Born John Slater in Medireview England in November 1273, John was born into a noble family and was educated inside a castle keep until he was orphaned by the murder of both his parents when he was only 13. John was taken in by his Uncle to live with him at a monastery, where it was revealed to him that the monastery was actually a front for a secret order of Vampire slayers called "The Order of the Cross". John's Uncle offered him the chance to train as a slayer and join the ranks of the order. John readily took the offer and over the next 5 years was trained rigorously in combat and the occult. Upon his initiation John was given the mark of his order, an elaborate tattoo of a crucifix John became the most successful slayer in the order's history but was also reckless and often wouldn't comply with the order's recommendations. When John was 25 he fell in love with a peasant girl named Sarah and left to order to marry her and start a family, John became a farmer and had 2 children, a boy and a baby girl.

However John's life was shattered when 2 years later a 3000 year old, ancient Vampire who John had crossed named Fang attacked a defenseless John and family on New Years Eve 1300. Fang beat John to near death as his family watched and then Fang embraced John so he could torment him for all eternity. Fang then started murdering John's family as a beaten and broken John watched helplessly as he started to change. The first change that took place was that he had gained telepathy and could hear his family's thoughts as they died before his eyes. After Fang had left, John had become a Vampire and the dying thoughts of his wife and children sent him insane.

He immediately went on a rampage destroying everything he came across until another Vampire named Laurana took John under her guidance and together with John now taking the name Nightshade they terrorized the English countryside for 25 years, feeding off innocents and destroying villages. However Laurana was a manipulative and deceptive woman and Nightshade eventually grew tired of her mind games and left her to hunt on his own which called his former order's attention. They sent all of their best slayers after Nightshade who killed them all with savage and brutal ferocity in retaliation. All except his Uncle, then an old man bleeding slowly to death from his wounds. The shock of this sight made John regain his sanity and he vowed to continue the fight against the Undead, to try to redeem himself.

John took the name Shades and fled England after the remnants of his order swore to hunt him down. Vowing to get revenge on Fang, Shades traveled to Feudal Japan where he studied several martial arts and learned the disciplines and swordsmanship of the Samurai. During his time there, Shades received the gift of a dark black enchanted Samurai sword which Shades named Nightblade. It was given to Shades by a master swordsmith, who made it with the magical ability to kill vampires and other creatures of the night if it was stabbed in the heart or decapitated with it. After several years Shades left and has been travelling the globe in search of Fang and other Vampires ever since, while learning and preparing for their inevitable confrontation. Feared by both Vampires and Slayers alike, Shades has followed all the other Vampires to New York while the remnants of his former order have now integrated into The Forty. While Sometimes allied with other Slayers, Shades is never trusted.