DCU characters of Asian descent or half-Asian descent...flat or well rounded ?

[sabongero]

I am just curious how many Asian or part Asian superheroes or characters in the DC Universe. Are they flat sterotypical characters or well rounded characters.

I know the new Atom, Ryan Choi is Hong Kong based before he came to Ivy Town. And he's well rounded in his series (which is going to be cancelled soon).

What is Shiva ? She is Asian, but I don't know of what particular country or culture. And since Cassandra Cain (Batgirl) is her daughter, she falls under this category.

Cass is well rounded, she had her own series. The Kelly Puckett years were cool.

I'm not sure if Shiva is well rounded though.

[marshal99]

Shiva is chinese , her name is wu san/woosan.

[Schornforce]

The female Dr. Light is Asian. I don't know what her country of origin is, however.

Also, I think the second Toyman who was in Batman/Superman is Asian as well.

[Johnny_Luck]

Chesire is one of the best, most developed dc female villains and she is asian.

[kello]

There's also Katana and Judo Master. Well rounded? I don't know.

[Christopher Cross Is God]

The female Dr. Light is Asian. I don't know what her country of origin is, however.

She's from Japan.

[K-DoG7p7]

Connor Hawke is 25% Korean...

[Mon-el]

Also, I think the second Toyman who was in Batman/Superman is Asian as well.

Hiro has now been retconned to being a robot. :frown:

[Will.S]

There's also Grace Choi.

[titanfan]

Shiva and Cheshire (I believe) are from fictional asian DCU countries, although I agree that Shiva's name is Chinese....

I actually think Katana is a well-rounded character despite having stereotypical powers/name. Imho, she was the breakout star of Barr's Outsiders.

Off the top of my head, there's also the Great Ten, Rising Sun, Aura, Striker Z, that new Japanese Team from Final Crisis, the Chinese Team currently in Batman and the Outsiders, Thunder & Lightning (recently dead in Salvation Run), Linda Park, Clancy from Nightwing and Robin, Ren Takemori from Hawk & Dove...

[Tequilamokinbrd]

Also, Black Canary's "Daughter" Sin, Tokyo Rose from Earth-22.



I may be reaching with that last one, but I figured I'd mention for the sake of completeness.

[hitokiri_]

Linda Park.


i remember in mark waid and romeo tanghal's run with the flash, i was under the impression that linda park is a filipina since there are a lot of things around her that is related to the philippines. but then, it was tanghal who pencilled it (im still conspiring that tanghal is a filipino.)

[Dorsai]

Hiro has now been retconned to being a robot. :frown:

THAT...is horrible. That Batman/Superman was my only exposure to him but I got a real kick out of the character. Especially the riffs on him being a young boy and Power Girl having everything it takes to...distract him.

[Agent_Torpor]

There's also Katana and Judo Master. Well rounded? I don't know.

Katana has a sword.

That's the extent of her character development.

[titanfan]

Katana has a sword.

That's the extent of her character development.

Buy Mike W Barr's Batman and the Outsider's series from the 80's now! (Or at least pick up the recent Showcase book)

[marshal99]

i remember in mark waid and romeo tanghal's run with the flash, i was under the impression that linda park is a filipina since there are a lot of things around her that is related to the philippines. but then, it was tanghal who pencilled it (im still conspiring that tanghal is a filipino.)

Park is a usual korean name , Linda Park heritage is korean.

THAT...is horrible. That Batman/Superman was my only exposure to him but I got a real kick out of the character. Especially the riffs on him being a young boy and Power Girl having everything it takes to...distract him.

Well , if you like him , maybe you can check out his first appearance in superman 177 where he was involved in a giant monsterfest with mentallo , mothra and a giant pikachu. :biggrin:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v513/marshal99/comics/blink1.jpg

[K-DoG7p7]

Shiva and Cheshire (I believe) are from fictional asian DCU countries, although I agree that Shiva's name is Chinese....


Actually.. Shiva is from Chicago and Cheshire is half French*,half Vietnamese..
(* sometimes)

[carabas]

i remember in mark waid and romeo tanghal's run with the flash, i was under the impression that linda park is a filipina since there are a lot of things around her that is related to the philippines. but then, it was tanghal who pencilled it (im still conspiring that tanghal is a filipino.)The Phillipines are in South-East Asia.

Actually.. Shiva is from Chicago and Cheshire is half French*,half Vietnamese..
(* sometimes)Shiva did grow up in mostly Chicago, but was born in an unreveiled Asian country. And at least part of her childhood was spent on the island where Black Canary found Sin.

[Jmacq1]

I would think that Linda Park would be Korean (much like the actress that shares the same name). Isn't Pak/Park one of the more common surnames in that country?

Sadly, the only reason I know that is because of an interview with the actress Grace Park, where they asked if she was related to the actress Linda Park, and she explained the bit about "Park" being a very common name in/from Korea.

[Gilda Dent]

Linda is indeed of Korean descent. It's mentioned explicitly in her very first appearance.

Park is one of the most common Korean family names, third behind Kim and Lee. Between them, these names, along with variants, account for nearly half of all Korean families. Add in Chong/Chung and Choi, and you've got well over half the population.

It's sort of like being named Jones, Williams or Thomas in Wales, or Yamamoto Suzuki, Soto in Japan. You're going to share your name with a lot of people, a lot more than you'll find in the more diversified Western countries.

[The Cool Thatguy]

Cassandra Cain, when not being mauled by writers, is certainly a well rounded character. She lacks any ethnic identification with regards to her personality, though.

[carabas]

Cassandra Cain ... lacks any ethnic identification with regards to her personality, though.The way she grew up, it'd be a miracle if she didn't.

[Alex L]

i remember in mark waid and romeo tanghal's run with the flash, i was under the impression that linda park is a filipina since there are a lot of things around her that is related to the philippines. but then, it was tanghal who pencilled it (im still conspiring that tanghal is a filipino.)

In addition to what was said about her heritage, I got a kick out of the fact the Park family's ancestral home was in Iowa or something like that.

She's the only DC Asian character who comes to mind, who was born and raised in America.

[Hypestyle]

can't forget about Gehenna, Firestorm's girlfriend.. she needs to be in the spotlight more.. and in a bikini more.. :)

[titanfan]

can't forget about Gehenna, Firestorm's girlfriend.. she needs to be in the spotlight more.. and in a bikini more.. :)

She's asian?!?!?!?

[jclem]

i remember in mark waid and romeo tanghal's run with the flash, i was under the impression that linda park is a filipina since there are a lot of things around her that is related to the philippines. but then, it was tanghal who pencilled it (im still conspiring that tanghal is a filipino.)

I think she's of Korean descent, not Filipino. We don't have too many Filipinos with Park as a last name except if the father happens to be Korean.

Yes, Romeo Tanghal is a Filipino.

[hitokiri_]

i already know that linda is korean. however, tanghal kept on leaving filipino-based items on flash that's why i WAS under the impression that she's a filipina (back in return of barry allen).

[Agent_Torpor]

Wait! Is Linda Park Korean? I still don't think I heard it after the first 100 times!

[Ghost Shark]

I'll echo the commendations for Katana in Mike W. Barr's OUTSIDERS. She debuted in that series, and immediately became one of my favourite characters. It's shame she hasn't been handled as well by writers since then.

[Static-Pulse]

Traci Thirteen is Half-Asian on her mother's side, but I'm not sure what country/lineage her mother's from. From what little I know of Traci (from the Doctor Thirteen mini and her showing up in Blue Beetle), she seems well-rounded. Sort of a magic-nerd, but not in a nerd-deprecating way; she knows her stuff, but isn't wearing coke bottle glasses when she uses her knowledge.

[Xero]

i remember in mark waid and romeo tanghal's run with the flash, i was under the impression that linda park is a filipina since there are a lot of things around her that is related to the philippines. but then, it was tanghal who pencilled it (im still conspiring that tanghal is a filipino.)

Park is a Korean name.

ASIAN CHARACTERS
---------------------
Ballistic (New Blood - Korean - dead)
Mongrel (New Blood - Half Vietnamese half Black - dead)
Nightblade (New Blood - Chinese - possibly dead could regenerate from even a drop of his own blood)
Bushido (Japanese - dead)
Striker Z (Chinese stuntman - Power Company)
Fever (Chinese - Doom Patrol)
Deep Blue (Half Japanese - Daughter of Tsunami and Neptune Perkins)
Tsunami (Japanese)
Gloss (Chinese - New Guardians)
The Hat (Japanese Dragon - The Elite)
I Ching (Chinese - stereotype)
Mystek (Korean - JLA - dead, well fleshed out character owned by Christopher Priest)
Ram (Japanese - New Guardians)
Rising Sun (Japanese - Big Science Action - fleshed out by Grant Morrison)
Sunburst (Japanese - Global Guardians, Big Science Action - pretty fleshed out)
Thunderlord (Cambodia - dead)
Thunder & Lightning (Vietnam - dead)
Wing (Chinese - dead)

[Anodyne]

Traci Thirteen is Half-Asian on her mother's side, but I'm not sure what country/lineage her mother's from.
I don't know her mother's homeland either, but Dr. Thirteen's wife was a blonde, blue-eyed American.:rolleyes:

[The Cool Thatguy]

I don't know her mother's homeland either, but Dr. Thirteen's wife was a blonde, blue-eyed American.:rolleyes:

I'm sure that got changed in one of the Crisis'. God knows there've been enough.

[Gothos]

Don't forget Tana Moon, who as a Hawaiian boasts a polyglot Asian ancestry. I always liked her "take no crap" attitude, in spite of the fact that she wasn't a TuffGirl.

WW's I Ching started as a stereotype, but he took on greater dimension in the book, being capable of tragic moments (daughter turned evil) and humorous ones (Diana gets her ass handed to her by sorceress Morgana, only to learn that Ching can easily nullify her using magical chants). When he's killed, someone wrote a lovely final line where Diana says farewell to "the father I never had."

[Static-Pulse]

I don't know her mother's homeland either, but Dr. Thirteen's wife was a blonde, blue-eyed American.:rolleyes:

Hmm. Then I guess that makes Doctor Thirteen of Asian-descent. All I know is that one of the "Architects" called her "half-Asian" in the last part of the mini.

[carabas]

Or Traci is adopted. Or Mrs. Thirteen has some fessing up to do.

[kitty_tc_69]

Cassandra Cain, when not being mauled by writers, is certainly a well rounded character. She lacks any ethnic identification with regards to her personality, though.

Sometimes, often maybe even, but it really depends on the artist. It's become more common to draw her well-rounded, but I've seen her depicted as pretty flat as well.

--huh? Oh, wait, you mean... :eek: ...oh... :redface:

:evilsmile: :biggrin:

[The Cool Thatguy]

Sometimes, often maybe even, but it really depends on the artist. It's become more common to draw her well-rounded, but I've seen her depicted as pretty flat as well.

--huh? Oh, wait, you mean... :eek: ...oh... :redface:

:evilsmile: :biggrin:

I meant with regards to her identity, yeah ;)

Cass would only be confused by ethnic insults, and doesn't identify emotionally with any Asian ethnic group.

Which really, makes sense given her upbringing. It doesn't hurt her characterization at all, though that wouldn't hold true for other characters.

[DayWing]

Shiva and Cheshire (I believe) are from fictional asian DCU countries, although I agree that Shiva's name is Chinese....

...

Do you mean her real name?

[Anodyne]

Or Traci is adopted. Or Mrs. Thirteen has some fessing up to do.
Why assume Marie's at fault? Maybe she adopted her husband's love child.

IMHO it's Chiang and Azzarello (sp?) who need to fess up. If they'd done their homework, they would have realized the rumor that Traci was Terrence's daughter wouldn't hold water.
Cousin once removed, maybe.

Personally, I'm hoping C&A's "Dr. Thirteen" will turn out to be from a different Earth.

[carabas]

I am not going to have a serious conversation about continuity details of one of DC's most obscure characters.

[Anodyne]

I am not going to have a serious conversation about continuity details of one of DC's most obscure characters.
Point noted. But the Thirteens have been my favorite DCU couple ever since I first met them back around 1969/70. Something about them resonated with me. It probably helped that Dr. Thirteen was in non-ranting mode at the time, just quietly determined to expose the Phantom Stranger as a fraud.

Besides, the fewer stories there are about a character, the easier it should be for a writer to research them all and at least learn their history before he retcons it.:mad: