Superwomen of EVA Foes #1: The Shade

"Sometime in the 19th century, a young man in London, England was caught in a strange, unexplained mystical incident that claimed the lives of 104 people. In the immediate aftermath, he was taken in by one Piers Ludlow seemingly out of concern, only to learn he was to be a scapegoat for the murderous Ludlow family, an aristocratic band of killers. Before they could strike, the man on reflex unleashed his newfound shadow-based powers, killing all but two members of the Ludlows and causing him to flee the scene; the two survivors vowed revenge. In the years that followed, the young man, having also discovered his newfound immortality in addition to his shadow powers, adopted many an alias and profession as he evaded the pursuit of the surviving Ludlows and their descendants. During the twilight of the Victorian era, he notably took on the name Sebastian Michaelis, loyal butler to the eccentric Phantomhive family; in the 20th century, he adopted a more well-known alias as man-about-town Richard Swift, with a secret alter-ego in the form of a thief and spy known as the Shade. The Shade became something of an urban legend as the decades wore on, even clashing with the likes of the WWII-era superheroes the Flash (Jay Garrick) and Starman (Theodore 'Ted' Knight).

The Shade largely disappeared from the spotlight for the latter half of the 20th century, with nary a rumor about him heard by the time Second Impact struck and the aftermath became the focus of the world at large. With barely any living relatives of the Ludlows still alive for him to bother with, the Shade felt he would confine himself to eke out the rest of his immortal life in undisturbed peace, until the year 2015, when news of a supposed new wielder of his old 'sparring partner' Starman's cosmic staff reached him, bringing him to Tokyo-3. He at first found himself squaring off against said new staff-wielder, the so-called 'Starwoman' (secretly NERV scientist Hitomi Kaga), along with the girl who took up the mantle of the Flash (secretly Evangelion pilot Mari "Illustrious" Makinami). As the Angel War wore on, though, the Shade found himself allied with Starwoman and triple-agent Ryoji Kaji after realizing the role of SEELE in the whole conflict (he himself having spied upon the early years of the organization). The Shade, at one point, saves Kaji from an assassin's bullet following the defeat of the 15th Angel, and from there proceeds to aid his 'fellow' spy in bringing the organization down for good-on the condition that he be allowed to take out one particular member of SEELE's ruling council, one who happens to be the last living relative of the Ludlows..."

*Author's Note(s)*

The Shade over the years has acquired something of a cult-favorite status, thanks to how effectively James Robinson used him throughout his run on the fan-favorite 1990s Starman comic, which elevated the character and allows him to retain that status even to this day. (To the point where he's now appeared in live-action form on the currently-airing Stargirl TV show.)

For the Deviation I submitted, I based a SWOE Shade on one of a number of anime characters who fit the bill of dark-clad, debonair, and aristocratic: Sebastian Michaelis of Black Butler, who shares more than a few traits with Richard Swift. (Hence my little nod to that character's source material.) Fun factoid: Sebastian shares his English dub voice actor, J. Michael Tatum, with Ryoji Kaji in the Funimation dub of the Rebuild of Evangelion films.