History Characters / BabylonFiveTheShadows

* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: After Sheridan nukes the Shadows' capital city, hope is expressed that Mr. Morden will never be seen again. He shows up in the ''very next scene'', burnt to a crisp (and [[BodyHorror flaking]]), but still very much alive and ambulatory.

* ProphecyTwist : All the people who express a wish to him get what they want. Londo gets the rise of the Centauri (which turns out to be temporary), G'kar gets revenge on the Centauri (which by that point he no longer truly wants), and Vir gets see Morden executed and mock his severed head. Only Vir is pleased with his wish in the long run.

** The Shadows and the Vorlons are having this entire conflict over whose way to groom the younger races is the best. Ultimately it's the Vorlons' method that triumphs - races working together for advancements, with the Interstellar Alliance born out of the Rangers guiding the galaxies for millennia to come. The Rangers even infiltrate a more primitive world to uplift them and slowly manipulate them to join the greater cosmic unity (as they do to a post-apocalyptic Earth that regressed to Medieval technology out of fear of science), mirroring how the Vorlons shaped the younger races. This was only possible because of the Shadows' actions bringing all those races together to form the Alliance. The Shadows' own plans led to the Vorlons' way actually working.

* SocialDarwinist: They believe that the younger races can only become stronger through conflict, so the Shadows promote conflict to "help" the younger races grow. If some of the younger races are wiped in the conflict, then they consider it an acceptable loss.

* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler:They take it poorly when people decide they want to be free themselves and don't want their 'help'. They had also created the Keeper, a PuppeteerParasite, and subjected those who resisted collaborating with them to DeathOfPersonality to get them to comply.]]
** The Shadows' Question is "What Do You Want?" Sheridan eventually points out that they have no answer to this question. They do not know what they want for themselves anymore.

* LaserGuidedKarma: He killed a woman Londo loved, it took a while, but Londo got even.

* NotSoDifferent: From Vorlons. The Shadows are evil mentors, employ extreme methods in their "teaching", tolerate no dissent, and use brainwashing. They also lost their original purpose in their war with Vorlons, and care more about winning the argument than doing their work.

* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler:They take it poorly when people decide they want to be free themselves and don't want their 'help'. They had also created the Keeper, a PuppeteerParasite, or also subjected those who resisted to collaborate with them to DeathOfPersonality to get them to comply.]]

** The novels establish that Morden is actually a TragicVillain. His wife and his daughter Sarah were frozen in a time bubble at the moment of their deaths when terrorists bombed a jumpgate. He joined the Shadows because they promised to allow them to finally pass on.

* UnexplainedRecovery: Somehow he survives the nuke Sheridan dropped on the main city of Z'Ha'Dum.

* ChekhovMIA: Her body wasn't recovered and she was presumed dead after she refused to join with the Shadows. [[spoiler:She returns in the final two episodes of season three to bring John to Z'Ha'Dum.]]
* AFateWorseThanDeath: Forcibly placed in a Shadow vessel. Her personality was completely [[EmptyShell erased]] and replaced with one subservient to the Shadows.

* WeHardlyKnewYe: [[spoiler:Not only was she believed dead before the series started, but when she does show up alive in season three, it's revealed her original personality's been completely destroyed. Then this new personality is destroyed too when Sheridan drops a nuke on her while she's in Z'Ha'Dum.]]

* SocialDarwinist: They believe that the younger races can only become stronger through conflict, so the Shadows promote conflict to "help" the younger races grow.

[[folder: The Drakh in general]]

* BodyHorror
* TheChessmaster
* DragonAscendant - their name is even similar to many Romance-language words for "dragon"!
* FantasticCasteSystem
* PuppeteerParasite: The Keeper
* TheRemnant: [[spoiler: They were servants of the Shadows.]]
* TheReptilians: The show's straightest example of the trope.
[[/folder]]

* [[ActingForTwo Acting For Five]]: Wayne Alexander also portrayed Sebastian, G'Dan of the Narn Resistance, Lorien, and the Drazi prisoner in "Intersections in Real Time"

* MeaningfulName: "Morden" is the German word for murder, a fitting name for a man who ultimately was responsible for so much death.

* BilingualBonus: "Morden" is German for "to murder," which suits the Shadows' ''modus operandi'' just fine.

* TheOtherDarrin: Beth Toussant played her in "Revelations" and was the usual depiction of Anna in season 2. Melissa Gilbert played Anna in late season 3.

[[folder: Mr Morden (Creator/EdWasser)]]

[[folder:Justin (Creator/JeffCorrey)]]

[[folder: Anna Sheridan (Creator/BethToussant, Creator/MelissaGilbert)]]

[[folder: Shiv'khala (Creator/WayneAlexander)]]

[[folder: Mr Morden (Ed Wasser)]]

[[folder:Justin (Jeff Correy)]]

[[folder: Anna Sheridan (Beth Toussant, Melissa Gilbert)]]

[[folder: Shiv'khala (Wayne Alexander)]]

* ProphecyTwist : All the people who express a wish to him get what they want. Londo gets the rise of the Centauri (which turns out to be temporary), G'kar gets revenge on the Centauri, and Vir gets see Morden executed and mock his severed head. Only Vir is pleased with his wish in the long run.

** [[spoiler: The reason for this is ultimately revealed to be that they don't know who they are. They've lost their way and are no longer fit to serve the role of mentor they appointed themselves to]]

* BigBad: [[spoiler:Subverted, at least insofar as the Vorlons turn out to be at least as bad.]]

* {{Hypocrite}}: He goes through lengths about the Shadows and the Vorlons' philosophy, but when Sheridan reveal he knows what was done to Anna and he drops the friendly facade, he shouts that Sheridan (and Anna) "will do as they are told". Ironically the attitude he accused the Vorlons of demanding of the younger races.

* EldritchStarship: [[DarkIsEvil Jet black]], [[HumanResources powered by living beings]], leaves you an [[GoMadFromTheRevelation broken]] [[MindRape wreck]] if you're ever pulled out of one? Definitely qualifies. The fact that they're shaped like a nightmare [[SpidersAreScary spider from hell]] and let out an [[HellIsThatNoise ungodly shriek]] as they fly by is just icing on the evil cake.

* DevilInPlainSight: Only a few people aboard the station recognize Morden for the type of person he is the first time around.

* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: After Sheridan nukes the Shadows' capital city, hope is expressed that Mr. Morden will never be seen again. He shows up in the ''very next scene'', burnt to a crisp (and [[{{Squick}} flaking]]), but still very much alive and ambulatory.

!!This is a listing for characters associated with the Shadows that appear in the {{ScienceFiction}} series ''Babylon5''. Visit [[Characters/BabylonFive here]] for the main character index.

* TheHeavy: Morden doesn't control the Shadows, nor is he even the highest ranked in the hierarchy of their agents. He is, however, the most frequently appearing agent of the Shadows and the one who shows up the most to further the plot along, particularly with regards to Londo's story arc.

* ChekhovsMIA: Her body wasn't recovered and she was presumed dead after she refused to join with the Shadows. [[spoiler:She returns in the final two episodes of season three to bring John to Z'Ha'Dum.]]