History

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Davon Shakari was a Shi'ar agent on Earth. Shakari was ordered by Emperor D'ken to kill Charles Xavier and stop Lilandra from enlisting the aid of the X-Men. Lilandra hoped to prevent her brother D'Ken from destroying the universe in his attempt to claim the power of the M'Kraan Crystal. Davan took on the identity of Eric the Red, and struck first by mind-controlling Lorna Dane and Havok, sending them to assassinate Xavier. A massive battle ensued at Kennedy International Airport between duo and the X-Men. Lorna (now calling herself Polaris) and Havok were defeated, but Shakari managed to escape with both of them under his control.

Next, Shakari freed Black Tom and the Juggernaught from prison. He gave them the money and knowledge to take over Cassidy Keep, the ancestral home of Banshee, and turn it into a deathtrap for the X-Men. The X-Men fell into that trap, but managed to defeat the two villains.

Following that failure, Shakari, with Havok and Polaris, travelled to Muir Island, where the de-aged Magneto was being kept. Shakari used some kind of ray on the young Magneto, turning him into a grown man once again. The two formed an alliance. Magneto attacked the X-Men while Shakari mad plans to have Xavier killed. The X-Men barely escaped with their lives.

The X-Men caught up with Shakari in New York, only to discover he was now allied with the powerful Firelord. Freeing Havok and Polaris from his mind-control, Shakari used them to trick Firelord into believing the X-Men where villains trying to rule the world. Firelord confronted Xavier just as Lilandra finally reached him. Phoenix defeated Firelord, however Shakari escaped with Lilandra through a star-gate. Phoenix repowered the star-gate with her powers and the X-Men followed him to the world of the M'Kraan Crystal. There, the X-Men were able to stop D'Ken's plan, rescue Lilandra, and repair the M'Kraan crystal, leaving Shakari defeated at last.

Death

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He would not appear for many years but when he did it would be his last. His life was ended when his spaceship was destroyed during a fight with Genis-Vell and X-Treme.

Others to Take the Red Mantle

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The identity of Erik the Red was actually first used by Cyclops in X-Men #51 by Arnold Drake and Jim Steranko; he pretended to be a mutant supervillain to infiltrate a group of mutants led by Mesmero and a robot pretending to be Magneto, who had captured the rest of the X-Men. Cyclops' Erik the Red costume included a mask and gloves that redirected his optic blasts so that they were fired from his hands.

Davan Shakari did not appear until years later; Cyclops wondered what the connection was between this Erik and the identity he himself had used, but the answer was never given. Presumably, Davan Shakari based his identity on the one that Cyclops had used years before in a strategy to catch them off guard.

The third person to take the name of Eric the Red was Magneto. He took this identity during the trial of Gambit and has abandoned it since.