Zheng Zu (Chinese: 鄭祖), originally known as Fu Manchu, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Based on Sax Rohmer's character of the same name, he is the leader of the Five Weapons Society criminal organization and the father and arch-enemy of Shang-Chi.
The character debuted in Special Marvel Edition #15 (cover-dated December 1973) in the Bronze Age of Comic Books, under the name "Fu Manchu", based on the Sax Rohmer character of the same name and adapted into Marvel Comics by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin. Due to Marvel losing the rights to the Fu Manchu character in 1983, the character was referred to simply as "Shang-Chi's father" and by a number of aliases over the following decades, before his name was changed to "Zheng Zu" in 2010.
Tony Leung Chiu-wai portrays a character partially inspired by Fu Manchu called Xu Wenwu in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021).
Publication history The character of Dr. Fu Manchu was created in 1913 by Sax Rohmer. 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 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. After Marvel's license with the Rohmer estate expired, Master of Kung Fu was cancelled in 1983. in some of his modern appearances, mention is made of his villainous father either in cryptic terms or using a variety of new names. In 2010's Secret Avengers #6–10, writer Ed Brubaker officially sidestepped the entire issue via a storyline where the Shadow Council resurrects a zombified version of Dr. Fu Manchu, only to discover that "Dr. Fu Manchu" was only an alias and that Shang-Chi's father real name was Zheng Zu (Chinese: 鄭祖); in this arc, Zheng Zu's organization is called Hai-Dai. Shang-Chi's half sister Fah Lo Suee was later renamed Zheng Bao Yu in 2013's The Fearless Defenders #8, written by Cullen Bunn.
In 2020, Shang-Chi starred in a self-titled five issue miniseries written by American Born Chinese author Gene Luen Yang with art by Dike Ruan and Philip Tan. In the miniseries, it is revealed that Si-Fan and Hai-Dai were names used by the Five Weapons Society. It is said to be among the five sons of Zheng Zu, each one commands a house and from among them, the supreme leader, Shang-Chi, champion of the House of the Deadly Hand, is chosen by the father, but his sister Zheng Shi-Hua, Sister Hammer takes the lead after her father's death, in the miniseries, there is no mention of Zheng Bao Yu, Shi-Hua can be seen as Bao Yu's replacement in Shang-Chi's origin. Shang-Chi starred in a new ongoing series by Yang and Ruan in 2021, with Marcus To replacing Ruan by the 9th issue. Following the release of the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Yang incorporated several concepts introduced in the movie into the Shang-Chi mythos, including the character Jiang Li as Shang-Chi's real mother, who was based on Shang-Chi's mother Ying Li, retconning Shang-Chi's white American mother and his mixed-race heritage, which, as in the film, came from the heavenly realm Ta Lo, which was previously introduced by writers Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio and artist Keith Pollard in Thor #310 (1980); and the Ten Rings weapons. Like Wenwu, Zheng Zu invaded Ta Lo and fell in love with Li, with whom he had two children.
Fictional character biography Born during the early Qing Dynasty, Zheng Zu gained his education at the Tibetan monastery of Rach where he learned martial arts, arcane knowledge, and every known discipline of science. Becoming highly regarded in his monastery, Zheng Zu was considered part of their brotherhood until the day he left to share his gifts with the world.Master of Kung Fu #124. Marvel Comics. A powerful sorcerer in his own right, Zu, along with his younger brother Zheng Yi and their five disciples, the Deadly Warriors, formed the Five Weapons Society to protect China. His inspiration were weapons from the realm of Ta-Lo, the legendary Five Sets of Heavenly Weapons: One Hammer (Hammer), Two Swords (Sabre), Nine Daggers (Dagger), Three Staffs (Staff) and Ten Rings (Hand).Shang-Chi (vol. 2) #11. Marvel Comics.
On one such mission, the Sorcerer Brothers and the Deadly Warriors protected the Tianjin Prefecture from Fin Fang Foom. The Ancient One, a fellow sorcerer and friend, provided the brothers the Eyes of the Dragon, a pair of stones that granted longevity and vigor while requiring the sacrifice of another. By 1860, the brothers had aged decades beyond their natural lifespans through the use of longevity spells and had grown weaker as a result. During the Second Opium War, the Society fought against British forces, but were defeated by Dormammu and the Mindless Ones summoned by the British sorcerer Baron Harkness, resulting in the death of the Deadly Warriors. Zu attempted to use the Eyes of the Dragon to save the fatally wounded Yi at the cost of his own life, but not wanting to rule the Society alone, Yi reversed the spell, granting Zu immortality and restoring his youth, giving him the power to defeat the combined British forces. Following the death of his brother and the Deadly Warriors, Zu led the Society alone, establishing five houses in their honor. Without his brother's guidance, Zu lost his way, becoming increasingly bitter and ruthless. After losing one of the houses during the Boxer Rebellion, Zu renounced his country and followers for their perceived weakness and lied about his brother's death, claiming he killed him for being weak as well and stole his spirit energy to augment his own. Zu subsequently relocated four of the Society's five houses to foreign countries within the Eight-Nation Alliance to monitor those who had fought against China and the Society during the conflict.Shang-Chi #1. Marvel Comics.Shang-Chi #3. Marvel Comics.Shang-Chi #4. Marvel Comics.
For the next century while building his criminal empire, Zu would steal the life essences of his blood relatives, including those from numerous offspring he fathered in order to preserve his longevity.Secret Avengers #8. Marvel Comics. Zu would lose possession of the Eyes but created the Elixir Vitae to prolong his longevity. Over time, Zu would use many aliases for himself and the Society, eventually choosing the name "Dr. Fu Manchu" and renaming the Society as the "Si-Fan".
When his daughter Zheng Bao Yu (also known by the alias Fah Lo Suee) was a child, Fu Manchu showed her the Moon, where he said that he would one day have the power to move one world in order to rule another world.Master of Kung Fu #48. Marvel Comics.
Fu Manchu was revealed to have discovered the knowledge of Jack the Ripper's methodology.Master of Kung Fu #100. Marvel Comics.
Fu Manchu later took the woman Mara Ling to be his wife as part of an arranged marriage, despite the fact that she loved a blind archer named Li.Master of Kung Fu #114. Marvel Comics.
Zheng Zu discovered the existence of the heavenly realm of Ta Lo and planned to steal the Five Sets of Heavenly Weapons to bolster the Five Weapons Society. Upon arriving at Qilin Island, the gateway between Earth and Ta Lo, Zu was betrayed and left for dead by pirates under his service but was rescued by Jiang Li of the Qilin Riders, a community of mortals from Ta Lo tasked by the Chinese gods to protect the realm from outside threats. While being nursed back to health, Zu fell in love with Jiang Li. When Jiang Li's father, Chieftain Xin, discovered Zu's presence on the island, he ordered his daughter to execute the trespasser but the two fled to the House of the Deadly Hand. When she discovered that Zu led a criminal organization, Jiang Li attempted to leave him but Zu promised to change his evil ways. The two married and had two children: son Shang-Chi and daughter Zheng Shi-Hua. Within the first few years into his marriage, Zheng Zu grew to genuinely love his family.Shang-Chi (vol. 2) #7 Marvel Comics However following an attack by Hydra against the House of the Deadly Hand, Zu became cold and distant towards his family, as he felt that his love for them made him weak, and resumed his plans to infiltrate Ta Lo. Xin and Jiang Li confronted Zu in his personal tower, where they discovered he had constructed a makeshift portal to Ta Lo. While Zu fought his wife and father-in-law, Shang-Chi happened upon the scene, just as the portal's connection to Ta Lo became disconnected and Jiang Li was accidentally pushed through, sending her to the Negative Zone. Zu and Xin blamed each other for Jiang Li's presumed death and each tried convincing Shang-Chi to join them. Shang-Chi sided with his father and threw one of Zu's chemicals at Xin' face, blinding and leaving a scar across his right eye. Xin denounced Shang-Chi to be as evil as his father and fled on his Qilin. Zu subsequently placed a memory spell on Shang-Chi, making him forget the incident.Shang-Chi (vol. 2) #8 Marvel Comics
During their childhood, Shang-Chi and Shi-Hua accidentally discovered one of their father's secret laboratories in his Hunan retreat. As punishment, their father told Shang-Chi that he gave Shi-Hua a merciful death, explaining that the luxury of human bonds was weakness. In truth, he secretly sent Shi-Hua to the House of the Deadly Hammer in Russia. Shang-Chi would continue to be raised in isolation in his father's Hunan retreat; unbeknownst to Shang-Chi, the Hunan retreat was the House of the Deadly Hand, with Shang-Chi chosen to be its champion.Shang-Chi #2. Marvel Comics.
Like with Shang-Chi and Shi-Hua, their father selected several of his other children to be raised in the Society's other Houses as their respective champions, with daughter Zheng ZhilanShang-Chi (vol. 2) #3. Marvel Comics. and an unnamed son at the House of the Deadly Staff in Britain, son Takeshi at the House of the Deadly Sabre in Japan and daughter Esme at the House of the Deadly Dagger in France. When Zhilan voiced her plans to reform the Society, Zheng Zu ordered Takeshi to assassinate her, who instead chose to spare her and helped fake her death. Unbeknownst to both, their father ordered her death due to her status as a mutant, whom Zu believed were colonial threats.
Tony McKay and Sir Denis Nayland Smith later launched an attack on the Si-Fan,As told in Emperor Fu Manchu (1959) by Sax Rohmer after which Fu Manchu captured both of them, killed McKay with a "hellish green liquid" that 'took six seconds" to accomplish and used his Japanese sumo wrestler bodyguard Tak to cripple Smith by crushing his legs. Fu Manchu later introduced schizophrenia to a gorilla which was used as the final guardian of his New York headquarters.Special Marvel Edition #15. Marvel Comics.
Fu Manchu's African base was raided by the British military, where many of his followers there were killed. Upon finding a disfigured infant named M'Nai after also finding his parents dead, Zheng Zu decided that he could shape M'Nai into a powerful servant and M'Nai was raised alongside Shang-Chi. M'Nai and Shang-Chi became inseparable, even referring to each other as brothers.Special Marvel Edition #16. Marvel Comics.
Shang-Chi as a boy heard from K'uei Meng that Fu Manchu had plans to rule the world. When Shang-Chi confronted his father, Zheng Zu dismissed it as slander and Shang-Chi never saw K'uei Meng again.Master of Kung Fu #19. Marvel Comics.