Dr. Fu Manchu

85 ALBERT EMBANKMENT, LONDON SE1, ENGLAND

Real Name:

Shan Ming Fu (Chinese:山 明 福, Pinyin: Shān Míng Fú.)

Aliases:

Personal Use: Ching Chuan Fu, Fu Manchu, Han, Marquis Chang Hu, The Ghost, Wang Yu-Seng, Zheng Zu.

Nicknames: the Celestial One, the Devil Doctor, the most insidiously evil man on earth, the Prince, Yellow Uncle.

Known Relatives:

Shaka Kharn (ancestor), Dirk Struan (grandfather), Ling Kai Sung (grandmother), Chen Chung Sheng (adoptive maternal grandfather), Culum Struan (uncle), Tess "The Hag" Struan (aunt), Gorden Chen (uncle), Sir William Clayton (biological father), Shan (adoptive father), Ling Ju Hai (mother), Shan Lan Fu (twin brother), Princess Sonia Omanoff (ex-mate), Unnamed American Female (ex-mate), Mara Ling (ex-wife), Fah Lo Suee (daughter), Fleurette (surrogate daughter), Shang-Chi (son), Moving Shadow (son), M'nai (surrogate son), Kwai Far (daughter), Leiko "The Black Lotus" Smith (either ganddaughter or great-granddaughter).

Physical Traits:

He is over six feet tall. He has been described as physically resembling both William Shakespeare and Pharaoh Seti. His most distinguishing features are his emerald eyes of true cat green and claw-like hands.

The earliest known description of Fu Manchu is as follows:

... This man, whether a fanatic or a duly appointed agent, is, unquestionably, the most malign and formidable personality existing in the known world today. He is a linguist who speaks with almost equal facility in any of the civilized languages, and in most of the barbaric. He is an adept in all the arts and sciences which a great university could teach him. He also is an adept in certain obscure arts and sciences which no university of to-day can teach. He has the brains of any three men of genius. Petrie, he is a mental giant. 

Imagine a person, tall, lean and feline, high-shouldered, with a brow like Shakespeare and a face like Satan, a close-shaven skull, and long, magnetic eyes of the true cat-green. Invest him with all the cruel cunning of an entire Eastern race, accumulated in one giant intellect, with all the resources of science past and present, with all the resources, if you will, of a wealthy government—which, however, already has denied all knowledge of his existence. Imagine that awful being, and you have a mental picture of Dr. Fu Manchu, the yellow peril incarnate in one man...

[ Dennis Nayland Smith ]

Occupation:

Evil Criminal Genius and leader of numerous subversive secret societies.

Objective:
To restore China to the former glory of the Ming Dynasty. To undermine and overthrow world governments. 

Known Base of Operations:

Fortress Retreat - Honan, China.
Research Laboratory - Kiangsu Province, China. 

Formerly the Hellfire Base - Unnamed Island, China.

Formerly the Village of the Leopard Cult - near Peru, South America.

Formerly an Unnamed Mountain Headquarters - Somewhere, Arctic.

Formerly International Headquarters - New York City, New York.

Formerly Shen-Yan's Opium Den - London, England.

Formerly Christophe's Citadel - Haiti.

Formerly St. Claire de la Roche - Southeastern, France.

Various bases in Cairo, Egypt; Hong Kong, China; London, England; New York City, New York; Paris, France; Rangoon, Burma.

Group Membership:

Fu Manchu was conferred membership to the Sublime Order of the White Peacock. He has been the leader of Celestial Order of the Si-Fan, Dacoits, Phansigars, Hashishin, Thuggee, Cult of Kali, Leopard Cult, Order of the Golden Dawn, Brotherhood of the Lotus, League of Good Americans.

Affiliations:

Abdul J. Ahmad, Harvey Bragg, Peter Carlo, Santos da Cunha, Dahar, Death-Dealer, Ducharme, Sherif Mohammed Ibn el-Ashraf, Henrikn "Sven" Erickson, Fah Lo Suee, Fo-Hi, Maître Foli, Josef Gorodin, Hakim, Jekin, Kâramanéh, Ali Khan, John Ki, Korain, Kwan-Shu, Kwee, Li-King-Su, Cho Lin, Mr. Lu, Mad Slayer, Dr. Matsukata, Andre Messina, Midnight, Miyoko, Moving Shadow, Sir Frank Narcomb, Nogai, Maurice Norbert, Past Assassins, Peko, James Richet, Paul Salvaletti, Samarkan, Shen-Yan, Shockwave, Andre Skobolov, Thugben Sung, T'Maka, Tak, Tiger-Claw Shoh Teng, Dr. Herman Trenck, Ernst von Ebber, Quong Wah, Peter Wellingham, Yamamata, Zaran, Zarmi, Zingh, Zobeida, Undetermined affiliation with AIM.

Enemies:

Rudolf Adlon, Maya Aileen Adair, Ardatha, Aziz, Sir Lionel Barton, Rima Barton, Black Lama, Black Panther, Blevins, Wilhelm Bucher, Lou Cabot, Cadre of Salvation, Luke Cage, Jeanie Cameron-Gordon, Dr. Morris Craig, Dark Angel (Mia Lessing), Sir Crichton Davey, Death-Dragon, Marcel Delibes, General Diesler, Abbot Patrick Donegal, Reverend J.D. Eltham, Lola Erskine, Fah Lo Suee, FBI, Fleurette, Sir Baldwin Frazer, Jules Furneaux, Chief-Inspector Gallaho, Robert Greville, Shan Greville, Graham Guthrie, Paul Erckmann "Blondie" Hale, Raymond Harkness, Captain Mark Purcell Hepburn, Iron Fist, Kâramanéh, Sgt. Jack Kenealy, Bart Kerrigan, KGB, Emil Krus, Lafitte, Lyman Leeks, Li, Professor Chen Ling, Mara Ling, Sandra Ling, Demmy Marston, Tony McKay, Brian Merrick, Jr., MI-6, Miska, Pietro Monaghani, Professor Albert Morgenstahl, Oriental Expediters, Dr. Petrie, Dr. Orwin Prescott, General Quinto, Clive Reston, Pagele Roi, Inspector Ryman, Erich Schaffer, Shang-Chi, Sir Denis Nayland Smith, Sons of the Tiger (Abe Brown, Bob Diamond, Lin Sun), Spider-Man, Grand Duke Stanislaus, Alan Sterling, Han Sung, Tak, Tiger-Claw, Inspector John "Jack" Weymouth, James Brownlow Wilton, Leiko Wu, Maximillian Zaran.

Skills & Abilities:

• Fu Manchu is possessed of an intellect equal to that of any three men of genius. He's an adept in all the arts and sciences which a great university could teach him. He's also an adept in certain obscure arts and sciences which no university of today can teach. 

• Fu Manchu is a linguist who speaks, with almost equal facility, any civilized language and most of the barbaric.

• Fu Manchu is a master of disguise. He has impersonated Professor Pietro Ambrose, Dr. Maurice Atkin, Count Boratov, Damballah, Maître Foli, Dr. Gottfeld, Dr. Otto Hessian, Professor Carl Hoffmeyer, Jonathan Martin, Professor Jenner Monde, Comte de St. Germain.

• In the past, he has employed skilled engineers and scientists to assist him in developing his inventions. Electronic marvels used, and often built, by Fu Manchu include space craft, flying saucers, the Runsen Beam, the Ericksen Ray, sonic weapons, electronic force fields, and an anti-gravity device.

• Fu Manchu has conquered alchemy, biology, and chemistry. He is a skilled medical practitioner and surgeon. He has cultivated a number of viruses and diseases to use against enemies, including leprosy and the "Black Stigmata" carried by fleas which causes a death-like coma. He has developed fungus that can spread so quickly that it can entrap a full-grown human being and smother him to death. Chemicals developed by Fu Manchu include the amnesia inducing Green Mist, amnesia inducing Kaapi, the Golden Mist, swamp adder venom, and the mind controlling mimosa. Additionally, he makes frequent use of hashish and opium.

• Fu Manchu keeps a number of rare animals within his labs. He's experimented to make these creatures larger and more deadly than they would be in nature. His subjects include the "Zayat Kiss" centipede, giant spiders (one said to have almost human-level intelligence), scorpions, pythons, hamadryads, giant wasps, giant sandflies, lycoperdon, empusa, amanita, Siberian manitamuscania, Mexican morsitans, katigo, "Scarlet Brides", and some animal-human hybrids.

• Fu Manchu employs the Elixir Vitae, a concoction which can prolong the life of those who ingest it. Fu Manchu is virtually immortal due to repeated injections. Historically, he required a new injection at least every 10 years to prevent death, the chemical has enabled him to survive multiple stabbings and bullet wounds. More recently, he's developed an immunity to it's effects. Although Fu Manchu is well over 175 years old, he appears physically to be within his 40s.

• Fu Manchu's greatest ability is the mastery of hypnosis and mesmerization. His eyes are so magnetically powerful that few men can gaze into them without falling under his spell. He's commanded men to commit murder, suicide, and theft without retaining any knowledge of him or what they've done. He has hypnotically concealed himself from the attention of others in order to escape enemies.

History:

Due to Chinese naming customs, properly identifying any Chinese national solely by name is nearly impossible. Unlike western cultures, it is common for every Chinese person to use numerous names and each for a specific purpose.

Fu Machu's given name is Shān Míng Fú . This name was given to him by his mother.

• Shan Ming Fu (Chinese: 山 明 福, Pinyin: Shān Míng Fú, English: Shān = mountain, Míng = bright - refers to Ming Dynasty, Fú = blessing.)
• Fu Manchu (Chinese: 夫 满洲, Pinyin: Fū Mǎnzhōu, English: man from Manchuria or Manchurian man.)

Fu Manchu was born in 1840. His father was Sir William Clayton. His mother was Ling Ju Hai, a green eyed Chinese beauty and the daughter of Dirk Struan. Primarily raised by his mother, Fu Manchu possessed two qualities frowned upon in Asian societies: illegitimate birth and mixed blood. Likely, these form the fundamental psychological roots of his animosity towards western society.

Education:

Fu Manchu holds doctorates from four universities, including a Doctorate in Philosophy as well as a Doctorate in Medicine.

Three universities are identified as Heidelberg, Sorbonne and Edinburgh. Since Fu Manchu cited these universities when he felt his skill as a surgeon was challenged by a subordinate, it is likely that he studied medicine and science at all three. The fourth university has been properly identified as Cambridge where he likely studied philosophy under the name Ching Chuan Fu.

In the Tibetan monastery of Rachë Churân, Fu Manchu studied techniques of hypnosis and other mental disciplines. After approximately one year of study, he'd mastered these skills and left the monastery. Fu Manchu was highly regarded in the monastery and considered part of their brotherhood.

For a more detailed exposition of Fu Manchu's activities, See: Chronology.

Fu Manchu in Marvel Comics:

Fu Manchu novels are treated as in-continuity for the sake of the Marvel Universe, based on in-canon references to events from novels such as The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu, The Daughter of Fu Manchu, and Emperor Fu Manchu.

Fu Manchu's first appearance is in Special Marvel Edition #15 - December, 1973, adapted by Steve Englehart, Jim Starlin, and Al Milgrom.

In his earliest appearances, Fu was given a sickly-yellow skin coloring. By the time of MOKF #80, he was rendered in a flesh tone nearer to his son. It's mark of how far coloring had come.

Fu Manchu delivers a lengthy speech to Fleurette, in MOKF # 47, though she's never shown to be present. It has been suggested: Since he was speaking about the betrayal of Shang-Chi, that she might be Shang-Chi's mother. Considering Fleurette is the daughter of Dr. Petrie and Kâramanéh, this is unlikely to be correct. Shang-Chi's mother is explicitly stated to be an American woman.

After MOKF #125, Marvel comics was unable to publish stories featuring Fu Manchu's name, but have continued to grant him occasional appearances sans his true name.

Clarifications:

Fu Manchu should not be confused with other villains, because he's the prototype evil Asian mastermind. Here are a few others:

• Fang - arch-fiend of the orient. [ Captain America Comics #6 ]

• The Mandarin - descendant of Genghis Khan. [ Tales of Suspense #50 ]

• Yellow Claw - named for one of Sax Rohmer's books. [ Yellow Claw #1 ]

• Hanoi Shan -  the theory that Fu Manchu was active in Paris under the alias Hanoi Shan has been debunked. [ The Legacy of Hanoi Shan by Rick Lai. ]