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Shadow Thief

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Shadow Thief
The Carl Sands incarnation of Shadow Thief as depicted in Hawkman (vol. 5) #14 (September 2019).
Art by Patrick Olliffe (penciller) and Tom Palmer (inker).
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceCarl Sands:
The Brave and the Bold #36 (July 1961)
Carl Hammer:
Vigilante #14
(February 1985)
Aviva Metula:
Savage Hawkman #17
(April 2013)
Created byCarl Sands:
Gardner Fox (writer)
Joe Kubert (artist)
Carl Hammer:
Marv Wolfman (writer)
Trevor Von Eeden (artist)
Aviva Metula:
Tom DeFalco (writer)
Joe Bennett (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoCarl Sands
Carl Hammer
Aviva Metula
Team affiliationsCarl Sands:
The Society
Injustice League
Aviva Metula:
Mossad
The Society
AbilitiesCarl Sands:
Dimensiometer grants:
Ability to shift his body into a two-dimensional, and intangible, shadow state
Deal with Neron:
transmogrify anything his power touches into shadow, teleportation using shadows
Starbreaker enhancement:
Individual shadow manipulation, drawing strength from shadows around him, darkness based constructs, inter-dimensional travel
Carl Hammer:
Shadow suit grants:
Ability to become invisible in shadows
Aviva Metula:
Trained martial artist
Shadow armor grants:
Intangibility
Flight
Teleportation
Limited shapeshifting

Shadow Thief is the name of three fictional supervillains published by DC Comics. The first is a recurring foe of Hawkman named Carl Sands.

Shadow Thief appears in the seventh season of the Arrowverse television series Arrow, portrayed by Carmel Amit.

Publication history

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The Carl Sands version of Shadow Thief first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #36 (July 1961) and was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Joe Kubert.[1]

The Carl Hammer version of Shadow Thief first appeared in Vigilante #14 (February 1985) and was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Trevor Von Eeden.

Fictional character biography

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Carl Sands

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Pre-Crisis version

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Carl Sands is a career criminal who conducts experiments with shadow projection while in jail. He contacts Thar Dan, an alien from the Xarapion dimension who gives him the ability to transform into a living shadow. Throughout his appearances, Shadow Thief battles Hawkman and the Justice League before the Phantom Stranger steals the Dimensiometer that gives him his powers.[2][3]

Post-Crisis/Post-Hawkworld version

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The post-Crisis incarnation of Carl Sands is a low-level industrial saboteur who gains his powers from a Thanagarian device given to him by Byth Rok. Throughout his appearances, he gains enhanced powers by selling his soul to Neron, kills Firestorm, and joins the Injustice League and Secret Society of Super Villains.[4][5][6]

Carl Hammer

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The Carl Hammer incarnation of Shadow Thief as depicted in Vigilante #14. Art by Trevor Von Eeden.

The second Shadow Thief is an African-American man known as Carl Hammer. Hammer states that he paid more than one million dollars to have his suit made.[7]

Aviva Metula

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A third incarnation of Shadow Thief, Aviva Metula, is introduced in The New 52 continuity reboot.[8][9][10] She is a xenophobic former Mossad agent whose abilities are derived from "Shadow Skin" armor.[11][12]

Powers and abilities

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Carl Sands uses a Dimensiometer, Thanagarian technology which enables him to transform into an intangible, shadow-like state. While the vest is activated, he can move quickly and silently across and through most surfaces and materials, all the while remaining impervious to physical contact and attack. Long-term side effects from prolonged use of the vest are unknown although, prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths, it was stated that overuse of the suit would accelerate Earth's climate into an ice age.

Sands' powers are later augmented by Neron and Starbreaker, enabling him to transform others into shadow, travel through shadows, and create shadow constructs.[5][6][13]

The shadow suit Carl Hammer had constructed only allowed him to become invisible in shadows; it did not render him intangible.

The Shadow Skin provides Aviva Metula with intangibility, teleportation, flight, and limited shapeshifting, enabling her to turn her arms into weapons. She is also a trained martial artist.

Other versions

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In other media

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Television

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  • An original incarnation of Shadow Thief appears in the Superman episode "Night of the Living Shadows". This version is McFarlane, who lives in Metropolis' Suicide Slum and wields a LexCorp-designed suit.
  • An original incarnation of Shadow Thief appears in Justice League Unlimited, voiced by James Remar.[16] This version is the physical manifestation of Carter Hall's inner darkness who was created after he came into contact with the Absorbacron, a Thanagarian computer. He attempts to kill Green Lantern to have Hawkgirl to himself, only to be defeated and reabsorbed by Hall.
  • The Carl Sands incarnation of Shadow Thief appears in The Batman episode "What Goes Up...", voiced by Diedrich Bader.[16] This version works for Black Mask.
  • The Aviva Metula incarnation of Shadow Thief appears in the Arrow episode "Lost Canary", portrayed by Carmel Amit.[17] This version is an associate of Black Siren and Ricardo Diaz.

Video games

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The Carl Sands incarnation of Shadow Thief appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[18]

Miscellaneous

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  • The Justice League Unlimited incarnation of Shadow Thief appears in a flashback in Justice League Beyond.[19][20] After escaping from Hall, he seeks revenge on Green Lantern by murdering his fiancé Vixen before he kills him in revenge.
  • An unidentified Shadow Thief makes a cameo appearance in All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold #9.

References

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  1. ^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. pp. 313–314. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
  2. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6.
  3. ^ Justice League of America #139. DC Comics.
  4. ^
    • Identity Crisis #1-6. DC Comics.
    • Salvation Run #1-7 (2007-2008). DC Comics.
    • DC Universe #0. DC Comics.
    • Justice League of America (vol. 2) #29 (January 2009). DC Comics.
    • Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #41. DC Comics.
    • DC's Year of the Villain Special #1. DC Comics.
    • Hawkman (vol. 5) #14 - #16. DC Comics.
  5. ^ a b Underworld Unleashed #1-3 (November-late December 1995)
  6. ^ a b The Flash (vol. 2) #107 (November 1995). DC Comics.
  7. ^ Vigilante #14. DC Comics.
  8. ^ "THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN #17". dccomics.com. February 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
  9. ^ "The Savage Hawkman #18". dccomics.com. February 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
  10. ^ Justice League of America (vol. 3) #10-12. DC Comics.
  11. ^ Justice League of America #7.3. DC Comics.
  12. ^ Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. #1. DC Comics.
  13. ^ Justice League of America (vol. 2) #31-32
  14. ^ Kingdom Come #2 Annotations
  15. ^ Flashpoint: Legion of Doom #2 (July 2011). DC Comics.
  16. ^ a b "Shadow Thief Voices (DC Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 21, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  17. ^ "Listings | TheFutonCritic.com - The Web's Best Television Resource". The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  18. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  19. ^ Justice League Beyond #7 (May 2012). DC Comics.
  20. ^ Justice League Beyond #8 (June 2012). DC Comics.
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