THE SHROUD (Maximillian Quincy Coleridge)
Created By: Steve Englehart & Herb Trimpe
First Appearance: Super-Villain Team-Up #5 (April 1976)
Role: Batman/Shadow Knock-Off, Popular Unknown Character
PL 9 (172)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3
Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+12)
Athletics 6 (+9)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+14)
Expertise (Streetwise) 9 (+11)
Expertise (Law) 5 (+7)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 4 (+7)
Perception 5 (+8)
Stealth 7 (+12)
Advantages:
Defensive Attack, Equipment 8 (Bombarangs, One-Man Aircraft), Evasion 2, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3, Startle, Takedown, Uncanny Dodge
Powers:
"Darkforce Control"
Concealment (Visuals) 2 (Feats: Precise) (Extras: Attack, Affects Others, Ranged, Area- 500ft. +5) [21]
"Low-Level Thrust" Flight 2 (8 mph) [4]
"The Kiss of Kali- Mystical Sight" Senses 11 (Vision Penetrates Concealment & Counters Concealment, Radius Sight) [11]
Equipment:
"Bombarangs" Blast 6 (Extras: Area- 15ft. Burst +1/2) (Diminished Range -1) (14)
"One-Man Aircraft" Motorcycle With Flight 6 (120 mph) (22)
Offense:
Unarmed +14 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Bombarangs +6 Area (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +9
Defenses:
Dodge +14 (DC 24), Parry +14 (DC 24), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +7
Complications:
Disabled (Blind)- Though his mystical senses make up for it, The Shroud cannot see for real. So while he can "see" objects pretty well, he cannot do basic things like read, or see colour.
Prejudice (Horrible Scarring)- With a giant Mark of Kali on his face, Shroud kinda stands out.
Relationship (Julia Carpenter)- The two grew close during the Civil War era.
Total: Abilities: 74 / Skills: 48--24 / Advantages: 20 / Powers: 36 / Defenses: 18 (172)
The Ultimate Red Guardian Character:
-If you were to poll every Marvel fan on their "Red Guardian Characters", I would bet that the name that would come up the most would be The Shroud's. This is likely because he's had guest shot upon guest shot for decades, yet has never had a real, solid "push", so fans see a ton of potential that was just simply never realized, vs. characters who get re-pushed constantly, or more obscure characters.
-The Shroud was created by Steve Englehart to be a deliberate "mashup" of Batman and The Shadow, both dark, urban vigilantes cloaked in the shadows- this guy was even MORE involved with the dark! His Batman-ish origin is that he saw his parents gunned down before his eyes when he was ten years old- this drove him to vigilantism, which he trained for by going East, as both Batman & The Shadow had. He trained with the "Cult of Kali" in India, and obsessively studied the martial arts for seven years, graduating with the "Kiss of Kali", a red-hot iron that marked his face. His eyesight was lost, replaced with mystical extrasensory perception. Returning to the States, he became "The Shroud".
-Points for aiming big, though, because instead of focusing on drug dealers and street thugs, he went right to DOCTOR DOOM, planning on executing him for crimes against humanity. This was in Super-Villain Team-Up, which then focused on Doom & Namor the Sub-Mariner- the latter listened to the Shroud's origin story. He joined Prince Rudolfo's revolution against Doom, and "came close to revenge" according to the bio, but eventually teamed up with Doom & Captain America against a greater evil- the Red Skull. The Skull was left trapped on the Moon, but the Shroud was driven insane by his time in space, needing time to recover. So... it seems pretty clear that Englehart used his weird SVTU book as a "Hidden Pilot Episode" for his new, weird character- the Shroud, now sporting Darkforce powers, would team up with Jessica Drew & Dr. Strange before becoming an ally of the West Coast Avengers, and wouldn't you guess who was writing all of these adventures?
Later Shroud Appearances:
-The Shroud eventually started a thing where he pretended to be a criminal, in order to get closer to organized crime and destroy it from within. He created the group of horror/occult-themed villains The Night Shift, teaming with them & Cap against the Power Broker. He fought the Zodiac Cartel with the West Coasters and did some other stuff, but then Englehart had a falling-out of sorts with Marvel and of course his Pet Character disappeared. This is probably the source of the "Red Guardian Fandom" for the character, as people liked this guy's kind of darker, grittier take on vigilantism, plus he had a cool look and was something different for Marvel. Englehart, when not fapping over his precious Mantis, was usually pretty good at putting characters out there and making people like them.
-The character was a minor dude, missing out on the 1990s pretty much entirely (ironic, since he'd have probably been a better fit there than many heroes Marvel riveted onto grim '90s trends)- we saw stuff like that from Slapstick, Darkhawk, The Secret Defenders, The Darkhold Redeemers and all SORTS of minor-league characters. It wasn't until Civil War that he turned up again- he sided with the Unregistered heroes and fought Iron Man, and started a romantic relationship with Julia "Arachne/Spider-Woman" Carpenter, herself getting a mini-push at the time. The two are captured, but escape jail and eventually join the rest of the heroes. In the Shadowland story, he reappears with Silver Sable, Misty Knight and Paladin- a band of mercenaries- when Daredevil goes nuts and takes control of The Hand.
-He's also in Mark Waid's Daredevil, where he takes a dark turn- despondent over Julia leaving him and disappearing (she's the current Madame Web at this point), he fights DD, seemingly over turf, as DD has moved to San Francisco, where the Shroud keeps his "mob boss" thing. However, when they agree to team up to face The Owl, DD realizes that Shroud is behaving erratically and taking increasingly-huge risks (made more clear by his "stubble & B.O." slovenly manner), agreeing to run off with the Owl when the villain claims he can help find Julia, then torturing him, but causing fight after fight when DD tries to save him, Matt realizes he's trying to commit "Suicide by Supervillain". The Owl is restrained, but DD beats down the Shroud and insults him for taking this road, pointing out that he has a laundry list of great tragedies and rock bottoms that match anyone's and hasn't done the same thing. He does offer to help him find Julia, however.
The Shroud's Powers:
-Shroud is basically a martial artist who can also cast a field of Darkforce over things, making him pretty tricky (especially given the reach of his powers). He doesn't do any of the fancy stuff OTHER Darkforcers do, though- Teleporting, Snares, Cold, Blasts, etc. are all beyond him (even in the Daredevil fight, it LOOKS like he's doing some of the stuff, but it's mostly just swirling blackness as a misdirect for his melee fighting). He can make it so Precise that he can obscure Captain America's eyes from Dansen Macabre's "Slutty Dance of Death", or just blanket a stadium or a mansion with the stuff if he really pushes. He's fairly pricey given that he's an intelligent, solo investigator type who also kicks lots of ass and has some super-powers, but he's a good PL 9 Melee Fighter in any case. Good enough for a challenge, but a heavy-hitter like Daredevil can take him out.
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