Shade and Brick were to be transferred to Belle Reve Penitentiary. The League oversaw the transport discreetly, with Flash and Shazam posing as drivers while Rocket and Aquaman were on standby. The transport was waylaid by Sportsmaster and Abra Kadabra, who had to kidnap meta-humans for the Branchwater ring. In the ensuing fight, Sportsmaster took advantage of the ruckus to escape with Shade.[1]
Shade was taken to Gotham, where another Branchwater operative, Mad Hatter, ensured his cooperation with mind control nano tech. He now had to follow every command spoken into a hand held device. The location was compromised and attacked by Robin and his squad, but Hatter and Shade got away.[1]
The now controlled Shade was a major part of a planned break-in into STAR Labs to steal a Reach machine stored there. With his shadow powers, he bypassed security with Mist and Livewire in tow. Stealing the device was difficult, as no one had told him the size of it, and it took some effort getting it into his shadow portal. Their leader, Cheshire, watched their backs, but was shot by a security guard. Shade recovered in time, and the group escaped through his portal.[1]
With Cheshire being looked after by Doctor Moon, their departure from a local airport was delayed. Nightwing's team made their move and Geo-Force quickly grounded their plane, forcing the three mind controlled meta-humans on the defensive.
Shade was attacked by Halo, Geo-Force, and Forager, but was able to redirect their attacks to each other with his shadow portals. He trapped Geo-Force inside a portal, which caused Halo to blast him with white light. He was weakened and his portals were undone. He grabbed Cheshire from the plane and they escaped, leaving their young accomplices behind. Cheshire gave the mind control device to Shade so that no one at Branchwater could control him.[1]
The failed heist brought the heat to Branchwater and its mother company, Stagg Industries. CEO Simon Stagg was arrested. The first thing Shade did after being freed was to teleport to Stagg's cell and exact his revenge.[1]
Powers and abilities
Darkness manipulation: Shade can create shadow portals, allowing him and others to teleport. He can also use this power in combat, absorbing and redirecting attacks.[1]
Richard "Dickie" Shift is an enemy of the Flash and the Justice Society, and later Starman, though later in his career he became neutral and even heroic. He is connected to the Shadowlands, which gift him the power of darkness and an abnormally long life.
This is his second animated appearance; he first appeared in Justice League.
