Superhero Media: The Shadow

I picked up a DVD of The Shadow on a whim after being reminded that the film existed by an internet video. I had seen the film many years previously, but didn't really remember much except the living dagger and invisible hotel, so when I put it on one afternoon I was in for a big surprise. The Shadow is pretty goofy and very Golden Age in it's approach, but with that comes all the violence, moral ambiguity and mix of magic and science that made Golden Age comics such a trip. Before becoming The Shadow, Lamont Cranston is a warlord in the badlands of rural China, having slipped into violence and unrelenting rage during the Great War and just walked until he found a place where those things led to profit. Encountering a holy man in the mountains, Lamont learns to harness the evil side of his nature and use it to fight for good, to become, The Shadow! With powers of suggestion, mesmerism and two massive guns, The Shadow brings justice to the dark corners of New York City. 

Yes, The Shadow stars Alec Baldwin, from when he was young and sexy, if you can believe that, but the rest of the cast is pretty awesome to behold; Tim Curry, Peter Boyle and Ian McKellen all have roles, as well as a bunch of great Asian-American actors from your favouite Cult films. David Lo Pan anyone? Oddly, the main antagonist, Shiwan Khan, is played by John Lone, never did too many films in the West, Rush Hour being the only other of his that I have seen. Oh, and "Magical Descendant of Genghis Khan" is a brilliant bad guy and now I'm eyeing off some 28mm Mongols as antagonists; but why not long-lost sons of other dictators like Norman Bonaparte, Caligula Jr or Albert Hitler? Throw in an anachronistic nuclear bomb, some brilliant Art Deco sets and a couple of classic pulpy death-traps and The Shadow is a heck of a lot of fun, if nothing else. Yes, the '90s CGI is pretty terrible now and the film is dated in other ways, but for its time, The Shadow is one of the better examples of the genre. 

I know I keep saying this, but I really need to get around to doing some more Pulp Gaming. I already have The Shadow, Green Hornet, Mandrake and The Phantom painted, and I have The Woman in Red and The Spirit somewhere undercoated. Also I just picked up some plastic WWII Germans in greatcoats for baddies, so I'm pretty much set if I just get my arse into gear. Many of the Golden Age and Pulp comics are pretty dated, being very racist, sexist and homophobic by current standards, but the settings and adventures can be tweaked to suit quite easily, just look at Atomic Robo or The Marvels Project. I find pulp can be a great way to use more of your miniatures collection for Supers as well, some Fantasy Undead at a a creepy temple, WWII tanks and infantry as antagonists, even your sci-fi aliens as "invaders from Mars"; anything goes, so just throw it in and see what works. And if you have the chance to check out The Shadow while you're prepping games, all the better.