Jade (Iron Fist character)

JADE

Real Name: Jade

Identity/Class: Human, magic-user, possible cosmic entity

Occupation: Embodiment of the ideals of humanity

Affiliations: Possessed by the Firebird (entity); Connected to the life force of the Earth (Gaea); ally of the Bowman and Iron Fist (Daniel Rand)

Enemies: Dhasha Khan and his warriors, the N'Garai

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Firebird

Base of Operations: currently unknown; formerly Earth and Feng-Tu

Appearances: Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu#19 (December, 1975); (22(fb), 19-24

Powers: Jade represented the soul and potential for goodness on Earth. She possessed minimal offensive abilities, but her soul, the Firebird was what helped mankind stave off its baser instincts. Without Jade, humanity would descend into unknown darkness and depravity. In addition, the power of her soul could be harnessed by others to perform massive, planet-wide, changes in reality.

History: (DHoKF#22(fb))-Many milennia ago, well before the Great-Cataclysm which sank Atlantis, before the age of Kull, the Earth was ruled by the race of elder gods known as the N'Garai. Humanity was enslaved by these gods, serving as their workers, pets, and meals. Eventually the N'Garai were driven from the Earth (possibly by the Demogorge), and humanity gained its freedom.

However, humanity had grown used to the life of bestial depravity it had formerly served, and it was not quick to evolve. A woman known as Jade was physically and sexually assaulted by a band of men and left in the woods. When she recovered, she was so mentally anguished that she prayed for death. In response, she was exposed to a blinding light which set her afire, and transformed her into a giant bird-creature, the Firebird. In this form, she became the mystical embodiment of all that is good, kind, decent, and noble in humanity. She was to represent all that is best, and serve as humanity's soul. The ideal represented by the Firebird lifted humanity out of the charnal pit the N'Garai had dug for it, allowing it to rise above its damned infancy.

(19-25)-The demon/sorcerer Dhasha Khan sought to takeover Earth from the stronghold he had made in Feng-Tu, the realm of the dead for the Chinese and the people of K'un L'un. To do so, he sought the power of the Firebird. He directed a group of people to assault its human manifestation, Jade. This assault was stopped by the warrior Iron Fist, but Khan then sent two other agents, the Khou-Hun-Shi-Che (The Messengers Who Seize Souls), who brought the two to Feng-Tu. There Khan's agent, the Silver Dragon, overpowered Iron Fist, and Khan then stole the Firebird's soul into his Soulgem.

Without the Firebird, Jade knew she would turn to dust within a few days. She also knew that without her, humanity would again descend into the level it had been under the N'Garai. Iron Fist, along with the warrior known as the Bowman, escaped from the palace of Feng-Tu, and attempted to escape back into the world of the living. They were delayed by a second battle with the Silver Dragon, which allowed Dhasha Khan to take Jade and travel to Earth. There he used the power of the Firebird, contained within his Soulgem, to begin to alter the Earth back to its earlier state. Iron Fist succeeded in returning to Earth, defeated Khan, and claimed his Soulgem. Iron Fist had fallen in love with Jade, and was reluctant to give her back the Firebird, because he knew he would lose her. However, he did so in order to save humanity, and she returned to her Firebird form and left that plane of reality.

Comments: Created by Chris Claremont and Rudy Nebres

Yes, the story was in black and white.

You've got to get the old Marvel Magazines. Classic stories.

Clarifications: The Firebird, which possessed and transformed Jade, may or may not have connections to the energy which empowered Firebird, Bonita Juarez, of the Avengers and Rangers, @ Incredible Hulk II#265. Despite the known actions of the extra-terrestrial group SHIELD, whose failed experiments apparently resulted in her powers, she has other, more mystical powers (such as immortality), which remain unexplained. Nonetheless, no connection has been discussed or revealed, so they are treated as spearate entities.

Similarly, although similarities exist and possible connections could be made to the Phoenix Force, it, too is treated as a separate entity.

Last updated: 08/02/02

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