Shadow Kid

Origin

From the 30th century world of Talok VIII whose blue skinned natives practice the ancient arts of ancestor worship come Grev and Tasmia Mallor who were mentored in the mastery of the shadows by their grandfather, Sarven Mallor. The Mallor family is descended from Lyrissa & Lydea Mallor of L.E.G.I.O.N. and for centuries have retained the family title of champion of the homeworld of Talok VIII.

The family connection to Shadow Lass continues to go back and forth in exactly what relation Grev is to Tasmia. In the Legion of Super-Heroes #304, Siege Perilous has him say he's Tasmia's cousin at first, then a couple of pages later, he says he's her brother.

Creation

Shadow Kid first appeared in the DC Comics series Adventure Comics Adventure Comics #344 - The Super-Stalag of Space!, May 1966.

Major Story Arcs

Original Continuity: New Earth

The Mallor family of the stony, desert sand swept planet of Talok VIII, has a heroic legacy dating back a thousand years and or so. The founder of the family line, a man named Mallor, nearly died helping his people fight off an alien invasion; but instead of dying he gained the power of Shadow, perhaps from alien equipment, perhaps from the hand of Maakas. From that point on, one Mallor descendant in each generation wielded the shadow power in defense of the Talokian people.

Lyrissa Mallor, a 20th century representative of the family, helped found the L.E.G.I.O.N. and was one of its first and most beloved martyrs. Lyrissa’s daughter, Lydea, also a L.E.G.I.O.N.naire, became the most famous (and powerful) hero of the Mallor family, prominent enough to gain the attention of Darkseid himself, who would use a clone of her as one of his Servants of Darkness in the 30th century. Lydea was remembered on Talok long after the L.E.G.I.O.N. was forgotten. Her descendants are also great heroes, guarding the blue-skinned City People from the green-skinned Hill People, or Yakka-Mahor, as well as the occasional alien incursion.

Grev inherited the family tendency toward heroic leadership in times of trouble, just like his older cousin Tasmia Mallor who would become Shadow Lass of the Legion of Superheroes. When they were both young, the last members of their line, they traveled to a cave deemed sacred to their family. There they were exposed to a catalytic gas which awakened their latent Mallor shadow powers, and Tasmia, as the elder of the two, became Talok VIII’s shadow-champion. Never before in Talok’s history had two Mallors held the shadow power at once, and Grev was somewhat ignored by his people.

Instead of staying on his homeworld young and still not understanding the full use of his powers Grev decided to travel to Earth. Here he applied as a student of Metropolis's Legion Academy which was situated on Montauk Point. He had decided to stay on Earth and learn how to better utilize his gifts, learn about the outside worlds, and better become a future defender of Talok VIII. Becoming a longstanding student of the Academy he formed close ties to Magnetic Kid, Laurel Kent, and Power Boy.

Return to Talok VIII

Grev has taken time off the Legion Academy and returned to their home world of Talok VIII, and Shadow Lass has not heard from him for an unusually long time, so she convinces her lover Mon-El to go with her to investigate.

They arrive to find a faction of the Hill People, led by Lady Memory, attacking the capital, Lydea City. Lady Memory wishes to revert Talok VIII's society to the old ways. Mon-El and Shadow Lass are able to stop the army and are soon met by Lady Memory and the Atomic Axe wielding Persuader (of the Fatal Five), who have captured Grev. Shadow Lass overcomes her memory-inducing powers and comes out of the darkness with a quick jab, and completely knocks Lady Memory unconscious. The Persuader sees the tide is turning and begins to swing his Atomic Ax at Grev but Mon-El flies in stops him in mid swing. The Persuader and the remaining rebels are no match for the Legionnaires.

5-Year Gap

After the Five year Gap following the Magic Wars, soon the United Planets disbanded the Legion of Superheroes Talok VIII was one of the planets with close ties to the Legion because of Shadow Lass and Shadow Kid. Grev gave up his role as Shadow Kid and became the champion of his home world. At some time later to unite their two people, the City People and the Hill People, Grev and Lady Memory were wed.

The two were in the capital city of Lydea discussing the possible alliance of the Hill People to the Khunds. Grev was arguing with Lady Memory about her lack of involvement with the Hill People and the concerns about the Khunds conquering Talok VIII. Lady Memory teases Grev that she did so for her "wifely duties" and tells him he should come to bed.

Than Shadow Lass and Valor (Mon-El) appear to discuss with them in their hopes to convince them to join their efforts to reestablish the Legion. With their help they stop the advancement of the Khunds allowing Talok VIII to remain a free world.

Earth-247 Origin

In the Earth-247 version of the Legion, Grev is introduced as Shadow Lass' brother rather than cousin. He retains the same abilities over darkness manipulation as the original time-line Shadow Kid.

Powers and Abilities

Shadow Kid's shadow powers consist of a negative energy field which absorbs all visible light frequencies and dampens surrounding parts of the spectrum such as infrared and ultraviolet light. He has worked since gaining his power to establish fine control over his shadows and is now able to cast more precise forms.

Often his shadows have straight-lined, geometric shapes to them, as he creates “shadow cones” or other shapes that will block his enemies’ sight but will not impair his teammates. He can even target the head or eyes of a single target if she chooses. He can see in the dark.

Shadow Kid is athletic and trained in the martial arts by the Academy and is a somewhat formidable hand-to-hand combatant. He is also skilled in the operation of Legion vehicles and spacecraft. He can fly using his Legion Flight Ring, and operate and communicate in space or other hostile environments using her Transuit and Telepathic Earplug. These were all given to him when he joined the Academy.

Equipment

As a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Dawnstar possesses a Legion Flight Ring, which she mainly uses as a long-range communicator (enabling constant vocal contact with other Legionnaires, even across vast distances of space) and signal device. The ring also gives its wearer the ability to fly and contains a navigational compass, but Dawnstar's own flight and tracking capabilities far exceed those of the ring, so she almost never uses those functions.

Statistics

Real name: Grev Mallor

Other aliases: Shadow Kid, Talok VIII’s Shadow-Champion

Marital Status: Married

Known Relatives: Lady Memory (wife) Tasmia Mallor (Shadow Lass, cousin), Sarven Mallor (grandfather), Tarnia Tolarn (aunt), Lyrissa Mallor (distant ancestor, deceased), Lydea Mallor (distant ancestor, presumed deceased), unnamed man (Lyrissa’s husband and Lydea’s father, thus a distant forefather of Grev, presumed deceased)

Group affiliation: Legion Academy

Base Of Operations: 30^th century Earth (Metropolis)

Height: 5’10” Weight: 160 lbs. 

Eyes: Black Hair: Black

Talokian Physiology: As a non-terrestrial being, a Talokian's body chemistry is different from that of a normal human, providing them with different physical attributes, such as the ability to exist in the vacuum of space longer than a normal human.