Origin

Aviva Metula is a former Mossad agent who uses a special suit called the Shadow Skin, and soon after was appointed to recover alien weaponry throughout the country, but eventually she discovered that her employers were selling the recovered weapons to terrorists and weapons dealers.

Aviva's Shadow Skin was created by the Daemonites who she is at war with. She moved her family to New York and was assisting a man named Mr. Q who sent her on missions that were in her wheelhouse. She was sent to pick up merchandise that was a bio-hazard container. She brought the container to her biochemist mother and father The pathogen, when exposed to the outside air, began to eat through their protective suits and their melted skin, muscle, and bone. She put on a skin suit that she believed was in the container to protect the wearer from the pathogen. Turns out it was the Shadow Skin. She escaped through the Shadow Realm into Mr. Q's office. He revealed himself as a Daemonite and she quickly killed him.

Creation

Shadow Thief (Aviva Metula) was created by Tom DeFalco, Art Thibert and Joe Bennett. Shadow Thief (Aviva Metula) made her first comic book appearance in The Savage Hawkman #17.

Major Story Arcs

For more Information: The Savage Hawkman #17

Meeting Hawkman

Searching for those responsible for selling the Thanagarian explosives that were used in a robbery, Aviva tracked it back to Jimmy "The Gent" Garrano, a loyal costumer of the weapons dealer know as Xerxes, whom Hawkman was also hunting. Aviva finds Garrano on a yacht off the New York coast, and after dealing with him ultimately finds Hawkman thrashing Ironsides and Xerxes and then helps take out Garrano's henchmen, but claims the extraterrestrials are responsible for the bad things that happened on Earth and would exterminated them one by one.

After being overpowered, Xerxes and Ironsides triggered a bomb letting the yacht explode,with Hawkman and Aviva still on board, while they ran away.

Shadow Realm

At the moment of explosion, Aviva opened a portal to the Shadow Realm (a dimension comprised of shadows) to save their lives, but they wound up being attacked by native creatures of that dimension. Although outnumbered, both were able to defeat the creatures, which for some reason seemed to fear the power of Nth metal.

As long as Hawkman kept them busy, it gave Aviva enough time to open a portal back to Earth and after returning she promised that she would soon rid the planet of alien influences, and then would come after Hawkman.

Power & Abilities

Abilities

Pain Resistance: Due to Mossad training, Aviva become impervious to pain, but by unknown reasons still feels it when removing the Shadow Skin.

Powers

The Shadow Skin enables its wearer to shift their body into a two-dimensional and intangible "shadow" state, travel through shadows, open portals to the Shadow Realm, and also gives the ability to shape-shift into any form and size the wearer can think of. Since the shadow skin is made out of darkness it has also proven highly resistant if not immune to the effects of light based weapons such as a lantern's power ring.

Other Media

Arrow

Shadow Thief appears in Arrow, as a former friend of Black Siren. Black Siren sought out Shadow Thief when she tried to be a villain again. After some crimes, Laurel is talked out of being a villain and turns on shadow Thief, who then faces what is practical the Birds of Prey (Black Siren, White Canary, Black Canary & Felicity Smoke). Shadow Thief gets away in the end.