Shade, the Changing Man (1st Series)

(DC, 1977-1978)
DC

Steve Ditko created Shade, the Changing Man for DC in this 1977 series. Rac Shade was a resident of a dimension known as Meta, separated from Earth by the dreaded Zero Zone. Shade had been wrongly accused of being a traitor to Meta and was sentenced to die. Before the sentence could be carried out, however, a freakish incident cast Shade, along with various other criminals, into the Zero-Zone. From there, Shade was able to break through to Earth, where he would attempt to prove his innocence.

Shade’s power resides in his “M-Vest,” which protects him from suffering serious physical harm and acts to reflect people’s own fears against them. This makes Shade appear to change constantly, taking on various aspects as he battles those who had framed him as a traitor. Before he can prove his innocence, however, Shade must fight off other escapees from his dimension, as well as the woman he once loved, who had been sent from Meta to kill him.

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