she and a man named Carlton Sun had been developing an exoskeleton suit of armor that could help aid him in accomplishing this task. Johnstone decided to don the suit, christening himself "ShadowHawk" after his favorite superhero (a name that would eventually lure out the psychotic and racist villain Hawk's Shadow, who believed he was the one entitled to bear the mantle of ShadowHawk), and was taught how to fight effectively with the help of Christine, promising to "take back the night". Johnstone also kept the pills needed to slow his reaction to his HIV infection in small pouches on his belt so he could take them as needed. Early on, ShadowHawk's actions against criminals were brutal. He would catch violent criminals in the act and break their spines, leaving them to be discovered by police with no indication that he had attacked them other than hearsay from the criminals. This led to ShadowHawk garnering a reputation as an urban legend as well as being hunted by both criminals and law enforcement alike. Johnstone would also face various supervillains, including crime-boss Vendetta, her gang the Regulators (Blackjack, Vort-X, Arson, Hardedge and Scandal), the acidic mutant Liquifier, super-powered hitman Dedline and the racist ShadowHawk copycat Hawk's Shadow. ShadowHawk also encounters other superheroes such as Spawn and The Savage Dragon. ShadowHawk would later become a member of the superhero group Brigade. Later in his career (and as his lifespan shortened due to the progression of HIV to AIDS), Johnstone eventually grew to be less violent. He encounters Trencher and his dispatcher Phoebe; who agrees to assist him in his search for a cure to his infection or another way to extend his life. This led to encounters with the likes of Youngblood's Chapel (another hero also infected with HIV), Bloodstrike and ShadowHawk team-up with each other in the hopes of finding a cure. He then teams up with the WildC.A.T.s (who offered a possible solution involving a robotic body to transplant Johnstone's consciousness into – which would ultimately fail to work). ShadowHawk then visited the Others in a similar attempt, where they attempt to exorcise the spirit of the virus from his body, which ultimately fails. He is then transported into an encounter with Supreme (in which a battle would ensue, leading to the discovery of ShadowHawk's true identity to the world), then encounters Badrock and company in another attempt at changing