Pre-hero days

Elijah (Eli) Wasserman was born and grew up in the New York City suburbs in the 1950s, the only child of parents who ran a small import business. He grew up with strict private schooling, while on the side learned to love pulp/noir books. Eli mostly stayed straight-laced right through college during the turbulent late 1960s. At one point he did sample some light drugs, and while high believed he could shift shadows with his thoughts. True or not, it made an impression that Eli left potential dormant. He focused on his studies, graduated and began to work at his father’s business.

When a local organized crime boss came to shake down his father’s import business in the early 1970s, Eli took matters into his own hands. He recruited some buddies and showed up at the local mob boss’ home with baseball bats — and were confronted by gun-toting mobsters. In the adrenaline of the moment, Eli’s powers manifested themselves: His group got away as the mobsters clutched at shadows that had enveloped their heads.

Once the mobsters regrouped, they called in the big guns to quash Eli’s little group effort. But the message caught the attention of local crimefighting group “The 7th Legion”. When the mobsters made their move, so did the Legion: Eli, caught in the crossfire, hid and pitched shadows. Young Legion member “Blaze” (Sarah Morgenstern) caught on as to what was happening and spoke with Eli about metahuman powers and greater moral responsibilities. For Eli, it was just about love at first sight.

7th Legion

To the embarrassment and protest of his parents, Eli left the family business and joined the 7th Legion as a full-time hero, first under the name “The Amazing Darkshadow”. He joined in the sunset days of old guard heroes like Red Planet and the Brass Man (formerly Bugle Boy). But by the mid-1970s the makeup of the 7th Legion was shifting, and as Golden Age heroes retired, new, freewheeling members like Sparrow and Karma joined.

While it wasn’t obvious to the public, the Tide’s nature shifted dramatically in the mid- to late 1970s with the excesses of drugs, drinking and free love that usually get associated with rock bands of the time. At some of the Tides’ actions, Eli was so wasted he hardly knew his own name: He started calling himself “Mr. Fantasy” from the song by the band Traffic, and the public ended calling him “The Amazing Mr. Fantastic”. Somehow, Eli and Sarah kept a relationship — just barely — during those turbulent years.

Going Clean

Eli started sobering up in 1980, and to go clean he dropped his status to a part-time member of the Tide. He stopped everything after the scandal of 1982 — Karma was found in bed with a prostitute, dead from a cocaine overdose. Eli and Sarah finally, quietly became engaged in 1987, and finally married in 1991. To a clean and sober Eli, it was finally sinking in just how deadly crime fighting could be. But crime itself was also getting nastier, fueled by a cresting wave
of crack cocaine, followed up by crystal meth. The couple (with Sarah being the driving force) kept up with public relations and goodwill efforts between the Tide and municipal/government agencies and businesses. They also engaged in fundraisers and in charitable giving.

In 2000, Sarah was diagnosed with cancer, and she lived only to the end of 2001. For fear of the potential issues of passing along their mutations, the couple had no children. Eli had already lost his parents years earlier, and now he was completely alone. He gave up his former life and went into seclusion, ate and drank too much. He threw the memories of his former life – including his super-suit – in the garbage.

Retirement

Eventually, lack of money caught up with him. Eli tightened his belt and went into the private detective business, drawing on his many contacts in the city over the decades. Cash from these jobs helps subsidize a modest pension from his years with the 7th Legion. It’s enough for a shabby studio walkup in a seedy neighborhood in Germantown.

Since Sarah died, Eli dislikes using his powers, as they are a painful reminder of his past. He’s lived long enough to realize just how vulnerable someone like he is in a fight, and he has a strong sense of self-preservation. On the other hand, he’s got a soft heart and can’t stand to see a young kid in trouble. Eli has always been a team player — now even more than ever, since he’s an old man who’s never been a brawler.