; possibly Robin Goodfellow (see comments)GOODFELLOW
Real Name: Goodfellow; possibly Robin Goodfellow (see comments)
Identity/Class:
Magic user and mutate;
it is
uncertain whether he originates from Earth or some other location;
active on Earth in
14th century through the
modern era;
allegedly active in era of
Camelot
Occupation: Familiar of Vorin, Shadow Rider
Group Membership: Shadow Riders (Boot, Che, Grunt, Roadie, Stranger, Vorin)
Affiliations: Possible former associate of Merlin
Enemies: Abadon, Mys-Tech, Slaughterhouse Six
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Gooder
Base of Operations: Any of the Shadow Riders' bases
scattered across the surface of the Earth. Primarily Shadow Riders HQ in
North-West England;
formerly
Sharin
First Appearance: Shadow Riders#1 (June, 1993)
Powers: Goodfellow is a reptilian being of unrevealed origin. The lower half of his body is a snakelike tail as opposed to legs. He has below normal agility and speed, though his reflexes are normal. His strength is athlete, lifting somewhere between 350 and 700 lbs. He has metahuman durability, able to withstand extreme temperatures and pressures, and virtually all toxins, corrosives, punctures, and concussions without sustaining injury. His stamina is also metahuman, theoretically enabling him to sustain peak exertion for several days, though it is also said he tires easily (see comments). His intelligence is normal.
The full extent of Goodfellow's psi-powers has yet to be revealed. However, it is known that he can leach the innate powers of an opponent and temporarily transfer them to a third party. For example, he was able to transfer the powers of one of the Slaughterhouse Six into Boot, another Shadow Rider, at least temporarily (by my estimates for about two minutes). To do this, he wrapped his tail around the victim while sending a blast of blue energy from his left hand to Boot. He cannot use the leached powers himself. He also has a telepathic link with Vorin. He may have camouflage abilities, or is simply skilled in stealth, as he was able to mask his presence from both the extradimensional Abadon and the Techno-Wizard Porlock. The source of his superhuman powers is unrevealed. He assists the leader of the Shadow Riders, Vorin, in the use of magic. It is uncertain whether he actively contributes power, serves as an energy focus, or if he acts as a mentor.
He is an experienced combatant, skilled at using his teeth and claws, and can make a grappling attack with his tail. He is skilled enough in this last technique that he could restrain Rook despite her speed and strength. Like the rest of the Shadow Riders, Goodfellow is skilled with various forms of conventional and unconventional firearms. He also is known as somewhat of a magpie, collecting various objects both with and without apparent worth.
Height: 2 - 3'5"
Weight: 350 lbs.
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: None.
History:
(Shadow Riders#1 (fb) - BTS) - Goodfellow claims to have seen
plenty of magicks in his time and apparently even watched Merlin turn into a
fish once. However, Vorin stated that
Goodfellow frequently boasts of things which may or may not be
true.
(Shadow Riders#1 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Goodfellow became the familiar (i.e. a spirit/creature used to attend, serve, and or guard a person) to the extraterrestrial sorcerer Vorin.
(Shadow Riders#3 (fb) - BTS) - Mys-Tech discovered Sharin during their early experimentation with wormhole travel. It was a discovery that would bring genocide to Vorin's people, and set in motion events that would bring Vorin to Earth.
(Shadow Riders Guide) - During the jump between Sharin and Earth, both Vorin and Goodfellow were transformed in ways they still do not yet fully understand.
(Shadow Riders#3 (fb) - BTS) - The jump brought them to Earth in the year 1393 AD.
(Shadow Riders#1 (fb) - BTS) - Vorin at some point began to organize a group of warriors known as the Shadow Riders to assist him in his efforts to oppose the evil organization known as Mys-Tech. Goodfellow assisted Vorin both in battle, and in his magical and technological efforts.
(Shadow Riders#4 (fb) - BTS) - Goodfellow was "off world" at the time of Roadie's death.
(Shadow Riders#1) - When Boot returned from a mission with the dead body of Arnold Coltrane, Vorin prepared to revive and transform him. He asked Goodfellow not to make any of his petty interruptions. Later, when Coltrane had been successfully revived, Goodfellow was with the Shadow Riders as Vorin announced his intentions to strike directly into the heart of Mys-Tech Central.
(Shadow Riders#3) - Goodfellow was with the Shadow Riders when they investigated the wreckage of Matt Ryan's temporary room at their HQ. He was distracted by Ryan's Spider-Man boxer shorts, while Vorin spoke of Ryan helping him return to Sharin (which was now known as Arena World). Goodfellow placed the boxer shorts on his head.
(Shadow Riders#3 (fb) - BTS) - When Boot went out shopping, Goodfellow asked him to get some chocolate.
(Shadow Riders#3) - Later, Goodfellow was disappointed when Boot returned without the chocolate. Either unaware of this, or ignoring it, Vorin asked Goodfellow for his assistance in preparing the Transit Drive for the trip to Sharin.
(Shadow Riders#4 (fb) - BTS) - Vorin suspected a Mys-Tech trap. He asked Goodfellow to follow the team to Sharin and keep out of sight while Ryan was distracted and could not overhear them.
(Shadow Riders#3) - After an hour, the device was fully charged. Vorin told Goodfellow to stand clear, and that his part had yet to be played. The Shadow Riders (and their uninvited guest, Cable) left for the gateway site that would take them to Sharin. Goodfellow appeared to remain behind.
(Shadow Riders#4 (fb) - BTS) - Goodfellow did as Vorin had
asked, sneakily following his friends to Sharin. Porlock sprang his trap, with
the aid of the Slaughterhouse Six and Abadon, Matt Ryan's true form. Abadon
placed Cable and the Shadow Riders in mystic bonds and was ordered by Porlock to
kill them.
(Shadow Riders#4) - Goodfellow attacked Abadon with a
particle disrupter, giving his teammates time to free themselves from their
bonds. He was then ordered to power leach one of the Slaughterhouse Six and
transfer its time phasing ability to Boot, which he did. Boot used this power to
hide the Shadow Riders and their allies Cable and Che in a time bubble. They
used the time to prepare to fight back. When they did fight back, Goodfellow was
distracted by something shiny.
Ultimately, they were able to escape, and Abadon
was left trapped on Arena World. They all returned to the Shadow Rider's HQ. Che,
who was killed by Mys-Tech guards during the action, became a Shadow Rider. When
Che seemed unsettled at his transformation, Goodfellow said that he thought the
change an improvement. Goodfellow then used the shiny object he found earlier to
show Che his reflection. Vorin identified the object as a component from a
Transit Drive, evidence that other members of his race still survived on Arena World.
Comments: Created by John Freeman, Brian Williamson, Ross Dearsley and Euan Peters.
Snood's comments:
Very little has been revealed about the past of Goodfellow. It is unrevealed whether he is of terrestrial, extraterrestrial, or even extradimensional origin. It is similarly unrevealed how and when he met up and began serving Vorin, who has himself been active on Earth for over 600 years. Its unclear which, if any, Merlin that Goodfellow met in the past. If I had to place Goodfellow further, I'd say he was perhaps a native of Otherworld, and an associate of Merlyn, who empowered Captain Britain, etc. Just a guess. His claims of meeting Merlin would make him at least somewhere around 1400 years old.
Goodfellow may well have been intended to represent Robin Goodfellow, aka Puck, Pooka, a legendary Imp, as seen in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and as described here.
Changelings comments:
I'm fairly certain he WAS intended to represent Robin Goodfellow. John Freeman's Shadow Riders Guide actually refers to him as Robin Goodfellow. I'd like to see Goodfellow meet Puck, the Alpha Flight character, who may also have been named for the Shakespeare character (as opposed to a hocky puck) and has been known to quote the bard on occasion.
Goodfellow's profile by John Freeman, however, only lists the name Goodfellow (though it confirms this is his real name). This profile has him at metahuman stamina, but under "special limitations" it says he "tires easily". Perhaps he can sustain physical exertion for long periods of time, but use of his magical powers tires him. That makes a certain amount of sense, as he had no trouble in his firefight with Abadon and we saw very little use of his powers. He is also out of action in issue 2, which takes place after Grunt's revival. Perhaps using his magical powers to help Vorin tired him out. His other physical stats also come from John Freemans profile, which under eyes simply said "check with Stuart". That would be Stuart Bartlett, the editor of the series. I referred to the definitions of metahuman durability and stamina as found in the Master Edition profiles to flesh those out, as those are pretty high levels. Although not directly shown, these high levels of durability and stamina are at least implied by the fact that he managed to keep the mega powerful Abadon busy off panel for a while without getting seriously injured or noticeably tiring.
It's interesting to note that Vorin's transit technology only operates at light speed with no time travel facility, as per the Vorin profile that John Freeman provided. The journey from Sharin to Earth must've taken them years.
In issue 2 of Shadow Riders, a screen shot from the Arena World gateway site shows somebody that looks "almost like our little buddy Goodfellow" according to Stranger. If Stranger is right and it isn't actually Goodfellow, then presumably there are others like him. The image could be an old one from Sharin prior to Goodfellow's leaving (or the supposed eradication of life on that planet), but alternatively it could have been a contemporary image. That would be more proof that there are survivors on Arena World.
In conversation with Vorin, Goodfellow once referred to Sharin as "our planet". Snood recently asked John Freeman if this indicated that Goodfellow originated from that world, and here is John's response:
John Freeman: So - was Goodfellow a native of Sharin along with Vorin? Possibly. But more likely, he just lived there - we were keeping him and his origins mysterious until we worked out something, I suspect!
Thanks to Markus Raymond for scanning the new image.
Profile by Snood, updated and expanded by Changeling.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Goodfellow has no known connections to
images: (without ads)
Shadow Riders#1, p13, pan 5 (main image)
Shadow Riders#1, p16, pan1 (second image)
Shadow Riders#4, p5, pan3 (power leaching/grappling tail attack)
Other Appearances:
Shadow Riders#2-4 (July-September, 1993) - John Freeman & Brian Williamson (writers), Ross Dearsley (artist),
Euan Peters (colours), Stuart Bartlett (editor), Paul Neary (editor in chief)
Shadow Riders#3 (August, 1993) - John Freeman & Brian Williamson (writers), Ross Dearsley (artist),
Euan Peters (colours), Stuart Bartlett (editor), Paul Neary (editor in chief)
Shadow Riders#4 (July-September, 1993) - John Freeman & Brian Williamson (writers), Ross Dearsley (artist),
Euan Peters (colours), Stuart Bartlett (editor), Paul Neary (editor in chief)
Last updated: 09/14/13.
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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