Very little about Shrapnel's past and identity is known, although it is known that his name is Mark Scheffer and that he was a normal human at one time and has an ex-wife and two very human blond-haired daughters. Shrapnel has tried to stay incognito, but failed to do so after deciding to slaughter anyone who caught even a glimpse of him. He was discovered by the Doom Patrol in Kansas while on a murder spree and forced into combat by the team. Celsius quickly flooded Shrapnel encasing him within a solid prison block of ice. Shrapnel blew it apart, hitting Mrs. Caulder point blank and hospitalizing the heroine. It is also noted that Rhea Jones was not able to magnetize any control over Shrapnel. It was energy blasting Tempest who worked out that Shrapnel is a series of organic cells creating a single consciousness - that feeds on the blood of victims. Shrapnel escaped the encounter with the Doom Patrol. He has since joined the Society. Shrapnel has later resurfaced as one of the exiled supervillains in Salvation Run. In the DC Special: Cyborg mini-series, Shrapnel has joined the Cyborg Revenge Squad. Following the Final Crisis, he was with Cheetah III's Secret Society of Super-Villains at the time when Genocide was created. He was defeated by Wonder Woman. Shrapnel appeared in the intercompany crossover JLA/Avengers as one of the villains who attack the Vision and Aquaman in Metropolis. He actually makes the first attack, but the Vision blocks it by increasing his density. After the two heroes are subdued, Shrapnel prepares to blast Aquaman when Green Lantern attacks him and knocks him out.
Powers and abilities
As a being made of organic metal, Shrapnel has superhuman strength and stamina. He does not have to eat or sleep in this form. In addition, the metal plates on Shrapnel's body can be projected into explosive bursts. Each scale is a living organism controlled by Shrapnel's consciousness, so once fired they can be directed and recalled at will. Pieces lost by Shrapnel will eventually die, but he can regenerate new ones. In Batman: The Brave and The Bold; Kafka as Shrapnel could metabolize any form of physical assault or violent act used against him as a means of empowering himself, making him strong enough to match and physically best the likes of O.M.A.C in hand to hand combat, even boasting he could survive and grow stronger still from nuclear detonation after their battle nearly triggered an atomic meltdown. The downside to this is he must constantly feed on combative forces, otherwise he will weaken to the point of exhaustion and collapse.
In other media
Television
Shrapnel appeared in the episode "When OMAC Attacks!" voiced by Greg Ellis. This version is General Kafka, a Russian war criminal who was turned into an organic metal being through a lab accident. As Shrapnel, he continuously fights OMAC in a destructive battle arranged byEquinox. Though in the comics Shrapnel was simply deranged and the Kafka, a petty mercenary and dictator obsessed with world domination, this amalgam incarnation of Shrapnel is driven by revenge, as he claims, while fighting OMAC, to hail from a poor Russian village, razed and burnt to the ground during an unspecified conflict, dooming its farmer inhabitants, or better the survived ones, to poverty and famine, ending with the still thriving Kafka to seek retribution in response while others attempted to restore their homes. In this precarious state of mind, Shrapnel is exploited by Equinox, coaxed into trying, while battling OMAC, to set up a meltdown to burn New York City into a nuclear holocaust as a balance for the earlier loss of his people. Shrapnel is defeated when OMAC raised his shield defense so Shrapnel wasted his energy beating on him and tired himself out.
Mark Scheffer appeared in Arrow, portrayed by Sean Maher. In "Blast Radius", he is an anti-government serial bomber, part of a terrorist militia group. Team Arrow identifies him by analyzing the remains of his explosive devices. Scheffer uses the alias "Shrapnel", but the character otherwise does not resemble the comic book version. After bombing two government buildings in Starling, Shrapnel targets Sebastian Blood's Unity Rally. He is interrupted by the Arrow, who pursues and apprehends him. In the episode "Suicide Squad", Scheffer is a reluctant member of the titular team. Shrapnel tries to abandon the team on their first mission, unaware of a failsafe bomb implanted in his head by Amanda Waller. Waller detonates the bomb, killing him.
