Fin Fang Foom
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Fin Fang Foom is a fictional character and an alien dragon that appears in the Marvel Universe. Fin Fang Foom first appeared in Strange Tales vol. 1, #89 (October 1961).
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[edit] Fictional character biography
Although once believed to be a native of the Valley of the Sleeping Dragon in China, Fin Fang Foom - which means "He Whose Limbs Shatter Mountains and Whose Back Scrapes the Sun" - is an alien being from the world of Kakaranathara (also known as Maklu IV) in the Maklu system of the Greater Magellanic Cloud. Foom and several other members of his race originally depart their peaceful homeworld with the intention of conquering other planets. The alien dragons land on Earth in ancient China, and the crew used their natural shape-shifting powers to mimic human form, intent on entering and studying human society before beginning their conquest. Foom was the exception, and acting as reserve is placed in a tomb and given a herb that places him in a catatonic state. [1]
Fin Fang Foom is briefly awakened in the 8th Century, and returns to sleep with a second application of the herb. Foom sleeps until the modern age, when he is deliberately awakened by teenager Chan Liuchow, whose homeland is under threat from the Communist Party of China. Liuchow taunts Foom with the threat of the herb, and goads the dragon into chasing him straight into the Communist camp, which Foom decimates. Liuchow subsequently leads him back into his tomb, where the herb returns Foom to his sleep. [2] At some point, the sleeping Fin Fang Foom is captured by the Elder of the Universe known as the Collector, and imprisoned in his subterranean collection of monsters. When the Mole Man attacks the facility, Foom and the other monsters escape [3] and are later captured by the recently-formed Fantastic Four and deposited on Monster Isle. [4] Foom, however, has no desire to serve the Mole Man (who uses the island as a base) and leaves, returning to China and hibernation.
Sometime later a scientist called Doctor Vault manages to mentally control the dragon and attack Vault's foe It the Living Colossus. Resisting the control, Foom instead aids the Colossus against an alien invasion - intent on preserving the planet for the dragon's own race to conquer at a later date. Vault's mind control briefly forces Foom to battle the Colossus, Foom overpowers his opponent with martial arts before freeing his mind and returning to hibernation yet again. [5] Years later, Fin Fang Foom is again roused from his slumber when his body is possessed by the demon Aan Taanu. Combating a group of occult adventurers (including an older Chan Liuchow, now a Professor) known as the Legion of Night in New York, Taanu is exorcised from Foom's body, and the confused Foom once again returns to hibernation. [6]
[edit] Modern age
At some point in the modern age the Makluan vessel is found by a man who steals ten sophisticated rings from it, and eventually becomes the supervillain the Mandarin. Years later the Mandarin is directed to the Valley of the Sleeping Dragon by the captain of the vessel - in human guise - and finds and wakes Fin Fang Foom, using the dragon to threaten the Chinese government. When the other Makluans shed their human forms to begin their conquest, the Mandarin realises he is being used and joins forces with the superhero Iron Man to defeat the dragons, the battle ending with their apparent annihilation. [7]
Although Fin Fang Foom's body is destroyed, his spirit survives and bonds itself to a small dragon statue, which was stolen from a curio shop by teenager Billy Yuan at Foom's mental urging. Using Yuan's body as a conduit for his power, Foom summons thousands of lizards from the sewers beneath New York, merging them with Yuan's body to recreate his own form. Iron Man, however, defeats Foom once again, with assistance from the last remnants of Yuan's mind. Due to several legal complications, however, the defeated dragon is sent to Monster Isle again, [8] where he and several other monsters go on to briefly battle the dimensionally-displaced Justice League of America. [9]
Tired of the constant defeats and with the other members of the Makluan crew dead, Foom decides to reform and becomes a follower of Buddhism. He enters into a rehabilitation program, which sees himself and three other monsters - the robot Elektro, the giant ape Gorgilla and the alien Googam - shrunk down to human size, hypnotically stripped of their powers, and allowed to enter human society. Taking up a job as head chef in a Chinese restaurant within the Baxter Building, Foom teams up with the other monsters to defeat the size-changing warlord Tim Boo Baa as the "Fin Fang Four." [10]
Foom later appears as a pawn of the Beyond Corporation©, and while having reverted back to its' original size, lacks any real intelligence. Foom is eventually defeated by Aaron Stack, who allows himself to be swallowed by the dragon and then eviscerates it internally. [11] "Fin Fang Four" writer Roger Langridge notes that if given the opportunity to do a further Fin Fang Foom story, he would explain that the Beyond Corporation's Foom was merely a clone of Foom made when intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D. took a sample of his DNA years ago. [12]
Fin Fang Foom later reappears, still in shrunken form, and begrudgingly aids Wong - the servant of Dr. Strange - in defeating a force of HYDRA agents. [13]
There have also been two imitations of Fin Fang Foom. On the first occasion the Midgard Serpent imitated Foom to try and fool the Thunder God Thor [14] while the second involved the villain Nightmare morphing a creature called a Mindless One into a copy of Foom to battle the Hulk. [15] Thor also claims at one point to have killed the true Fin Fang Foom in battle, and uses his bones to build a tomb in the realm of Asgard. [16]
[edit] Powers and abilities
Fin Fang Foom possesses superhuman strength, the ability to fly via his wings at supersonic speeds, and can spew a destructive acidic mist resembling flame from his mouth. The dragon is also extremely durable and can regenerate at a rapid rate. By entering into long periods of hibernation, Fin Fang Foom has managed to survive for centuries. Fin Fang Foom is also a shapeshifter, can communicate telepathically and excels in hand to hand combat.
[edit] Appearances in other media
[edit] Television
- Fin Fang Foom was a recurring villain in the Iron Man animated television series (1994-1995). Fin Fang Foom was voiced by Neil Ross.
[edit] Video games
- Fin Fang Foom appears in the role-playing video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance voiced by James Sie. He is seen as a member of Doctor Doom's Masters of Evil.
[edit] Movies
- A version of Fin Fang Foom appears in the Animated feature The Invincible Iron Man
[edit] References
- ^ Seen in flashback in Iron Man vol. 1, #274
- ^ Strange Tales vol. 1, #89
- ^ Marvel Monsters: Monsters On The Prowl #1 (2005)
- ^ Fin Fang Four #1 (2005)
- ^ Astonishing Tales #23 - 24
- ^ Legion of Night #1 - 2
- ^ Iron Man vol. 1, #275
- ^ Iron Man vol. 2, #15 - 18
- ^ JLA/Avengers #1
- ^ Fin Fang Four #1 (2005)
- ^ Nextwave vol. 1, #2 (2006)
- ^ Monster Blog! A Tribute to the Monsters of Jacky Kirby
- ^ Marvel Holiday Special (2006)
- ^ Thor vol. 1, #379
- ^ Hulk vol. 3, #79
- ^ Thor vol. 2, #80
