellect: The Shadow is highly intelligent and knowledgeable in a variety of fields such as science, tactical analysis, escape, investigation and maintaining a large network of agents with important skills.
Hypnosis: Many years ago in Asia, Allard learned a strange and mysterious secret, the hypnotic power to "cloud men's minds" so they cannot see him and he is also skilled at implanting suggestions in people's minds and making them forget events.
Intimidation: The Shadow is widely known to and feared by the criminal underworld.
Investigation: He is a skilled investigator and detective.
Martial Arts: The Shadow is a very skilled combatant, who uses Ninjitsu, Jiujitsu and a boxing style in combat.
Military Protocol: He is a skilled soldier
Mimicry: He is skilled at impersonating the voices of others.
Multilingualism: The Shadow speaks and understand many languages, including Mandarin and Japanese, and is also skilled at reading lips.
Peak Human Condition: The Shadow's strength, speed, agility, reflexes, durability and endurance are all at incredible levels. He is able to lift grown men easily, endure many injuries in battle, survive prolonged periods without oxygen and is also ambidextrous.
Stealth: His training and days in World War I has made him a master at stealth and capable of breaching high security facilities without being detected.
Escapology: He is a supremely talented escape artist.
Swimming: He is a skilled swimmer.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Shadow Ring: A "fire opal" girasol ring, which seems to give off a hypnotic reddish glow.

Transportation

Autogyro

Weapons

.45 Semi-Auto Pistols

Notes

This character is an adaptation of The Shadow, a character from the the pulp series created by Walter B. Gibson in 1931. The character was used at the time under license from the actual rights holders. More information can be found in the Wikipedia.org article The Shadow.

The Shadow is a licensed character who is not owned by DC Comics. Nevertheless, his 1973-1975 comic book stories were explicitly placed in DC's Earth-One continuity, so he is included in the DC Comics Database.

Trivia

Though he cannot become truly invisible, he both dresses for the purpose of blending into darkness, and exerts his ability to "cloud men's minds", so that they cannot see him even when they face in his direction.