Hernan Alvarez (Earth-1010)

{{Character Template
 * Image                  = Shades.png
 * ImageSize              = 250px
 * RealName               = Hernan Alvarez
 * CurrentAlias           = Shades
 * Aliases                = Specs
 * Identity               = Secret
 * Affiliation            = Partner of Comanche, Harlem's Paradise; formerly the Rivals
 * Relatives              =
 * Universe               = Earth-1010
 * BaseOfOperations       = Harlem, New York City, formerly Seagate Prison


 * Gender                 = Male
 * Height                 = 5'8"
 * Weight                 = 175 lbs
 * Eyes                   = Brown
 * Hair                   = Bald
 * Hair2                  = (formerly black)
 * UnusualFeatures        = Normally wears sunglasses


 * Citizenship            = American
 * MaritalStatus          = Single
 * Occupation             = Criminal
 * Education              =


 * Origin                 = Human
 * PlaceOfBirth           =
 * Creators               = Archie Goodwin; George Tuska
 * First                  = TBA


 * HistoryText            =

Help from Mama Mabel
"I didn't have shit, I grew up on the street, but the one name that always rang out was Stokes. You needed a thanksgiving turkey, go see Mama Mabel Stokes, school clothes, Mama Mabel Stokes. Your old man put his hands on you, Mama Mabel Stokes and it would never ever happen again."

- Shades

Hernan Alvarez was born in Harlem within New York City, growing up with no money and almost no chance of living a good life as he lived on the streets of the city. During his youth, Alvarez learned to respect the name Stokes, going to Mama Mabel for any form of assistance that may be needed at any time.

The Rivals
At some point Shades was recruited into The Rivals. The gang consisted mostly of Carl Lucas, Willis Stryker and his best friend Comanche. They engaged in many gang fights with The Diablos, a rival gang. He also committed petty crimes and worked for a crime lord named Sonny Caputo. He was later arrested along with Comanche and sentenced to Seagate Prison.

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 organizing 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 where Rackham still tormented him.

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.

Before long it was discovered that Carl Lucas planned on exposing Albert Rackham's organization, with Rackham learning this 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 elsewhere in the prison which also killed Rackham.

Hunting the Stolen Guns
"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. When Cottonmouth suggested this was a takeover, Shades noted that he would be powerless to stop Diamondback.

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 and find them as quickly as possible.

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.

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 and bring them both back to him.


 * Powers                 =
 * Abilities              = * Hand-to-Hand Combat: Shades is skilled in street fighting.
 * Strength               = * Shade possesses the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and build who engages in regular exercise.
 * Weaknesses             =


 * Equipment              =


 * Transportation         =
 * Weapons                =

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 * Notes                  =
 * Trivia                 =
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