Shades

"The secret of a good lie is that it runs parallel to the truth."

- Shades

Hernan Alvarez, commonly nicknamed Shades, is a criminal working for Diamondback who was sent to watch over and advise the criminal operations of Cottonmouth in Harlem. This put him back into conflict with a former enemy, Luke Cage while also watching the rise of Black Mariah in the wake of Cottonmouth's murder. When Diamondback arrived in Harlem to kill Cage, Shades stayed by his side although his constant questioning of his boss eventually made him a target, forcing him to side with Black Mariah and betray Diamondback to save his own life.

Time in Seagate
"See I'm of the mind that we stomp your arse, and find a new dude to fight for Rackham, especially since you trying to expose some shit that's going on a Seagate." "Guess I can't trust nobody around here can I?"

- Shades and Carl Lucas

During his time locked up in Seagate Prison, Shades built up a working relationship with one of the guards, Albert Rackham, who was organising prison fights and needed Shades to recruit potential fighters for him. When Carl Lucas arrived at the prison, Rackham viewed him as a potential candidate for their fighting matches. Shades questioned what Lucas might have done to have earned his prison time but Rackham only speculated he had annoyed someone very badly and been sent to rot in prison.

Rackham sent Shades and Comanche to test Lucas' strength by attacking him in the middle of the night with knives. While Comanche covered Lucas' face with a bag, Shades hit him repeatedly in the chest until Lucas was able to recover his senses and threw Shades against a wall, at which point Comanche drew his knife. While Lucas bashed Shades repeatedly with his cell door, he was able to disarm Comanche and threw both his attackers out of his room before allowing himself to be arrested by the guards and put into solitary confinement.

Eventually due to threats against his friend Squabbles' life, Rackham was able to convince Lucas to join their fighting matches. Shades joined Rackham down in the basement of the prison as Lucas got into the ring and quickly proved himself as a highly skilled and very dangerous fighter, beating his enemies to a pulp until they could no longer stand. In order to keep Lucas willing to stay involved with the fights, Rackham ordered Shades to build a relationship with Reva Connors, who Lucas was close to so that Rackham could threaten her life.

Before long it was discovered that Carl Lucas planned on exposing Albert Rackham's organisation, with Rackham learning his by beating Squabbles to death during his interrogation. Shades and Comanche followed Lucas as he made his way through Seagate Prison and at first complimented him on his fighting skills before revealing their true intentions, warning that if he did not change his mind they would kill him and replace him in the ring. They proceeded to beat Lucas almost to death, with him seemingly dying later due to an explosion in the prison.

Controlling Cottonmouth
"Ya'll got hit last night, expensive and exclusive hard to get hardware that Diamondback gave you is in a police evidence lockup, and the money that Domingo and his crew were supposed to give you is gone. I'm with Diamondback now, you knew that right?"

- Shades to Cottonmouth

When Diamondback learned that the Justin Hammer guns he had given to Cottonmouth to be sold to Domingo Colon had been stolen, he sent Shades to deal with the situation. Shades arrived at Harlem's Paradise where he greeted Cottonmouth and explained the situation, while Tone insulted him Shades ignored the hitman. When Cottonmouth suggested this was a takeover, Shades noted that if Diamondback was taken over he would be powerless to stop it.

Shades then joined Cottonmouth and Tone as he had a meeting with his cousin Mariah Dillard during her political campaign. Shades kept his distance as Cottonmouth spoke with Dillard about the money he owed her before returning to them. Asking for an update, Shades listened as Tone explained that Dante Chapman was correct that the heist was planned with Shameek Smith and Chico Diaz's assistance. Shades questioned if they were any closer to finding their targets but Tone claimed they were not, so Cottonmouth ordered the hit for them both.

It did not take long for Shades and Tone to track down Smith, who they brought to Stokes under the concept that Domingo Colon's people were looking for him since the heist and Stokes wished to protect him, which was a lie as he simply wished to interrogate the man who had stolen his money from him in order to find the rest and repay Dillard. As Shades walked through the kitchen, he passed by a dishwasher called Luke Cage, who watched him closely as he walked by with Smith, although Shades payed the man almost no attention what-so-ever.

Shades returned to Harlem's Paradise with the now captured Smith and watched as Cottonmouth proceeded to slap him repeatedly, calling him a little bitch and demanding to know where the rest of his money was. When Smith refused to answer and instead spit his own blood in Cottonmouth's face, Shades looked on as Cottonmouth proceeded to punch Smith in the skull until he had killed him. As Cottonmouth stood up, now covered in Smith's blood, he ordered Shades and Tone to find Chico Diaz and recover the rest of his stolen money.

Hunting Chico Diaz
"I'm from around the way, grew up right here, everyone knows Pop. There's this little Puerto Rican kid, I can't remember his name, it's like Rico or Chico. Yeah, Chico, used to shape me up back in the day, he was real good too, was hoping he was still around." "People come and go, you know how it is right?"

- Shades and Luke Cage

Shades joined Cottonmouth as they traveled to Pop's Barber Shop in order to try and learn the location of Chico Diaz. As Cottonmouth got a shave with a razor from his old friend Pop, Shades and Tone sat down and watched while Cottonmouth and Pop's discussed life and the luxury of free time. While Shades listened on, Stokes noted that young people wanted everything too fast and would lie, cheat and steal to get what they wanted, clearly referencing Shameek Smith's recent robbery of their money and his death that followed.

At one point, Luke Cage accidentally broke his broom and Shades noted that it was clearly very cheap while Cage claimed it was just old. Shades then went on to explain that he had just left Seagate Prison and was looking for Diaz, claiming that he used to cut his hair for him and he wanted to reconnect now that he was back, but Cage told him that Diaz seemed to have gone and would not be returning. Shades joined Cottonmouth as he left, while Cage ordered him to pay for his shave as was Pop's policy, much to Shades' amusement as he left.

Shades then joined Cottonmouth as they visited the office of Cottonmouth's cousin, Mariah Dillard to deliver the money they had recovered from Shameek Smith. Dillard however was not impressed and reminded Cottonmouth that she needed the rest and this was his fault as she had stolen the money to fund Harlem's Paradise before Stokes had made a failed gun deal with Domingo Colon which had endangered them all. She then mocked Shades by calling him a guard dog and asking if he needed water before completing her talk with Cottonmouth. Shades returned to Harlem's Paradise with Cottonmouth and Dillard and witnessed Luke Cage offering a peace deal to save Chico Diaz's life, which Cottonmouth agreed to. However when Tone got word of Diaz's location, both he and Shades met with Turk Barrett around the back of Harlem's Paradise and were informed that he had spotted Diaz hiding out in Pop's Barber Shop. Shades and Tone then walked away without paying Barrett, much to his annoyance, and drove to Diaz's location, with Tone arming himself while Shades recommended that they wait for the right moment to attack, but Tone just ignored him and prepared to go into the shop with guns blazing.

Tone however ignored Shades' advice and charged into the shop, firing two guns at once, wounding Diaz and killing Pop as well as seemingly Cage who was protecting a child. Once they entered the now destroyed Barber Shop, Shades once again reminded Tone that they should have waited for Diaz to step outside, as he knew what Cottonmouth's reaction to the death of Pop would be. However Tone continued to ignore the advice and they instead took Diaz's bag which was filled with the stolen money and made a fast retreat back out of the shop.

Returning to Harlem's Paradise, both Shades and Tone were forced to explain to Cottonmouth exactly what had happened, with Shades insisting that Tone had ignored his warnings to wait. Tone remained confident in his own decision and explained that he had fired into Pop's Barber Shop, killing Pop and wounding Diaz, which mortified Cottonmouth and the news of his friend's death. Shades watched as Turk Barrett arrived asking for his money, only for Cottonmouth to throw Tone off the roof and tell Barrett to collect his money from Tone's corpse.

Luke Cage's Secret
"You're gonna recoup seven million dollars just like that?" "I don't even know why you back here." "Look around, you know damn well why Diamondback sent me, Fort Knox, this makes the junk yard rip look like amateur knight at the Apollo."

- Shades and Cottonmouth

Back at Harlem's Paradise, Shades stood behind Cottonmouth as they listened to Jidenna performing on stage. He then went into Cottonmouth's office and listened as Darrell Mitchell informed him that he was officially broke, noting that the people supported Luke Cage. When Koko spoke out of turn, Shades witnessed Cottonmouth executing him with a shot to the head. As Cottonmouth ordered Zip and the others to steal cash, Shades reminded him why Diamondback had sent him in the first place but Cottonmouth continued to ignore him.

As Shades and Cottonmouth looked over the money collected by Zip and his men, Shades recommended that he let this whole situation go as it was making him look weak and recommended that he sell Harlem's Paradise, which Cottonmouth refused as he felt the club was far too important. Shades continued to remind Cottonmouth that if he did not make the right decision now, he would soon lose everything, but Cottonmouth just insisted that the club was his own reputation, blood and legacy and for that reason he would never sell it no matter what. Cottonmouth then noticed that Luke Cage had entered the building to speak with him about the situation. While Cottonmouth and Cage began exchanging insults, Shades looked on in amusement. Eventually Cottonmouth ordered Zip, Sugar and Amos to attack Cage, only to watch as they were all very easily defeated, with Cage even surviving several gunshots to the chest without even reacting. Seeing how Cage fought, Shades finally realised that Cage was in fact Carl Lucas, who was assumed to have been killed in Seagate Prison many years earlier.

As Cottonmouth came downstairs, he declared war on Cage, only for Cage to note that he did not have enough people working still for him to stop him while also making it clear that he knew Shades, who noted that he should have been killed along with Albert Rackham. As he left the club, Cage ordered Cottonmouth not to use his name anymore, when Cottonmouth asked why Cage did not answer and walked away before Cottonmouth confronted Shades about how he knew Cage, demanding to know the details as Shades explained that it was a long story.

Pitching the Judas
"Yo, if you wanted to kill Jesus, that's the bullet you'd use. That's why they call it the Judas." "I can think of a few fools I'd love to baptise with that joint!"

- Shades and Cottonmouth

As they rewatched the CCTV footage, Shades explained to Cottonmouth who Luke Cage really was and that he was supposed to be dead before he had returned, now bulletproof. As Cottonmouth demanded a find a way to kill Cage, Shades showed off a video of the Judas Bullet which had been designed by Justin Hammer using Chitauri metal recovered from the Battle of New York, Cottonmouth expressed his delight at the bullet's power.

When Shades explained exactly how much the bullet would cost, Cottonmouth realised he was unable to afford it, and therefore his only option was to consider hiring Diamondback to kill Cage for him, with Shades noting that if that happened, Diamondback would take over Harlem. Refusing to allow this to happen, Cottonmouth decided that he would return the Hammer Industries guns back to Domingo Colon's people and sort out that situation so Diamondback would lend him the money he needed to get the Judas and finally kill Cage once and for all.

Shades later joined Cottonmouth in attending the funeral of Pop, where he listened as both Cottonmouth and Luke Cage gave speeches in which they tried to rally the people of Harlem onto their side, with Cottonmouth warning them of strangers with unknown and strange abilities while Cage demonstrated that he was taking on the lessons Pop had taught him and would be protecting the people from bullies. In the end, it was clear that it was Cage to had the support of the people, with Shades smirking at the result while Cottonmouth was furious.

As they left the church, Shades and Cottonmouth were confronted by Cage, who claimed he was glad that Cottonmouth had come to the funeral as he had enjoyed humiliating him in public rather than just at Harlem's Paradise in private. As Shades looked on, Cottonmouth reminded Cage that although he had won this battle, the war was still ongoing, while Cage told him that if another one of Dapper Dan's suits got damaged, he would be billing Cottonmouth. As Cage left, Cottonmouth laughed while Shades opened the limo door for him.

Making Arrangements
"I can talk to you anyway I want, because you got no power to shut me up. Do you like how it feels, being so powerless? Being pushed around by other people." "What do you think." "I think that when you get the nerve, you're gonna be surprised at just what you're capable of."

- Shades and Mariah Dillard

With Cottonmouth having been swiftly freed from jail despite killing Detective Rafael Scarfe, Shades joined him in Harlem's Paradise as they discussed the recent events. When Cottonmouth asked when he could get his Judas Bullet to kill Luke Cage, Shades told him he would not. Knowing what Cage was doing his business, Cottonmouth told Shades that he wanted to call on the help of Diamondback to get the job done, so Shades left to make the necessary arrangements.

Seeing that the situation with Cottonmouth was falling apart, Shades travelled to the home of Mariah Dillard, where he waited for her to complete her meeting with Damon Boone before revealing himself to Dillard and her assistant Alex. When Dillard demanded to know why he was there, Shades told her that they would need to talk alone. Shades explained that although she did not remember him, he remember her and her family name from when he was a child growing up in Harlem, as the reputation of Mama Mabel was known through the area.

Shades when on to insult Dillard's political reputation as he argued that the name Stokes no longer meant what it used to and this was down to her and Cottonmouth's actions. When Dillard attempted to slap Shades, he caught her hand and told her that he had the power right now to talk to her anyway that he wanted, going on to question how it felt to how no power and to be pushed around by other people. Shades made a final point that he believed she would soon get the nerve to find out exactly what she was capable of doing before leaving Dillard's home.

Returning to Harlem's Paradise, Shades found Cottonmouth listening as D-Nice rehearsed on the stage. Cottonmouth apologised for his earlier outburst against Shades before revealing that he had invited Luke Cage to the Paradise and informed him of his knowledge of his past life as Carl Lucas and ordered him to fall in line or be sent back to Seagate Prison. Shades made it clear that this was not what Diamondback had wanted, fearing that Cage would run before Diamondback could kill him, although Cottonmouth remained confident he would not.

Covering up Cottonmouth's Murder
"I need you to hear me, I want you to win. Do what I say and when you get away with this, you can go back to being the sexy, domineering bitch that we all hate to love."

- Shades to Mariah Dillard

When Shades arrived at Harlem's Paradise, he discovered Mariah Dillard in a rage beating Cottonmouth to death having pushed him out of his office window. Shades calmly greeted Dillard and comforted her as she was clearly shaken by the incident, but he reminded her that the first kill was always the hardest. Shades began working out how to deal with the situation when he decided to blame Luke Cage for killing Cottonmouth.

Shades checked on Dillard shortly after he had gotten everything prepared for Cottonmouth's discovery, asking what she was thinking about. Dillard told Shades she really was not thinking about anything, questioning if that was normal while Shades made it clear that as long as she was still active, she was okay. Shades explained that he would have Joel Spurlock destroy the clothes she was wearing too keep Cottonmouth's DNA off her, ensuring that Alex brought her clothes to change into and they removed the bottle that Cottonmouth had been hit with.

As Dillard questioned why Shades was speaking to her like she was a child, Shades explained that he only wanted her to get away with the murder, saying that once she had she could go back to being the sexy bitch he hated to love. Dillard left to get changed, but not before telling Shades to never call her a bitch again. Shades then proceeded to punch Cottonmouth's skull repeatedly before leaving him to be found by the New York City Police Department, with the waitress Candace Miller being their witness to blame Cage for the murder.

While hanging out in the Paradise, Shades witnessed the arrival of Zip, Sugar and Amos who were looking to work out the situation now that Cottonmouth was dead. Shades informed the three that they now officially worked for him as while Dillard owned the Paradise, he would be taking charge of it. Once the three had agreed to the situation, Shades handed Zip a wad of cash and told him to buy some new and more presentable clothes. When Zip asked what was to be done about Luke Cage, Shades did not answer and calmly told them all to leave. Shades later drove Mariah Dillard as she met with Candace Miller to pay her her bribe money for her lying to Detective Misty Knight about the death of Cottonmouth, with Miller noting that she had always hated Cottonmouth and would never had slept with him. Shades listened as Dillard explained that she should view this as a business deal and a way to change her and her family's life. Once Millar had left, Shades asked Dillard what she was willing to do if Miller betrayed them, with Dillard explaining that they would have to kill her, much to Shades' delight as he drove her home.

Diamondback's Command
"Cornell was losing it, you trusted me to take care of him." "I trusted you to take care of it, not him. Why, did you think I was just gonna give it all to you? Give me one reason why I shouldn't splatter this pristine desk with your brain matter."

- Shades and Diamondback

Shades took position in Cottonmouth's old office inside Harlem's Paradise, where he watched as The Delfonics rehearsed on stage and the glass window was repaired. Shades began questioning Zip and his men about their hunt for Luke Cage who had been nearly fatally wounded by Diamondback the night before, with Zip noting that they had not yet found him despite checking every garbage truck where he might be hiding.

They were interrupted by the arrival of Diamondback himself, who made a point about the magic of smoke and fire by making a gun with his fingers and shooting Darnell in the shoulder with another gun. Once Zip and his men had left, Diamondback began mocking Shades for his attempts to seduce Mariah Dillard and take over from Cottonmouth. When Diamondback began blaming Shades for Cottonmouth's death, Shades defended his actions by noting that Cottonmouth was losing control and that Diamondback had trusted him with dealing with him.

As Diamondback explained that Cottonmouth was his best seller of Hammer Industries' weapons and mocked Shades for thinking he might get to keep Harlem's Paradise, he drew his gun and aimed it at Shades' head, asking for one reason not to kill him. While Shades kept calm and silent, Zip then reappeared and noted that killing Shades would not help him find Luke Cage any faster. Diamondback laughed and dropped his gun, before explaining that until they found Cage's corpse, he was not dead and needed to be found as soon as possible.

Shades later found Mariah Dillard in Joel Spurlock's funeral home, speaking to the body of her cousin. Shades explained to Dillard that Diamondback was unhappy about the current situation, although Dillard was highly confused about how Diamondback was exactly, explaining that now she was effectively taking over all of Cottonmouth's business, she would need to find Luke Cage to frame him for the murder. Shades then explained that she needed to ensure Cottonmouth's clients were dealt with effectively to stop any kind of criminal war.

Losing Control
"That footage, of Cage and the cops, it went viral. What do you want to do about it?" "That's great, that's great. He's got nowhere to run now, we'll find him. It's all coming together."

- Shades and Diamondback

Shades escorted Mariah Dillard to Colon's Gym for a meeting between Domingo Colon and other mobsters based in Harlem. Before the meeting began, Shades reminded her not to show them any weakness as not only would she be done politically, but she would likely become a target of assassination. Shades stood behind Dillard and she greeted the group and explained that she would be making changes in the wake of Cottonmouth's death.

However the meeting was soon interrupted by the arrival of Diamondback, who proceeded to murder Jaques Alef, Neville Barnwell, Juan Carlos Castro and Peter Hong, leaving Colon alive. Shades watched on as Diamondback showed no regard for the war he would be starting by committing such random acts of violence before giving new orders of Dillard, who suggested that he begin selling the Judas Bullets to the New York City Police Department in order to kill Luke Cage. Diamondback noted how impressed he was to Shades before leaving with him to eat.

Returning to Harlem's Paradise, Diamondback watched the performance of The Delfonics until he was interrupted by Shades, who informed him that a video of Cage attacking some police officers had gone viral. When Shades asked what should be done about this, Diamondback told him that it was great news as it meant Cage no longer had anywhere to run and they would soon be able to find and kill him. When Shades tried to question this logic, Diamondback rudely sent him away, claiming that he was enjoying the song and wished to listen to it in peace.

Hostage Situation
"You're dreaming if you think we're getting outta here, you shot a female cop in front of a hundred people!" "All people will remember is Luke Cage going all King Kong with a bitch and jumping off a balcony." "What they're gonna remember, is Luke Cage running from the bullets."

- Shades and Diamondback

When Shades returned to Harlem's Paradise, he discovered the attendees were fleeing in terror. Stepping inside, Shades was informed that Luke Cage was hiding behind the bar and the men were attempting to kill him and Misty Knight. Before long Cage made his move, carrying Knight as the men fired at him before taking refuge in the kitchen and blocking the door with a fridge to keep Shades and the other men out.

As Zip explained the situation, Shades reminded Diamondback that the New York City Police Department would soon be arriving on the scene and they needed to escape before that happened. Diamondback however refused, noting that maybe they should freestyle the situation, much to Shades' dismay as he reminded Diamondback that he only had one Judas Bullet left, but Diamondback was not concerned as he gave orders to Zip and Sugar to take hostages while Shades looked on at the situation in disgust as he complained about Diamondback's actions.

While the hostages were collected, Shades watched in even more dismay as Diamondback was given a grenade launcher by Zip and fired a single shot into the kitchen, destroying the door into the kitchen and the fridge that was blocking it with a large fireball which shook the whole building and altered those outside. As Shades stepped into the burning kitchen with his gun raised, he discovered that Cage and Knight were nowhere to be found. Diamondback then stepped into the room and ordered his men to search every inch of the kitchen to find them.

Shades once again questioned Diamondback's decision making as the police would soon be breaking down the doors to arrest them, claiming that he was not being clear headed, but Diamondback only argued that his was making the right moves as they could easily claim that violence had broken out at this anti Luke Cage rally as soon as Cage arrived. Although Shades remained unconvinced, he confirmed that he had spoke with Mariah Dillard could now close their deal who could not sell the Judas Bullets to the police due to their fear of Cage.

Shades informed Diamondback that the hostages had been sent to the New York City Police Department as he had ordered, noting that he was not concerned about what they would tell them as either he or Cage would soon be dead. Shades confronted Diamondback on the fact that he had taken these hostages with no plan whatsoever. They were then informed by Sugar that Claire Temple had disappeared after attacking Lopes to help Candace Miller, who Shades noted was the one who Mariah Dillard had bribed so Diamondback sent him to deal with it.

Arrested
"I was in the club, I saw what happened, I know who did it." "Okay, we can protect you, but I need a name to verify, who was it? Was it Stryker?" "He goes by... Lawyer... You need me to spell it?"

- Shades and Priscilla Ridley

Once Diamondback used his Judas Gauntlet to murder Damon Boone, he ordered Shades to drop his corpse out the door for the police to collect. Having done the deed, Shades went to the kitchen to wash his hands of the blood, while there however, he accidentally discovered a secret loose panel on the floor which he found led to the basement, while going down the stairs, the lights in the club were shut off, with emergency lighting turning on.

Going down the stairs, Shades discovered Misty Knight clutching her wounded arm as well as a large hole in the wall which Luke Cage had used to escape. As Shades drew his gun and pushed Knight against the wall, preparing to execute her, he was suddenly attacked from behind by Claire Temple, who used a weapon to knock the gun out of Shades' hands before hitting him repeatedly. Despite being taken off guard, Shades managed to disarm Temple before moving to kill her as she tried to keep him at bay by kicking at her attacker repeatedly.

Before Shades could gain the upper hand and murder Temple, Knight returned to the fight and managed to pull him away from Temple. Due to the dark lighting, Shades struggled to regain control of the fight and before long, Knight and Temple succeeded in ganging up on him before they pulled him across the room and slamming his head against a steel pipe, which knocked Shades out cold. Knight proceeded to handcuff Shades to the pipe and left him there, joking with Temple about how badass they had both proved themselves to be during the fight.

Having been found by the New York City Police Department and named as one of the gang leaders by Detective Knight, Shades was arrested by the teams that stormed Harlem's Paradise and taken outside under the orders of Priscilla Ridley. While walking to the police van, Shades tripped and dropped his trademark sunglasses, but before he could pick them back up again, Temple appeared and stepped on them, breaking the glass while Shades was put into the van to begin his interrogation and sentencing for his many crimes he had committed.

Personality
To be added

Abilities
To be added

Equipment
To be added

Allies

 * Comanche
 * Albert Rackham †
 * Mariah Dillard/Black Mariah - Ally and Love Interest
 * Tone †
 * Amos
 * Sugar
 * Koko †
 * Darnell
 * Turk Barrett
 * Bobby Fish
 * Darrell Mitchell
 * Jidenna
 * Alex
 * Jaques Alef †
 * Neville Barnwell †
 * Juan Carlos Castro †
 * Peter Hong †

Enemies

 * Luke Cage - Former Co-Inmate
 * Squabbles † - Former Co-Inmate
 * Reva Connors †
 * Cornell Stokes/Cottonmouth † - Ally turned Enemy
 * Willis Stryker/Diamondback - Ally turned Enemy
 * Claire Temple
 * Shameek Smith †
 * Damon Boone †
 * Zip † - Ally turned Enemy and Victim
 * New York City Police Department
 * Misty Knight
 * Priscilla Ridley
 * Candace Miller † - Victim

Trivia

 * In the comics, Shades was a member of the Rivals, the same Harlem gang as Carl Lucas, Willis Stryker and Comanche. Once he broke out of prison, he became a criminal for hire until he eventually reformed and became a community organizer in Hell's Kitchen.