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The supernatural avenger Shadowman just discovered the darkest secret of the Deadside and the whole Valiant Universe.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Shadowman #3 by Cullen Bunn, Jon Davis-Hunt, Jordie Bellaire & Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Jack Boniface became the hero Shadowman after he bonded with a powerful spirit known as the Shadow Loa. He protects the world against malevolent spirits from the Deadside, a supernatural realm that rubs against the world of the living and contains the souls of the dead, as well as other monstrous creatures.
Lately, Jack has noticed an increasing number of holes in the barrier between the world of the living and Deadside, known as Blights. He has been searching to understand what happened. In Shadowman #3 by Cullen Bunn and Jon Davis-Hunt, he found the answer and uncovered one of the biggest secrets of the Valiant Universe: the Deadside is a giant Lovecraftian horror.
Shadowman was created by Jim Shooter, David Lapham, Steve Englehart and Bob Layton, making his debut in 1992’s X-O Manowar #4. The character has since starred in six different comic series and two video games. When Valiant Entertainment relaunched in 2012, Shadowman was reintroduced, adding paranormal elements to the superhero universe. The character has undergone some dramatic transformations, including spending some time wandering the Deadside as the murderous entity Magpie after he was defeated and cursed by his greatest enemy, Master Darque. Now, he has returned to his role as a protector.
Each issue of the current Shadowman series is a standalone story, while they build upon one another to create a larger overarching plot that explores the nature of spirits from the Deadside. The Shadow Loa that gives Jack his powers has a symbiotic relationship with him. By contrast, most spirits “ride” people by possessing them and controlling their physical bodies. This is not inherently malevolent and is in fact rooted in the traditions of Voodoo and other Diaspora religions where rituals frequently involve a loa stepping into the body of a worshipper and speaking through them. However, Shadowman is a horror comic, and many of the spirits Jack encounters reflect this.
Shadowman #3 flashes back and forth between Jack searching to understand why there are more holes in the barrier to the Deadside and his fight against a new villain called the Pallbearer. At the end of the comic, he finally learns why the Deadside and its denizens are bleeding into the world. Just as many spirits “ride” people, the Deadside is revealed to be a massive godlike loa that has been riding the entire planet Earth!
Prior to this, the Deadside was depicted as a mystical parallel dimension or pocket universe that collected the souls of the dead and contained entire nations of different magical entities. It also connects to another realm, called the Liveside. The revelation that it is actually an elder god changes the very cosmology of the Valiant Universe, raising new questions about the nature of magic, spirits and every previous story that involved the Deadside. It also raises questions about what the Liveside is and how it fits into the scheme of things. This also adds a new element of Lovecraftian cosmic horror to a series that tends to deal with ghost stories and gothic horror. Whatever happens next, this revelation ensures that the Valiant Universe will never be the same again.
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