Thunderlord

Thunderlord is a fictional DC Comics superhero, a Buddhist monk who has vocal manipulation powers.

This article is about the fictional character. For the song by Raven, see Nothing Exceeds Like Excess.
Thunderlord
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearance1982
In-story information
Full nameLiang Xih-k'ai
SpeciesHuman
Team affiliationsGlobal Guardians
AbilitiesDestructive soundwaves, vocal impersonation

Fictional character biography

Liang Xih-k'ai, Thunderlord's real name, helps the Black Canary dismantle a bomb on the island of Taiwan.[1] Later on, he assists the brothers Thunder and Lightning in Vietnam during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Thunderlord joins the other Global Guardians as brainwashed pawns of the Queen Bee.[2] The brainwashing efforts are long and complex. As with most of the Guardians he assists the Justice League Europe in battling a robot threat. It takes a trip into the sewers before the group could destroy it. Unknown to the heroes, the robot was under the Queen's control and she did not care if it had actually killed Thunderlord or anyone else in particular, it was a public relations maneuver.

As with the rest of her brainwashed victims, Thunderlord remains loyal to the Queen Bee until her murder by Sumaan Harjavti. At the same time, several recently fired members of the Justice League, Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Elongated Man and the Crimson Fox had violated international law to investigate Bialya. They suspected Bialya was behind their firings and other manipulations of the League (they were right). The group confronts the Guardians and in the crossfire, Little Mermaid is slain by a blast from Jack O'Lantern. Thunderlord and the rest of the Guardians pursue the League through the Queen's scientific facilities. The brainwashing center is discovered.

Sumaan detonates the entire complex, killing many innocent people above and some of the scientists below. Ice saves as many lives as she can with an ice shield. She fails to save Jack O'Lantern but it turns out he was an impostor whom nobody knew.

Thunderlord, the Guardians and the Justice League team up to defeat the mind-controlling villain Sonar.[3]

Death

The heroes involved stay to help the injured then go their separate ways. Thunderlord gains a job doing celebrity impersonations. Fain Y'onia, an ancient enemy of Doctor Mist, begins attacking the group one by one. Godiva, Impala and the Olympian are all injured. Bushmaster dies during his fight with Fain.

The surviving Guardians gather again, ambushing Fain in the Arizona desert when he tries to kill Owlwoman. Fain's energy blasts pierce Thunderlord, killing him. After Fain's defeat, a statue is built to honor Thunderlord, placed alongside statues of other fallen Guardians.[4]

Thunderlord makes a cameo along with many of his Guardian allies in "The OMAC Project". In that storyline, multiple heroes race to destroy a sentient satellite that detests all powered beings.[5]

References
  1. "DC Comics Presents" #46 (June 1982)
  2. Greenberger, Robert (2008), "Global Guardians", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 138, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5, OCLC 213309017
  3. "JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE" #50 (May 1993)
  4. "Justice League Quarterly" #17 (Winter 1994)
  5. "OMAC PROJECT" #6 (November 2005)
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