The Shadow and Margo followed the cat through the dark, sinister regions of the shadow-verse. Ever since the diabolical Culp had stranded the two of them there, this Cat had been their only ally. The black cat had saved them from one of the mindless monsters of the dark dimension. Now, it claimed to be leading them to safety. With no other options, the Shadow and Margo followed the mysterious feline across bizarre landscapes.
"How much farther?" Margo asked.
"Time and distance are not constants here.
All that is certain is hopelessness and fear," the cat said.
"That tells us nothing useful," the Shadow said.
"Knowledge can't be a gift, it must be earned.
Ask me again later, after you've learned what you have learned," the cat cryptically replied.
The Shadow gave up trying to talk to the creature. He resigned himself to following the cat until it revealed its goal. Margo stuck close to the Shadow. His presence gave a bit a reassurance. But only a bit. This situation was beyond either of their control.
New York City
Herman Williams was the business manager for Lamont Cranston. Williams was, at the moment, visiting his psychiatrist, Dr. Charles McNider. McNider was helping Williams deal with the stress of his job. The job was about to get a lot more stressful!
As the two men talked, Williams was shocked by a large shadowy object that appeared in the room. He shouted in alarm. McNider, who was blind, didn't know what was wrong with him. He was about to make an attempt to calm Williams down, when he felt a chill in the air. Some instinct told him that there was something unnatural in the room. McNider stayed calm. He had been through many a strange situation, although he wore a mask at those times. Then, he heard a cockney voice.
"Hallo, matey!" said the white-haired dwarf who stepped out of the shadow. "Me name's Culp, and I'm 'ere on business."
Culp! McNider thought, in alarm. He knew Culp. Culp had been a member of the Injustice Society. McNider feared that Culp was here looking for him. He quickly found out that he was wrong.
"Listen up, Williams. I ain't got me a lot 'o time," Culp said.
So, he's after Williams, McNider thought. I wonder why?
"Wha . . . What do you want?" Williams asked, terrified.
"I wants some money, squire, and you're gonna help me get it," Culp explained. "I put the bag on yer boss, Cranston, and his main squeeze Miss Margo. You an' the money men from the Lane family better get together an' cough up a million smackers each, or ye ain't never gonna see that cute couple again. Get me point, eh?"
"Y . . . Yes!" Williams muttered, fearfully.
"Good dog," Culp said. "I'll be in touch in twenty-four hours. Don't do nuthin' stupid, Williams, or I'll get mad!"
Williams nodded. Culp slipped back into this portal and vanished. Williams almost hyperventilated. McNider calmed him down. Soon after, Williams rushed out to arrange the ransom. Dr. Charles McNider buzzed his secretary.
"Cancel my afternoon appointments," he instructed. "Something has come up."
Dr. McNider headed home, where he kept the clothes and tools he used for his other job. His job as a hero and member of the Justice Society called Dr. Mid-Nite!
The Shadow, Margo and the cat traveled the strange lands of the dark dimension. They came across a cliff. The only bridge was made of floating pieces of wood.
"We have to cross that!" Margo asked, hoping that the answer would be 'No!'
"This is the beginning, the chasm before," the Cat said. "This we must cross, if we are to reach something more."
"The beginning?" the Shadow asked.
The cat responded. "Any venture is thus begun,
by making the leap from none to one.
From whence were space and time deployed,
then from this fearsome, empty void?"
"I see," the Shadow said. "We start off knowing nothing and must take a journey through life to learn."
"Exactly true, that is right," the cat said. "Now step bravely out of this good night!"
The cat leaped from wooded piece, to wooden piece. He got to the other side and waited. The Shadow nodded to Margo that they should follow. The Shadow went first, followed closely by Margo. They couldn't see the bottom of the pit. It seemed to go on forever. Margo tried not to look. She was very relieved when they got to the other side. They stood in tall grass. The cat was almost hidden by it.
"Where to now?" the Shadow asked.
The cat spoke. "We stand now where existence had begun.
We've made the trip from zero to one.
This is the spot where first grow all things.
This is the birthing nature of spring.
The spark from which all things proceed,
the source of each word and deed."
The Shadow thought about this. "Learning means growing. Our mind and spirit grows as we learn. We become larger and stronger as our knowledge grows."
"Quite so, quite so. We learn as we go," the cat said.
The cat walked on further, followed by his human charges. They came across the statue of a warrior.
"What next?" the Shadow asked.
"What next, indeed?
Come, we will proceed.
The stage is nearly set.
But our leading man isn't ready to go on just yet."
"Leading man? Me?" the Shadow asked.
The cat nodded. "I see in you, a dark god of war.
You must strike with weapon at the fore.
A weapon not of cold, hard steel,
but of intangible thoughts which are just as real."
The Shadow suddenly realized something. The cat was teaching him how to fight Culp. It was taking him down a path of exploration that would ultimately lead to enlightenment and to the necessary information to survive. Knowledge will be his power. A warrior must think things through. He must understand his opponent.
"I understand," the Shadow said.
"Well, I don't!" Margo said. "What the heck is going on?"
The cat continued. "From amoeba to worm, from worm to lizard.
We climb the evolutionary latter like magic, like a wizard.
From lizard to monkey, from monkey to man,
we fight to survive however we can.
No fangs have we, or venom or claws.
We survive by Darwinian laws.
Darwin said, in essence, if you are dumb, you die.
It is a hard lesson, but it is surely no lie.
The dinosaurs were stronger than we,
but those giant reptiles are extinct, you see.
We must have powerful brains to live.
Our bodies give us only what they can give.
But it is our brains that make us strong,
otherwise man would not last long."
"You're saying I can't fight Culp physically. Muscle can only do so much. I must out-think him. The smarter man will defeat the more powerful on in the end," the Shadow said.
"We made weapons to fight our eternal fight.
Clubs and arrows emerged from prehistoric night.
Like all creatures, we need to thrive.
All things must kill to survive.
Our animal dilemma is plain.
Either we're Abel or else we're Cain.
David used a slingshot well,
and as we know, Goliath fell."
The Shadow tried to decipher the clue. "Are you saying that I need to find a weapon, or that knowledge itself is the only weapon I will need?"
"One is the same, all things become one.
It takes a lesson to fire a gun."
"I take your meaning," the Shadow said. "A weapon is only as good as it's user. But I'm still no closer to knowing what that weapon is. Tell on. Teach me."
The cat walked on. The others followed. The cat came to a spot in an open field with short grass. The cat looked at the ground. "Look and see. A microcosm much like we."
The Shadow and Margo looked down at the dirt. They saw a small group of ants fighting against a larger, more numerous group of ants.
"How courageous they are, and how brave.
Their ant hill they would wish to save.
Their cause is hopeless, and defeat is assured.
They should have run, but they instead endured.
A similar propensity made man into conqueror,
instead of instinct like the dinosaur."
"Courage!" the Shadow said. "Courage is key in this. Are you saying that I need to have courage in order to win? Or is it something else? Courage to do what? What are you suggesting?"
The cat led them further. They came to a bonfire. The cat spoke again. "Fire consumes all.
At the touch of fire, the mightiest house will fall.
Empires rise, then cease to be,
in the roulette wheel of destiny.
See Babylon fall, see Egypt thrive,
till Alexander the Great arrived.
The Romans were the next to rise and fall.
Then the British came, ships and all."
"You mean that no foe is unbeatable. That they get conceited and overconfident. Everyone creates their own weakness. But what is Culp's weakness? What has it to do with courage?" the Shadow asked.
A figure moved by in the distance. It looked like the Grim Reaper. Margo almost screamed. The Shadow was alarmed, but he realized that this was only an illusion like all the other things the cat had shown them.
The enigmatic cat spoke once more. "What other symbol would you expect to see,
than one whose existence represents the end of thee.
Death is our ultimate end.
It is, in essence, our final friend.
But most don't see the reaper in such a glowing way.
They wish the dark specter would stay away.
No matter if tall or fat or short or lithe,
all mortals fear the Reapers scythe.
There are some in this world who appear to be immortal.
They apparently will escape death's dark portal.
But this in a fantasy and they know it.
No matter the creature, death lurks below it.
Mankind is by it's own end obsessed.
Thought of our short lives make us very depressed"
"So you're saying that Culp's weakness is his fear of death?" the Shadow asked. "Even though he's supposed to be immortal. But how do I exploit that? How do I make an immortal fear for his life?"
The cat led them to a painting. It depicted Zeus being struck down by a lightning bolt. The Shadow thought about this. Lightning was Zeus' power. He was being struck down by his own power.
Again, the cat spoke. "Over the most powerful, there hangs the cloud of doubt.
Can they retain this power or will it be snuffed out?
Is power meant to be controlled,
or is it a self-destructive drug for the bold?
Will those with power remain on top,
or will their status ultimately drop?"
The Shadow was starting to put together the threads of this tapestry. "Culp fears losing his power. His connection to the shadow universe also makes him immortal. If he loses his power, he loses everything. He goes back to being just a powerless dwarf. But how do I take away his power?"
"All is illusion, trust not your eyes," the cat said.
"We may think we see something, but be surprised.
Life is basically full of lies.
One often can't find the truth even if he tries."
"So I need only make Culp think his power is gone, and he'll panic!" the Shadow said. "I understand now. Thank you."
"I'm lost," Margo said.
"And now it is time for you to go," the cat said. "I wish you luck, I'll have you know."
A portal opened up near them. Through it, they could see their world.
"Crossover, go home, my friend.
Our tutorial is at an end."
The Shadow grabbed Margo and dragged her into the portal. They escaped the shadow-verse.
The cat, left alone, changed shape. It took the form of the winged, dark Fey called Smudge.
Suddenly, the Shade appeared. "Good work, Smudge," he said.
"At your service, Master," Smudge said. "Your plan is proceeding faster and faster."
"It will come to a head soon, Smudge," the Shade said. "And the result depends on what kind of a man the Shadow really is."
In the Cranston manor, a group of corporate officers, lawyers and members of Margo Lane's family were together discussing the kidnapping and the ransom of Margo and Lamont. Williams didn't show up, having been too unnerved by the previous incident with Culp. He had checked himself into a sanitarium. Also present were NYPD detectives Pierce and Van Ness. They were assigned to the case. They didn't realize that someone else was on the case as well.
Unseen, Dr. Mid-Nite was lurking outside the window. It had been twenty-four hours since Culp's ultimatum, and all the people who could possibly get Culp the money he wanted were gathered here. If Culp was going to show, this was where he'd come. Dr. Mid-Nite wondered if he should get help on this one. Perhaps he should have contacted the Flash, who had defeated Culp before. Culp was powerful and he may be too much for Dr. Mid-Nite to handle.
Culp appeared in the mansion, stepping out of a portal to the shadow-verse. "'Allo' mates!" Culp said, "I'm 'ere to talk about me money? Ye got the wheel's in motion yet?"
Pierce and Van Ness pulled out their guns. "Hold it, Culp! Don't move!" they yelled.
"Ah, the coppers!" Culp said. "And they got guns. Ooooo spooky. Whatcha gonna do, coppers? Ye gonna shoot old Culp? Well, go ahead!"
Dr. Mid-Nite watched. He knew that the bullets wouldn't hurt Culp. But this was a good distraction. Dr. Mid-Nite fired a flare-gun into the window. The flare imbedded itself in Culp's side.
Culp yelled, hurt more by the bright light then by the actually impact of the flare. Shadowy tendrils emerged from Culp's' body and grabbed at the flare. The tendrils consumed the flare, smothering it. Culp sneered at Dr. Mid-Nite who was coming in the window. "Yer gonna regret that, bucko!" Culp hissed.
Pierce and Van Ness fired at Culp, but their bullets did no harm, even as they tore through the dwarf. Some sort of black substance came out of Culp's wounds, but then Culp's wound's healed immediately. Culp waved his hand. Solidified orbs of shadow-matter flew out and struck Van Ness and Pierce, knocking them senseless.
Hooty, Dr. Mid-Nite's trained owl, swooped at Culp, racking his face. Culp hardly reacted, as his flesh was ripped open. More black energy and ooze came out of the wounds until the skin amazingly sealed itself. Dr. Mid-Nite threw his nite-a-rangs at Culp. They cut Culp's flesh but, as before, the flesh healed.
"I've had enough 'o you, mate!" Culp said, about to launch a lethal attack on Dr. Mid-Nite.
A bullet distracted Culp. Culp turned to see who had shot him, as his skin healed again.
It was the Shadow!
"Wha' the heck're you doin' here?" Culp asked. "Is this some kinda super-guy convention?"
"I have come to teach you fear!" the Shadow said. "You will learn that the darkness is not your sole province. Others understand the darkness as well!"
The Shadow prepared for Culp's assault. Dr. Mite-Nite took advantage of the distraction to fire another flare. Culp was stunned by the bright light. The Shadow made his move. His stuck his fist, and his ring, into Culp's face.
"Look into my ring, my girasol. Your thoughts are melting like ice in the sun. You will listen to what I now tell you. You are powerless! You have no access to the power that makes you strong!"
The Shadow continued his hypnotic attack. Dr. Mid-Nite watched and realized what the Shadow was doing. He was creating a mental block. It certainly took a great force of will to bend the power of shadow-matter to the will of simple a man like Culp. If a hypnotic mental block kept him from believing that he could control his shadow power, he would be unable to attack.
The Shadow finished his hypnosis. Culp shook his head and focused his thoughts again. He didn't have a clear memory of what had just happened. Whatever the Shadow had done, he assumed it didn't work.
"All right, Shadow, old boy. Time ta get dead!" Culp said.
Culp tried to use his shadow power . . . but nothing happened! As hard as he tried, nothing happened. Culp started to panic. Was the power gone? Was he just a nobody again? Was he no longer immortal?
The Shadow started to move in on Culp. Culp, intimidated, backed up. "Hey! Stay away from me!" Culp cried. "What'd ye do ta me?"
"I have taken from you what you value most!" the Shadow said. "You are no longer powerful! You are no longer immortal! You are no longer significant! I could destroy you now! I could crush you like a bug! Or worse, I could let you live. You'd be back in the gutter, poor and useless! Until the ravages of old age end your pathetic life!"
The Shadow pointed his gun at Culp. Culp was still immortal but didn't realize it. He believed that he was human again and that a bullet would kill him.
Culp dropped down to his knees. "Please!" He begged, "Please, don't do this ta me! I'm beggin ya!"
"I'll make a deal with you, Culp!" the Shadow said.
"Anything!" Culp yelled, desperately.
"You will leave my city and never come back!" the Shadow said. "You will never menace Lamont Cranston or Margo Lane again. If you do this, I will return your powers and your immortality! And remember, if you ever come back here, I can remove your powers again. And next time, I won't be so forgiving! Next time I will make you mortal and kill you! I will kill you slowly! Do you understand me, Culp?"
"Y . . . Yeah!" Culp muttered. "No problem, mate! I don't care nuthin' 'bout Cranston and his dame! And I ain't got no desire ta come back ta this city! New York stinks!"
"Very well, Culp. You may go," the Shadow said. "Your power will return in time. And remember my warning. I will be watching. I will know if you return! The Shadow always knows!"
Culp didn't waste any time. He bolted for the door. The Shadow knew that the hypnosis would eventually wear off and that Culp would get his powers back. But the dwarf was too stupid to figure out what had really happened. He wouldn't come to New York again. Dr. Mid-Nite looked at the Shadow. "Well done," Mid-Nite said. "Flash couldn't have handled it any better."
Detective's Van Ness and Pierce regained their senses. Culp was gone, but they saw . . .
"The Shadow!" Van Ness yelled.
"Don't move, Shadow!" Pierce shouted.
By the time they grabbed their guns, the Shadow had seemingly vanished. He clouded their minds so that they couldn't see him. He casually departed.
Everyone was left confused. "What just went on here?" Pierce asked.
Van Ness looked at Dr. Mid-Nite. "Hey, you're with the JSA, right? Can you explain all this?"
Dr. Mid-Nite smiled. "I can't say for sure. But I have a feeling that there is more to this then meets the eye. And there's more to the Shadow than anyone has guessed."
Next issue: The Shadow faces a ring of deception.