LORD TUAN

Real Name: Tuan

Identity/Class: Extradimensional (K'un-Lun)

Occupation: Ruler of Feng-Tu;
    former ruler of K'un-Lun

Group Membership: Yama-Kings, natives of Feng-Tu;
    formerly the natives of K'un-Lun

Affiliations: Bowman, Crane Mother and the other lords of the Seven Heavenly Cities, the Fooh, Iron Fist (Daniel Rand-K'ai), Jade, Lei Kung the Thunderer, Master Khan, Lady Meng, the One robot (Shu-Hu duplicate), Shou-Lao the Undying, Terror Priests;
    presumably Iron Fist (Orson Randall), Phineas Randall, uncertain number of other Iron Fists (such as Wu Ao-Shi);
    formerly Davos;
    presumably formerly Shu-Hu (the One; now known as the Divine Wolf) and the people of K'un-Lun who departed for Liu-Shi island;
    possibly formerly Quan-St'ar;
    possibly an unwitting agent of Chiantang,

Enemies: Chiantang, Dhasha Khan, H'ylthri, unidentified Steel Serpent, Steel Serpent (Davos);
    presumably Shu-Hu (the One; now known as the Divine Wolf) and the people of K'un-Lun who departed for Liu-Shi island; the unidentified would-be Iron Fist who would become the Resourceful Snake.
    possibly Quan-St'ar
    formerly Iron Fist (Daniel Rand-K'ai);

Known Relatives: Lady Meng (wife), Wu-An (oldest son?), Yü-Ti (Nu-An, son), Heather Duncan Rand (daughter-in-law), Wendell Rand-K'ai (adopted son, see comments), Daniel Rand-K'ai (Iron Fist, adoptive grandson), Miranda Rand-K'ai (Death-Sting, adoptive granddaughter)

Aliases: August One, August Personage in Jade, Tu-An;
    presumably Dragon Lord, Father-Heaven, Father of Heaven, the Hooded One, Lord of the K'un-Lun Mountain

Base of Operations: Feng-Tu;
    formerly K'un-Lun

First Appearance:  (As Yü-Ti) Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#10 (March, 1975)
    (as Tuan) Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21 (February, 1976)

Powers/Abilities: Yü-Ti had some degree of combat experience as well as at least decades of ruling K'un-Lun, though he was never shown demonstrating any particular skills. He may have overpowered the human master martial artist Steel Serpent, or he may have had Lei Kung stand in for him.

    Apparently he is immune to aging by eating from the Tree of Immortality.

History:
(Iron Fist I#6 (fb) - BTS / Marvel Team-Up I#64) - Tuan was the first son of his father.

(Power Man and Iron Fist#119 (fb) - BTS) - As ruler of K'un-Lun, Tuan would most likely have served the blood sacrifices to Master Khan.

********************As we don't know when Tuan became Yü-Ti, information between the rows of asterisks may relate to Tuan or to previous Yü-Ti**********************

(Master of Kung Fu Annual#1 (fb)) - Quan-St'ar, one of the favored of Yü-Ti, often stood by his side while they were entertained by an exhibition of skill, staged by the Dragon Riders of K'un-Lun (see comments).

(Master of Kung Fu Annual#1 (fb)) - One day one of the Dragons went berserk and attacked Yü-Ti, and Quan-St'ar leaped forward to his defense. It was a long and vicious battle, but finally Quna-St'ar slew the beast. After Quan-Star had cut out the dragon's heart, he presented it to Yü-Ti, whose life he had just saved, as a token of his loyalty. Quan-St'ar was shocked beyond belief when Yü-Ti chastised, reviled, and banished him forever from K'un-Lun. Quan-St'ar protested, insisting that he had saved Yü-Ti's life, but Yü-Ti said that fact was irrelevant. All that mattered was that a sacred dragon had been slain, and that Quan-St'ar had slain it. For this unforgivable crime, Quan-St'ar must be banished (see comments).

(Marvel Premiere#16 (fb) / Master of Kung Fu Annual#1 (fb)) - Yü-Ti placed the Dragon-Lord's heart in a sacred cave, and by making the heart molten, he restored life to the dragon and charged it with the duty of guarding its own heart. The molten heart was kept within a brazier, and it bubbled and pulsed with the life, the beating soul of the dragon: The Heart of the Dragon. Over the dragon's breast was the scar that his heart had been taken. Through this scar the dragon received the mystic emanations that eternally sustained him (see comments).

(Power Man and Iron Fist#119 (fb) / Black Panther III#40 (fb) - BTS - ??) - Many centuries ago, Chiantang leveled K'un-Lun, killing 70, 000 inhabitants over the course of a year (see comments).

(Power Man and Iron Fist#75 (fb) - BTS) - For generations, young warriors marched off, hoping to win the Iron Fist and, as planned, they all fell to Shou-Lao, serving as blood sacrifices (and thus power) to Master Khan.

(Power Man and Iron Fist#75 (fb) - BTS) - Outsiders wandering into K'un-Lun were often sacrificed to Master Khan.

(Marvel Premiere#22 (fb)) - "Centuries ago," Yü-Ti punished the Ninja, imprisoning him within the Book of Many Things.

(Immortal Iron Fist#7) <approximately 1545 AD> - Despite's Yü-Ti's advice to the contrary, Wu Ao-Shi, the then Iron Fist, departed K'un-Lun to seek out her lover.

********************As we don't know when Tuan became Yü-Ti, information between the rows of asterisks may relate to Tuan or to previous Yü-Ti**********************

(Iron Fist V#5 (fb)) - Interested in tales of Earth from Phineas Randall, Yu-Ti (presumably Tuan) wished to experience Earth himself and, in exchange, he agreed to order Shu-Hu -- who had presented the challenge of the One -- to lose to Phineas' son, Orson, so that Orson could be the next Iron Fist.

(Iron Fist V#5 (fb)) - After the Yu-Ti instructed Shu-Hu thusly, Shu-Hu refused to take part in what he saw as corruption of the city he loved, and he departed K'un-Lun, eventually traveling to Earth's Liu-Shi island where he became known as the Divine Wolf.

(Iron Fist V#5 (fb) - BTS) (Late 19th to early 20th century> - The Yu-Ti resolved to replace Shu-Hu with a robot that would not question him but simply obey.

(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#8 (fb) - BTS) - Fooh built the One robot on orders of the Yu-Ti, designing it to be unbeatable. Via the One, Yu-Ti intended to have control over who became Iron Fist, eliminating those he did not wish to have the position.

(Immortal Iron Fist#4 (fb)) - The Yü-Ti trained the young Orson Randall.

(Iron Fist V#4 (fb) - BTS) - Ten years after Shu-Hu's departure, others from K'un-Lun, seeing the Yu-Ti as having corrupted their beliefs, also departed and traveled to Liu-Shi island.

(Iron Fist V#3 (fb)) - A relatively young K'un-Lun native, having passed the challenge of Shou-Lao with relative ease, became cocky as he faced the Challenge of the One. As confidence was no replacement for skill, this man was defeated by the One. To make an example of him, the council (presumably Yu-Ti (likely Tuan/Tu-An, but possibly Nu-An or another) and the Yama Kings) spared his life, but the One ripped off his arms.

(Immortal Iron Fist#5 (fb)) <1933> - Yü-Ti (Tuan) met with the other lords of the Seven Heavenly Cities, telling them that Iron Fist (Orson Randall) would not participate in the Tournament of the Heavenly Realms due to his experiences in Earth's World War I. The Crane Mother proposed that Randall be stripped of his standing, and the other five lords agreed.

(Iron Fist I#6 (fb) - BTS / Marvel Team-Up I#64) - Tuan had two sons, the second of which was Nu-An.

(Power Man and Iron Fist#75 (fb)) - Yü-Ti (Tuan) ruled K'un-Lun, and he and his son Nu-An dwelt within the great shining tower of K'un-Lun, looking over the peace of their realm, and watching the other dimensions through the emerald Great Crystal.

(Immortal Iron Fist#8 (fb)) - Yü-Ti (Tuan) met the newly arrived Wendell Rand, who told him he had gotten lost and stumbled across the entrance to K'un-Lun.

(Power Man and Iron Fist#75 (fb)) - Yü-Ti (Tuan) and his son wandered outside the city, where they encountered Shou-Lao who prepared to attack them. Wendell Rand-K'ai entered K'un-Lun from Earth and drove off Shou-Lao with his rifle (see comments).

(Immortal Iron Fist#8 (fb)) - After four days of recovery, Wendell awakened within the city and was greeted by Lei Kung who unintentionally surprised Wendell, causing him to block his hand in a style that Lei Kung instantly knew had been taught by Orson Randall. Lei Kung told Wendell that while he was glad to know of Orson's survival that Wendell must keep that information secret, or Yü-Ti (Tuan) would become enraged and cause problems for them both. Lei Kung brought Wendell before Yü-Ti, and Wendell told him he found the city by becoming lost. Yü-Ti welcomed him to K'un-Lun.

(Immortal Iron Fist#10 (fb)) <Over thirty years ago> - After each had won their semi-final competition, Yü-Ti (Tuan) announced that Davos and Wendell would battle to determine who would possess the right to face the dragon Shou-Lao the Undying and gain the Iron Fist power.

(Marvel Team-Up I#64 (fb)) - Over twenty years before Iron Fist returned to Earth from K'un Lun, Yü-Ti (Tuan) presided over the struggle between Davos and Wendell Rand-K'ai for the right to challenge Shou-Lao. He stopped the fight, declaring Wendell the victor, when Davos refused to yield despite taking a serious beating, and Davos accused him of favoritism. Later, after Davos had challenged Shou-Lao without permission (nearly dying in the process), Yü-Ti (Tuan) banished Davos, sending him to Earth--never to return--when the portal next opened.

(Immortal Iron Fist#11 (fb)) - Wendell, Yü-Ti, and the Terror Priests followed shortly behind Lei Kung to find Davos after he had broken K'un-Lun's laws, faced Shou-Lao, and had been defeated and dismissed by him. When Wendell asked Davos if he was alright, Davos spat blood in his face and stared at him with sheer hatred.

(Immortal Iron Fist#12 (fb)) - Tu-An watched alongside Nu-An and Lei Kung as Wendell Rand headed off to confront Shou-Lao.

(Marvel Team-Up I#64 (fb) - BTS) - Wendell did not challenge Shou-Lao.

(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#10 (fb)) - The human Steel Serpent traveled to K'un-Lun on two separate occasions of its every-ten-year appearance on Earth. Both times he challenged the August Personage in Jade for the fabled wealth and immortality of K'un-Lun, and both times he lost (see comments).

(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21 (fb) - BTS) - Lord Tuan died and became first among the Yama Kings of Feng-Tu, while his son became the new Yü-Ti.

(Marvel Premiere#15 (fb) - BTS / Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21 (fb) - BTS) - Lord Tuan was most saddened when Wendell Rand-K'ai was killed outside of the boundaries of Feng-Tu, resulting in his spirit being lost to Feng-Tu forever.

(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#23 (fb)) - Tuan and Lady Meng were most surprised when the human Heather Rand, the "terran wife of my son," arrived in Feng-Tu after having been slain by wolves on the bridge to K'un-Lun.

(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21 (fb)) - Dhasha Khan led his forces to invade Feng-Tu, seeking to use it as a base from which to conquer K'un-Lun to gain its power and secrets. The people of Feng-Tu, having long since abandoned the way of the warrior, were unable to stand against Dhasha Khan, and he conquered Feng-Tu.

(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21) - Iron Fist fought his way into Feng-Tu, where he met Lord Tuan and the other inhabitants of Feng-Tu, though he saw them in the attire of modern Earth. Seeking to save the Firebird (Jade) from Dhasha-Khan, Tuan pretended to be showing Iron Fist how to defeat Dhasha Khan, guiding him to see Feng-Tu as it really was, the Land of the Dead. In doing so, however, Tuan entranced Iron Fist so that the Bowman could slay him, that he might die in Jade's place.

(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#22 - BTS) - Iron Fist became one of the shades within Feng-Tu, but he convinced the Bowman and Jade to join him in escaping Feng-Tu.

(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#24 - BTS) - Iron Fist bridged the gap between life and death, enabling him to confront and defeat Dhasha Khan.

(Iron Fist/Wolverine#4 (fb) - BTS) - Wendell Rand-K'ai eventually ended up in Feng-Tu.

(Iron Fist/Wolverine#4) - Tuan was presumably amongst the inhabitants of Feng-Tu who joined the recently slain Iron Fist in appearing on Earth to bid his friends farewell. However, Wendell and Heather (and the other residents) utilized the ambient magic to restore Iron Fist to life. The residents of Feng-Tu then returned to their home.

Comments: Created by Chris Claremont and Rudy Nebres.
    Earlier appearances have been ret-conned to be Tuan or his predecessor(s), with the first such incidence being Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#10, by Tony Isabella, David Anthony Kraft, Frank McLaughlin, and Rudy Nebres.

    With the exception of the flashbacks in Power Man and Iron Fist#75 and Marvel-Team-Up I#64, where Yü-Ti is specifically identified as Tuan, there are several appearances of Yü-Ti, who cannot be Tuan's son Nu-An (who only ascended to the title thirty years ago or so). It is not known how long Tuan ruled as Yü-Ti, so it can't be certain. It might have been decades, centuries, millennia, or even hundred of thousands of years.

Donald Campbell's K'un-Lun comments

    "Yu-Ti" is NOT a proper name, it is a title. "Yu-Ti" and "the August Personage in Jade" can be used separately or together but they both mean the same thing.  It's like referring to Queen Elizabeth of England as "Her Royal Highness, the Queen of England."  Proof of this can be found in Marvel Team-Up #64.  In a flashback, Davos recalls how he battled to win the right to face Shou-Lao in front of "Tuan, who was then Yu-Ti, the August Personage in Jade."  Davos also recalls how, after "Tuan had died, Wendell's brother (succeeded) him as Yu-Ti."
--Agreed

    The only account of Shakari's death that I've ever read appeared in Power Man & Iron Fist #75 when Yu-Ti told Danny that Wendell decided to leave K'un-Lun because he was grief-stricken when Shakari was killed by a H'ylthri.  As far as I know, the idea that she was killed by "Yu-Ti's" men has never appeared in any Iron Fist story but I haven't read them all and so I could be wrong.  However, if I am wrong, then that would mean that at least part of the story that Yu-Ti told Danny about Wendell's past in PM&IF #75 was definitely a lie.
--I believe it was a H'ylthri that killed her, but in Iron Fist I#6, Yü-Ti describes driving Wendell from K'un-Lun so that he could claim rule for himself. Since Shakari/Shakirah's death is what drove Wendell from K'un-Lun, I'd ASSume that he was involved, even if only by distracting the archers from watching over Wendell and Shakari/Shakirah.

    The whole idea that Wendell Rand was an American explorer who had been ADOPTED by Lord Tuan as his heir after saving him and his biological son from being killed by Shou-Lao is a retcon that I have never liked or
accepted.  I don't know Jo Duffy so I can't comment on her character but for some reason her retcon has always struck me as, well, spiteful.  I can't explain why I feel that way, I just do.  However, since my feelings shouldn't have any bearing on this matter, I have two non-emotional reasons for rejecting this retcon.  First, the idea that Wendell Rand was an American has never been substantiated in any other story.  In fact, there have been no in-story references to that idea since PM&IF #75.  It has only appeared in some issues of the OHotMU and not in all of them.
    Second, the idea itself is inconsistent with "facts" established in earlier Iron Fist stories.  Two good examples come to mind.  In Iron Fist I#6, Lei Kung accuses Yu-Ti of violating one of the laws of K'un-Lun.  When Yu-Ti mentions that he IS the law in the city, Lei Kung points out that "those laws say that we shall be ruled by the first son of the first son" and then asks, "Were you not BORN Lord Tuan's second son?"  Okay, by itself this isn't absolute proof.  Just because the current Yu-Ti was Tuan's second son doesn't mean that Tuan's first son had to be Wendell.  Maybe Tuan's oldest son died before Wendell arrived in K'un-Lun.  But then there's Marvel Team-Up I#64 and that flashback to how Davos came to be banished.  Here's a quote: "In all K'un-Lun, only one man was Davos' equal: Wendell Rand-K'ai, FIRST-BORN son of Tuan, who was then Yu-Ti, the August Personage in Jade."  For me, these two quotes, taken together, ARE convincing proof that Wendell Rand-K'ai was Tuan first-born son and heir.  Many of the "immortals of K'un-Lun" hold "Earther mortals" in contempt and Davos was not an exception. He would never consider Wendell as Tuan's first-born son unless he couldn't avoid it (i.e. unless it was true).  Also, I think it unlikely that an American who had been trapped in K'un-Lun because he had been so seriously injured that he couldn't be moved would recover and develop fighting skills that were so great that he could defeat (one of) the best warriors of K'un-Lun.  Sure, Danny did so but he was VERY strongly motivated to do so whereas Wendell had a wife and daughter to occupy his time.  Why would he bother training...unless he WAS from K'un-Lun and, because of his upbringing, just couldn't help himself?
    Okay, I think that I've demonstrated that Yu-Ti's story about Wendell being Tuan's adopted son and heir was definitely a lie. After all, he certainly lied when he claimed that Wendell had chosen to leave K'un-Lun to "return to Earth" after Shakirah's death since IF #6 showed him him reminiscing about how he had driven both Wendell and Wendell's child with Shakirah from K'un-Lun.  So, if he did lie, what was his motivation?  The simple answer is that he wanted to hold on to his "heart's desire" - his position as Yu-Ti and rulership of K'un-Lun.  As Tuan's second son, Wendell's brother had essentially usurped the throne from Danny, the true heir.  By telling Danny that his father was really born on Earth and not in K'un-Lun, Yu-Ti hoped to strengthen Danny's bond to Earth while weakening his connection to K'un-Lun, thus reducing the chances that Danny would decide to stay in the city and learn that he was the rightful heir.
    --Having re-read all of the issues having appearances or mentioning either Wendell or Yü-Ti, I have to agree with this point whole-heartedly. The recent Iron Fist/Wolverine series has Iron Fist's mother refer to Yü-Ti  as his blood relative. Yü-Ti specifically refers to Wendell as his brother, and there is no talk of his being adopted. See the Wendell Rand-K'ai profile for further discussion on this.
    However, this has been pretty solidly retconned out of viability by the Immortal Iron Fist series. And, an older brother of Nu-An named Wu-An was revealed to explain comments about Nu-An not being Tuan's eldest son...

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Lord Tuan, the former Yü-Ti, should be distinguished from:

images:
Marvel Team-Up I#64, p6, panel 5 (Yü-Ti masked face)
            panel 6 (Yü-Ti seated)
Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21, story page 14, panel 2 (unmasked face)
        p19, panel 1 (traditional costume)

Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#10 (March, 1975) - Tony Isabella (plot), David Kraft (writer), Frank McLaughlin & Rudy Nebres (art)
Marvel Premiere#22 (June, 1975) - Tony Isabella (writer), Arvell Jones (artist), A. Bradford (inker)
Master of Kung Fu Annual#1 (1976) - Doug Moench (writer), Keith Pollard (artist), Tartag-Vohland (inkers)
Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21 (February, 1976) - Chris Claremont (story), Rudy Nebres (art)
Iron Fist I#6 (August, 1976) - Chris Claremont (author), John Byrne (artist), F. Chiaramonte (inker)
    #7 (September, 1976) - Chris Claremont (author), John Byrne (artist), F. Chiaramonte (inker)
Marvel Team-Up I#64 (December, 1977) - Chris Claremont (author), John Byrne (artist), Dave Hunt (inker)
Power Man and Iron Fist#74-75 (October-November, 1981) - Mary Jo Duffy (writer), Kerry Gammill (pencils), Ricardo Villlamonte (inker)
Immortal Iron Fist#4 (May 2007) - Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction (writers), David Aja (artist), Travel Foreman & Derek Fridolfs (artists p1-3, 9-10), Sal Buscema & Tom Palmer (artist p12-13), Alejandro Arbona (assistant editor), Warren Simons (editor)
Immortal Iron Fist#5 (June 2007) - Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction (writers), David Aja (artist), Travel Foreman & Derek Fridolfs (artists p1-3, 11-13), Alejandro Arbona (assistant editor), Warren Simons (editor)
Immortal Iron Fist#7 (August 2007) Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction (writers), Travel Foreman & Derek Fridolfs (artists p1-6), Leandro Fernandez w/ Francisco Paronzini & Leo Fernandez (artists p7-13), Khari Evans & Victor Olazaba (artists p14-22), Alejandro Arbona (assistant editor), Warren Simons (editor)
Immortal Iron Fist#8 (October 2007) Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction (writers), David Aja (artist), Roy Allan Martinez (artists p1-3, 7-10), Alejandro Arbona (assistant editor), Warren Simons (editor)
Immortal Iron Fist#8 (October 2007) - Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction (writers), David Aja (artist), Roy Allan Martinez (artists p1-3, 7-10), Alejandro Arbona (assistant editor), Warren Simons (editor)
Immortal Iron Fist#11 (January 2008) - Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction (writers), David Aja (artist), Kano (artists p7-9, 13-15), Alejandro Arbona (assistant editor), Warren Simons (editor)
Immortal Iron Fist#12 (February 2008) - Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction (writers), David Aja (artist), Kano (artists p1-3, 17-19), Javier Pulido (artist p4-6, 12-15), Alejandro Arbona (assistant editor), Warren Simons (editor)

First posted: 09/18/2005
Last Updated: 11/19/2019

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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