39,327
edits
Shade the Changing Man: Difference between revisions
update links
m (revise quote template spacing) |
(update links) |
||
Line 5:
{{quote|"At this point I started to lie. And as I lied, I realized I might be telling the truth. This often happens to me."|Shade, ''The Passion Child''}}
Originally a short-lived series created by [[Steve Ditko]], Shade ran for 8 issues (June, 1977-September, 1978) before its sudden cancellation. The protagonist later turned up in the [[Suicide Squad]], where he was a regular cast member from issue #16 to #37 (August, 1988-January, 1990). Like many other [[Silver Age]] heroes he then got a thorough [[Continuity Reboot]] under [[The DCU|DC]]'s ''Vertigo'' imprint; the alien fugitive with a technological gizmo was replaced by a soulful poet from a parallel world who could [[Reality Warper|warp reality]].
The reboot was written in 1990 under Britwave author [[Peter Milligan]] and then-fledgling artist [[Chris Bachalo]]. Like the work of previous British authors [[Neil Gaiman]] and [[Alan Moore]], the series was highly experimental, combining history, mythology, literary allusions, and genre deconstruction. The series would run seventy issues, reaching its conclusion in 1996.
Line 28:
{{quote|'''Kathy:''' You haven't... given up your soul or anything?
'''Shade:''' He's not interested in souls. And he's not really the Devil. And he's not as bad as you think. Quite easygoing, really. }}
* [[Back
* [[Beat Still My Heart]]: Shade's heart is stolen by a squatter in his home after a battle. He embarks on [[Incredibly Lame Pun|a half-hearted rescue of it and when he finally catches up to it, has a heart-to-heart talk with it]]. {{spoiler|And then steps on it when he decides he's better off heartless.}} It appears from time to time, still beating, moving under its own power, and even has internal monologues.
* [[Bitter Wedding Speech]]: Subverted. Lenny is invited to her uncle's wedding, years after he babysat her as a child, and masturbated while watching her sleep. She has everyone's attention when she gets onto the table in front of the married couple, expecting a speech. She simply unfastens her dress and lets it fall off her with a smirk on her face. The reception ended in family violence.
* [[Blessed with Suck]] / [[Cursed with Awesome]]
* [[Changed My Jumper]]: On the rare examples of time-travel, it was easily [[Handwaved]] by Shade only appearing to personalities known to stay under the influence of substances, sometimes including hallucinogens. In one unique aversion, all of Hotel Shade and everything inside reverted gradually to earlier analogues and fashions, until they finally arrived in colonial Salem. Constantine mused on the fit of various underwear through history.
Line 41:
{{quote|'''Passionchild''': I find nothing out there. I find nothing in here too, but it's ''my'' nothing.}}
* [[Enemy Within]]: For Shade (thanks to the [[Green Rocks|power of madness]]) Hades became an [[Enemy Without]] and an [[Ensemble Darkhorse]] in the same story arc. He also seemed to become less threatening and more helpful, so perhaps it's for the best that he vanished the scene before [[Badass Decay|Spikeification]] set in.
* [[Executive Meddling]] - First when DC demanded the comic continue past Milligan's intended conclusion at the end of the Angels story arc. Again when the comic was canceled during the Roots of Madness story arc.
* [[Expository Hairstyle Change]]: Every time Shade {{spoiler|dies}}
* [[Gender Bender]]: Shade's consciousness leaps into the body of a recently murdered woman. Unfortunately, he was unable to alter her body to resemble his old one until he solved her murder and put her soul at rest. This led to various comical scenes with Shade experiencing the [[Male Gaze]], his first period and sex as a woman.
| |||