His Divine Shadow

In the TV series "Lexx", the fictional character His Divine Shadow (also known simply as His Shadow) is the absolute ruler of the Divine Order and the League of 20,000 Planets.

His Divine Shadow

His Divine Shadow had ruled with extreme authority from The Cluster, acting as a religious figurehead, as well as the supreme military commander. He existed in a sequence of human bodies by parasitically passing his essence to a new human host when the former host could no longer serve. The former host's brain would then be removed, and it became one of the Divine Predecessors, a much revered advisor. Unbeknownst to his worshippers, he was an agent of the last surviving member of the Insect Civilization, which was destroyed by the Brunnen-G. That survivor (correctly) assumed that he would be more successful in wiping out humanity by getting it to destroy itself. He worked towards humanity's destruction by starting a religion centered around himself (his possessed human bodies), gradually becoming “the most powerful ruler in the two universes.” His ultimate creation, the Lexx, would allow him to personally wipe out all opposition in preparation for the rebirth of his insect form through the Gigashadow, the recreation of the insect civilization, and the complete destruction of humanity.

The Aftermath

His Shadow's Order was destroyed by Kai, Last of the Brunnen-G, as foretold by the Time Prophet, but not before a part of his essence was transferred to Kai, who later passed it on to Mantrid. Mantrid, in many ways a successor to His Divine Shadow, goes on to destroy the Light Universe. Kai at one point refers to the Shadow as "the enemy of humanity," so in that sense his Divine Shadow lives on until the destruction of Mantrid by the Lexx crew.Despite his death and the downfall of his Order, His Shadow's legacy haunts the characters throughout the series, even when the Light Universe is destroyed and they are forced into the Dark Zone. The phrase "I kill you in the name of His Divine Shadow" is repeated several times throughout the later half of the series, even though there is no longer a Divine Shadow, emphasizing the extent of his effect upon the Two Universes.

His Divine Shadow's Personal Flagships

His Divine Shadow exclusively owns and commands the most advanced pieces of military technology known in the entire "Lexx" universe. He can wantonly deploy a weapon of mass destruction to anyone who opposes him ideologically (known commonly as heretics), and his lineage of flagships use very advanced forms of technology to render any planet he wishes utterly destroyed. It has been shown consistently that almost all of His Divine Shadow's flagships (save the "Lexx") are immune to all forms of weapons fire, and have superior defenses.

The "Foreshadow"

* The "Foreshadow" is the first personal flagship of His Divine Shadow, and was deployed during the complete destruction of Brunnis-2, Kai's homeworld. The foreshadow has a smaller defence guns attached to it so it can take on smaller crafts unlike the Lexx which only has the main weapon.

The "Megashadow"

* Never in any of the "Lexx" episodes has the "Megashadow" been seen actually destroying a planet, however it does possess the same ephemeral wave that the Foreshadow uses by unfolding its front "legs". It is immune to all weapons fire, save of course for the world destroying wave of the LEXX's "ocular parabola" which destroys it in the first season.

The "Lexx"

* When compared to the sheer size and weight class of the "Foreshadow" and the heavy armored defences of the "Megashadow", the "Lexx" is a rather inferior vessel to this proud heritage. This is not to say that it is weak by any standard, what it lacks in defense and size, it makes up for in pure firepower. It can destroy whole planets in one shot.

Further Information

Walter Borden played the dying His Shadow in the first Lexx movie, "I Worship His Shadow", and provided the voice of His Divine Shadow throughout the rest of the movies/Season 1, and in the Season 2 episode "Brigadoom." He also played several other rather sinister characters in the run of the series, including The Wuzzard and Dr. Ernst Longbore. Given the series' use of reincarnation, it is logical to conclude these characters were related somehow to the human who had served as host body to His Divine Shadow.