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Shadow King

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For the band of the same name, see Shadow King (band). For the video game, see Okage: Shadow King.
Shadow King
Textless variant cover of Astonishing X-Men #1 (September 2017).
Art by Dale Keown .
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceThe Uncanny X-Men #117 (January 1979)
Created by
In-story information
Alter egoAmahl Farouk
SpeciesAncient entity and human mutant
Team affiliationsDark X-Men
Gladiators
Brotherhood of Mutants
Jacob Reisz
Master of the Games
Anansi
Lenny
Benny
Cypher
Karma
Notable aliasesAmahl Farouk
AbilitiesTelepathy
Possession
Immortality

The Shadow King (Amahl Farouk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is particularly associated with the X-Men family of comics. His nemesis is the X-Men's leader, Professor X, while he also figures into the backstory of the X-Man Storm. As originally introduced, Farouk was a human mutant from Egypt who used his vast telepathic abilities for evil, taking the alias Shadow King. Later writers established Farouk as only the modern incarnation of an ancient evil entity that has been around since the dawn of humanity, who became one with Farouk when he grew older.[1]

The character made its live-action debut in the television series Legion, played by Aubrey Plaza and Navid Negahban.

Publication history

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Created by writer Chris Claremont and illustrator/co-writer John Byrne, the character the Shadow King first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #117 (January 1979) as the telepathic mutant Amahl Farouk.[2]

X-Treme X-Men and X-Men: True Friends reveal the Shadow King to be an entity of the astral plane which has existed since the dawn of humanity, an ethereal demon preferring to enslave the bodies of telepaths and psychics and use their capabilities to enslave others. As a side effect of its greed, hedonism and lack of self-control, the Shadow King's long-term telepathic hosts are often morbidly obese.[1]

Fictional character biography

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The Shadow King is allegedly a multiversal manifestation of the dark side of human consciousness, spawned by the first nightmare. When the mutant Amahl Farouk lost his father and the market he lived in, the Shadow King appeared to him and promised him that he would never be alone again. Amahl accepted the deal and bonded with the Shadow King.[3][4]

Shortly before World War II, Amahl Farouk worked with Baron von Strucker on a plot to destabilize Britain's political structure, with the intention being Britain allying with Germany in coming war, or at the very least, staying neutral. He first learned of his future enemies, the X-Men and Charles Xavier, and other future history at this time.[5]

Shortly after encountering a young Storm, Xavier walked by a restaurant in Cairo when he was suddenly hit with a powerful psychic attack. Realizing the culprit was inside, he confronted Farouk. The two engaged in a fierce battle on the astral plane. Xavier defeated Farouk, whose body slumped over in his chair. But Farouk's evil mind continued to exist on the astral plane, calling itself the Shadow King. (It was also hinted that Farouk was just a body inhabited by the Shadow King).[6]

Many years later, the Shadow King sought to attack Xavier, still angry that he had been defeated. He was able to take over the New Mutant Karma due to her own mutant ability of possession making her vulnerable.[7] Farouk possessed Karma for many months, and his eating habits made her grow as corpulent as his last host body. When the New Mutants inadvertently discovered Karma under Farouk's possession, they fought for her freedom and won, forcing the Shadow King out.[8]Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).

The Shadow King also chased the de-aged Storm in Cairo.[9] He possessed the body of F.B.I. agent Jacob Reisz as his new permanent host and kept up the search for Ororo. He corrupted the doctor Lian Shen into being his slave and used her and Hounds to hunt the Wind-rider. She was able to escape with the help of Gambit.[10]Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).

Meanwhile, Farouk also began manipulating Moira MacTaggert and the inhabitants of her Muir Island facility. This led to Moira and others on Muir adopting more aggressive behavior patterns.[11] Shadow King attempted to compel Val Cooper into executing Mystique for him, and for a time believed she was successful.[10]Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page). Eventually, the outside world took notice of Farouk's activities on Muir. Xavier was recently returned from space, and his X-Men were captured on Muir by Shadow King's thralls. Xavier arranged with S.H.I.E.L.D. and X-Factor to make a strike against Shadow King. Farouk believed he had an edge over his foes, since his pawn Val Cooper maneuvered Jacob Reisz into being FBI liaison to the mission. The King was caught off-guard when Cooper was revealed as Mystique in disguise, and his host body was killed. Farouk jumped into Xavier's son, Legion, on Muir Island, but the X-Men defeated his other thralls. In the ensuing psychic battle the backlash re-injured Professor X's legs and spine, but Farouk was apparently destroyed once more.[12]Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).[13]

Shadow King later caused the Psi-War, tricking Psylocke into causing a massive wave of energy that disrupted psionic powers across the world. However, he stretched himself too thin attempting to link with all the minds on Earth and was defeated by Psylocke in her new shadow astral form when she assaulted his personal psionic nexus. The Shadow King then became trapped in Psylocke's mind and was unable to enter the Astral Plane.[14]Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).

When Psylocke perished in combat with the mutant hunter, Vargas, the Shadow King was free again and attempted to attack the X-Men. However, it seemed Rogue's acquired memories were too much for him to handle, and he was defeated once again.[15]

The Shadow King later appeared in Britain possessing an alternate reality Charles Xavier and using that reality's X-Men as his Hounds. He was able to bring the Shadow X-Men back to Earth-616 because of the events of M-Day. He and his Shadow X-Men were defeated by New Excalibur and placed in prison. After an attack on a prison transport failed to free him, he attacked the transport's pilot, Sage. She reflected his mental assault, destroying Xavier's psyche. Soon after, he took control of a guard stationed by the body, and had him utter the word "Psylocke." Psylocke visited the unconscious body and the Shadow King revealed himself. The Shadow King could no longer control Psylocke after her resurrection, so he attempted to get revenge on her by having her watch New Excalibur kill her brother. Psylocke caused the Shadow King's host body to have a stroke, flat-lining him and was just about to plunge her psychic sword into the body when she suddenly disappeared in a flash of light.[16]Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).

Brotherhood of Evil Mutants

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The Shadow King later re-appeared in his old Farouk body and approached the journalist Harper Simmons. He gave Simmons footage of X-Force assassinating people so that Simmons would go public with the existence of X-Force.[17] It was later revealed that the Shadow King was working with a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.[18]Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).

A Man Called X

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Following the death of Charles Xavier, the Shadow King managed to collect a portion of his spirit and brought it to the Astral Plane, where Xavier was forced to partake in an endless battle against his dire enemy using their psychic powers as arsenal. After what felt like, or might have been, a thousand years in the Astral Plane,[19] the Shadow King attempted to access a network of psychics around the Earth to escape the Astral Plane, but a group of X-Men sought out by Psylocke stopped this plan.[20] These X-Men were lured into the Astral Plane, and Xavier hoped their presence could give him the advantage to put an end to the confrontation.[19] The X-Men ultimately defeated the Shadow King and Fantomex donated his body to Professor X's astral form while his mind remained in the Astral Plane.[21] However, the Shadow King planted a portion of himself in Xavier's mind.[22]

After Proteus was released from the Astral Plane,[23] Professor X, now simply going by X, convinced Psylocke to form a psychic network and draw its power to push back his influence. The Shadow King took advantage of this strategy and accessed the network to escape from the Astral Plane through X's body.[22] After the Shadow King subdued the X-Men, X managed to recover and worked together with Psylocke to create a deeper psychic network, gathering enough power to destroy the monster once and for all.[24]

Reign and Fall of the House of X

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Farouk moved to Krakoa where the Shadow King planned to corrupt several young mutants, starting with Scout and Wolfsbane.[25] Unfortunately for the Shadow King, Scout managed to discover his plan and went to confront Farouk with the rest of the New Mutants.[26]Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page). This caused Farouk to bring them all to the Astral Plane where they battled the Shadow King. The New Mutants convinced Farouk to break his connection to the evil being and redeem himself. With influence of the Shadow King gone from him, Farouk regretted what he had done under his control and left Krakoa to improve himself.[27]Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).

Following their deaths, Storm and Magneto sought their to be resurrected, only for the Shadow King to intercept them. He separated the two mutants and confronted each, assuming different forms to get into their minds. The Shadow King conjured several dark beings to fight Storm, while he took the appearance of Charles Xavier when talking to Magneto. He urged Magneto to drop all his masks that he had assumed over the course of his life and go by the name that held the deepest meaning to him, that being Magneto. This prompted the Shadow King to take the appearance Magneto used to have back when he was an extremist.

Meanwhile, the Shadow King, in the forms of the First Fallen, Annihilation, Xavier and the Adversary, mocked Storm over being obsessed with her responsibilities and belief that she was necessary to save countless lives. As the battle raged on, the Shadow King reminded Magneto of his past as a villain who believed in mutant supremacy and human inferiority, but Magneto told the being that he had outgrown his past and changed for the better, as he now only wished to protect those who were discriminated and were too weak to fight back. Storm managed to fight off all of the beings summoned by the Shadow King, leaving he himself to face her alone. He continued his mocking of her by telling her that she was a goddess who would save the world. Storm knew that this was his last trap, and mustered enough energy to disperse the Shadow King's essence and get away both her and Magneto away from his clutches.[28]

Powers and abilities

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The Shadow King

[edit]

Originally presented as a telepathic mutant second only to Professor X, the Shadow King is truly a multi-universal ethereal entity extending into each reality as a tendril of its larger self. It was spawned by the first nightmare, and preys on the bodies of powerful psychics. He uses captive psychics to enslave others, while feeding off their negative energy. He causes the captives to slowly merge with his own essence.[29] In its native form, the Shadow King is able to possess other beings and although he can be harmed psychically or by magic weapons, he is incapable of truly being killed or expelled permanently. He is effectively immortal as long as one dark thought exists in man.

He can influence many individuals telepathically, but typically chooses only one host to occupy with his disembodied spirit. This host body effectively becomes the Shadow King's own.[30] The Shadow King can somehow physically repair damage to the host. Although taking a host gives him more power on the physical plane, it also makes him vulnerable.[31] Killing the Shadow King's host can disperse his astral essence, and it may take months or even years for him to manifest his astral form again.

Amahl Farouk

[edit]

Amahl Farouk is a powerful psychic mutant with the ability to read minds and project his own thoughts into the minds of others. He is able to create realistic telepathic illusions. He can cause people to experience imaginary events, through influencing their perception of reality. His psychic powers might have gotten stronger after becoming a vessel to the Shadow King.

Reception

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  • In 2017, WhatCulture ranked Shadow King 8th in their "10 Most Evil X-Men Villains" list.[32]

Other versions

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Age of Apocalypse

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In the Age of Apocalypse storyline, the Shadow King story is essentially unchanged. He assumes the guise of crime lord Amahl Farouk and encounters Charles Xavier; they wage a psychic battle on the astral plane which kills Farouk's body, forcing his mind to move there. When Xavier died, the Shadow King became an agent of Apocalypse and appeared as a cloudy face in a bottle in his sanctum.[33][34] Apocalypse used him to hunt down resisting mutants with powerful psionic powers, and train those that do agree to come aboard.[33]

The Shadow King was the first to sense the presence of Nate Grey, forcing Apocalypse to send Domino and her Bounty Hunters to capture or kill him.[35] When Angel's assistant Karma was captured by Apocalypse's servants, the Shadow King psychically tortured her into revealing the location of Magneto's X-Men.[36] He later attempted to read the mind of Bishop, but Bishop's memory of the original reality (Earth-616) was enough to expel the Shadow King from his mind.[37] Finally, the Shadow King followed Nightcrawler to the sanctuary of Avalon by hiding in the mind of Dead Man Wade. There he took control of the minds of the many of Avalon's mutant and human refugees, causing great carnage. Nightcrawler, with the assistance of the psychic and Shadow King's former student Damask, the time-stopping Switchback and Mystique, was able to physically teleport into the astral plane and defeat the Shadow King. The casualties caused by the Shadow King's attack were enough to convince Destiny to accompany Nightcrawler and the X-Men on a mission to Apocalypse's stronghold;[38] Following his defeat on Avalon, the Shadow King was next seen reporting to Apocalypse about Domino's failure to capture Nate Grey[39] and inform Apocalypse about the destruction of the Southwest Kingdom by the Eurasian High Council's radioactive bombs.[40]

After Weapon X betrayed the X-Men and become the heir of Apocalypse, the Shadow King became his agent and chief telepath, though there are some hierarchy issues between him and Weapon X.

Mutant X

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In an alternate universe, the Shadow King conquered the Hellfire Club.[41] In the Mutant X dimension, he merged with Professor Xavier to form an evil being.

Ultimate Marvel

[edit]

In the Ultimate X-Men series, Ultimate Amahl Farouk appeared as Storm's lover and the leader of the group of thieves to which she and Lady Deathstrike belonged.[42] After Storm discovered her powers, she sent him into a coma after accidentally electrocuting him.[42] His mind went to another dimension, where he encountered the Brood and others and became the Shadow King.[43] After returning in the present-day, he subtly manipulated Storm's dreams, causing Ororo to write down her inflicted visions in an online play called "The Shadow King". Soon, Farouk took direct action, dragging Ororo into the astral plane after a tiring battle and confronting her about her past. Once he revealed the circumstances of his transformation into the Shadow King, he attacked the X-Men with his Brood army; however, Storm's willingness to let go of the past allowed her to once again attack Farouk, but intentionally, and his form disappeared from the plane, implying that he had died in the physical realm. His attack on the X-Men with the Brood was also revealed to be a ruse on Farouk's part, to trick Ororo into killing him.[43]

X-Men '92

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In the 2015 "Secret Wars" storyline, the 1992 X-Men animated series was adapted into a limited series where this reality was made into the Battleworld domain of Westchester. In the series, Cassandra Nova runs a rehabilitation center for former villains, but is secretly possessed by the Shadow King. He planned on killing the Battlezone's baron, Senator Kelly, but is stopped when X-Force rescues the X-Men.[44]

Ultimate Universe

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The Shadow King is a form of Shinobu Kageyama, who has a dark aura that enables him to create shadows and visions. As a mutant, Kageyama was a member of a secret cult that had been formed by his kind along with his mother. Publicly, he attended Kirigaya Minami Middle School, where he demonstrated an interest in both students Hisako Ichiki and her bullied best friend Tsubasa.

As a result of Hisako's persistent absence from school following Tsubasa's suicide, he took advantage of her presence at the graduation ceremony to invite her to meet him at a nearby temple. Upon her arrival, Kageyama took the form of a shadow, returned a lost protective amulet Tsubasa had given her, and declared his intention to punish those responsible for the death of Hisako's friend. He then disappeared. The next day, he met Hisako again when she returned to the temple to question him, having developed her own mutant abilities. Unable to convince her to join him, Kageyama resorted to violence, but was restrained by her powers. Before escaping, he declared that his curse was already unfolding, and then murdered a school coach rumored to have bullied Tsubasa, making it appear to be a suicide.[45]

In other media

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Television

[edit]
  • Amahl Farouk / Shadow King appears in X-Men, voiced by Maurice Dean Wint.[46] In the episode "Whatever It Takes", the Shadow King escaped the astral plane and possessed Mjnari, the god-son of Ororo Munroe, the X-Man, Storm. Shadow King lured Storm to Africa and tried to possess her but was tricked back into the astral plane and trapped there again. In the episode "End and Beginning", Apocalypse captured him along with numerous others psychics with the intention of rewriting the universe. The X-Men stopped Apocalypse and Shadow King was sent back to the astral plane. In the episode "Xavier Remembers", Shadow King managed to possess Xavier, who had suffered an accident, and left his consciousness in the astral plane. In a flashback, it is showed that Farouk once enslaved a young Ororo in Cairo to be a thief for him. Charles Xavier followed the girl to Farouk and had a psychic duel with him, trapping Farouk in the astral plane. In the present, Xavier fights and beats Shadow King in the astral plane, leaving Shadow King trapped once again. Farouk is depicted as an athletic, middle-aged bearded man instead of his bald, obese appearance in the comics.
  • Amahl Farouk / Shadow King appears in the Wolverine and the X-Men episode "Overflow", voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. In a flashback, Farouk takes in Ororo to steal for him until Charles Xavoer defeats him, the battle destroying his body. In the present, he finds his way to and possesses Storm, who he forces to see Africa burning. Storm tries to extinguish the fire, but is unaware that the efforts are the destruction's real cause. The X-Men confront the Shadow King, and after Storm faints due to exhaustion, the Shadow King tries to possess the X-Men, but is stoped by Emma Frost using her astral form. After a battle with Emma on the astral plane, Shadow King is weakened enough for Frost to apparently destroy him with a telepathic sword.
Aubrey Plaza and Navid Negahban play Amahl Farouk / Shadow King in Legion.
  • Amahl Farouk / Shadow King appears in Legion, portrayed primarily by Aubrey Plaza in the first season (in the form of Lenny Busker) and Navid Negahban in the second and third seasons (in his original likeness).[47][48][49] Prior to the revelation of the character's identity, he was referred to by David Haller]] me as "the Devil with the Yellow Eyes" (portrayed by Quinton Boisclair). The Shadow King takes several forms over the course of the series other than his real form, including the aforementioned "Devil" form of an obese man with thin, long limbs; Haller's childhood dog King; the "Angry Boy" (portrayed by Devyn Dalton), who is a manifestation of the title character from the children's book The World's Angriest Boy in the World; Haller's friend in the Clockworks Institute, Lenny Busker; and a friend from his youth named Benny (portrayed by Kirby Morrow). Originally a mutant enemy of Charlies Xavier, the Shadow King's consciousness escaped his death and latched on to David as a kind of psychic parasite, using David's mutant abilities to grow stronger. His presence influenced David's mental instability and the way the latter perceives reality, resulting in the form of schizophrenia. Eventually, Farouk assumes his true appearance during his quest to find his original body, which resembles that of his comics counterpart, being of Middle-Eastern appearance, sporting three-piece suits and the signature circular sunglasses.

Video games

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References

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  1. ^ a b Schedeen, Jesse (3 April 2018). "Legion: How the Shadow King Connects to the X-Men". IGN. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  2. ^ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 320. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference New Mutants Vol 4 14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference X-Men: True Friends Vol 1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference X-Men Vol 1 117 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference New Mutants Vol 1 6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference New Mutants Vol 1 31 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 353 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 266 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 254 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 278 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference X-Factor Vol 1 69 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference X-Men Vol 2 77 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference X-Treme X-Men 2001 Vol 1 1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference New Excalibur Vol 1 1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Uncanny X-Force Vol 1 10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference Uncanny X-Force Vol 1 25 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Astonishing X-Men Vol 4 5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference Astonishing X-Men Vol 4 1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference Astonishing X-Men Vol 4 6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Astonishing X-Men Vol 4 11 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference Astonishing X-Men Vol 4 7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference Astonishing X-Men Vol 4 12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference New Mutants Vol 4 16 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference New Mutants Vol 4 18 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference New Mutants Vol 4 21 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference Resurrection of Magneto Vol 1 3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #9
  30. ^ Uncanny X-Men #266
  31. ^ Uncanny X-Men #280
  32. ^ Young, Andrew (2017-02-24). "10 Most Evil X-Men Villains". WhatCulture.com. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  33. ^ a b X-Men Alpha. Marvel Comics.
  34. ^ Age of Apocalypse #05. Marvel Comics.
  35. ^ X-Man #1. Marvel Comics.
  36. ^ Amazing X-Men #2. Marvel Comics.
  37. ^ Amazing X-Men #3. Marvel Comics.
  38. ^ X-Calibre #3-4. Marvel Comics.
  39. ^ X-Man #4. Marvel Comics.
  40. ^ X-Men Omega. Marvel Comics.
  41. ^ Excalibur #21-22. Marvel Comics.
  42. ^ a b Ultimate X-Men #81. Marvel Comics.
  43. ^ a b Ultimate X-Men #89. Marvel Comics.
  44. ^ X-Men '92 #6. Marvel Comics.
  45. ^ Ultimate X-Men Vol. 2 #1-6. Marvel Comics.
  46. ^ Houston, Larry [@xmendirector] (March 30, 2022). "I very much dislike "blanket credits" as they are called in the industry. It is the lazy post-production option. I prefer upfront individual credits per show. This list I found in my storage unit will help those fans who always wanted to know who did what voice back then. Cheers!" (Tweet). Retrieved June 1, 2024 – via Twitter.
  47. ^ Desta, Yohana (February 8, 2017). "How David Bowie Inspired Aubrey Plaza's Gender-Bending Legion Character". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  48. ^ Nemetz, Dave (January 5, 2018). "Legion Adds Homeland Alum Navid Negahban in Season 2 Villain Recast". TVLine. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  49. ^ Holloway, Daniel (2017-11-28). "'Wonder Woman' Star Saïd Taghmaoui Exits 'Legion' Season 2". Variety. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  50. ^ "Shadow King Voice - X-Men franchise | Behind The Voice Actors". behindthevoiceactors.com. December 19, 2019. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
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