Shadow Man (Michael LeRoi)

Shadow Man (Michael LeRoi) a fictional antihero who appears in comic books co-published by Valiant Comics and Acclaim Entertainment. The character debuted in Shadowman Volume 2 #1 (May 1997), and was created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Ashley Wood. He is the second character to hold the title of Shadowman after Jack Boniface and also stars in the Shadow Man video game franchise by Acclaim Entertainment.

Michael LeRoi, a 32-year old former English literature student-turned-gambler was tricked into servitude by an evil bokor after the massacre of his family. He is rescued by Mama Nettie, a powerful voodoo priestess, who knits the Mask of Shadows to his ribcage. This act gives him a vast array of Voodoo powers, transforming him into the "Lord Of Deadside", Shadow Man.

Publication history

Acclaim Entertainment, which bought Valiant in 1996, started a new Shadowman series under the Acclaim Comics banner. Written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Ashley Wood, the second series set a much darker tone to the series and moved it away from sci-fi to a more Voodoo magic/mystical setting with horror elements.

Fictional character biography

Michael LeRoi, 32 years old, was a former English literature student. He dropped out of his English Liturature classes and started gambling, which exhausted his funds. Mike was then forced to work as a taxi driver in Chicago, keeping his failure from his family in New Orleans. During a night routine, Mike's passenger was killed in a drive-by shooting, leaving $20,000 in a briefcase. Mike took the money to his home to spend it with his family, using some of it to pay for his brother Luke's operation. Unfortunately, the gang that shot his passenger tracked him down and threatened him and his family. Desperate, Michael sought a bokor to give him protection against the gang. Meanwhile, one day when Mike and family were driving out to dinner their car was being followed until they came up to a red light. Inside of the following car were the thugs that originally owned the $20,000. They opened fire on the vehicle killing everyone inside, except for Michael. The bokors protection worked far too great for Mike but it was never intended to protect his family.

A year later Mike had lost his memory after waking up from a coma. Mike didn't remember anything about his family or even his own name so he just drank his life away at the local bar the 'Wild at Heart'. The bokor tracked him down and made him his zombie slave, under the pseudonym "Zero" Mike became a hitman having nothing else to live for. Mama Nettie, a powerful voodoo priestess, arrived with thugs to take revenge on the bokor. Then, Nettie dragged Michael into a room and used the last of her powers to implant the Mask of Shadows, a powerful voodoo artifact, in his chest. Mike then became the Shadow Man, the next in a line of African voodoo warriors blessed with supernatural powers to protect the world from the spiritual plane known as Deadside, the place where everyone goes, without exception, when they die. Mike regained his memory, which slowly began to torment him endlessly. Michael soon entered Nettie's service to try to end his suffering.

One night in 1999, Nettie had a prophetic dream in which five serial killers, known as The Five, under the direction of Legion, are attempting to bring Apocalypse on Earth by transporting an immense army of immortal monsters, the Trueforms, through an enormous construction in Deadside known as the Asylum, built by Jack the Ripper, one of the members of The Five. After Mike wakes up, Nettie tells him to travel to Deadside using his strong attachment to Luke's teddy bear as a spiritual and dimensional conduit and meet with Jaunty, a skull-headed snake, acting as the eyes and ears of Nettie in Deadside.

Michael then travels to Deadside with the use of Luke's teddy bear. After collecting all of the Dark Souls in Deadside and passing trials set by the gods of Deadside, Michael assembles a magic knife called the Eclipser. Returning to Liveside, Nettie uses the Eclipser to trigger an eclipse, which enables Michael to become the Shadow Man in Liveside. The ritual drains Nettie of her powers and causes her to go into a deep sleep.

Michael then returns to Deadside and finds the Asylum as well as the Dark Engine which powers it. Michael finds his long-dead brother Luke within the Dark Engine along with several paths to Liveside which lead to the hiding places of the Five. Michael defeats the Five and claims each of their souls in the process. During this time, Michael finds Jack the Ripper's diary, which contains instructions on how to shut down the Engine. Michael returns to Darkside and shuts down the Engine, giving Luke his teddy bear back. Luke then reveals himself to be Legion in disguise.

Legion reveals that he sent Nettie the dream so that Michael would be forced to collect all of the Dark Souls and confront Legion, enabling Legion to claim all of the souls at once and use them to power the Engine, creating his army and sending it into Liveside. After an intense battle, Michael gives Legion all of the souls, whose combined power overwhelms Legion and kills him, destroying the Asylum as well. However, Michael is now stranded in Deadside but embraces his position as lord of Deadside.

Publication history

Shadow Man was co-published by Valiant Comics and Acclaim Comics for 40 issues. The first issue of Volume 2 was released on March 1997 and ran for 20 issues, with the final issue being released in October 1998.

In other media

Video games

Acclaim released the Shadow Man video game in November 1999 on the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, and PC. A sequel, entitled Shadow Man: 2econd Coming was released for PlayStation 2 in 2002, following the events after the end of the first game. The events of the first game were loosely adapted into a single issue of Shadow Man volume 3.

The Shadow Man video game was a critical and commercial success, selling over 2 million copies and garnering an IGN rating of 9.1/10 for the first game.^[1] Shadow Man also garnered a 93% rating for N64 Magazine, the same score as N64 favorites Donkey Kong 64 and Mario Kart 64. IGN.com named Shadow Man the N64 game of the month for August 1999.^[2] And IGN.com also named Shadow Man one of the three most important black characters on the N64 saying "Shadow Man is one of the strongest, most uncompromising characters in any game on any platform."^[3] The Shadowman video game was released around the world and translated into a number of languages including German, Russian, Spanish, French and Italian among others.

Film

Rapper/actor Ice Cube approached Acclaim Entertainment in 1999 about creating a Shadowman feature film. Acclaim declined the offer, as they were focused on the success of the Shadowman video game franchise. Others linked with the role include Will Smith, DMX and The Game. As of 2016, there have been no reports to produce a film based on the Michael LeRoi version of the character.

References

External links

• World of Black Heroes: Jack Boniface (Original) Biography
• World of Black Heroes: Mike LeRoi Biography
• Thoughts on Shadowman by one of the writers of volume 3, Christopher J. Priest