Origin

Throughout the years, hundreds of thousands of men and women have taken up the role of ShadowHawk. The ones known are: A Cowboy, A Samurai, A Musketeer, Inspector Hawk, the Kings Hawk, Li Ching Kai, Hawk Dell'ombra, Halcon Sombrio, Hawk and his bird Shadow, ShadowHawk Girl (who inspired Paul Johnstone to take up the mantel), and the ShadowHawk of the Silver Age, Luke Hatfieled Sr. There are countless other people who have taken up the role but have yet to be named. For more info on the beginning, go to the Nommo page.

Creation

ShadowHawk was created by Jim Valentino.

Character Evolution

First ShadowHawk

The first ShadowHawk is shown to be an Egyptian Shaman who was killed during a meditation with the Nommo, the gods of thought and mind. Deciding not to leave their disciple, the sent out the Spirit of Justice, the soul that would inhabit men and women in order to collect their souls and undo the death and reincarnate the shaman many years later.

Justice

After Paul's death it was revealed that Shadowhawk is a Spirit of Justice and it has inhabited at least four people in the past. Three were human, but the last one was a robot created by WildC.A.T.s. The Spirit of Justice leaves the robot it becomes "Justice", without human feelings and starts to go on a killing spree. The robot was destroyed at the end of New Man #4.

Eddie Collins

Eddie Collins, an unnaturally good boy, never told a lie, cheated or allowed a single injustice to go unavenged. Eventually the New Man saw Eddie save someone, and he thought that Eddie would obviously be a good vessel for the Spirit of Justice (the spirit driving ShadowHawks through the time). He gave the Helmet of Heru to Eddie who instantly absorbed the spirit becoming the new ShadowHawk. This acted as a conduit for Eddie, allowing him to speak to the spirits of all people who were, at one time, inhabited by ShadowHawk, the Spirit of Justice, who all dwell inside him. Meditating with the Nommo, he met the spirit of Paul Johnstone, who told him that he is a reincarnation of a first dynasty Egyptian shaman and that Eddie was destined to start anew.

As Shadowhawk, Eddie was faster, stronger and much more agile now and found new responsibility to the people of New York City. After saving some hostages, Eddie met Captain Nieves and started to work with him.Eddie would uses the powers given to him by the helmet to fight crime in New York City. His first real case was against an old super-heroic hippie named Blacklight, who was tricked into thinking that ShadowHawk was the son of FirePower, the man who killed Blacklight's wife. Blacklight got in a fight with Eddie, but when Eddie accidentally over used Blacklight's weakness, metal, on him, it caused Blacklight to die and give his powers to Lina Juarez, who would take up the mantel as the new Blacklight.

Eddie faces another villain named Zap!, a mercenary with electrical powers,who tries to kill Eddie, but can't and gets beaten and arrested. It isn't long after that when Nocturn, the man who tricked Blacklight and hired Zap!, attacked Eddie and weaken him for the man who started all of this, Luke Hatfield Jr. aka Hawk's Shadow, the racist villain who originally fought Paul. Luke put up a good fight, but lost after Paul Johnstone took over Eddie's body to finish off Luke.

After teaming up with with the new Blacklight, Lina Juarez and fighting off the new Arson (one of Eddies firecrazy classmates), Luke Jr. sends out a new mercenary, Komodo, to get the helmet from Eddie. Komodo kills Eddie's friend, Steven, beats Eddie to a pulp, and manages to steal the helmet. Luke kills Komodo (for killing Steven), and then wears the new helmet as the new ShadowHawk, who goes around mercilessly killing criminals. Luke Hatfield Sr. confronts Luke Jr and tries to stop him, but doesn't succeed, so he calls in an old friend, Astroman, to help take down Luke Jr. Eddie finally forgives himself for Steven's death, and with the help of the Nommo, manages to get back on his feet to feet. Vendetta, one of Paul's original enemies, is upset that Luke is messing with her business, so she sets an explosion in his office building, but accidentally kills Luke Sr instead. Luke Jr and Eddie both see the explosion and try to make it to the top floor as Blacklight and Astroman stop the fire and rescue hostages. Eddie and Luke Jr both make it to the top floor, where Eddie beats Luke Jr into the ground and takes back his helmet.

Eddie returns home, and after talking to a few ShadowHawks from the Nommo, Eddie decides that he needs to be his own hero and asks all of the other ShadowHawks to remain silent so he can grow as a hero and make his own mistakes. Eddie gains a new costume and new girlfriend, Rebound, and begins his career anew. Eddie would go on to become a major part of the Image Universe, fighting with heroes such as Savage Dragon, Spawn, Witchblade and Invincible. He would also become part of New York Youngbloods during Image United, but only for a short while.

Hiatus

As of right now, ShadowHawk has been put on hiatus. He has made recent appearances in the Bomb-Queen series however.

Powers and Abilities

Spirit of Justice

All ShadowHawks contained the Spirit of Justice, which increased their agility, strength, and fighting skills. Eddie Collins possessed the Helmet of Heru which increased his speed,strength and agility, as well as created armor, weapons, and tools that he could control with thought. He was also able to keep in contact with the Nommo, which would give him advice during battle. This connection was severed, however, when Paul came out. It is unknown how or why this happened.

Equipment

Luke Hatfield Sr., with addition to the abilities given by the Spirit of Justice, used a wide variety of Shadow themed weapons. Paul Johnstone uses a high-tech suit of armor that was bullet-proof and increases his strength and speed. The helmet had infrared lenses so he could see in the dark. His gloves had retractable claws that could be fired like a grappling hook or used for hand-to-hand combat. He also used special boomerang shurikens that came back to him when he trow them. He also carried his AIDS's medication in his belt pouches. Eddie Collins used the Helmet of Heru.

Unarmed Combat

Paul Johnstone is skilled in unarmed combat and was trained to use exceptionally violent moves. Johnstone's physical attributes were in peak human levels, with the vigilante being able to exert sufficient strength to fracture the spinal columns of his victims using his bare hands.

However, Paul's strength and physical abilities gradually deteriorated over time thanks to the effects of A.I.D.S, forcing the vigilante to rely upon his equipment and armor. Following his resurrection it is unclear whether Johnstone still suffers from the symptoms of A.I.D.S.