Shodden Freud

Shodden Freud is a member of the European superhero group Dawn Patrol.

Character History

Early Career

Shodden Freud grew up in Nazi Germany. As a child, he witnessed his father being arrested by the Gestapo on the false charge of sheltering fugitives. He knew his father was innocent, but it did not matter to the officers. His father was sent to prison for the duration of World War II until he was liberated by the Allied forces. He would later discover that the officers arrested his father in order to protect an influential banker.

After the war, he worked with local newspapers to expose all of the illegal activities and atrocities committed by the Nazis and also by local officials aligned with them. To hide his identity, he wrote his articles under the pen name of "Shodden Freud", a play on the German word "Schadenfreude", which means to take pleasure in the misery of others.

But what most people did not know was that he was a mutant with the power to either cloud minds or compel them to tell the truth. He was careful about using this power, though, lest he attract the attention of others. It still did not stop the European superhero group Dawn Patrol from seeking him out. He agreed to join them so he could get access to their resources and some modicum of protection from retaliation.

Through his work with the Dawn Patrol, Shodden exposed major conspiracies both corporate and political.

Disappearance

In the 1980's, Shodden disappeared after a clandestine meeting with Hero One. The Dawn Patrol leader never disclosed the details of their conversation, only that his disappearance was needed. It was speculated, though, that he was investigating a very old and powerful organization that had connections in every aspect of commerce and politics.

Since then, Shodden Freud became something of an urban myth. Officially declared "dead", conspiracy groups still claim that he's alive and operating in the underground.

Underground

Rather than being dead, Shodden stayed hidden, using his abilities to mask his presence from people, and continued his investigation. He managed to uncover much about the mysterious organization, although at the expense of others who worked with him.

Death

As seen in "Guardians of the Dawn Spotlight" #28, Shodden Freud remained in hiding in Prague, operating mostly through his new protégée, Anna Blat.

It is said that he died of natural causes at some point in 2013 or 2014. But "Shodden Freud" still continues to operate, learning secrets and exposing them to the world. It is believed that Blat now carries on the role in her mentor's name.

Related Information

This character is a member of the European group Dawn Patrol.

Shodden Freud and his protigee appear in Issue #28 of the "Guardians of the Dawn Spotlight" series assisting MidKnight X in shutting down Simon Barrister and retrieving the data he stole from the Guardians of the Dawn.