MOONSHADOW
MOONSHADOW
Real Name: Moonshadow Bernbaum
Identity/Class: Alternate reality (Earth-85332) human/extraterrestrial (G'L-Doses) hybrid
Occupation: Tinker, musician;
former nanny, former soldier
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Ira, Lord Gaylord, King Macha and his
children, Flobidiah Unkshuss, Bettina;
on some level Darkmeister Ebann
Enemies: The Unkshuss family
Known Relatives: Unnamed (or at least unidentified) G'L-Doses (father), Sheila “Sunflower" Bernbaum (mother, deceased), Bettina (wife, deceased), four unidentified children (deceased)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: The planet Pillbox,
unidentified solar system, unidentified galaxy;
formerly the Zoo, deep space
First Appearance: Moonshadow#1 (March 1985)
Powers/Abilities: Moonshadow was to all appearances a normal human with a gift for playing the flute; he was horribly naïve and idealistic, but intensely loyal to his friends.
Upon his death, he appeared to transform into one of the G'L-Doses and merge with the moon of the planet Pillbox.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'6")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 120 lbs.)
Eyes: Light blue
Hair: White (male pattern baldness) with full beard; brown in
youth
History:
(Moonshadow#1) - The son of Sheila "Sunflower"
Bernbaum and one of the enigmatic and whimsical
G'L-Doses, Moonshadow Bernbaum was
born in the Zoo, a habitat in deep space containing innumerable sentient
beings
abducted from their homes by the G'L-Doses.
In his childhood, Moonshadow was a perpetual outsider, scorned by other members of the Zoo for being the result of his mother's relationship with one of their captors. He was drawn to the lecherous and slovenly Ira, seeing him as a father figure of sorts, although Ira continually rebuffed him.
Moonshadow spent his life immersed in books and dreaming of adventure. Three weeks before his fifteenth birthday, Moonshadow's G'L-Doses father appeared and informed him that he would be leaving the Zoo. Thrilled but terrified, Moonshadow requested companions, and Ira was teleported against his wishes along with Moonshadow and his mother to a spaceship outside the Zoo.
(Moonshadow#2) - Encountering a number of other ships fleeing a plague, Moonshadow and Sunflower decided to assist a ship in distress against Ira's protests. Boarding the ship, they discovered a plague-ridden alien who was struggling to give birth to her baby. Sunflower helped the mother deliver the baby, which turned out to be a sharp-toothed creature that viciously attacked them, fatally wounding Sunflower.
Unable to save his mother's life and shattered over her sudden death, Moonshadow decided that he and Ira needed to give her a proper funeral and would travel to the mall world of GimmeGimme to arrange it. Ira, desperate to escape and seeking to take their ship for himself, betrayed Moonshadow, and Sunflower's funeral was plunged into chaos. A hysterical Moonshadow, unable to watch his mother's body be taken to the crematorium, was sent to the Jobidiah Unkshuss Home for Miscreants insane asylum after he attacked the attendants.
(Moonshadow#3) - While in the asylum, Moonshadow befriended a fellow inmate, King Macha, who was lord and ruler of Machovia. Ira tried to flee the planet only to discover that Moonshadow had sold their ship to pay for Sunflower's funeral. Furious, Ira freed Moonshadow from the insane asylum so he could make the teenager earn the money to get the ship back. After several schemes failed, Ira decided they would raise funds through thievery. Moonshadow refused, but Ira brutally beat him and threatened to abandon him again. Moonshadow relented, and they attempted to steal a valuable artifact, but they were discovered. Escaping with the authorities in close pursuit, Ira knocked Moonshadow unconscious and took the aritfact, leaving Moonshadow to be caught. Moonshadow found himself back in the insane asylum, heartbroken at the betrayal, but he was soon relieved when the police soon caught Ira and brought him to be incarcerated there as well.
(Moonshadow#4) - At their trial, Moonshadow and Ira were pressed into military service. Moonshadow was thrilled, imagining it as a romantic adventure, but Ira had no illusions about war, his uncharacteristic quiet and anxiety hinting of a past experience with fighting. Their platoon was volunteered for a suicide mission and sent to the planet BingBangBoom, where an enemy scientist, Lord Gaylord, had allegedly created a planet-destroying superweapon. In reality, Lord Gaylord was a pacifist who started the rumor in order to keep both sides fearful of attacking him, allowing him to provide shelter for soldiers who did not wish to fight. Refusing the offer to stay, Ira and Moonshadow were diverted to a nearby planet, where they became embroiled in a battle of immense carnage.
(Moonshadow#5) - Despite being shot, Moonshadow managed to drag an injured Ira miles to safety. They were captured and sent to a prison camp, where Ira fiercely protected the weakened Moonshadow from being attacked by fellow starving prisoners.
The camp commander, Darkmeister Ebann, was charmed by Moonshadow's flute playing and storytelling and befriended him. Moonshadow used his influence to free Ira and his fellow platoon members to help put on plays for Ebann's amusement. However, when he asked Ebann to free all the prisoners, Ebann responded with anger by sending them all back to the camp to be killed by immersion in vats of boiling acid.
(Moonshadow#6) - Just before Moonshadow and his companions were about to be lowered into the vats, Ira's flatulence reacted with the acid, creating an explosion. In the chaos, Ebann secretly freed Moonshadow and his friends. At the same time, G'L-Doses appeared, freeing and healing the remaining prisoners and chaining their captors. Ebann, wounded in the explosion, died in Moonshadow's arms. Ira and Moonshadow returned to Machovia as heroes.
(Moonshadow#7) - Moonshadow was hired to be nanny to King Macha's children, while Ira left with Mobidiah Unkshuss to go on a lecture tour of the planet. Afraid of Moonshadow's growing influence over the royal family, Pobidiah Unkshuss, the true power behind the throne, framed Moonshadow for rape of the Lady Shady, forcing him into hiding. Pobidiah also had King Macha recommitted to the asylum, preventing him from aiding Moonshadow in his plight.
(Moonshadow#8) - While on the run,
Moonshadow stumbled into Lord Gaylord, who, motivated by their earlier
encounter, had come to GimmeGimme to broker an end to the war.
Moonshadow
traveled with Lord Gaylord to the planet Pillbox and settled into a
happy
family life with him, Mrs. Flimflam, and Mrs. Flimflam's niece, Bettina.
His
contentment was disrupted, however, when one of the G'L-Doses appeared
and gave
him a vision of an imprisoned Ira. Moonshadow hurried back to GimmeGimme
to
rescue him.
(Moonshadow#9) - Moonshadow arrived to find that Mobidiah Unkshuss was using beatings and drugs to force Ira to tour the world giving pro-war speeches. With the help of Flobidiah Unkshuss (another sibling), Moonshadow freed Ira, and together they fled. Mobidiah punished Flobidiah severely upon learning of the escape.
(Moonshadow#10) - Returning to seek refuge at Lord Gaylord's home, they discovered that it had been destroyed and almost all of Moonshadow's surrogate family was dead, with only Bettina surviving. Despondent, Ira and Moonshadow fled back into space with no destination, and Moonshadow fell into a deep depression. He was finally woken by Ira, who had flown them to the International House of Tarts, a brothel, where Moonshadow lost his virginity and Ira overindulged himself nearly to death in an attempt to drown away the guilt, doubt, and shame of his time promoting the Unkshuss war.
(Moonshadow#11) - Discovered there by Morality Agents, they were recaptured by the Unkshusses and brought back to GimmeGimme. There, Ira and Moonshadow were chained in a basement and taunted by Pobidiah Unkshuss. Threatening them to repent their wicked ways or die, Pobidiah prepared to shoot the defiant Moonshadow. In a last show of strength, Ira ripped the chains from the wall and knocked both Pobidiah and Mobidiah to the ground. Moonshadow retrieved the gun and shot Pobidiah, though the wound proved not to be fatal. Flobidiah, Moonshadow, and Ira escaped the guards, and with the help of the Queen, they overthrew the Unkshusses to restore King Macha to the throne. Moonshadow later received a letter from Lord Gaylord, miraculously still alive, telling him to hurry to the planet Hump-T where Lord Gaylord believed he had finally located a long-lost religious prophet who could explain the meaning of life.
(Moonshadow#12) - Flobidiah and Moonshadow traveled with a weak and dying Ira to Hump-T where they discovered a large procession of pilgrims traveling to meet the prophet. Seeking shelter in a cave for Ira to rest, they discovered that the pilgrims were just marching in a circle around the mountain, apparently going nowhere. The apparent meaninglessness of it frustrated and confused Moonshadow, leaving him feeling lost. Worse, Ira soon after succumbed to his deteriorating condition and passed away. Distraught and disillusioned, Moonshadow threw his flute away and fell into depression again. Flobidiah, heartbroken at Ira's loss, left to join the pilgrims. Finally, a shattered Moonshadow looked back on everything that had happened to him, and in a transcendent epiphany, finally experienced the awakening he had been seeking. He retrieved his flute and began to play once more.
(Farewell Moonshadow#1) - Years later, after many travels, Moonshadow returned to Pillbox and took up the life of a Tinker, fixing small items for the townsfolk and living a quiet, solitary life. Bettina still lived in the town, and eventually the two married and produced a family with four children. Unfortunately, a tornado destroyed the town and killed Bettina and the children, leaving Moonshadow devastated. He again wandered, hoping to die and end his misery, but again received a vision in which he rediscovered his flute and the will to play it. Returning once more to the town, he became a beloved figure to all of the townsfolk and lived out the remainder of his life there.
On his one hundred and twentieth birthday, Moonshadow was given a big party by the townsfolk and celebrated with balloons and an enormous cake. He made a wish and blew out the candles with a tremendous effort, dying as he did. Before the eyes of the saddened townsfolk, his body transformed into one of the G'L-Doses, and rose into the sky where he appeared to merge with the full moon.
Comments: Created by J.M. DeMatteis and Jon J. Muth
for Marvel's creator-owned Epic line.
The G'L-Doses were apparently omnipotent aliens with no known motivations or intentions, it is completely unrevealed why they did anything that they did. The G'L-Doses are presented as truly unlimited and also completely unknowable. Story wise, they exist as the personification of random chance in the universe and are there to give a face to all the weird, horrible, funny things that happen for no reason. No one knows if they have names or not, and even Moonshadow can't pick out which one his father is if more than one shows up. In universe, no one knows if the G'L-Doses have names, or genders, or anything, they are an enigma.
In interviews, J. M. DeMatteis has hinted that the intended message of "Moonshadow" is that it is the connections we make to others that give life meaning, or possibly that the only meaning there is to life is the one we give it ourselves, hence Moonshadow's picking up the flute and playing once more after having thrown it away when Ira dies and he is left alone in the caves.
The comic was notable for the art style, as the entire story was created in watercolor paintings with all of the human characters rendered in very realistic detail, though many of the other elements were cartoonish. Self-described as "A fairy tale for grown ups," the story did not shy away from adult topics, though many of the depictions were absurdist or juvenile. The allegorical nature of the plot and deeper messages (which were left implied rather than explicitly stated) stood out against more standard superhero comics of its time, and the series was part of the leading edge of a new wave of more mature titles dealing with a wider range of topics than comics had been previously known for.
It seems that in the second half they were struggling to get it out the door on time and pulled in a number of other artists to do sections of it. The art was not collaborative, but rather each artist made full pages or sections. I've not found any attributions for who did what (not official ones, anyway, though I've seen some other people speculate).
This profile was completed 04/14/2024,
but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th
anniversary 's celebratory event to represent Moonshadow's characters
and stories.
Profile by Eric "The Wild Professor" Guy (under duress from Snood!).
CLARIFICATIONS:
Moonshadow should be distinguished from:
images: (without ads)
Moonshadow#1, pg. 28, panel 1 (young Moonshadow before he starts his
adventure);
Moonshadow#2, pg. 2, panel 1 (old Moonshadow, our narrator for the
story);
Moonshadow#12, pg. 2, panel 1 (Moonshadow as a young adult,
disillusioned and ready to give up);
Moonshadow#12, pg. 24, panel 1 (Moonshadow as a young adult, in the
midst of his epiphany/transcendent experience)
Appearances:
Moonshadow#1 (March, 1985) - J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Jon J. Muth
(illustrator), Archie Goodwin (editor), Lauren Sutton (associate
editor), Jim Shooter (consulting editor)
Moonshadow#2 (May, 1985) - J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Jon J. Muth
(illustrator), Archie Goodwin (editor), Lauren Sutton (associate
editor), Jim Shooter (consulting editor)
Moonshadow#3 (July, 1985) - J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Jon J. Muth
(illustrator), Archie Goodwin (editor), Lauren Sutton (associate
editor), Jim Shooter (consulting editor)
Moonshadow#4 (September, 1985) - J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Jon J. Muth
(illustrator), Archie Goodwin (editor), Lauren Sutton (associate
editor), Jim Shooter (consulting editor)
Moonshadow#5 (November, 1985) - J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Jon J. Muth
(illustrator), Archie Goodwin (editor), Margaret Clark (associate
editor), Jim Shooter (consulting editor)
Moonshadow#6 (January, 1986) - J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Jon J. Muth
(illustrator), Archie Goodwin (editor), Margaret Clark (associate
editor), Jim Shooter (consulting editor)
Moonshadow#7 (April, 1986) - J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Jon J. Muth
(illustrator), Daniel Chichester (assistant editor), Archie Goodwin
(editor), Margaret Clark (associate editor), Jim Shooter (consulting
editor)
Moonshadow#8 (June, 1986) - J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Jon J. Muth
(illustrator), Daniel Chichester (assistant editor), Archie Goodwin
(editor), Margaret Clark (associate editor), Jim Shooter (consulting
editor)
Moonshadow#9 (August, 1986) - J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Jon J. Muth
(illustrator), Daniel Chichester (assistant editor), Archie Goodwin
(editor), Margaret Clark (associate editor), Jim Shooter (consulting
editor)
Moonshadow#10 (October, 1986) - J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Jon J. Muth
& Kent Williams (illustrators), Daniel Chichester (assistant
editor), Archie Goodwin (editor), Margaret Clark (associate editor),
Jim Shooter (consulting editor)
Moonshadow#11 (January, 1987) - J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Jon J. Muth
& George Pratt (illustrators), Daniel Chichester (assistant
editor), Archie Goodwin (editor), Margaret Clark (associate editor),
Jim Shooter (consulting editor)
Moonshadow#12 (February, 1987) - J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Jon J. Muth,
Kent Williams & George Pratt (illustrators), Daniel Chichester
(assistant editor), Archie Goodwin (editor), Margaret Clark (associate
editor), Jim Shooter (consulting editor)
Farewell Moonshadow (January, 1987) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Jon J.
Muth (illustrator), Shelly Bond editor)
First posted: 09/10/2026
Last updated: 06/20/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
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