Joshua Williamson’s “Shadow War” arc has finally kicked-off with a bang. Here’s a little annotation for the Demon’s Shadow group that assembles towards the end of Shadow War: Alpha #1. The internet seems to be confused about a lot of these characters, and I’ve seen a lot of bogus info online.
Shadow War: Alpha #1 by Joshua Williamson, Viktor Bogdanovic, Daniel Henriques, Mike Spicer, & Troy Peteri (2022)
The first point of confusion for many starts with the Seven Men of Death, pictured toward the right of the splash. Technically, there are eight Men of Death. The original lineup featured Merlyn, Hook, Razorburn, Shellcase, Hook, Whip, and Maduvu. However, come “Bruce Wayne: The Return Home” (2010), Merlyn was no longer in the group, having been replaced by the eighth character, a domino mask-wearing guy in a trenchcoat-esque outfit, who is an expert at using shurikens. This guy, while never named in any comics, has appeared as a member of the Seven Men of Death ever since. Merlyn is obviously still affiliated with them, possibly acting as a mentor figure. The majority of internet sources, though, are content with erasing the very existence of this mysterious shuriken-wielding assassin. Any attempts I’ve made at correcting this elsewhere (*cough*, dc.fandom.com/wiki/DC Comics Database, *cough*) have resulted in strict gatekeeping in a bizarre effort to keep the erroneous status quo.
The second point of confusion for many internauts is Mad Dog, pictured toward the lefthand side of the image. Some people think this is Sportsmaster, but it ain’t. This is the version of Mad Dog, also known as Mad Dog Rex, that debuted in the New 52’s Suicide Squad. His appearance was modeled after a version of Sportsmaster from the Young Justice TV show, which is partly why folks get so confused. And yes, Sportsmaster in the late Modern Age does look a lot like Mad Dog Rex. However, the big differences are that Sportsmaster only has one shoulder pad, has slightly different armor, and is almost never pictured without some type of sports-themed weapon (not dual pistols, which is most definitely Mad Dog Rex’s thing). Not to mention, we’ve recently seen an updated Sportsmaster in the Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era that has a very unique look, probably in an effort to differentiate him from Mad Dog! Note that Mad Dog Rex is not to be confused with Mad Dog Cain, yet another League of Assassins-related character.
The character at the forefront appears to be a new character. She gets center stage on the final page, attacking Deathstroke Inc, so I’m sure we’ll learn her name soon enough.
The rest of the characters shown in this splash have been labeled, and they can easily be Googled for more info. Hope this clears things up for everyone!
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