Kung (comics)
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Kung was a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. The character was an Earth-2 supervillain who fought the Wonder Woman and All-Star Squadron of that world in stories taking place before the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
[edit] Fictional biography
The early life of Thomas Morita was fraught with difficulty. His parents immigrated to the United States from Japan before the Great Depression. During the Depression, his father was unable to find work and eventually died. His mother died soon afterward, leaving only Thomas and his sister, Nancy. Morita traveled to his parents' homeland to train as a samurai and learning of the Japanese-American internment only further fueled his hatred of America. At some point during his training, he underwent some unexplained mystical process that imbued him with the power to transform into animals.
Kung undertook his first assignment on December 30, 1941, to kill Prime Minister Winston Churchill on his way to Washington, D.C. but was stopped by the hero Steel. (All-Star Squadron #8 [April 1982])
On March 4, 1942, Kung was hired by the mysterious Prince Daka to team up with Tsunami, Samurai, and Sumo, to infiltrate the All-Star Squadron's headquarters and steal Starman's gravity rod. This theft was thwarted by the Guardian and Kung escaped with Prince Daka. (All-Star Squadron #42-43 [February-March 1985])
In 1943, Kung was assigned to kill General Douglas MacArthur in Washington, D.C. Wonder Woman foiled the assassination attempt, but Kung escaped to his sister's home in New York's Chinatown. Kung tried again to assassinate MacArthur at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, but was himself killed while saving his sister from the weight of a teetering battleship whose drydock supports had been washed away. (Wonder Woman #237-238 [November-December 1977])
Sometime prior to his death, Kung was brought aboard the Monitor's satellite by Harbinger as part of a combined effort to save the remaining Earths from the Anti-Monitor. (Crisis on Infinite Earths #5 [August 1985]) He was later recruited by Brainiac as part of his massive supervillain army to conquer those remaining Earths. (Crisis on Infinite Earths #9 [December 1985]).
Kung was thought excised from DC Comics continuity upon the conclusion of Crisis, but it was later revealed that some his history was still intact (although much of it must have changed in order to fit into the new continuity). A chronologically younger Kung was seen in DC's Guns of the Dragon miniseries, taking place in 1927.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Kung had the ability to transform himself into animal forms through concentration. Among the animals he transformed into were a man-sized insect, a tiger, and a rhinocerous. Kung was able to retain his human intelligence when transformed but reverted back to his human form if he somehow lost his concentration. As a samurai, he was also a master of several Japanese martial arts.
[edit] Bibliography
- Wonder Woman #237-238 (November-December 1977)
- All-Star Squadron #8 (April 1982), #42-43 (February-March 1985)
- Crisis on Infinite Earths #5 (August 1985), #9 (December 1985)
- Who's Who Vol. 1 #13 (March 1986)
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