History

  Karkull, a scientist in the 1940's, discovered a device which could turn people into living shadows. He used it on other people until encountering the sorcerer Dr Fate, when he used it on himself to make it harder for Fate to harm him. However, when the Doctor destroyed the device, Karkull was trapped as a living shadow, in which form he battled various mystical heroes before being defeated by the Justice Society; his shadow form exploded and bathed them in energy which kept them unnaturally young for many years, and also caused Alan Scott's son Obsidian to grow up with shadow powers. For several decades, Karkull was lost in a shadow realm, until he began influencing others who accessed this realm, including Obsidian, who finally released him, only to slay him in cold blood shortly later.