shock of his resurrection brings back concrete memories, leading him to learn from a newspaper article that he is Mitchell "Mitch" Shelley, a lawyer believed to have died. Pursued by the bounty hunters known as the Body Doubles, Mitch begins investigating what happened to him two years ago that left him amnesiac and unable to die. As he travels, he involves himself in new adventures, helping those he can. During some of his subsequent deaths and resurrections, more memories return. Returning home to Viceroy, he reveals himself to his wife Paula and his business partner Richard Bessly, only to be shocked when they try to kill him. Shelley joins forces with investigator Kim Rebecki and is then confronted by Hooker. Their meeting triggers more memories and Shelley recalls his life in Viceroy, while also realizing that Paula and Richard betrayed him. He arranges for his killers to be caught, leading to Keach and Paula's arrest and indirectly causing Richard's death. Following this, crime lord Lucky Falcone targets Shelley. While investigating his past, Shelley and Rebecki form a romantic interest in each other. The two find the Lab and learn about its tektite experiments from Mr. Fancy. Hooker then attacks, causing the Lab's nuclear reactor to become unstable. Rebecki, Fancy, and others escape, but Shelley and Hooker are caught in the nuclear explosion. Shelley survives for weeks as a living shadow before regaining his body, while Hooker is now a sentient skull. Following this incident, and while battling a parasitic creature called the Rider, Mitch once again has visions of past lives, recalling being a boy in Ancient Egypt, a knight in medieval times who encountered the demon Etrigan, and a soldier during World War I. With each of these memories, Shelley also recalls the experience of dying. Soon afterward, he is confronted by Lament, who claims to be an angel who has seen Mitch die many times but has never been able to collect his soul. Following this, Shelley teams up with the centuries-old mystic known as the Phantom Stranger. The Phantom Stranger calls Mitch one of his oldest friends and says they have fought together during many lifetimes because each time Shelley has died he has later reincarnated, the same soul and mind reborn. The Phantom Stranger is surprised to learn that Mitch now has the power to literally resurrect rather than reincarnate. He also mentions that Shelley used