First Appearance: Master of Kung Fu I#107 (December, 1981)

Powers/Abilities: Sata was dubbed one of the world's most accomplished assassins in that he was successful and never failed to make a hit, commanding very high fees and working for terrorist organizations and some world powers. He had been trained as a stealthy killer by Fu Manchu's elite Si-Fan and was very skilled in various forms of armed and unarmed combat. His strength, stamina, reflexes and agility were all at athlete to peak human levels. He was capable of throwing three sais in quick succession, hard enough to penetrate a man and pin him to a brick wall, and utilized a trident as a weapon, all of which had been sharpened to do lethal damage to his targets. He stood about 6' tall and was probably Caucasian. Sata was clad in a golden helmet with red eyeholes, plus a green and yellow costume. There were large blades either side of his helmet, as well as on his gauntlets and ankle plates.

He seemed to model his armor on that of one of the gladiator statues at the Roman Coliseum, as it seems very unlikely that he crafted a statue as a distraction.

History:

(Master of Kung Fu I#107 (fb) - BTS) - Sata was a member of Fu Manchu's elite Si-Fan assassins. He knew that Fu Manchu, Shang-Chi's father, was disappointed that Shang-Chi did not become an assassin.

(Master of Kung Fu I#107 - BTS) - Sata, now working freelance, was hired to assassinate Dark Angel and her father, and traveled to Rome, Italy, to fulfill this contract.

(Master of Kung Fu I#107) - Dark Angel's father knew he was being hunted by assassins out to kill him and that Sata was the next to target him. Shang-Chi found Dark Angel's father and escorted him through the dimly lit streets near the Coliseum, but Sata attacked from the shadows, hurling three sais that impaled Dark Angel's father against a brick wall, killing him. The assassin then strode out laughing, before darting away into the darkened Coliseum. Seeking to avenge the victim, Shang-Chi pursued the killer, emerging in a passageway lined with huge statues of gladiators. However, Shang-Chi had only just finished a cleansing fasting, and this had left him weakened and prone to illusions.

In a shadowy recess, Shang-Chi saw the figure of Sata and attacked, knocking the head off a statue that resembled the assassin's armor. Sata mocked him and threw his trident at the Master of Kung Fu, who barely evaded it. Sata's wrist blades then ripped off the remainder of Shang-Chi's top and the two sparred further. Seeking to resist the disorienting effects of anger, Shang-Chi imagined himself a gladiator of ancient Rome against a similarly garbed Sata and was caught up in the illusion, but finally broke through, disarming Sata of his trident, breaking it by smashing it against the assassin who fell to the ground. Sata grabbed the bladed end of the broken trident and sought to pierce Shang-Chi. However, the martial artist blocked the attack with a flying kick. Sata fell once more, but accidentally skewered himself with the trident as he hit the ground. Sata was silent in death.

Comments: Created by Doug Moench (writer), Gene Day (penciler) & Armando Gill (inker).

Profile by Grendel Prime

Clarifications:

Sata has no known connections to:

• Any other "Sata" or Sata-" characters

images:
Master of Kung Fu I#107, p14, panel 4 (main)

Master of Kung Fu I#107 (December, 1981) - Doug Moench (writer), Gene Day (pencils), Armando Gill (inks), Denny O'Neil (editor)

Last updated: 08/24/06

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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