Post by Richard Swift on Jun 9, 2011 21:58:19 GMT -5
Canon or your own
Canon
Civilian Identity
Richard Swift
Alias
The Shade
Gender
Male
Age
About 200 years old, appears to be 30
Occupation
Thrillseeker, Adventurer, Mercenary, Assassin, Thief, Conductor of Darkness
Appearance
(Richard Swift)
(The Shade)
Personalty
Perhaps it's the gentleman in him, but Shade does not like openly lying to people, especially superheroes. It's not a gentlemanly thing to do, and it's beneath him. For this reason, while he might be very careful with just exactly how much of the truth he tells, he will not openly lie. Lies of omission, however...are another thing.
In his time, Shade has also learned that no one has his interests at heart more than himself. Thus he is not at all stingy about getting exactly what he wants, exactly when he wants it.
Another side-effect of his immortality, Shade has come to regard "right" and "wrong" as arbitrary choices that have no bearing on life. This doesn't mean he's necessarily "bad" -- in fact, he has said that he does not believe doing good is an overriding emotion of mankind. But he does believe that there is perhaps a desire not to do bad. "No harm, no foul" would be a good way to describe his feelings on this. He is not "immoral", per se, but "amoral". Meaning that he has no leanings towards either good or evil, but maintains a distance between such choices.
Additionally, Shade has a great disdain for people who have no more sense or skills to simply bash people and things to get something done. He does know that such kinds of "solutions" do have their place. However, they are not with him; that's what underlings are for.
A problem with living potentially forever is that one soon grows bored with a normal existence. To that end, Shade sometimes chooses potentially dangerous hobbies and interests to pass the time. That's one of the reasons he often makes forays into crime -- crossing wits with the superheroes is a most enjoyable "joust", and often is the only sport he has.
Another side effect from such a long life is that one sees and hears just about everything in one's time. So if someone's looking for shock value from the Shade, the person is likely to be sorely disappointed. Gorillas in regal attire taking over the world? Demons appearing and offering more power? Nope, Shade's seen it all.
Of all the places he's been, for the Shade, there's never been a place quite like Opal City. He doesn't quite know why, but everything about it has caught his heart and holds it like no other city. Perhaps it's the architecture. Perhaps it's the people. Or perhaps it's that undefinable something, the spirit of the city itself. Opal has always been there when others have deserted or betrayed him. And if he has his word to say about it, Opal City will always be there for him to return to.
Abilities:
Darkness Manipulation: ability to control darkness. His powers were revealed to be a connection to the Shadowlands (or Dark Zone), a dimension of primordial, quasi-sentient darkness which Shade, as well as other characters with similar powers, can channel for various effects. Swift, perhaps due to age, seems to be the most powerful possessor of Shadowland (Dark Zone) given powers.
Darkness Teleportation: ability to travel great distances in short amounts of time, by traveling between Earth and the Dark Zone. He can transport others through it over massive distances, and can, if necessary, use the Dark Zone as a last-ditch prison dimension.
Darkness Constructs: ability to create solid constructs out of shadows.
Shadowland Demon Control: ability to summon and command demonic creatures from the Dark Zone,
Darkness Projection: ability to project darkness
Darkness Force-field: ability to surround himself with a force field.
Immortality: These powers have also granted Shade agelessness and immortality. He is highly resistant to attacks of all kinds, and survived a direct bomb fall on top of him, appearing only slightly dazed. When injured he bleeds Shadow instead of blood which he can absorb back into himself, healing physical damage.
Skills: Swordsmanship. Sophistication. Multi-lingual. Education. Polymath. Writing. Spying. Stealth. Murder. Impersonation. Escapology. A variety of sciences both conventional & unconventional.
Equipment:
Cane-sword
Wealth
Weaknesses:
His only weakness is the fact that if he loses his shadow, he becomes vulnerable. However, this can only occur in the event of a light strong enough to completely surround him, to the point that he is unable to cast a shadow.
Background:
Richard Swift was born and raised in London, England. A man of wealth, Shade traveled within the literary circles of the Victorian Era England, befriending author Charles Dickens. As a aristocrat and scholar, he was invited to be a member of several secret societies.
One night in London, Swift was trapped amidst an unexplained mystical tragedy, which killed 104 people. The most immediate of effects upon him was the permanent loss of all memory before the incident; fortunately, a carriage appeared and took him in. The gentleman who had picked him up gave him the name Piers Ludlow, and offered to help him reencounter his past. Accepting his "kindness", Swift was taken to Ludlow's house and was taken to another house the next evening. However, the whole affair was a setup; the whole Ludlow family was in fact a band of killers and swindlers, and they had perpetuated a scheme many times over: to kill one of their wealthy, reclusive business partners and have a vagrant killed in his vicinity to give the impression of a failed robbery/homicide. However, when they intended to repeat the scheme with Swift as the scapegoat, he reflexively unleashed his shadows, killing all the present Ludlows. Only a young pair of twins, absent from the excursion, survived. The following evening Swift met one of his true friends prior to the incident: the author Charles Dickens.
For decades thereafter, Swift lived a relatively normal life, one which changed when Rupert Ludlow, one of the surviving twins, appeared and ambushed him along with a band of hired killers, informing him of the murderous intent of the family and of its exponential growth. Swift was injured but paid no attention to his wound and killed all of his attackers. Swift had discovered his immortality, knowing he could no longer have a normal life Swift left and choose to accept his gifts rather then let them dwindle away. Traveling round the world Swift made a name for himself as an adventurer and assassin. Swift amassed a small fortune while traveling; this kept him in good standings.
While traveling, he met Brian Savage (Scalphunter). He was taken to Opal city by Brian Savage and here he began to set up his home. He lead a peaceful life once again, he never gave up on his adventures but he never stayed away from home for too long. He even met and befriended another famous writer while there, Oscar Wilde.
During all of the Shade's escapades, he had been pursued quite actively by the Ludlows, whom he abated with little remorse, killing dozens of the family before meeting Marguerite Croft, a young lady, with whom he fell in love and established with in Paris during the thirties. Unfortunately, she proved to be a Ludlow, and tried to kill Shade by poisoning him. Shade survived the toxins, and was forced to kill Marguerite when she confessed that though she loved him, she would make more attempts on his life due to loyalty to her family. This left Shade with a sense of general depression and the feeling he could never love again. Swifts life became even darker as the news that his friend Brian Savage had died, Swift once again turned to killing for money.
Swift traveled the world again and found himself in the United States during World War 2. Brittan at this time was being heavily bombed and was near the point of destruction from the skies. Wishing to help his home land Swift left and crossed the sea’s to help where he could. After the war, Shade returned to the United States.
Base of Operations:
London, England, Opal City, Keystone City, Dark Zone
Sample Post:
Canon
Civilian Identity
Richard Swift
Alias
The Shade
Gender
Male
Age
About 200 years old, appears to be 30
Occupation
Thrillseeker, Adventurer, Mercenary, Assassin, Thief, Conductor of Darkness
Appearance
(Richard Swift)
(The Shade)
Personalty
Perhaps it's the gentleman in him, but Shade does not like openly lying to people, especially superheroes. It's not a gentlemanly thing to do, and it's beneath him. For this reason, while he might be very careful with just exactly how much of the truth he tells, he will not openly lie. Lies of omission, however...are another thing.
In his time, Shade has also learned that no one has his interests at heart more than himself. Thus he is not at all stingy about getting exactly what he wants, exactly when he wants it.
Another side-effect of his immortality, Shade has come to regard "right" and "wrong" as arbitrary choices that have no bearing on life. This doesn't mean he's necessarily "bad" -- in fact, he has said that he does not believe doing good is an overriding emotion of mankind. But he does believe that there is perhaps a desire not to do bad. "No harm, no foul" would be a good way to describe his feelings on this. He is not "immoral", per se, but "amoral". Meaning that he has no leanings towards either good or evil, but maintains a distance between such choices.
Additionally, Shade has a great disdain for people who have no more sense or skills to simply bash people and things to get something done. He does know that such kinds of "solutions" do have their place. However, they are not with him; that's what underlings are for.
A problem with living potentially forever is that one soon grows bored with a normal existence. To that end, Shade sometimes chooses potentially dangerous hobbies and interests to pass the time. That's one of the reasons he often makes forays into crime -- crossing wits with the superheroes is a most enjoyable "joust", and often is the only sport he has.
Another side effect from such a long life is that one sees and hears just about everything in one's time. So if someone's looking for shock value from the Shade, the person is likely to be sorely disappointed. Gorillas in regal attire taking over the world? Demons appearing and offering more power? Nope, Shade's seen it all.
Of all the places he's been, for the Shade, there's never been a place quite like Opal City. He doesn't quite know why, but everything about it has caught his heart and holds it like no other city. Perhaps it's the architecture. Perhaps it's the people. Or perhaps it's that undefinable something, the spirit of the city itself. Opal has always been there when others have deserted or betrayed him. And if he has his word to say about it, Opal City will always be there for him to return to.
Abilities:
Darkness Manipulation: ability to control darkness. His powers were revealed to be a connection to the Shadowlands (or Dark Zone), a dimension of primordial, quasi-sentient darkness which Shade, as well as other characters with similar powers, can channel for various effects. Swift, perhaps due to age, seems to be the most powerful possessor of Shadowland (Dark Zone) given powers.
Darkness Teleportation: ability to travel great distances in short amounts of time, by traveling between Earth and the Dark Zone. He can transport others through it over massive distances, and can, if necessary, use the Dark Zone as a last-ditch prison dimension.
Darkness Constructs: ability to create solid constructs out of shadows.
Shadowland Demon Control: ability to summon and command demonic creatures from the Dark Zone,
Darkness Projection: ability to project darkness
Darkness Force-field: ability to surround himself with a force field.
Immortality: These powers have also granted Shade agelessness and immortality. He is highly resistant to attacks of all kinds, and survived a direct bomb fall on top of him, appearing only slightly dazed. When injured he bleeds Shadow instead of blood which he can absorb back into himself, healing physical damage.
Skills: Swordsmanship. Sophistication. Multi-lingual. Education. Polymath. Writing. Spying. Stealth. Murder. Impersonation. Escapology. A variety of sciences both conventional & unconventional.
Equipment:
Cane-sword
Wealth
Weaknesses:
His only weakness is the fact that if he loses his shadow, he becomes vulnerable. However, this can only occur in the event of a light strong enough to completely surround him, to the point that he is unable to cast a shadow.
Background:
Richard Swift was born and raised in London, England. A man of wealth, Shade traveled within the literary circles of the Victorian Era England, befriending author Charles Dickens. As a aristocrat and scholar, he was invited to be a member of several secret societies.
One night in London, Swift was trapped amidst an unexplained mystical tragedy, which killed 104 people. The most immediate of effects upon him was the permanent loss of all memory before the incident; fortunately, a carriage appeared and took him in. The gentleman who had picked him up gave him the name Piers Ludlow, and offered to help him reencounter his past. Accepting his "kindness", Swift was taken to Ludlow's house and was taken to another house the next evening. However, the whole affair was a setup; the whole Ludlow family was in fact a band of killers and swindlers, and they had perpetuated a scheme many times over: to kill one of their wealthy, reclusive business partners and have a vagrant killed in his vicinity to give the impression of a failed robbery/homicide. However, when they intended to repeat the scheme with Swift as the scapegoat, he reflexively unleashed his shadows, killing all the present Ludlows. Only a young pair of twins, absent from the excursion, survived. The following evening Swift met one of his true friends prior to the incident: the author Charles Dickens.
For decades thereafter, Swift lived a relatively normal life, one which changed when Rupert Ludlow, one of the surviving twins, appeared and ambushed him along with a band of hired killers, informing him of the murderous intent of the family and of its exponential growth. Swift was injured but paid no attention to his wound and killed all of his attackers. Swift had discovered his immortality, knowing he could no longer have a normal life Swift left and choose to accept his gifts rather then let them dwindle away. Traveling round the world Swift made a name for himself as an adventurer and assassin. Swift amassed a small fortune while traveling; this kept him in good standings.
While traveling, he met Brian Savage (Scalphunter). He was taken to Opal city by Brian Savage and here he began to set up his home. He lead a peaceful life once again, he never gave up on his adventures but he never stayed away from home for too long. He even met and befriended another famous writer while there, Oscar Wilde.
During all of the Shade's escapades, he had been pursued quite actively by the Ludlows, whom he abated with little remorse, killing dozens of the family before meeting Marguerite Croft, a young lady, with whom he fell in love and established with in Paris during the thirties. Unfortunately, she proved to be a Ludlow, and tried to kill Shade by poisoning him. Shade survived the toxins, and was forced to kill Marguerite when she confessed that though she loved him, she would make more attempts on his life due to loyalty to her family. This left Shade with a sense of general depression and the feeling he could never love again. Swifts life became even darker as the news that his friend Brian Savage had died, Swift once again turned to killing for money.
Swift traveled the world again and found himself in the United States during World War 2. Brittan at this time was being heavily bombed and was near the point of destruction from the skies. Wishing to help his home land Swift left and crossed the sea’s to help where he could. After the war, Shade returned to the United States.
Base of Operations:
London, England, Opal City, Keystone City, Dark Zone
Sample Post:
Richard Swift was bored. Honestly there was nothing interesting going on and his previous hobbies were becoming too habitual. The immortal needed something new. Something to rejuvenate the thrill in his life. With pose he made his way into his study chambers and sat down at his desk. He pulled off a pen and pencil, then began writing.
I am bored... It seems like I have done it all. My previous endeavors no longer spark the desired thrill. I am truly... bored
Usually he would have tons to write and chronicle in his journal. Stories of amazing and grand adventures. Meetings with people of prestige and power. After trying to think of anything worth chronicling and coming up with nothing, he slowly closed his journal. With ease he slide the book back into a draw and stood up once again.
Richard walked his way out of his study and into his meditation room. His mind pondered on one major question “What is next.” For a man that had done it all, this was a hard question. As he stood shirtless with his eyes resting, a thought came to him. “Why not try being a super villain?”