Lin Lie(Chinese:Lâm liệt )[1]is asuperherowho appears in media produced byAmerican comic bookpublisherMarvel Comics.Created in partnership with the Chinese media companyNetEase,the characterfirst appearedin the 2018 Chinese digitalmanhuaWarrior of the Three Sovereigns#1, written by Shuizhu and illustrated by Gunji.
| Lin Lie | |
|---|---|
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | As Sword Master: Warriors of Three Sovereigns#1 (May 2018) As Iron Fist: Iron Fistvol. 6 #1 (February 2022) |
| Created by | Shuizhu Gunji |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Lin Lie |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Agents of Atlas |
| Notable aliases | Sword Master Iron Fist |
| Abilities |
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| Lin Lie | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese | Lâm liệt | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Iron Fist | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | Thiết quyền | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | Thiết quyền | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sword Master | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | Kiếm tiên | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | Kiếm tiên | ||||||||||||||||||||
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A descendent of themythological ChinesefiguresNü-waandFu Xi,Lin was initially established with the aliasSword Master,and wielded the mystical Sword of Fu Xi.[2][3]He later joins the superhero team theAgents of Atlas,making his English-language debut in the 2019 comicWar of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas#2. After the Sword of Fu Xi is destroyed he becomes the newIron Fist,debuting asthe characterinIron Fistvol. 6 #1 (February 2022).
Publication history
editIn 2017, Marvel partnered with the Chinese media companyNetEaseas part of an initiative to expand its audience in China and East Asia. This partnership resulted in the creation of the superheroes Lin Lie andAero,both of whom debuted in May 2018 in Chinese-language digitalmanhuapublished on163.[2]
Sword Master made his American comics debut inWar of the Realms: New Agents of Atlasby writerGreg Pakand artist Gang Hyuk Lim before starring in his own solo series, titledSword Master,written by Pak and illustrated by Ario Anindito. TheSword Masterseries also featured republications of theWarriors of Three Sovereignsseries Lin debuted in, with translations done by Pak.[4]Sword Master would continue to have regular appearances inAgents of Atlas.
In 2022, Lin Lie made his debut asIron Fistin a five issue miniseries written byAlyssa Wongand illustrated by Michael YG and Sean Chen.[5][6]The miniseries was followed up with the one-shotA.X.E.: Iron Fist #1as part of theA.X.E.: Judgment Daycrossover event.[7]
In May 2023, to celebrateAsian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month,Lin starred in a backup story inDaredevilVol. 7 #11, written byJason Looand drawn by Lynne Yoshii, with an AAPI Heritage Month Variant Cover featuring Iron Fist drawn by artist InHyuk Lee.[8][9]
In August 2024, Lin was featured in aone-shotcommemorating the 50th anniversary of Iron Fist, with Wong returning as writer and Ron Randal illustrating.[10]
Fictional character biography
editWarriors of Three Sovereigns
editLin Lie is a college student fromShanghaiwho receives a mysterious sword from hisarchaeologistfather, who went missing along with Lie's older brother Feng shortly afterwards. One year after his family's disappearance, Lie is attacked by a demon at his apartment after receiving a mysterious red orb contained in a puzzle box. The sword Lie's father entrusted to him moves on its own to save Lie from the demon, which is then destroyed by Ji Shuangshuang, a demon hunter. Shuangshuang reveals that the sword is the Sword ofFu Xi,one of three sacred weapons used by theYellow Emperorand the clans of theThree Sovereignsto seal the evil godChiyouin the far past. Shuangshuang explains that she and Lie are the descendants ofNü-waand Fu Xi, respectively, and that the Sword and the red orb containing a piece of Chiyou's soul were removed from one of Chiyou's three tombs, weakening his seal and allowing several of his demon minions to be unleashed around the world. Believing Lie to be too incompetent to protect the orb, Shuangshuang takes it with her. Lie gives chase but is attacked byBaron Mordo,who attempts to take the Sword for himself, but is driven away byDoctor Strange.Strange offers to keep the Sword for safekeeping but relents after Lie explains his lineage and needing the Sword to find his missing father, using his magic to help Lie reunite with Shuangshuang. Together, Lie and Shuangshuang destroy the remaining demons. Lie travels with Shuangshuang and his roommate Ah Cheng to the Nü-wa Clan's headquarters atGansu,where he is greeted by Shuangshuang's grandmother and the Nü-wa chief Ji Xiangyun. As Lie, his father and brother are the only known descendants of Fu Xi, Xiangyun has Lie trained under Shuangshuang to prepare against Chiyou and his demon army.[11]
Agents of Atlas
editNow going by the nameSword Master,Lie begins a superhero career while fighting the forces of Chiyou and searching for his missing family. During the "War of the Realms",Sword Master and several other Asian superheroes are summoned byBrawn's teleporter toSeoulto help theNew Agents of Atlasdefend Asia from Queen Sindr and her Fire Goblin forces fromMuspelheim.Sword Master and the New Agents of Atlas take Sindr and her army inNorthern Chinaand later helpCaptain Marveldefeat her and her remaining forces at theGreat Wall of ChinanearBeijing.After Sindr's liegeMalekithis defeated, Sword Master joins the Agents of Atlas.[12]
Sword Master runs into his Atlas teammateShang-ChiinNew York Citywhile searching for his father. Noticing the upstart hero's inexperience and recklessness, Shang takes Lie under his wing to improve his skills.[13]The two are reunited with the other Atlas agents whenFlushingand other Asian, Pacific andpredominantly Asian cities outside of Asiaare merged into the portal city of "Pan" Tech by mogul Mike Nguyen of the Big Nguyen Company.[14]Sword Master and Shang-Chi are later confronted byAres,who attempts to take the Sword of Fu Xi to rescue his kidnapeddrakonsonIsmenios,who Ares believes was captured by another god. Shang-Chi makes a compromise to Ares: in exchange for Sword Master and Shang-Chi helping him, Ares would help find Lie's missing father. Ares accepts and use Pan Portals to track Ismenios to a temple inMadripoor,where they encounter Davi Naka, the Mother Goddess of Madripoor.[15]Naka reveals that Ismenios attempted to plunderAtlantis's treasure hoard during the absence of itssea serpentguardian, but was caught byNamor.Due to her duty to protect all dragons, Naka rescued Ismenios from Namor's wrath and imprisoned the young drakon in her temple for his protection and to placate the king. Naka further warns the four that despite her efforts, Namor is still outraged over the disappearance of his dragon and implores them to find her.[16]
Sword Master and the Atlas Agents help assist Pan's citizens, including defending the city from invadingwyvernsandsea serpentsand protecting Madripoorean refuges from harassment from the Pan Guard. Suspicious by these evengs, Sword Master joins several of his teammates into infiltrating Nguyen's personal tower, where they discover that the Big Nguyen Company had captured Atlantis' missing dragon and were harvesting her scales to power Pan's portals. Before a decision could be made about releasing the dragon, Namor emerges from the waters off of Pan's coast to reclaim his stolen dragon, kickstarting a war between Pan and Atlantis.[14]
In the "Atlantis Attacks"storyline, Sword Master and the other New Agents of Atlas are summoned by Brawn during his confrontation with Namor. Namor warns the group to return Atlantis' dragon in a day or else face the wrath ofAtlantisbefore retreating. After the skirmish, Sword Master and the other New Agents are introduced to the original Agents of Atlas by Atlas Foundation headJimmy Woo.[17]When Woo sendsNamora,Venus,AeroandWaveto Atlantis for a diplomatic mission, Brawn discretely orders Sword Master and Shang-Chi to spy on Namora, due to her familial ties with Namor. The dragon is eventually released from captivity, but upon arriving home, she unexpectedly goes berserk and attacks the underwater kingdom. Sword Master witnesses the destruction caused by the dragon and Shang-Chi relays to Amadeus that Atlantis' scientists discovered an implant embedded in the dragon's scales to be the source of her behavior and that Namor believes Amadeus to be behind the sabotage, prompting the king to resume his assault on Pan.[18]When Brawn is forcibly transformed into theHulkand put under Nguyen's control with Sirena tech in a last-ditch effort to destroy Atlantis, Sword Master and Shang-Chi are able to remove the device from Amadeus, freeing him from Nguyen's control and reverting him back into Brawn. When the conflict between Pan and Atlantis is peacefully resolved, Brawn and Shang-Chi leave the team after admonishing Woo for using the team as his pawns, but Sword Master remains with the Agents of Atlas.[19]
During the "King in Black"event, Sword Master initially defends Shanghai from invadingsymbiotedragons with Aero and theBlack Knight,who had been abandoned in Shanghai and separated from hisEbony Blade,but abandons his mission after realizing that the symbiotes were minions ofKnullrather than Chiyou, believing the task to be beneath him. Angered by Lie's arrogance, the Sword of Fu Xi abandons him for the Black Knight, which incenses Sword Master as he dismisses the Black Knight as a "psychotic American" unworthy of wielding the Sword. While using the Sword of Fu Xi, the Black Knight succumbs to madness, which prompts the Sword to return to Lie. As Sword Master and the Black Knight fight over the Sword, a symbiote dragon ensnares them with its tendrils, which also mentally connects them to Knull, who expresses his desire for their respective swords and ruthlessly mocks the two for their ignorance of their weapons' true histories. The Sword of Fu Xi uses the opportunity to use its flames to burn the Black Knight's hand, returning to Sword Master and freeing the two from Knull's grasp just as a swarm of symbiote dragons amalgamates into Knull's avatar, taking on a gigantic appearance of Chiyou. Sword Master helps the Black Knight recover the Ebony Blade and two use their respective swords to destroy the avatar with Aero's help.[20]
When the "Death of Doctor Strange"prompts legions of demons to invade parts of the world, Sword Master is sent to Seoul by Woo to assist his teammateWhite Foxwith taking down a demonickumihothat had been terrorizing the South Korean countryside. While fighting the kumiho, the Sword of Fu Xi is destroyed by the kumiho who then threw Sword Master into a ravine. Although White Fox is able to slay the demon, she, the Agents of Atlas and South Korea's Tiger Division are unable to find Lie, with White Fox recovering only a single shard of the Sword, causing them to presume he died. Due to the Sword of Fu Xi's destruction, the seals on Chiyou's three tombs further weakened, prompting more of his demon minions to attack cities around the world.[21]
Wielding the Iron Fist
editLin Lie miraculously survives and washes ashore toK'un-Lun,where the recently reincarnated dragonShou-Laobestows him with hischi,saving Lie's life and making him the newIron Fist.With several of the Sword's shards embedded in his hands, Lie resolves to find the remaining pieces and reforge the Sword to prevent Chiyou's release. During his hunt for the shards, Lin Lie briefly encounters his predecessorDanny Rand,who had previously given up the Iron Fist, in Flushing and helps him fight off several minions of Chiyou. Unaware of Lie's identity but happy that Shou-Lao chose a new champion, Danny inquires Lie about his background and offers to help him with his training, but Lie rebuffs and summons a portal back to K'un-Lun[22]Lie is later accompanied by Mei Min, a friend he made in K'un-Lun whose family hosts him, during his travels and helps him recover the remaining shards while fighting the demonic forces of Chiyou. Despite being chosen as the new Iron Fist, Lie's ascension is controversial amongst several K'un-Lun citizens as he is not only the third consecutive outsider to become the Iron Fist, he did not go through the required trials to earn Shou-Lao's chi. Due to the shards of the Sword of Fu Xi embedded in his hands, Lie cannot summon the Iron Fist consistently and is left in a constant state of pain, which makes him a target of ridicule and scorn by several detractors, including his rival Yang Yi. After Lie expresses to Min about how unworthy he is as Iron Fist due to his handicap and unwanted status, theYu-Tiof K'un-Lun, Sparrow, takes Lie under her wing to help him overcome his struggles and regain his confidence. One day during his training, the shards in Lie's hands suddenly begin radiating with burning energy and leaving him writhing in pain, causing Lie to realize that the first tomb of Chiyou had been destroyed[23]An empowered demon minion of Chiyou manages to bypass K'un-Lun's defenses attempts to steal the Sword's remains at Min's home, but Lie injects his arms with them to thwart the demon and uses their extra power to kill him, who reveals with his dying breaths that Lie's brother Feng was the one who destroyed the tomb and that he was waiting for him at the second tomb. Lie takes a portal to the second tomb with Min and Yi but after arriving they encounterFat Cobraand theBride of Nine Spiders.[24]Tasked by Rand to track Lie down, the two Immortal Weapons decide to test the new Iron Fist out by fighting him. Severely outmatched and running out of time, Lie flees from the fight to the Nü-wa Clan's headquarters, but is too late to prevent its destruction from Feng and Chiyou's minions. Unable to summon the Iron Fist, Lie is quickly defeated by Feng.[25]Lie rejects Feng's offer to join him, who proceeds to immerse himself with Chioyou's magic to destroy Lie and his allies. Guided by Shou-Lao's spirit, Lie embraces his identities as Sword Master and Iron Fist, allowing him to summon the full power of the Iron Fist and remove the shards from his hands into a restored blade, which Lie uses to wound Feng. When Sparrow arrives with K'un-Lun's warriors, Feng steals her portal to K'un-Lun, where Chiyou's third tomb is located. After the battle, Lie accepts Danny's offer to train him.[26]
During the "Judgement Day"storyline, Lie takes a flight toSeoulto rendezvous with White Fox but is visited midflight byLoki,who reveals that he is in league with Feng. Provoked by Loki's arrogance, theProgenitorcasts judgement on the two by having them partake in trials within their minds. During Loki's judgement, Lie rescues him from being pinned down by a vision ofMjolnirby using the aura from the Sword of Fu Xi to lift it. During Lie's judgement, the Progenitor appears as Shou-Lao and challenges Lie to take his heart to officially earn his title as Iron Fist. Lie is able to defeat Shou-Lao with Loki's help but instead of taking the dragon's heart, Lie asks Shou-Lao to give it to him. Lie receives the mark of the Iron Fist on his right arm and passes the Progenitor's judgement. Lie and Loki find themselves back on the flight as if nothing happened but the mark still remains on Lie's arm. Before Lie could demand Loki to take him to Feng in K'un-Lun, Loki teleports away from him. Lie eventually arrives in Seoul and reunites with White Fox.[27]
Following Danny's advice, Lie seeks outDaredevilinHell's Kitchento teach him how to fight while mitigating the chronic pain in his arms.[28]
On the night of Danny's 34th birthday, Lie is attacked by theShockerwhile out on patrol in New York and teams up with Danny's ward and intended successorPeito fight off the supervillain. Unbeknownst to both, the Shocker was hired by theCh'i-Linto keep Lie and Pei preoccupied while it possessedRazor Fistinto attacking Danny at his apartment. With Lie unable to help him, Danny is killed by the Ch'i-Lin.[29]Lie later attends Danny's funeral.[30]
Powers and abilities
editAs the descendant ofFu Xi,Lin Lie can wield the Sword of Fu Xi and access its divine powers. When activated, the Sword generates mystical green flames, which can be launched as projectiles or be used to increase the cutting power and range of the blade.[31]Due to its ability to move on its own, the Sword is capable of allowing Lin to fly at short distances.[32]Although originally forged to destroy Chiyou and his demon minions, the Sword of Fu Xi is shown to be just as effective against other demons and undead.[33][20][21]
A noticeable trait is that the Sword of Fu Xi is sentient, and has the ability to move on its own.[34]While the Sword has gone out of its way to protect Lin from threats, it has also defied him when he showed undesirable traits, such as cowardice or arrogance.[34]In some extreme cases, the Sword has allowed itself to be wielded by non descendants of Fu Xi.[34][35][20]
Despite the Sword being shattered, its broken shards can still project its mystical green flames, which are still effective against Chiyou's minions. Lin makes use of the shards embedded in his hands to enhance his punches and infuse weapons with the Sword's flames.[36]Lin later gains the ability to generate blades of the Sword that protrude from his right fist.[37]
After being bestowed with thechiof the dragonShou-Lao the Undying,Lin gained the power of the Iron Fist, allowing him to summon and focus hischito enhance his natural abilities to extraordinary levels. Like every Iron Fist before him, Lin can concentrate his ownchiand the superhuman energy from Shou-Lao's heart into his hands, which manifests into a supernatural glow around his hands and fists that can strike with superhuman hardness and impact, while keeping them impervious to pain and injury.[22]Lin can focus hischiinward to heal himself from injury and pain.[23]
Due to the broken shards of the Sword of Fu Xi embedded in the flesh of his hands, Lin Lie suffers fromchronic pain.When Lin first struggled with channeling the Iron Fist consistently, he originally believed that the shards' presence in his body was disrupting the flow of chi; Lie was warned that failing to properly balance his own chi with Shou-Lao's or immediately removing the shards would result in his death.[22]However, after Shao-Lou revealed that Lie's issues came from his own self-doubt rather than the shards, Lie embraced his dual identities, allowing him to summon the powers of Shou-Lao and the Sword of Fu Xi simultaneously without any ill effects.[38]However, the chronic pain remained in his arms, which he learned how to mitigate after some training withDaredevil.[39]
Due to his training under theNü-waClan,Agents of Atlasand the monks ofK'un-Lun,Lin Lie is an expert swordsman,martial artistand acrobat.[40][36]In addition to K'un-Lun's martial arts, Lin is proficient inBajiquan[22]andWing Chun.[22]
Lin Lie is also exceptionally good at solving puzzles.[41]
Reception
editIn his review of the 2022Iron Fistminiseries, Justin Carter ofio9praised Lin Lie's transition from Sword Master to Iron Fist, a character that he felt was in need of a modern update. Carter wrote that Lie while was similar to his predecessorDanny Randfor also being another outsider to take the Iron Fist mantle, Lie "[feels] like a natural extension of the Iron Fist legacy instead of a younger carbon copy of the established hero", noting that Lie "breaks the mold of recent teen heroes likeMiles [Morales],Robbie Reyes,andKamala Khanby starting out as an original character before transitioning to a legacy hero "and that Lie's raw vulnerability from his chronic pain made him compelling and sympathetic, unique qualities which set him apart from Rand.[42]
Collected editions
edit| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sword Master Vol. 1: War of the Ancients | Sword Master#1-6 | February 2020 | 978-1302919481 |
| Sword Master Vol. 2: God of War | Sword Master#7-12 | February 2021 | 978-1302919498 |
| Iron Fist: The Shattered Sword | Iron Fist(vol. 6) #1-5 | November 2022 | 978-0785194767 |
In other media
edit- Lin Lie as Sword Master appears as anunlockableplayable character inMarvel Future Fight.[43]
- Lin Lie as Sword Master appears inMarvel Snap.
- Lin Lie as Iron Fist appears as a playable character inMarvel Rivals,voiced by Stephen Fu.[44]Additionally, Lie as Sword Master appears as an unlockablealternate skin.[45]
References
edit- ^Đổng tĩnh."Marvel đẩy ra đầu phê Trung Quốc siêu cấp anh hùng, hiểu biết một chút?".language.chinadaily.cn.Retrieved2022-05-22.
- ^abYan, Alice (10 May 2018)."Chinese superheroes Sword Master and Aero join the fight against evil in Marvel universe".South China Morning Post.Retrieved20 May2019.
- ^"Sword Master #1".Previews World.Retrieved20 May2019.
- ^Mah, Dominic (20 May 2019)."An Interview with Greg Pak about Marvel's New All-Asian Superhero Team 'Agents of Atlas'".The Nerds of Color.Retrieved20 May2019.
- ^"A New Hero Claims the Power of K'un-Lun in All-New 'Iron Fist' Series".Marvel.October 29, 2021.RetrievedOctober 31,2021.
- ^Marston, George (February 18, 2022)."The new Iron Fist is just who we thought - but the mystery of his powers continues in Iron Fist #2".gamesradar+.RetrievedFebruary 22,2022.
- ^Marston, George (July 12, 2022)."Iron Fist and Loki face AXE: Judgment Day together".gamesradar+.RetrievedJuly 13,2022.
- ^"Marvel Comics Celebrates AAPI Heritage with New Variant Covers by Inhyuk Lee and New Stories by All-Star Creators".Marvel.February 27, 2023.RetrievedMay 4,2023.
- ^Belt, Robyn (May 3, 2023)."An Inside Look at Marvel's AAPI Heritage Month Titles".Marvel.RetrievedMay 4,2023.
- ^"Iron Fist Celebrates 50 Years in Special Anniversary One-Shot".Marvel.May 15, 2024.RetrievedMay 15,2024.
- ^Warriors of Three Sovereigns#1-12. Marvel Comics.
- ^War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas#2-4. Marvel Comics.
- ^Sword Master #1
- ^abAgents of Atlasvol. 3 #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^Sword Master #2-5
- ^Sword Master #6
- ^Atlantis Attacks#1. Marvel Comics.
- ^Atlantis Attacks#2. Marvel Comics.
- ^Atlantis Attacks#5. Marvel Comics.
- ^abcKing in Black: Black Knight#1. Marvel Comics.
- ^abDeath of Doctor Strange: White Fox#1. Marvel Comics.
- ^abcdeIron Fistvol. 6 #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^abIron Fistvol. 6 #2. Marvel Comics.
- ^Iron Fistvol. 6. #3 Marvel Comics.
- ^Iron Fistvol. 6. #4 Marvel Comics.
- ^Iron Fistvol. 6 #5 Marvel Comics.
- ^A.X.E.: Iron Fist#1. Marvel Comics.
- ^Daredevilvol. 7 #11. Marvel Comics.
- ^Iron Fist 50th Anniversary#1. Marvel Comics.
- ^Power Man: Timeless#1. Marvel Comics.
- ^Sword Master#4. Marvel Comics.
- ^Sword Master#8. Marvel Comics.
- ^War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas#2. Marvel Comics.
- ^abcSword Master#2. Marvel Comics.
- ^Sword Master#6. Marvel Comics.
- ^abIron Fistvol. 6 #1-2. Marvel Comics.
- ^Iron Fistvol. 6 #5.
- ^Iron Fistvol. 6. #5 Marvel Comics.
- ^Daredevilvol. 7 #11 Marvel Comics.
- ^Warriors of Three Sovereigns#12. Marvel Comics.
- ^Warriors of Three Sovereigns#1. Marvel Comics.
- ^Carter, Justin (April 3, 2022)."Marvel's New Iron Fist is One of Their Best Updates in Years".io9.RetrievedDecember 7,2024.
- ^Dinh, Christine (October 23, 2019)."Doctor Voodoo and Agents of Atlas' Aero and Sword Master Join Fight in 'MARVEL Future Fight'".Marvel.Archivedfrom the original on May 16, 2022.RetrievedMay 16,2022.
- ^"Iron Fist / Lin Lie".Behind The Voice Actors.Retrieved2025-01-15.
- ^Schedeen, Jesse (2024-12-10)."Marvel Rivals: The Comic Book Origins of the Game's Unlockable Skins".IGN.Retrieved2025-01-15.
External links
edit- Marvel pages:SM2019