Brian Warner Art by Sabi Noir Colors by Rosellia-chan
Brian Warner is the protagonist and titular crimefighter in Black Shadow . He is a smart and keen observer and lead detective of the L.A.P.D. on the Red Smile case.
Early Life
Brian was born in Sacramento on April 23rd 1983 as the older of two siblings. His sister Kathrine was born in 1985. He was probably the most average child possible. However behind his average childhood was a keen mind. He was a very strong observer as a child and realized early on that if you don't draw attention to yourself, you have a much easier lot in life.
After he graduated High School he joined the Sacramento Police Department. After police school he was assigned as the partner of Marcus James Reed and the two became friends. He soon made his way to detective.
He also met Yullianna, his future wife while in police school when she was arrested for selling drugs. But he soon realized that it was another case of racial discrimination and got the charges dropped. Together they have a son, Nathan.
The Red Smile Case
On February 15th 2009 Brians sister Kathrine Warner, who made her living as programmer, was killed in her appartment. Her throat was slit from behind and she was stripped of her clothes. Additional cuts were added to the body after it was arranged in a cross position. A big red smiley face drawn in her own blood was found on the wall.
Brian demanded to be the lead detective on the case despite Marcus being his superior. Since he usually had exceptional behavior and was considered the best observer of the force he got his wish granted. He was also supported by Marcus.
During the investigation he found a picture of a blue lily marked with a smiley face. He did not think anything of it at first. On April 11th 2009 however another young woman was found dead, with the same pattern as last time. Her name was Lilly Blue and like his sister she invited her killer into her home. And this time Brian found a letter on her couch saying "4 DATA ON THE 2ND BASE AND 2 TO GO" and it was signed with another smiley face. Brian realized that the killer is playing with him, leaving clues to his next target.
On June 6th 2009 Kassie Jennings was found dead in a motel room in Sacramento. Her throat was slit from behind and she was arranged in typical fashion with a huge smiley face made with her own blood next to her. By the time Brian arrived he got the answer to the last riddle - 422 was her entry in the police database.
A fourth victim was found, this time in Los Angeles and Marcus and Brian went in to investigate. There he met John, the Janitor of the L.A.P.D. and the two quickly became friends. After a fifth victim was also found in Los Angeles Marcus decided to move there. He persuaded Brian into moving to L.A. as well, hoping that a new city might change his obsession with the killer the press now dubbed Red Smile after the killer sent them a letter detailing his previous crimes. The two were hired by the L.A.P.D. and Brian was made head detective and assigned the Red Smile case. One more victim followed in the summer of 2011 and then the killings stopped.
On July 5th 2014 Brian started a new type of investigation on the Red Smile case. He created a website and a phone line where people could enter anything they witnessed and even theorize about the identity of Red Smile who, by this time laid low for three years. Marcus did advise him against that but Brian did even host an interview with a nationwide newschannel to report on that new website by saying "If Red Smile want's to play, I accept the challenge!" on live TV. Marcus was not happy about this and feared this might lead Red Smile to kill again.
And he was right. Just two days later another victim was found, killed the very night after Brians interview aired...