Margo Lane

Nothing caused so much controversy as Margo's entrance into the series. Some could be laid to the "woman hater" crowd that followed the pulps. But, many had justified complaints.

She simply appeared in first, THE THUNDER KING (June 15, 1941), without any explanation as to why she was Cranston's companion. She was not an agent and was a snoop and a bungler. To make matters worse, there already was a woman, Myra Reldon, who The Shadow could have used. Others felt Margo was forced on the stories by the radio series.

As time went on, Gibson somewhat settled the complaints. In THE HYDRA (Dec. 1, 1942) we learned of Margo's first contact with The Shadow. On a Caribbean cruise, she became friendly with the real Cranston. He never realized that a few days later Margo would be in New York and would attach herself to The Shadow, disguised as Cranston. After some rough times, The Shadow finally let her into his group and her bungling stopped. Her area of work was high society and the night club set. Moving in these circles, she could pick up the undercurrents of a case or become friendly with a person involved in the crimes.

After some humorous instances of trickery, The Shadow finally let Margo know he used Cranston as a disguise. In all the tales featuring her, though, one cannot find any evidence of any emotional interest from The Shadow. He put on a cover when in public but treated her as another agent otherwise. The label of romantic interest used by some is a mistake. In the long run, at least, Margo did atone for her early misdeeds.




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