The Hawks' information (that was passed down through the ring earlier) doesn't have anything on this guy, does it?
Indeed, he’s a Hawkman villain!
The Shadow-Thief is Carl Jenks, a burglar who stole a
dimensiometer from a scientist’s lab. It allows him to turn sideways into
another dimension, leaving only his shadow behind.
His shadow is weakened by light, but cannot be dispelled
fully because Jenks himself is in another dimension where light does not exist.
He can angle his arms to project darkness from that dimension, smothering all
light. And of course, he can see in the dark.
However, animating shadows which can actually touch people
is not an ability he has displayed before.
Jenks is a sneak, which is why he’s in the storefront. It
can’t be illuminated from above, which makes Vina’s flare harmless to him, and
no one can swoop down from overhead. His usual combat M.O. is to glide up
behind a hero, become solid, and clock him over the head. That said, his USUAL
tactic is to run away.
“Hawkgirl,” snarls the Shadow-Thief. “I might have known.
You’d never catch me if I bolted, but I can’t do that this time. Hey,
lovebirds! Get out here. The Hawks have come calling.”
Two figures emerge in the gloom outside the storefront. One
is a regally tall woman, gowned in green with gold bracelets and weird, coiling
purple hair. Her arms jangle and glitter with amulets. Her feet are bare.
The other is a bare-chested man, with blue tights and high
brown boots. He wears a mask, but he is covered in blue-black tattoos from the
backs of his hands up to his face. He is holding a jackhammer in both burly
arms.
The Hawks’ crime files identify him as Abel Tarrant, aka the
Tattooed Man. He can touch his magic tattoos and cause the thing pictured to
come to life, like a living utility belt.
No idea who the woman is.
“Do not anticipate the future, Shadow-Thief,” declares the
woman imperiously. “Circe of Melos loves whom she chooses, and no man shall
choose her mate!”
She gestures, and the alley fills with furry muscle.
Apparently two alley cats have transformed into eight-foot-tall Bigfoot cats,
grinning in anticipation.
“An’ as fer me,” says the Tattooed Man, “I already got a
girl in this ‘ere port. So you just tend to what yer good at, Shadow-Thief,
while me an’ the witch ‘ere ‘andle th’ Hawks.”
He touches the back of his hand and a double-mounted machine
gun appears, all blue-black like the ink, braced on a tripod.
“Where is the better ‘alf, anyway? Circlin’ around be’ind
us? Well, I come prepared for ‘is tricks.”
Roy hisses to Vina:
“I think this guy’s a Green Lantern villain or something! He must be the best they could come up with after we nailed Sinestro ..."
"First one's name's Carl Jenks--the Shadow Thief. The tattooed fellow can do something similar with his tats--that's Circe. We'd best plug our ears."
ReplyDeleteShe does so. And then, moving very quickly, smashes the plate glass windows and grabs Shadow Thief, shooting an arrow off over his head as she does so. A really bright one.