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|---|---|
| Portrayed By | CGI (Brian Austin Green) |
| Sex | Male |
| Status | Registered Evolved |
| Ability | Shadowmorph |
| Age | 36 |
| Date of Birth | June 18th, 1982 |
| Occupation | Information Broker |
| Family | David Cardinal (father, deceased), Rachel Cardinal-Myers (mother, deceased) |
| Marital Status | Single |
| First Appearance | |
| Last Appearance | |
| Presently |  |
I've been watching
I've been waiting
In the shadows all my time
I've been searching
I've been living
For tomorrows all my life
- The Rasmus, 'In The Shadows'
A shadow out of the corner of your eye, Cardinal hasn't walked the earth with human feet for years…
…but that doesn't mean he's gone.
(Future) Character History:
In the end, when, everything came crashing down, there were no medals or parades for Richard Cardinal — not that he wanted them, of course. The shadow worked with various factions to bring down the fascist system that he hated so much, and those beyond it that'd crossed him; eventually even mending bridges with Matt Parkman, despite his dislike of the man, and becoming something almost friends.
It was that friendship, and the other contacts that he'd made, that enabled him to make a deal with Homeland Security and the new administration - his record cleared, in return for all the evidence he had against John Logan and James Muldoon, and testifying. Involved with the Zarek Group, he worked diligently to clean up the island, the rest of his time spent assisting Matthew Parkman with his new detective agency.
Of course, he also hit the occasional penthouse or expensive car. You can take the man out of the street, but you can't take the street out of the man. Mostly, though, on the illegal side of things he merely gathered and sold information, becoming one of the pre-eminent information brokers around.
Life was good, from certain points of view. While professionally successful - if you can call what he did a profession - his personal relationships were either distant and amicable or short and tumultuous. One by one, his 'friends' and acquaintances got married, and had children, and pulled further away so as not to disturb their new lives. One day, Abigail's constant subtle suggestions that he should go to church managed to lure him there, where he met, for the first time, Pastor Joseph Sumter. He had an ability, or so he was told, to let others see their future. On a lark, he decided to ask for one of these prophecies.
What he saw himself doing was so repellent to the shadowmorph that he never resumed human form again, on the theory that if he was never solid… the prophecy could never be completed. Of course, as some know, the future is not so easily defied.
He's still around, but few know it. Logan receives regular visits from him, and he occasionally slips into Abigail and Deckard's home to check in with the latter or shadow-play for the little ones. The shadows watch, and listen, for something even they aren't certain of.
Evolved Human Ability:
Existing as a shadow, see present-day Cardinal for details. His power hasn't evolved much beyond its current state.