FENG-TU
Type: Mystic Realm
Environment: Basically Earth-like
Usual means of access: Physical Death of inhabitants of K'un-L'un
Dominant Lifeforms: Humans Souls/Spirits
(Ghosts);
Lord Tuan, Lady Meng (his wife), Pedar, Vikdor, Tomas (soldiers
of Tuan);
Heather Duncan Rand, presumably Wendell Rand-Kai;
formerly Dhaska Khan, Kou-Hun-Shih-Che,
Iron Fist (Daniel Rand),
Jade, Bowman
First Appearance: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#19 (December, 1975)
History: (Chinese Myth)- Feng-Tu was the land of the dead in Chinese Mythology. Ruled by Yen-Lo Wang, the Chinese god of the dead, and Meng Po, the goddess of forgetfulness, it was described as having five levels, each one ruled by another god as its governor. The first level was saved for the honored dead of the ancient Chinese. The second level was ruled by Chu Jiang and reserved for thieves and murderers. The third level ruled by Song Di kept for sinners guilty of disloyalty and rebellion. The fourth level ruled by Wu Chang reserved for cheats and counterfeiters. The bottom level was reserved for the punishment of souls.
(Marvel Premiere#15 (BTS))- A colony of humanoid aliens crashlanded in their spaceship in a small other-dimensional world. The ship's warp-drive engines somehow cause a permanent, oscillating rift between the pocket world and the Earth's dimension, causing the settlement to shift into Earthly space periodically in a site on K'un-L'un Mountain in the Himalayan Range of Tibet. Possibly, the infra-spatial rift between dimensions extends to Feng-Tu where deceased members of K'un-L'un began appearing.
BTS - The gods of Feng-Tu abdicated in favor of Lord Tuan, a noble of K'un-L'un.
(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#23 (fb))- Lord Tuan was later overthrown by Dhasha Khan. Khan discovered the spirit of Heather Rand, the mother of Daniel Rand (Iron Fist) and subsequently transformed her into Silver Dragon.
(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#19-24)- From Feng-Tu, Dhasha Khan grew tired of being a lord of the dead and schemed to conquer the land of the living. He sent several agents after Jade, who housed the spirit of the Firebird, but she was rescued by Iron Fist. When the hero was recognized as the greatest warrior of K'un-L'un, the agents refused to push the confrontation. Destroying them, Dhasha Khan sent Silver Dragon against Iron Fist and subsequently took the Firebird spirit from Jade.
Iron Fist's spirit eventually made it to Feng-Tu where it defeated the Soulslayer and encountered the Bowman. While trying to escape Feng-Tu, he encountered Silver Dragon again who recognized him as her son. Refusing to slay him, she was destroyed by Dhasha Khan as the Bowman rallied Lord Tuan and his supporters in retaking Feng-Tu.
Comments: Adapted by Chris Claremont & Ruby Nebres.
Theoretically, if the Eternals and Deviants represented the Olympian and Mesopotamian Gods in ancient times, then maybe the denizens of K'un-L'un did the same for the Chinese Gods.
Profile by: William Uchtman; Marvel Universe information covered by Snood.
Clarifications:
Feng-Tu should not be confused with:
Feng Tu, the underground prison which formerly
held Xorn, @ X-Men Annual 2001.
Feng-Shui, a martial arts term
image:
Other appearances:
Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#20-24 (January-May, 1976)
Last updated: 08/02/02
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
All characters mentioned or pictured are
™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights
Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real
thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com