Manhunter (Mark Shaw)

Mark Shaw is an antihero from DC Comics, the third character to use the name Manhunter. He also appeared in the third season of the TV series Arrow, played by David Cubitt.

Shaw starts as a public defender frustrated by criminals exploiting legal loopholes. His uncle Desmond introduces him to the Manhunters, a robotic police force that enforces justice ruthlessly. Shaw contacts their leader, the Grand Master, and joins them. The Manhunters try to manipulate Shaw into helping them get revenge on their creators, the Guardians of the Universe. Realizing this, Shaw turns on them and kills the Grand Master.

He later operates as a hero called the Privateer but is imprisoned after being exposed as the villain Star-Tsar. While in prison, he joins the Suicide Squad as Privateer in exchange for release. After the Millennium event, he adopts a new costume to separate himself from the Manhunter cult and begins hunting costumed criminals for bounties. He insists he only cares about money but keeps doing the right thing.

Two shapeshifters named Dumas threaten Shaw and his family. Both Dumas are killed, leading Shaw to abandon the Manhunter identity. It later emerges that Shaw himself had been Dumas, and much of his past was the result of mental programming by the U.S. government. He joins the Shadow Fighters against the villain Eclipso and is apparently killed, but survives and goes undercover as Dumas at the request of Sare Steel.

In The New 52 reboot, Shaw appears in Forever Evil as a U.S. Marshal, called "one of the best manhunters" in the service. He later becomes the head of Leviathan, taking control from Talia al Ghul and turning it into an advanced espionage agency aiming to take over Earth and impose order. He sees the constant conflict between heroes, villains, and governments as futile.

During Leviathan Dawn, Shaw forms a false alliance with the Legion of Doom, telling Lex Luthor he wanted Lois Lane to reveal his identity. While the Justice League and Legion fight, Shaw betrays his allies, viewing Luthor and others as part of the problem. Instead of attacking the League or civilians, he teleports the Legion away.

In Arrow, Shaw is a liaison between A.R.G.U.S. and Corto Maltese, and an ally of H.I.V.E.