> That question/answer sounds distinctly as if it would have come from Lord of the Rings or something. And I don't get the reference, if there is one. Am I missing something?

"The Shadow" was a pulp fiction hero from the WW2 era; there used to be a famous radio show about the Shadow. Alec Baldwin starred in a movie adaptation in the early nineties; I remember going to see the movie in the theater and being sort of unimpressed.

There's a Wikipedia article about the character if you're interested in learning more...