Community hub
Recent from talks
Contribute something to knowledge base
Content stats: 0 posts, 0 articles, 0 media, 0 notes
Members stats: 0 subscribers, 0 contributors, 0 moderators, 0 supporters
Subscribers
Supporters
Contributors
Moderators
Hub AI
Five Weapons Society AI simulator
(@Five Weapons Society_simulator)
Hub AI
Five Weapons Society AI simulator
(@Five Weapons Society_simulator)
Five Weapons Society
The Five Weapons Society is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Five Weapons Society was an organization created by the brothers Zheng Yi and Zheng Zu to defend China during the Qing dynasty, after Yi's death, the society became a criminal organization, using names such as the Celestial Order of the Si-Fan and the Celestial Order of the Hai- Dai.
The organization debuted in Special Marvel Edition #15 (December 1973) in the Bronze Age of Comic Books, under the name Celestial Order of Si-Fan, the organization of Fu Manchu, created by writer Sax Rohmer, with Manchu adapted as Zheng Zu, the father of Shang-Chi.
In the early 1970s, writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin approached Marvel Comics to adapt the television series Kung Fu into a comic book, as DC's parent company, Warner Communications, owned the rights to the series. The duo then approached Marvel Comics with the idea to create a kung fu-focused original comic. Editor-in-chief Roy Thomas agreed, but only if they would include the Sax Rohmer's pulp villain Dr. Fu Manchu, as Marvel had previously acquired the comic book rights to the character. Englehart and Starlin developed Shang-Chi, a master of kung fu and a previously unknown son of Dr. Fu Manchu. Though an original character himself, many of Shang-Chi's supporting characters (most notably Fu Manchu, Denis Nayland Smith, Dr. James Petrie, Fah Lo Suee and the Si-Fan) were Rohmer creations. The Si-Fan first appeared in Special Marvel Edition #15 (December 1973), which was later retitled Master of Kung Fu two issues later.
In the Rohmer novels, the Si-Fan were a tong turned international criminal organization that Fu Manchu led as part of his plans for world domination. In the comics, the Si-Fan retained the same role as the novels and were often portrayed as a ninja-like clan similar to the Hand.
After Marvel's license with the Rohmer estate expired, Master of Kung Fu was cancelled in 1983. Despite subsequent issues either mentioning characters from the novels cryptically or phased out entirely, the Si-Fan still kept its original name in its appearances.
In 2010's Secret Avengers #6–10, writer Ed Brubaker sidestepped the entire issue via a storyline where the Shadow Council resurrects a zombified version of Fu Manchu, only to discover that Manchu was only an alias and that Shang-Chi's father real name is Zheng Zu (Chinese: 鄭祖) while the Si-Fan is referred to as the Hai-Dai.
In the 2020 Shang-Chi miniseries, writer Gene Luen Yang made a complete overhaul of the Shang-Chi mythos by introducing the Five Weapons Society, the true name of his father's organization that, was once a heroic secret society that became a criminal organization and that the Si-Fan and Hai-Dai were aliases the Society went through during its history. Dismayed by the orientalist depictions of the organization in older comics, Yang worked to bring an authentic portrayal of Chinese culture with the Five Weapons Society, depicting them as a cult "frozen in [the] time" of the Qing dynasty and cut off from modern China. Yang based the Five Houses of the Society off the five elements of Eastern culture, with: Fire (Deadly Hand), Water (Deadly Dagger), Wood (Deadly Staff), Metal (Deadly Sabre) and Earth (Deadly Hammer). Shang-Chi being the Champion of the House of the Deadly Hand is a reference to The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, and The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu series he previously starred in. In a departure of previous stories of Shang-Chi rejecting his father's legacy, Yang ended the miniseries with Shang-Chi taking over his father's organization, vowing to return it to its heroic roots.
The Five Weapons Society was created during the Qing dynasty to protect China by the Sorcerer Brothers Zheng Zu and Zheng Yi and their five disciples, the Deadly Warriors. Zu based the Deadly Warrior's names and the Society's structure off the Five Sets of Heavenly Weapons of Ta-Lo: One Hammer (Hammer), Two Swords (Sabre), Nine Daggers (Dagger), Three Staffs (Staff) and Ten Rings (Hand).
Five Weapons Society
The Five Weapons Society is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Five Weapons Society was an organization created by the brothers Zheng Yi and Zheng Zu to defend China during the Qing dynasty, after Yi's death, the society became a criminal organization, using names such as the Celestial Order of the Si-Fan and the Celestial Order of the Hai- Dai.
The organization debuted in Special Marvel Edition #15 (December 1973) in the Bronze Age of Comic Books, under the name Celestial Order of Si-Fan, the organization of Fu Manchu, created by writer Sax Rohmer, with Manchu adapted as Zheng Zu, the father of Shang-Chi.
In the early 1970s, writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin approached Marvel Comics to adapt the television series Kung Fu into a comic book, as DC's parent company, Warner Communications, owned the rights to the series. The duo then approached Marvel Comics with the idea to create a kung fu-focused original comic. Editor-in-chief Roy Thomas agreed, but only if they would include the Sax Rohmer's pulp villain Dr. Fu Manchu, as Marvel had previously acquired the comic book rights to the character. Englehart and Starlin developed Shang-Chi, a master of kung fu and a previously unknown son of Dr. Fu Manchu. Though an original character himself, many of Shang-Chi's supporting characters (most notably Fu Manchu, Denis Nayland Smith, Dr. James Petrie, Fah Lo Suee and the Si-Fan) were Rohmer creations. The Si-Fan first appeared in Special Marvel Edition #15 (December 1973), which was later retitled Master of Kung Fu two issues later.
In the Rohmer novels, the Si-Fan were a tong turned international criminal organization that Fu Manchu led as part of his plans for world domination. In the comics, the Si-Fan retained the same role as the novels and were often portrayed as a ninja-like clan similar to the Hand.
After Marvel's license with the Rohmer estate expired, Master of Kung Fu was cancelled in 1983. Despite subsequent issues either mentioning characters from the novels cryptically or phased out entirely, the Si-Fan still kept its original name in its appearances.
In 2010's Secret Avengers #6–10, writer Ed Brubaker sidestepped the entire issue via a storyline where the Shadow Council resurrects a zombified version of Fu Manchu, only to discover that Manchu was only an alias and that Shang-Chi's father real name is Zheng Zu (Chinese: 鄭祖) while the Si-Fan is referred to as the Hai-Dai.
In the 2020 Shang-Chi miniseries, writer Gene Luen Yang made a complete overhaul of the Shang-Chi mythos by introducing the Five Weapons Society, the true name of his father's organization that, was once a heroic secret society that became a criminal organization and that the Si-Fan and Hai-Dai were aliases the Society went through during its history. Dismayed by the orientalist depictions of the organization in older comics, Yang worked to bring an authentic portrayal of Chinese culture with the Five Weapons Society, depicting them as a cult "frozen in [the] time" of the Qing dynasty and cut off from modern China. Yang based the Five Houses of the Society off the five elements of Eastern culture, with: Fire (Deadly Hand), Water (Deadly Dagger), Wood (Deadly Staff), Metal (Deadly Sabre) and Earth (Deadly Hammer). Shang-Chi being the Champion of the House of the Deadly Hand is a reference to The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, and The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu series he previously starred in. In a departure of previous stories of Shang-Chi rejecting his father's legacy, Yang ended the miniseries with Shang-Chi taking over his father's organization, vowing to return it to its heroic roots.
The Five Weapons Society was created during the Qing dynasty to protect China by the Sorcerer Brothers Zheng Zu and Zheng Yi and their five disciples, the Deadly Warriors. Zu based the Deadly Warrior's names and the Society's structure off the Five Sets of Heavenly Weapons of Ta-Lo: One Hammer (Hammer), Two Swords (Sabre), Nine Daggers (Dagger), Three Staffs (Staff) and Ten Rings (Hand).