Dragon Lord (comics)

Dragon Lord is the name of several unrelated fictional characters in Marvel Comics.

Publication history

The first Dragon Lord appeared in Sub-Mariner #52-54 (August–October 1972), and was created by Bill Everett and Mike Friedrich.

The Dragon Lord Yu-Ti first appeared in Marvel Premiere #15 (May 1974), and was created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane. The character subsequently appears in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #10 (March 1975), Marvel Premiere #22 (June 1975), Master of Kung Fu Annual #1 (1976), Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #21 (February 1976), Iron Fist #6-7 (August–September 1976), Marvel Team-Up #64 (December 1977), Power Man and Iron Fist #74-75 (October–November 1981), and Immortal Iron Fist #4-8 (May–October 2007), and #10-14 (December 2007-June 2008).

Tako Shamara first appeared in Marvel Spotlight (vol. 2) #5 (March, 1980), and was created by Marv Wolfman and Steve Ditko.[1] In his first appearance the character battled a huge dragon from the past called a Wani, a monster that destroyed his ancestors' villages in 1582.[2] The creature that Tako battled was intended to be Godzilla but since Marvel no longer had the rights to the character (which lapsed the previous year) the creature was modified to a dragon called The Wani.[3]

Ral Dorn, the Dragon Lord, appeared in Fantastic Four Annual #16 (1981), and was created by Ed Hannigan and Steve Ditko.

History

Dragon Lord I

Dragon Lord
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Sub-Mariner #52 (Aug 1972)
Created by Bill Everett and Mike Friedrich

The Dragon Lord was a fanatic bent on avenging Japan's defeat in World War II. Although blind, he appears to be able to "see" mentally. He used Sunfire as an ally, but Namor later convinced Sunfire of Dragon Lord's intentions to conquer the world for his own benefit. The two heroes stopped Dragon Lord's plans and destroyed his base.

Nu-An

Main article: Yu-Ti

Nu-An is the Yu-Ti (a name given to the rulers of K'un-Lun) who also uses the alias of Dragon Lord as did his father Lord Tuan.

Tako Shamara

Dragon Lord

Tako Shamara makes his first appearance battling the dragon Wani. From Marvel Spotlight (vol. 2) #5
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Marvel Spotlight (vol. 2) #5 (March, 1980)
Created by Marv Wolfman and Steve Ditko
In-story information
Alter ego Tako Shamara
Abilities Summon and control dragons through elixirs

Dragon Lord later appears in Camp Hammond, as an official recruit for the Initiative, along with Ant-Man, Crusader, Melee, Geldoff, Geiger, Red Nine, and Diamondback.[4] Shamara was killed when the clone of MVP known as K.I.A. attacked the group of new trainees.[5] The surviving trainees, along with Triathlon and the Taskmaster presented his ashes and a flag to Shamara's family at their Long Island home. Shamara's son stated that he intends to honor his father by taking up his mantle.[6]

Ral Dorn

Dragon Lord
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Fantastic Four Annual #16 (1981)
Created by Ed Hannigan and Steve Ditko
In-story information
Alter ego Ral Dorn

Ral Dorn was a human of Earthly parentage who leads the Dragon Riders of the extradimensional world of Rammatpolen. The Dragon Riders use dragons as mounts in their journeys through time and space. Ral Dorn has used the Dragon Man as his own mount.[7]


Powers and abilities

Nu-An has some degree of combat skills, but he shows minimal skills. Apparently, he is immune to aging due to him eating a fruit from the Tree of Immortality.

The Tako Shamara version of the Dragon Lord could summon dragons and control them through elixirs created in his cauldron. He was mocked by Taskmaster for this flaw, who felt that such an ability would not be useful in combat due to its time-consuming nature.

References

  1. ↑ DeFalco, Tom; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1980s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. Dorling Kindersley. p. 197. ISBN 978-0756641238. Tako Shamara became the Dragon Lord in Marvel Spotlight No. 5 by writer/editor Marv Wolfman and artist Steve Ditko
  2. ↑ http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/draglrdj.htm
  3. ↑ Cronin, Brian (December 24, 2009). "Comic Book Legends Revealed #239". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on July 4, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2013. The Godzilla fill-in by Marv Wolfman and Steve Ditko, ended up appearing in the pages of the re-launched Marvel Spotlight in 1980 as Dragon Lord, about a fellow who can control dragons.
  4. ↑ Avengers: The Initiative #8
  5. ↑ Avengers: The Initiative #10
  6. ↑ Avengers: The Initiative #12
  7. ↑ Hannigan, Ed (w), Ditko, Steve (p), Ditko, Steve (i). "The Coming of... Dragon Lord!" Fantastic Four Annual 16 (1981)

External links