Great Ten
Publication history
Grant Morrison has explained the background to his creation of the team, in a pitch which also contained the outline for the Super Young Team:
I’m pleased with the introduction of the Great Ten who grew out Paul Levitz’ desire to see more international superheroes. After the first 52 story meeting I went home, dug out the reference material on Chinese history and culture I’d used to help create the backstory for the ‘Xorn’ character in New X-Men and hammered out a huge document complete with detailed origin stories and backgrounds for every member of the Great Ten, as well as some details of the Chinese Government’s ‘super-functionary’ program.
According to DC Comics Director of Sales Bob Wayne, the Great Ten will also return in their own title. On August 11, 2009, it was officially confirmed on the DC Universe blog website, “The Source,” that the new title would be a 10-issue monthly mini-series, beginning in early November 2009 and produced by writer Tony Bedard and artist Scott McDaniel, with covers by Stanley Lau.
52
Main article: 52 (comics)
First appearing in 52 #6, the Great Ten’s actions are hampered by bureaucracy. Three of the team’s members were forced to sit out a battle with Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart because they had not completed the required paperwork. Following the events in the Infinite Crisis story arc, as a signatory of the Freedom of Power Treaty China has entered into a Coalition with Khandaq, Iran, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan, leading the Great Ten to join forces with Black Adam on the battlefield. Later, in week #32, the Accomplished Perfect Physician saves Ralph Dibny from his rampaging teammate Yeti, and gains his help subduing and restoring him to his human self. The Accomplished Physician then shares with Dibny details about his life and powers, his role as a “super-functionary”, and some cryptic advice about a coming crisis in the Middle East. The Great Ten later battle Black Adam when he invades China as part of his vendetta after the death of Isis in World War III. This also involves confrontations with several American based superheroes, as the Chinese government was willing to go so far as to launch nuclear missiles if their territory was violated. This portion of the stand-off was ended when the government changed their minds.
Checkmate
Main article: Checkmate (comics)
On the final page of Checkmate #3, the Checkmate ground team, on an infiltration mission in China, is discovered and cornered by The Immortal Man in Darkness. In Checkmate #4 the August General in Iron, Celestial Archer and Yao Fei the Accomplished Perfect Physician show up to support the Immortal Man in Darkness, after a brief skirmish both sides declare a truce. Later after Yao Fei prevents Count Vertigo (acting under secret orders from Amanda Waller) from stealing Chinese state secrets, the August General decides that Checkmate has betrayed the truce and orders their deaths, only the timely intervention of Green Lantern Alan Scott and the Chinese Ambassador saves the lives of Sasha’s ground team.
In Checkmate #13-15 and Outsiders #47-49, the Checkmate team and the Outsiders are on an infiltration mission Oolong Island. In Outsiders #48, they are attacked by The Immortal Man in Darkness and Chang Tzu has re-appeared, ready to experiment on the captured Sasha Bordeaux of Checkmate and Captain Boomerang, in the presence of August General in Iron.
Limited series
The Great Ten returned in their own eponymous, ten-issue limited series written by Tony Bedard, which is intended to provided a detailed origin of the group’s members.
Issue #1 details the Accomplished Perfect Physician’s origin, and introduces eight deities from Chinese mythology led by the Jade Emperor. The pantheon includes Yu Huang the Jade Emperor and King of the Gods, Lei Kung the God of Thunder, Feng Po the God of Winds, Kuan Ti the God of War, Lei Zi the Goddess of Lightning and wife of Lei Kung, Chu Jiang a minor God of the Dead who rules the second level of Diyu, Gong Gong the God of Floods, and Chu Jung the God of Fire and father of Gong Gong.
Issue #2 details the Celestial Archer’s origin, has the Old Chinese Gods have returned for vengeance. With the citizens of Lhasa caught in the middle, the Old Gods battle against the Great Ten, but the super functionaries are no match for the angry, ancient gods, not when one member the Celestial Archer chooses to turn against his team and fight alongside the gods.
Issue #3 details the Thundermind’s origin, he appears in times of need to defend China against evil and injustice. But when Thundermind joins the Great Ten in their battle against the Old Chinese Gods, he learns the startling secret that the Old Chinese Gods have been hiding a secret so massive it could destroy all of China.
Issue #4 details the Immortal Man-in-Darkness’ origin, while he battles Feng Po in Shanghai. Immortal Man-in-Darkness finally defeats Feng Po, and the Great Ten discover Feng Po is using Durlan technology and that the Old Chinese Gods are false.
Membership
This team of “super-functionaries” (the communist Chinese ethos rejects the word ‘heroes’ for a humbler one) is based in China’s Great Wall complex. This massive complex houses the team’s command and support technicians as well as facilities for the creation of more Chinese superhumans. The bureaucracy must approve every action the Great Ten take during combat.
Accomplished Perfect Physician
Accomplished Perfect Physician or (D Y Zh Wn), Yao Fei was born a dirt-poor peasant in the Anhui Province. Yao had dreams of becoming a doctor but due to economic circumstances, he joined the PLA instead. As one of many soldiers serving in Gyantse, Tibet, Yao accidentally killed a monk named Tenzin Cering. Horrified at what he’d done, he deserted his post and was fatally shot by his commanding officer. He was saved by an old man, a healer who told Yao that his son, Tenzin, was suppposed to be the seventeenth man to hold the position of the “Accomplished Perfect Physician”; since Tenzin was now dead, Yao was forced to take his place by Tenzin’s father. Yao, as the new Accomplished Perfect Physician, was branded an outlaw and an enemy of the state for many years before he willingly joined the Great Ten.
The diplomat of the team, the Physician appears to be a collected individual with well-developed people skills. As the Accomplished Perfect Physician, he has the accumulated memories and powers of his sixteen predecessors. They include the ability to use the sound of his own voice for a variety of superhuman effects, such as physical or mental paralysis, force fields, the redirection of energies, healing, destruction of matter, and earthquakes; he was able to disrupt Count Vertigo’s powers with just his voice. He has a highly adversarial relationship with both the Socialist Red Guardsman and the August General in Iron who repeatedly clashed with him during his days as a fugitive.
August General in Iron
Real name Fang Zhifu. He gained a reputation when he prevented an attempt by the Shaolin Robots to overthrow the ruling Socialist Party and return China to Imperial rule. Reshaped by Durlan DNA technology, his own skin is biometal hide. He commands the Great Ten, but must run all command decisions in the field by them, and by extension the Central Committee. The General carries a special energy staff that can apparently cut through metal. Recently joined Checkmate as an interim member in the position of Black King Bishop until the return of Shen Li Po. Has romantic feelings for Ghost Fox Killer.
Celestial Archer
The Celestial Archer or (T Sh Shu) is a figure with ties to Chinese mythology. His alter ego is Xu Tao, who as a teenager in Tai’an, sold souvenirs at the foot of Mount Tai. Xu Tao was forced to join a street gang to support his family after his father’s business was shut down by corrupt police. He was not a good thief, however, and a botched robbery landed his fellow gang members in jail. When they were released, they sought to kill him. They chased him to an old temple below Mount Tai. While hiding behind a tree, Tao was swallowed up by the earth, and found himself in a cavern where he found the Celestial Bow of Yi. The magical bow begged Tao to take it as his own, as it was dying after four thousand years of disuse. When Tao picked it up, he was transformed into the Celestial Archer and granted Yi the Archer’s godlike archery skills. After, chasing away the gangsters, he instinctively fired an arrow at the moon, creating a magical bridge that took him to the home of the Chinese gods. The gods tasked him to serve as their agent on Earth, to inspire the Chinese and remind them of the old gods, whose worship was suppressed by the Communist government. The Celestial Archer has unerring aim capable of shooting arrows charged with a mysterious energy, or that can turn day into night. An irreverent character, disrespectful of August General’s authority. He attempted to become friends with Sasha Bordeaux of Checkmate.
Ghost Fox Killer
Female emissary from the hidden colony of “Ghost Fox Women”, charged with killing evil men, and who apparently can control the ghosts of men she’s killed. Apparently her home city is powered by the souls of evil men, and her touch causes instant death. She has romantic feelings for August General in Iron, and is typically accompanied by a rui shi (or Imperial guardian lion) of living jade.
Immortal Man-in-Darkness
Fifteen years ago, a Durlan ship crashed in China’s Qinghai province. The Chinese reverse-engineered the craft and used the technology to build the Dragonwing, the most advanced fighter plane in the world. The pilot sits in a cockpit filled with a sort of amniotic fluid, bonding himself to the craft. This type of bond gradually breaks down a human’s molecular structure; each flight takes a year off the pilot’s life. The Dragonwing has been flown by a succession of PLAAF pilots, all of whom knowingly sacrificed themselves to serve China as the Immortal Man-In-Darkness. The current pilot is Chen Nuo. Apparently his or her bond with the craft allows him to alter its shape, and even diffuse it into a smoke-like substance. He operates from Shanghai Dachang Air Base.
Mother of Champions
Real name Niang Guan Jun, is a woman who can birth a litter of twenty-five super-soldiers about every three days. She uses a metallic chair with six insect-like legs to remain mobile during her pregnant state. One of her superstrong and tough children named Number Four appeared in The OMAC Project: Infinite Crisis Special #1. In Nightwing #144, Mother of Champions is kidnapped from the Great Wall Complex by operatives of Talia al Ghul; in this same issue it is revealed that she has had thousands of children, and that each batch of superhuman children are conceived by suitors whom she hand picks.
Seven Deadly Brothers
A martial arts expert who can divide into seven separate bodies each one of whom is a martial arts master. Each of his seven bodies has a unique personality, and each has mastered a different school of Chinese martial arts appropriate to their personality.
Shaolin Robot
A robot programmed to know Shaolin martial arts. It was seen using hexagrams from I Ching to speak. In 52 #50, Shaolin Robot ‘speaks’ three times. Springing forward to attack Black Adam, it speaks , Hexagram 38, which is (kui2), and represents opposition or contradiction. In the next frame, while actively attacking Black Adam, it speaks , Hexagram 6, (song4), which represents contention or arguing. Finally, as Black Adam destroys Shaolin Robot, it speaks , Hexagram 23, (bol), which represents deterioration or ‘splitting apart’. Later while battling the Shield, it speaks , Hexagram 18 which is ” (correction), , Hexagram 39 which is ” (obstruction), , Hexagram 25 which is ” (pestilence), and finally , Hexagram 1, which is ” (force).
Socialist Red Guardsman
Real name Gu Lao, is one of the oldest Chinese heroes. He used his solar powers to carry out the Cultural Revolution. His body is highly radioactive, so he is forced to wear a special suit of containment armor.
Thundermind
Zou Kang is a history teacher at Beijing No. 8 Middle School who, on a tour of the Beijing Museum, accidentally recites aloud a sanskrit “trigger phrase” from an ancient Buddhist artifact: “All hail the jewel in the lotus”. Afterwards, he transforms into Thundermind whenever he recites his trigger phrase and unlocks what he calls his full human potential, becoming a Bodhisattva with the power to access metahuman analogues of the powers listed in the Buddhist siddhis. He saves a fellow teacher named Miss Wu, who happens to be in love with his alter ego Thundermind. According to 52 #45 he also has super-senses akin to telepathy, and fancies himself the team’s conscience. He is the most loved of The Ten, especially in his hometown of Beijing.
Reserve members
Chang Tzu
Main article: Chang Tzu
As revealed to Alan Scott by Thundermind, Chang Tzu and his Science Squad are members of the Great Ten that provide, among other things, the funds to operate the organization and the technology they use.
Number Four
Number Four was one of Mother of Champions superstrong and tough children. He first appeared in The OMAC Project: Infinite Crisis Special. Number Four was sent into Saudi Arabia to retrieve the fallen OMAC satellite, he demonstrated superhuman strenth, invulnerability and heightened reflexes.
Shen Li Po
Shen Li Po was formerly the Black King Bishop in Checkmate, he debuted in Checkmate vol. 2 #1. Shen Li Po later returned to the Great Wall Complex on a leave of absence in Checkmate vol. 2 #16, and was replaced by the August General In Iron.
The Yeti
Real name Hu Wei. The Yeti is a scientist who unlocked an atavistic trigger gene that transforms men into monsters. This discovery enabled him to transform into a powerful white furred yeti-like monster plagued with an uncontrollable rage. While in his Yeti form, Hu Wei must wear a special electronic amulet around his neck that keeps him from going berserk. His origin bears similarities to that of the Hulk, and Sasquatch from Alpha Flight. He was apparently killed in 52 #50 by Black Adam.
Other versions
There is an evil counterpart to the Great Ten in the Anti-Matter Universe, known as “The Most Unworthy Ten.”
A version of the Great Ten appear in Batman: The Brave and the Bold #8. They help the Batman fight an army of Yetis.
References
^ a b c d Wallace, Dan (2008), “Great 10”, in Dougall, Alastair, The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, pp. 149, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5, OCLC 213309017
^ http://library.thinkquest.org/28491/html/ten.htm
^ The 52 Exit Interviews: Grant Morrison, Newsarama, May 8, 2007
^ WWLA: DC Nation with Dan DiDio & Co, Comic Book Resources, May 16, 2007
^ {http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2009/08/11/some-tuesday-news-the-great-ten/ Blog Archive: Some Tuesday News – The Great Ten]
^ http://www.pantheon.org/articles/l/lei-zi.html
^ http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/chu_jiang.html
^ http://www.pantheon.org/articles/z/zhu_rong.html
^ a b c d e f The Great Ten #1 (January 2010)
^ a b c d The Great Ten #2 (February 2010)
^ a b c The Great Ten #3 (March 2010)
^ a b c The Great Ten #4 (April 2010)
^ See Checkmate #4, page 5, Newsarama
^ http://classic.newsarama.com/dcnew/Checkmate/04/CheckTen.html Greg Rucka on The Great Ten in Checkmate], Newsarama, June 22, 2006
^ Checkmate (vol. 2) #19 (September 2007)
^ a b c Checkmate (vol. 2) #4
^ http://www.mysteriouschina.com/chinese-myth-legend-3-hou-yi-shot-the-sun/
^ Checkmate (vol. 2) #19
^ Nightwing #146 (September 2008)
^ As seen in Nightwing #144 (July 2008)
^ As seen in The OMAC Project: Infinite Crisis Special #1 (May 2006)
^ http://www.newsarama.com/comics/091104-great-ten.html
^ The Shield (vol. 2) #5 (2010)
^ As seen in The OMAC Project: Infinite Crisis Special #1 (May 2006)
^ As seen in Checkmate vol. 2, #1 (June 2006)
^ As seen in Checkmate vol. 2, #16 (September 2007)
^ 52 #32
^ Trinity #46
^ As seen in Batman: The Brave and the Bold #8 (September 2009)
^ http://www.dccomics.com/dcu/comics/?cm=12507
External links
Cosmic Teams: The Great Ten
DC The Great Ten Preview Gallery, Newsarama
Straight (and Not) Out of the Comics, New York Times, May 28, 2006
Categories: Fictional organizations | DC Comics superhero teams | 2006 comics characters debuts | Characters created by Grant MorrisonHidden categories: Groups pop | Moved from supergroup
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