Shadowmasters #1-4

[Col_Fury]

SHADOWMASTERS #1 (October, 1989)
By Carl Potts & Dan Lawlis

APPEARANCES:
Capt. James Richards (American assigned to oversee Japanese village’s post-WWII transition), Sgt. Dewey (Capt. Richards’ aide), Shigeru Ezaki (Japanese village’s mayor & shadow warrior), Sojin Ezaki (Shigeru’s son), Maj. Kantaro Umezu (anti-American renegade leader) & his Sunrise Society

SYNOPSIS:
1945: After the Japanese surrender, Capt. James Richards is assigned to a Japanese village to oversee the hunt for renegade Japanese soldiers who refuse to accept Japan lost the war. Richards befriend the town’s mayor, Shigeru Ezaki, who is also a ninja. The two eventually hunt down many of the renegades, but Shigeru becomes tired of killing and offers the renegades a chance to re-integrate into society. The renegade’s leader Kantaro Umezu accepts the offer, but with the ulterior motives of toppling the Japanese government by infiltrating it over the years.

SHADOWMASTERS #2 (November, 1989)
By Carl Potts & Dan Lawlis

APPEARANCES:
Capt. James Richards & his wife, Phillip Richards (Capt. Richards’ son), Shigeru Ezaki & his wife, Yuriko Ezaki (Shigeru’s daughter), Sojin Ezaki, Noriko (Sojin’s girlfriend), Maj. Kantaro Umezu (also in -FB) & Sunrise Society

FLASHBACK:
As a child, Kantaro Umezu kills his abusive father.
SYNOPSIS:
1962: Capt. Richards has retired from the military, married, had a child and moved to Japan. Shigeru Ezaki has re-married and had a daughter. The two families are friends and Shigeru teaches the children ninja techniques in secret. 1972: Eventually, Kantaro Umezu tracks Shigeru down and plans to exact his revenge against him. Weeks later, Shigeru returns home to find that Capt. Richards has been killed and his family has been taken hostage and attached to a bomb. Shigeru defeats Kantaro’s men, but takes his family’s place on the pressurized bomb. His family escapes but Shigeru is apparently caught in the explosion.

SHADOWMASTERS #3 (December, 1989)
By Carl Potts & Dan Lawlis

APPEARANCES:
Capt. James Richards (-BTS, remains in casket) & his widow, Phillip Richards, Shigeru Ezaki (-BTS, see NOTE) & his wife, Sojin Ezaki & his wife & their 2 children, Yuriko Ezaki, Naoichi (Yuriko’s boyfriend; son of Sunrise Society member), Maj. Kantaro Umezo & his Sunrise Society (inc Naoichi’s father)

SYNOPSIS:
1972: Capt. Richards’ remains are buried and a funeral is held for Shigeru. Richards’ widow decides to move back to America. Shigeru’s family has no idea who tried to kill them all. Kantaro sends a hitman to kill Yuriko, but the child kills the assassin in self-defense. The police can’t figure out who sent the hitman. Kantaro decides to leave Shigeru’s family alone. Shigeru’s family continues to learn martial arts over the years, but his widow eventually dies of natural causes. 1979: Kantaro has assembled an army to overtake the Japanese government. Phillip returns to Japan just as Sojin finds a clue as to who killed Shigeru. Yuriko follows the clue and gets a job at the company that makes weapons for Kantaro’s Sunrise Society. She looks for evidence and falls in love with Naoichi, a fellow employee. Meanwhile, Phillip finds old photos of Sunrise Society members. When Yuriko meets Naoichi’s parents, she recognizes his father from Phillip’s photos. She eventually marries Naoichi. 1983: One day, Yuriko follows her father in law when he takes a trip and she spies on him at a Sunrise Society meeting. She later tells Sojin and Phillip about the Society’s plans to attack Japan in two years, so they prepare to attack the Sunrise Society themselves, because they can’t trust the media, police or government.

NOTE:
Assumed dead, next issue reveals Shigeru survived the explosion and is being held captive by Kantaro. When Yuriko meditates in this issue, she briefly makes contact with Shigeru, making him -BTS here.

SHADOWMASTERS #4 (January, 1990)
By Carl Potts & Dan Lawlis

APPEARANCES:
Phillip Richards, Shigeru Ezaki, Sojin Ezaki, Yuriko Ezaki, Maj. Kantaro Umezo & his Sunrise Society (inc Yuriko’s father in law)

SYNOPSIS:
Sojin, Yuriko and Phillip infiltrate and sabotage the Sunrise Society’s base. Yuriko finds Kantaro, who reveals he's holding her father, previously thought dead, hostage. The base is destroyed, Shigeru and Kantaro kill each other and Sojin dies. Yuriko and Phillip return home, but Yuriko realizes she can naver face her husband again since she killed his father during the attack. Phillip and Yuriko decide to leave for America to start a new life.

NOTE:
Yuriko and Phillip go on to appear in Punisher War Journal #1 (their first published appearance) after this. And no, their mothers are not given names.

Placement suggestions:

EZAKI, SHIGERU
SHADOW 1
SHADOW 2
SHADOW 3-BTS
SHADOW 4

EZAKI, SOJIN
SHADOW 1
SHADOW 2
SHADOW 3
SHADOW 4

EZAKI, YURIKO
*SHADOW 2
*SHADOW 3
*SHADOW 4 (remove brackets)
{PWJ 1}
…

RICHARDS, CAPT. JAMES
SHADOW 1
SHADOW 2
SHADOW 3-BTS

RICHARDS, PHILLIP
*SHADOW 2
*SHADOW 3
*SHADOW 4 (remove brackets)
{PWJ 1}
…

UMEZU, MAJ. KANTARO
SHADOW 2-FB
{SHADOW 1}
SHADOW 2
SHADOW 3
SHADOW 4

[Chris McCarver]

Heh, glad to see these guys loaded in. Took a shine to them doing their PWJ entries for the Index.