The Shape

The Shape is an artificial life form and American action hero capable of altering his form to resemble almost anything. He is also a member of the Sentinels of Justice as of 1986 but has worked with the team on previous occasions. [“It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's the Shape,” Charlton Premiere v2 #1 (September, 1967)]

In July, 1967, Professor Saber S. “Scuba” Duba, an eccentric but brilliant scientist, was working on a way to create artificial life using special chemicals saturated with super-hyperintensity white aura-light, alternated with blasts of ultra-ebonized light. Met with failure after failure, it took Duba's young nephew, Kevin Boyd, to accidentally activate his uncle's device. Completely by chance, this time it worked, and the being known as the Shape came to life. The Shape possessed incredible intelligence and learning ability and was already able to speak primitive English only minutes after his creation. Since he was also very childlike and playful and immediately bonded with Kevin.

Sensing that Duba meant to cause him harm by experimenting on him to find out how and why he came to life, the Shape fled Duba's home. He spotted two enemy spies sabotaging power lines leading into a U.S. Army base, and he thought they would be good playmates but was rebuffed by them. Kevin caught up to the Shape and explained that the two were enemy agents and directed the Shape to prevent their escape. Using a number of different forms, including a winged horse that could fly and a car, the Shape and Kevin raced to the U.S. Army base and stopped two more enemy spies named Karl Mikten and Victor Facsh who had stolen secret documents concerning the space program. Professor Duba arrived to claim credit for the Shape, but the artificial life form disguised himself as Kevin's knapsack, and Duba could only take Kevin back home with him.

The Shape had several undocumented adventures at Kevin's side throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, as well as many more solo adventures. The majority of these adventures remain undocumented.

In 1986, the Shape became an official member of the Sentinels of Justice.