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Rac Shade, alias Shade, the Changing Man is a secret agent of the world in the Meta-Zone, a dimension near that of Earth. He uses the illusion-creating and body-defending illegal M-Vest to alter his appearance.

Origin

He had been framed for treason and sentenced to death, but a freak accident teleports him and other Meta criminals into the Zero-Zone between Meta and Earth, and he uses a sensor to enter Earth's plane. Hoping to prove his innocence, he tried to find another agent, Lt. Emp, who may be able to clear his name. But his former lover, Mellu, has come to Earth in search of him, hoping to execute him in revenge for the crippling of her family. And another Meta criminal is already loose on the planet, Zokag the Demolisher.

While Mellu comes to Earth to negate the gaseous Metan criminal Form, Shade battles Lt. Emp, the one man who can clear him of treason charges. While Shade tries to force Capt. Majan to confess to framing him for treason, both are attacked by Cloak, an invisible minion of Sude.

When Gola Zae teleports Mellu into the Zone of Madness, Shade must rescue her and then fight a desperate battle with the help of Dr. Sagan to preserve her sanity and her life. Mellu learns that Shade risked his life to save her, and joins Shade's secret allies in an attempt to break him out of government custody, while one of the Supreme Decider's rivals, Khaos, breaks away from the Crime Council to attempt to conquer Meta on his own.

The Supreme Decider is injured, and Khaos makes his play for control of Meta by attempting to kill President Olon, with only Shade standing in his way.

Shade suffers a "color coma" after having destroyed Khaos, while Mellu and Sgt. Barak go after the Cloak to prove him the killer of Capt. Majan, and Dr. Z. Z. prepares to strike at Earth.

Shade reveals the truth of his last assignment as a government agent to President Olon, Col. Kross, and Dr. Sagan, as Col. Lopak prepares to send troops into the presidential palace to see if Shade is within. On his way to help fight Dr. Z. Z. on Earth, Shade falls victim in the Zero-Zone to Zekie, a conqueror who has already beaten Xexlo.

Suicide Squad

Shade is later rescued by the Suicide Squad. Shade's second attempt at stopping Z.Z. is successful, though Meta authorities still wish to arrest him. Rick Flag pulls a gun and Shade is allowed to leave with the Squad. Shade is offered technical help in returning to Meta in exchange for his help on missions. Shade cooperates, though he is not quite sure if Earth's technology is up to the task.

Equipment

  • M-Vest: Shade wears the M-Vest.
    • Deflection: Creates a strong force field that repels weaponry
    • Flight: Allows a degree of flight.
    • Fear Projection: Distorts Shade's appearance dependent on the viewer's mental state or his own.


  • Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.

Related

Footnotes


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Vertigo Character
This character exists under the Vertigo Imprint which is intended for Mature Readers.Their continuity takes place within the context of Vertigo titles although they may cross over into regular DC continuity.
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Suicide Squad member
This character is or was a member of the Suicide Squad, a team of imprisoned super-villains who perform high-risk missions for the U.S. Government in exchange for commuted sentences, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Suicide Squad members" category.

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