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S.H.A.D.E. was created as a one-time elite espionage operation by President Lyndon Johnson. Over the decades, it survived in a minimalist form, as a low budget cleanup operation headquartered at the secret Essex Airbase.

The Super-Human Advanced Defense Executive (S.H.A.D.E.) is a secret government organization. Lead by Father Time, its agents include Frankenstein and the Freedom Fighters.

History

S.H.A.D.E. was created as a one-time elite espionage operation by President Lyndon Johnson. Over the decades, it survived in a minimalist form, as a low budget cleanup operation headquartered at the secret Essex Airbase.

The activities of S.H.A.D.E. are unknown until the present day, but what is known is that their budget was repeatedly slashed with the rise of superhumans. However, when all the heroes were occupied with the Infinite Crisis, S.H.A.D.E. became aware of the imminent attack of the Sheeda. When the Sheeda flagship appeared over New York City, they were reinstated as the American government's go-to agency for bizarre goings-on (particularly in light of the news that Checkmate, their predecessor organization, had gone rogue under the leadership of Maxwell Lord).

One Year Later

After the Infinite Crisis, S.H.A.D.E. commanded clean-up efforts in Bludhaven. Their effort had, by the end of the "Lost Year", slowed to a near-total halt as they were using the Command-D Bunker in the center of the city to hold the humans mutated by exposure both to the environment and Captain Atom. Their actions were put to a halt by the Teen Titans, and the Atomic Knights became properly deputized and took over security within the city (though S.H.A.D.E. retained control of the Command-D bunker).

As a result of their research, S.H.A.D.E. put together a "Freedom Fighters" team to serve their mission to protect the status quo in the United States. They were initially in total command of the Freedom Fighters, but when Uncle Sam returned from death, he commandeered the team and used them to fight the efforts of Gonzo the Mechanical Bastard. In the wake of this attack, Father Time fled with a cache of classified information and the Freedom Fighters became the leaders of S.H.A.D.E.[1] However, this proved too traumatizing for them, and most of the team retired. Father Time returned and resumed control of the agency, now under scrutiny from Checkmate.

Notes

  • The extent to which Father Time intended for the Freedom Fighters to gain control of S.H.A.D.E. is unknown.
  • Created by Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnke. They were intended as an agency similar to the Agents of T.H.U.N.D.E.R., using manmade superhumans on covert missions.

See Also

Links

  • None.

Footnotes

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