Ian Karkull (New Earth)

So -- the die is cast! Perhaps I myself am no longer anything more than the merest shade -- a thing of insubstantial darkness. Yet, from this night forward, the name of Ian Karkull shall cast a long and sinister shadow over the history of America -- and of all the world!

— Ian Karkull ^src

Ian Karkull is a scientist-turned-sorcerer and an old enemy of Doctor Fate.

History

In the late 1930's, Ian Karkull was a scientist and archaeologist working in the Sahara Desert with partner Everett Dahlen. The two sought the lost city of Ragnor, a mystic city rumored to possess great wealth and a knowledge of dark powers. Finding it, the two came upon a ruby of incredible size and value and immediately began to quarrel over it. Dahlen stunned Karkull with a savage blow and left him to die in the hidden city. Abandoned in the lost city for days, Karkull learned an undisclosed array of secrets and magics that he carried with him back to America when he was finally rescued by nomadic Arabs.

Arriving in New York, Karkull built a machine based on what he had learned. With it, he could turn men into intangible shadows. His initial goals were two-fold: to avenge himself on Everett Dahlen and build a cache of wealth to launch the next phase of his criminal career. His first goal was easily met, slaying Dahlen with the aide of a shadowy assassin. Karkull's plans were complicated however, when the murder attracted the attention of Doctor Fate. Fate pursued the shadow-men on their next outing at a local bank and confronted Karkull in his lair. To elude the mage, Karkull transformed himself into a shadow. The criminal had outsmarted himself however, since Dr. Fate then promptly destroyed the machine that would return him to human form. After lecturing Karkull on the penalties of an evil life, Fate left the shadow to his own devices.

For an undetermined period of time, Karkull wandered the Earth, plotting his revenge. At some point he was contacted by the astral form of the arch-mage Wotan, another foe of Doctor Fate. Wotan educated Karkull on the magics needed to free his body from the deep tomb in which Fate had trapped him. The two then relocated to a hidden city in the Arctic to gather their strength. Their plans came to the attention of Doctor Fate when they destroyed an expedition of U.S. Navy scientists who came too close to their lair. Tracking the villains across the frozen wasteland, Fate confronted his two foes only to be captured. His release was accomplished by a surprise assault by the U.S. Navy, led by the sole survivor of the doomed expedition. The men were no match for the powerful weaponry employed by Karkull and Wotan but distracted them long enough for the mage to escape. After ensuring the safety of the sailors, Fate turned his full wrath on the villains, reflecting their own device against them. Seeing them apparently destroyed, Fate left the Arctic city to burn to the ground.^[1]

Karkull was not dead however but fled to the Dark Dimension worshiped by the denizens of Ragnor known as the Shadowlands. The priests of Ragnor sacrificed the shadows of their victims to the forces of the Shadowlands and Karkull collected these shadows to empower himself. In 1942, he used the arcane forces in the Shadowlands to learn the names of future presidents of the United States and dispatched a strike force of super-villains to murder them (Alexander the Great, Wotan, Catwoman, Tarantula, Zor, Lightning Master, Sieur Satan and Doctor Doog). This effort was opposed by the Justice Society of America, which thwarted each of the villains except for Karkull's ally, Wotan. What effect the murder of Wotan's victim was has never been revealed. Tracking the trails of the emissary villains, the JSA confronted Karkull, blasting him with their combined powers. The forces exceeded Karkull's ability to contain the ancient shadows, when exploded out of him, seemingly tearing him apart. The radiation of the shadows' departure bathed the assembled heroes, apparently extending their lives and affecting them in other, unknown ways.

The people affected included Atom (Al Pratt), Doctor Fate (Kent Nelson), Flash (Jay Garrick), Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Hawkman, Hourman (Rex Tyler), Johnny Thunder, Sandman (Wesley Dodds), Spectre (Jim Corrigan) , Starman (Ted Knight) and non-members Hawkgirl and Joan Williams. The radiation vastly extended their lifespans.^[2]

Darkness Falls

Nothing is known of Ian Karkull's activities between 1942 and the year 2000, when he privately approached the hero known as Obsidian. In irradiating the heroes in 1942, Karkull had contaminated the genes of Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern, Obsidian's father. And from his mother, the villain known as the Thorn, Todd had inherited a long-latent case of full-blown psychosis. Under Karkull's influence, Obsidian joined in unleashing the forces of the Shadowlands on Milwaukee. This act attracted the attention of the newly-reformed JSA, which engaged the pair. Karkull used the shadows under his command to possess the JSA, while Obsidian used his own powers of darkness to spread a wave of blackness over the entire city. Believing himself in control, Karkull overconfidently decided to dispense with the young hero. To his dismay, he learned the Obsidian had not only succumbed to the Shadowlands but had become one with it. It was Karkull himself who had outlived his usefulness. Obsidian absorbed the elder villain back into the Shadowlands. Using the now greatly magnified range of his powers, Obsidian then spread a cloak of blackness across the globe.^[3] The Justice Society with great difficulty were able to restore the world to its normal conditions.

Given that he has earlier survived dimensional dismemberment and explosive disintegration, and given the complete lack of physical evidence available, it is possible but pointless to speculate whether, or in what form, the incredible Ian Karkull could have somehow survived. What is known with certainty is that he has not been seen nor heard from since the time of those events.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Shadowland Sorcery: Karkull has mastered certain mystic forces allowing him to access a dark realm known as the Shadowlands. Using this access, he has been able to utilize vast power of the shadows trapped by the ancient mages of Ragnor to further his own ends.
- Shadow Form: Karkull is no longer human in form, being composed of a dark immaterial shadow. This form is acted upon differently from a live human body, by gravity, impact, or the passage of time.
- Phasing: Karkull's form is intangible and easily hidden in darkness.
- Energy Absorption
- Magic
- Longevity

Abilities

Science: He has considerable scientific acumen, having invented the device that made men into shadows based on arcane secrets in the city of Ragnor.
Archaeology

Other Characteristics

Insanity

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Shadow Maker, used to turn live men into animated shadows, capable of killing other men.
Materializer Beam, used to restore a shadow-man into human form.

Weapons

Transareal Beam (mostly ineffective against Doctor Fate)

Notes

Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-Two era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and no longer apply.