The Shadow Cabinet is often looked at as if they are Milestone's answer to The Justice League. That couldn't be further than the truth. The Shadow Cabinet isn't interested in dispensing justice. Nor are they interested in Avenging those who did not get Justice. They are interested and doing what their name replies, hiding in the shadows. It's the reason their base isn't a satellite or giant tower overlooking the city.
The Shadow Cabinet features a revolving door of members. Many members are never seen and are on covert operations. Their members spy on others including Icon and The Blood Syndicate. Despite that the key people to know are Red Dog and Dharma. The Shadow Cabinet has been around for hundreds of years in different incarnations. Red Dog is a magician who lead them through the 19th century and recruited Dharma as his replacement. Dharma aims to take over the entire world, and for this is killed by one of his cabinet members. Red Dog resurrects Dharma but begins his own splinter group to oppose Dharma.
While other groups aim to protect or do harm. the Shadow Cabinet aims to maintain balance in the world. If this means orchestrating The Big Bang or facing off against The Justice League, they'll do it. There can't be order with no chaos, no justice without injustice and no good in the absence of evil. The Shadow Cabinet doesn't care who is good or bad, they just want to keep the playing field fair. That's the thing that makes them so interesting to me.
I like heroes and even villains that walk in that gray part. I like Jason Todd, sure he kills villains, but he's also the only one who comforted Damian after Death of The Family. Punisher on the other hand, completely crosses the line, he's basically a villain who targets other villains. Now Dr. Doom, that's a guy I can get behind. Sure he tries to take over the world, but he's been told numerous times by gods, the cosmos and everything else that the only way to save the world is if he were to take it over. That gray area doesn't have enough people operating in it. Dr. Doom is one of the few people in that area with a set goal in mind so the Shadow Cabinet is refreshing.
The idea of playing both sides of the field is an interesting one that leads to interesting interactions. They're spying on Icon , yet at the same time he knows of their existence. They've placed a police officer in the Blood Syndicate. Meanwhile the actual cabinet is creating splinter groups to challenge for dominance. The Shadow Cabinet isn't out to save the world or bring fame to their names. They operate in the darkness and no matter how many times Batman says it, he's no longer a myth in the world of Gotham. They know he's real. The Shadow Cabinet instead lurks beneath the surface twisting the fate of the Earth.
You should buy Darrell's Book, watch him on the Blerds Online YouTube Channel or The CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts.
