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Remembering Fu Mnachu.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Is there any better way to characterize a supervillain than British mystery writer Sax Rohmer's description of Dr. Fu Manchu? Dr. Fu Manchu made his dastardly debut in a October 1912 story "The Zayat Kiss," published in the British magazine, The Story-Teller. Rohmer described him as a man with green eyes that seemed "an emanation of Hell." Rohmer also wrote in a protagonist, Sir Denis Nayland Smith, a Burmese Commissioner, head of the British Secret Service and spymaster who would become Fu Manchu's archenemy for over 25 years. But clearly, Rohmer's real fascination was with his archvillain. Fu Manchu was outfitted with the types of decadent descriptions and almost adoring dialogue you'd normally expect to be attributed to narrative heroes. While the short piece in The Story-Teller garnered attention, it wasn't until a year later, when Rohmer released his first full-length Fu Manchu novel, The Mystery of Fu Manchu, that the evil genius really gained a following. In 1917, Dr. Fu Manchu apparently died at the end of his third novel, The Si-Fan Mysteries. Another villain, the Si-Fan succeeded him, but the saga continued despite the supposed demise of the brilliant prince of evil. In the 1920s and '30s, the Fu Manchu novels were among the most widely read popular literature available. And Rohmer was one of the highest paid magazine writers of the time. Fu Manchu appeared in a series of silent films during this era. By 1929, he'd progressed to "talkies." He was the star of several radio serials, known on-air as "the evil oriental" who was always either embroiled in a consummate quest for world domination or out to avenge the death of his wife and son. His show aired during The Collier Hour on the Blue Network in 1927 and on CBS from 1932-1933 in a series sponsored by Campana Balm. A syndicated radio serial, The Shadow of Fu Manchu, aired from 1939-1940. A syndicated television series briefly appeared in 1956. And there is a wide array of Fu Manchu films currently available, including The Return of Fu Manchu (1930), Drums of Fu Manchu (1942), The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968) and The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu (1980). Fu Manchu also gained renewed fame when introduced to comic book fans in the ‘70s as the father of Marvel’s martial arts hero Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu. While not a constant physical presence in every issue of the long-running series, his influence and aura always loomed in the background. An ongoing regular cast member in the Master of Kung Fu series was lifelong Fu Manchu adversary Dennis Nayland-Smith, now head of England’s MI-6, who recruited Shang Chi in the battle against his evil father. Other Rohmer characters appearing in recurring roles in the series were Nayland-Smith’s right-hand man Dr. Petrie, Fu Manchu’s daughter (and Shang Chi’s half-sister) Fah Lo Suee, and Fu’s acolytes, the Si-Fan assassins 
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