In flashback, we see the story of how the man who will one day be known as Red Phoenix was fathered by the man known as Huang, the legendary fighter who sired the Twelve Brothers in Silk. Tien Shi was the child born too late, born a day after Pig. The midwife claimed the child was stillborn. Like the race to the Jade Emporer’s banquet, the Cat was too late and not included in the zodiac. With Huang’s zodiac of sons complete, the wives and concubines were no longer scrutinized and were able to quickly spirit the child away. He was placed in the care of the O-Sensei for much of his childhood, and eventually was sent to America where his education in the martial arts and philosophy continued under Richard Dragon. He has become the Thirteenth Brother, the antithesis of all that the Twelve Brothers in Silk represent. Trained by Richard Dragon (contemporary of Lady Shiva and Bronze Tiger), he is ranked amongst the world’s most proficient martial artists.
As the flashback continues, the events behind the scenes of Birds of Prey issues #81-85 are revealed: When his siblings the Twelve Brothers in Silk surfaced in the employ of a Singaporean drug lord, Tien Shi was recruited by Richard Dragon to provide covert assistance to the Birds of Prey in crippling the drug lord's operations. He tracked the drug shipment and pinpointed its location, allowing it to be destroyed by Lady Blackhawk. After the team and their allies battled the Twelve Brothers to a draw, Tien Shi left Gotham quietly, revealing his presence to neither his brothers or the Birds of Prey. But in the battle, he had seen his wicked brothers in action for the first time.
In the present day, while investigating a possible resurgence of the dead Mister Tan’s drug ring in Gotham, the Black Canary and Huntress mistake Tien Shi for an assassin and fight him until Richard Dragon appears to explain the misunderstanding and spirit Tien Shi away. Later, Richard Dragon visits Oracle, at their new location in Platinum Flats (the Silicon Valley of the DCU), accompanied by Tien Shi, a mysterious Chinese man he identifies as his former student. They are looking for more information on the current whereabouts of the Twelve Brothers in Silk. Dragon reveals that Tien Shi was secretly their back-up in their previous encounter with the Twelve Brothers, concealed nearby but not revealing himself unless it was necessary, which it turned out not to be.
Oracle says she knew there was someone in the shadows on that operation, though she didn't know who, and provides some assistance. Her research reveals that recently several of the Twelve Brothers are rumored to have been traveling internationally on their own, without any of the others, which is unusual. At Oracle's request, Black Canary does some investigating in Gotham, and turns up information that one of the brothers, Pig, has attempted to use his knowledge of Mister Tan's network to re-establish it, using new drugs imported from Afghanistan. Tien Shi and Dragon go to Gotham City to take over for Black Canary, as Tien Shi has personal reasons to do the investigating himself. However, it is revealed that Pig's attempt was aborted under mysterious circumstances, and it is further revealed that agents of Ras Al Ghul had already take over the remains of Tan's network. Tien Shi and Dragon end up teaming up with Black Canary to fight a large number of ninjas, learning only the mysterious detail that someone (or something) unrelated to Ras Al Ghul or Mister Tan has been trying to hunt down the brothers, and it is possible that one of the brothers has been killed. They are able to cripple the drug operations, but for Tien Shi, the trail remains elusive…
No comments:
Post a Comment