SHADOW KING

 

SHADOW KING

Real Name: Amahl Farouk

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #117, January 1979

Powers: The Shadow King is a mutant telepath who exists as a disembodied astral form. His corporeal body was killed after a devastating blast of mental force destroyed his brain, forcing his consciousness to reside on the astral plane. He has to use the bodies of others as hosts to interface with the physical plane.

As a telepath, the Shadow King is extremely powerful and can perform any mental feat including reading minds, communicating with others mentally, and projecting bolts of psionic force that can stun or cause severe psychic shock to an opponent's mind to cause physical injury or death. He can take mental control over the minds of others. His particular specialty is astral combat. Having spent years existing only on the astral plane, he has become quite advanced in manipulating that realm's environment to suit his whims.

When it comes to controlling others, the Shadow King employs a method of unleashing his victims' darker sides, making them corrupted and less inhibited so that they are more inclined to accept his domination willingly. This form of control gives his subjects far more independence and creative thought than if he constantly manipulated their every action. He has also stripped people entirely of their humanity, making them nothing but animals responding to his will.

The Shadow King also once demonstrated the ability to repair physical damage to his host body using his powers, something that doesn't quite fit with his telepathic power. Apparently, he discovered how to direct massive amounts of psychic energy into the physical world to reform matter many years before Onslaught and Nate Grey began employing that tactic.