History Literature / TheShadow

* TheDriver: Shreevy, a cab driver in both the novels and the radio show. In the pulps he was one of The Shadow's paid operatives, the official cab driver for The Shadow who operated as part of the gang. On the radio program he was not one of The Shadow's operatives, but was an occasional comic relief character.

There have also been a few reboot novels: ''The Sinister Shadow'', 2015, ''Empire of Doom'', 2016 (both by Will Murray) and then another reboot with ''The Shadow'', 2021 (Creator/JamesPatterson & Brian Sitts).

* AxeCrazy: [[spoiler:Doctor Foster in "The Nursery Rhyme Murders." He kills people based on Nursery Rhymes]]

The character in the pulp fiction series was named Kent Allard, a World War I pilot who, after the war, dedicated himself to fighting crime. He dressed in a CoatHatMask outfit that may be the TropeMaker, and hunted criminals by night. Unlike Franchise/{{Batman}}, who was obviously inspired by The Shadow, The Shadow used guns and wouldn't hesitate to shoot bad guys. He also used magic tricks to confuse villains, and was a master of disguise and concealment. He used a series of secret identities, the most common of which was Lamont Cranston, a RichIdiotWithNoDayJob. (Unlike the radio show, where "Lamont Cranston" was actually The Shadow's real name, in the pulps Lamont Cranston was a separate person who sometimes helped The Shadow when both were in New York.) The pulp Shadow was a [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] who used a small army of agents and informants to [[BatmanGambit manipulate]] both [[GambitPileup criminals and the police]], until the final confrontation, when he would take a direct hand.

* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: Kent Allard. In the pulps, there was a Lamont Cranston, whose identity the Shadow had borrowed while the man was out of the country on an extended tour. This caused a bit of a problem when the real Cranston suddenly returned. In later stories, the real Cranston sometimes assisted the Shadow in pulling off a "two places at the same time" gambit. (The radio show simply made The Shadow "Lamont Cranston" and eliminated the duality of the real/fake Cranstons.)

First published in April 1931, and continuing for 325 novels (most but not all of which were written by Gibson), ''The Shadow Magazine'' was hugely influential in the creation of other pulp heroes, and eventually the ComicBook [[ProtoSuperhero superheroes]]. The character became wildly popular. It inspired a [[Radio/TheShadow radio program]] that in its turn became one of the most popular shows of the classic American RadioDrama era, running 17 years. There was [[ComicBook/TheShadow a comic book]], and multiple film adaptations, by far the most famous being a [[Film/TheShadow 1994 film]] starring Creator/AlecBaldwin as The Shadow.

There have also been a few reboot novels: ''The Sinister Shadow'', 2015, ''Empire of Doom'', 2016 (both by Will Murray) and then another reboot with ''The Shadow'', 2021 (Creator/JamesPatterson and Brian Sitts).

First published in April 1931, and continuing for 325 novels (most but not all of which were written by Gibson), ''The Shadow Magazine'' was hugely influential in the creation of other pulp heroes, and eventually the ComicBook [[ProtoSuperhero superheroes]]. The character became wildly popular. It inspired a [[Radio/TheShadow radio program]] that in its turn became one of the most popular shows of the classic American RadioDrama era, running 17 years. There was also [[ComicBook/TheShadow a comic book]], and there have been multiple film adaptations, by far the most famous being a [[Film/TheShadow 1994 film]] starring Creator/AlecBaldwin as The Shadow.

* EvilCounterpart: "Revenge of the Shadow" featured a man who had learned the same trick of hypnotic invisibility, now trying to pass himself off as the real Shadow.

Subverted in the very first pulp: [[spoiler:the Chinese villain turned out to be a white man in disguise.]]

[[quoteright:194:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Shadow_sans_text_5302.png]]
[[caption-width-right:194:[[EvilLaugh Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...!!!!]]]]

First published in April 1931, and continuing for 325 novels, ''The Shadow Magazine'' was hugely influential in the creation of other pulp heroes, and eventually the ComicBook [[ProtoSuperhero superheroes]]. The pulp Shadow, although established as the same person as the radio announcer in the first issue, was a [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] who used a small army of agents and informants to [[BatmanGambit manipulate]] both [[GambitPileup criminals and the police]], until the final confrontation, when he would take a direct hand.

The character became wildly popular. It inspired a [[Radio/TheShadow radio program]] that in its turn became one of the most popular shows of the classic American RadioDrama era, running 17 years. There was also [[ComicBook/TheShadow a comic book]], and there have been multiple film adaptations, by far the most famous being a [[Film/TheShadow 1994 film]] starring Creator/AlecBaldwin as The Shadow.

"The Shadow" ("Skyggen" in original Danish) is a short FairyTale by Danish poet and author Creator/HansChristianAndersen, first published in 1847. If you came here for the cackling pulp character who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men, you'll want ''Radio/TheShadow'' instead.


The story follows a Learned Man on a voyage south from northern Europe. One evening as he sits by a fire, he amused observes his shadow dancing and imitating his movements in the light of the flames, thinking that it would be funny if it was a creature with a will of its own. The next morning, he awakes and finds to his surprise that his shadow has disappeared overnight. But as a new shadow slowly grows back from the tip of his toes, the Learned Man does not give the incident another thought, and soon thereafter goes home to northern Europe. One evening several years later, however, he hears a knock on his door. It is his shadow, the one he lost years before during his journey, now standing upon his doorstep, almost completely human in appearance. Intrigued, the Learned Man invites the Shadow inside, where the two sit down and talk about the Shadow's experiences during its travels and how it came to take the form of a human.

During the conversation, the subject turns to the Learned Man's rather unsuccessful writing career. The Learned Man values the good, the true, and the beautiful in the world, and writes about it often, but his writing seems to garner little to no interest with the public. The Shadow declares that the Learned Man is too much of an idealist, and his view of the world is flawed. The Shadow claims that he, unlike his master, understands the world, that he has seen it as truly is, and knows how evil some men really can be. They soon part ways once again.

The Shadow goes on to make itself quite wealthy, even as the Learned Man barely manages to survive. He eventually grows very ill, and so the Shadow proposes they travel to a health resort. The Shadow will fund the trip, on the condition that the Learned Man pretend to be ''its'' shadow instead of the other way around. Absurd as the suggestion sounds, the Learned Man ultimately agrees and they undertake the trip, with the Shadow as his master.

On the trip, the Shadow meets and woos a Princess. When the pair are about to be married, the Shadow asks the Learned Man to remain as its shadow permanently, in exchange for a good life with them. The Learned Man refuses and threatens to reveal the truth to the Princess. Thus, the Shadow has him arrested and ultimately executed, and goes on to live a happy life with the Princess.

"The Shadow" is a decidedly dark FairyTale, said by Andersen to be an example about how the righteous and well-intentioned do not always come out on top, as is [[TruthInTelevision true]] in real life.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: The Learned Man jokingly asks his shadow to investigate Poetry's house for him. That careless request costs him his life.
* TheBadGuyWins
* {{Blackmail}}: The Shadow implies that he won his fortunes through stalking, gaining knowledge of "dirty secrets". At the moment he started writing to people about those secrets, ''everyone'' suddenly became his friend, and gave him lots of wealth, just to shut him up.
* CastsNoShadow: The Shadow, ironically enough. The Learned Man as well, after it abandones him, although he eventually ''grows'' a new one.
* CrapsackWorld: The Shadow lampshades it, and openly exploits it. When he eventually gets control of a country...hoo boy.
* DarkIsEvil
* DownerEnding
* DumbIsGood: Deconstructed. The naïveté of the Learned Man and the Princess does nothing except make them easily manipulated.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When the Shadow seeks out the Learned Man and greets him for the first time, it tells him that it wished to see his former master before he dies. "You will die, of course..."
* HeKnowsTooMuch: The Shadow has its former master killed because of this.
* HumanoidAbomination: The Shadow is not entirely human, and the Princess calls it out on this at once. It has the knack of stalking in a manner of which no ordinary human is capable.
* KarmaHoudini: The Shadow has the Learned Man killed off, when he threatens to expose him, and goes on to live a rich and happy life with the Princess, never facing any comeuppance for all the many crimes he is implied to have committed.
* LivingShadow
* ManipulativeBastard: The Shadow, of course.
* MercyKill: The Shadow manipulates the Princess into believing that she is doing this when she orders the execution of the Learned Man, telling her that he has gone incurably insane and had to be locked up, while also strongly implying that someone really ought to put him out of his misery.
* TheMuse: The beautiful girl on the other side of the street. The Shadow states that she is ''poetry'' incarnate, but could not go near her, because she was bathed in light. Shame that the Learned Man never got to meet her himself.
* ShadowArchetype: Guess. Who.
* SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids: The Shadow's opinion on the Learned Man's worldview.
* SparedByTheAdaptation: In Evgeny Schwartz's play, the Learned Man is resurrected.
* TakeOurWordForIt: The Shadow never exactly tells what he saw in Poetry's house. He just convinces the Learned Man that he saw and learned what was to be learned. But he is clearly bluffing.
* TakeThat: The story is a dark jab at journalism vs. poetry, where the paparazzo clearly gets the upper hand over the truth-seeking philosopher, until the one effectively gains power and eliminates the other.
* TruthInTelevision: Good doesn't always win.

"The Shadow" ("Skyggen" in original Danish) is a short FairyTale by Danish poet and author Creator/HansChristianAndersen, first published in 1847.

If you came here for the cackling pulp character who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men, you'll want ''Radio/TheShadow'' instead.

* {{Blackmail}}: The Shadow implies that he won his fortunes through stalking, gaining knowledge of "dirty secrets". At the moment he started writing to people about those secrets, ''everyone'' suddenly became his friends, and gave him lots of wealth, just to shut him up.

* CrapsackWorld: The Shadow lampshades it, and openly exploits it. When he eventually gets control of a country... hoo boy.

* DumbIsGood: Deconstructed. The naivete of the Learned Man and the Princess does nothing except make them easily manipulated.

* KarmaHoudini: The Shadow has the Learned Man killed off, when he threatens to expose him, and goes on to live a rich and happy life with the Princess, never facing any comeuppance for any the many crimes he is implied to have committed.

* MercyKill: The Shadow manipulates the Princess into believing that she is doing this when she orders the execution of the Learned Man, telling her that he has gone incurably insane and had to be locked up, while also strongly implying that someone really ought to put him of his misery.

* TakeOurWordForIt: The Shadow never exactly tells what he saw in Poetry's house. He just convinces the Learned Man that he saw and learned what was to be learned. But he clearly bluffs.
* TakeThat: The novel is a dark sarcasm on journalism vs. poetry, where the paparazzo clearly gets the upper hand over the truth-seeking philosopher, until the one effectively gains power and eliminates the other.

During the conversation, the subject turns to the Learned Man's rather unsuccessful writing career. The Learned Man values the good, the true, and the beautiful in the world, and writes about it often, but his writing seem to garner little to no interest with the public. The Shadow declares that the Learned Man is too much of an idealist, and his view of the world is flawed. The Shadow claims that he, unlike his master, understands the world, that he has seen it as truly is, and knows how evil some men really can be. They soon part ways once again.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Subverted. The arrival of the Princess makes things worse.