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Dragon King

Dragon King is a fictional character from DC Comics. He was created by Roy Thomas and Rich Buckler, and first appeared in All-Star Squadron #4, in December 1981.[2]

The man known as "Dragon King" was a high-ranking official in the Japanese government during World War II, as well as a brilliant scientist. He was the researcher responsible for the creation of the nerve gas K887. He obtained the mythical Holy Grail for Japan, and was able to combine it with Adolf Hitler's Spear of Destiny which the German dictator had loaned to Japanese General Hideki Tōjō.[3] With the two items, the Dragon King and Hitler were able to create a field of arcane magic that shielded imperial Japan and Fortress Europa from attack by the allies' super heroes or "Mystery Men."[4] The field ensured that any hero with magic-based powers, or a vulnerability to magic (like Superman), would instantly be converted to the Axis cause, keeping some of the allies' most powerful heroes out of the theatre of war.[3] Some heroes were temporarily able to circumvent this for humanitarian missions, despite the Dragon King's best efforts.[5] After Japan's surrender on August 15, 1945, the Dragon King went into hiding and experimented with combining his own genetic material with that of a lizard. He eventually succeeded in making himself a hybrid of human and reptile.[2]

In more recent history, the Dragon King resurfaced in the fictional town of Blue Valley, Nebraska, with a daughter named Cindy Burman, now a villainess called "Shiv". While making use of a robot that operated as Principal Sherman at Blue Valley High School, Dragon King is served by Paintball, Skeeter, and Stunt. He clashed against the second Star-Spangled Kid, Courtney Whitmore, her sidekick S.T.R.I.P.E., and the Shining Knight, while the latter was on a quest to reclaim the Holy Grail. It is strongly implied during this confrontation that the Dragon King had in the past murdered the All-Star Squadron member Firebrand.[6] During this fight, the Dragon King himself was apparently killed, although his body was never found.[2]

He later resurfaced with the Spear of Destiny in his possession and attempted to raise an army of super-powered soldiers, but was defeated by the Justice Society of America.[7]

Dragon King in other media
  • Dragon King makes a cameo appearance in the Young Justice animated television series episode "Humanity", as part of a flashback sequence. He attempts to assassinate the Flash at the 1939 World's Fair, but ends up shooting Firebrand by mistake.
  • Dragon King appeared in the first season of the live-action DC Universe series Stargirl, portrayed by Nelson Lee.[8] This version is a member of the Injustice Society and a controversial scientist named Dr. Shiro Ito, who was originally an Imperial Japanese war criminal from WWII who was supposedly executed for his work with biological weapons. Having survived to the present day, however, he hides his identity with an elaborate costume and experiments on himself and his patients. Debuting in the episode "Wildcat", Dragon King meets with his leader Icicle to discuss his support for the Injustice Society's plans involving a machine he is building and Shade betraying the group. While he considered late member Wizard to be vile, Dragon King got Icicle's approval to obtain his body for further experiments. He is also concerned with the possibility of Brainwave's son Henry King Jr. developing powers of his own, to the point of forcing his daughter Cindy Burman to date him in order to keep watch over him. His suspicions later prove correct when Cindy fights Stargirl and the boy uses psychic powers to knock them down after getting caught in the crossfire. Stargirl later leads the JSA in an attack on the Injustice Society's subterranean headquarters, during which they discover Dragon King had acquired reptilian traits. During the JSA's second attack on the Injustice Society, Dragon King was killed by Cindy.

Dragon, Richard
Main article: Richard Dragon

References
  1. Snider, Brandon T. DC Comics: The Ultimate Character Guide. Dk Pub. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-7566-8261-3.
  2. Beatty, Scott (2008), "Dragon King", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia (Updated), New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 110, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5, OCLC 213309017
  3. McDermott, Mark R. (2009). "The Invaders and the All-Star Squadron: Roy Thomas Revisits the Golden Age". In Weiner, Robert G. (ed.). Captain America and the Struggle of the Superhero: Critical Essays. McFarland & Company. p. 47. ISBN 9780786453405. OCLC 277136422. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
  4. Thomas, Roy (w), Buckler, Rich (p), Ordway, Jerry (i). "Day of the Dragon King!" All-Star Squadron 4 (December 1981)
  5. Thomas, Roy (w), Simons, Dave (p), Downs, Bob (i). Young All-Stars 27 (July 1989)
  6. Johns, Geoff (w), Moder, Lee (p), Davis, Dan (i). "Dragon Food!" Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. 12 (July 2000)
  7. Tomasi, Peter (w), Kramer, Don (p), Champagne, Keith (i). "The Spear and the Dragon, Part 1" JSA: Classified 8-9 (April 2006)
  8. Boucher, Geoff (December 20, 2018). "'Stargirl' Casting: Meet Three Members Of Injustice Society". Deadline. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
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