Real Name: Thomas Arn
Identity/Class: Normal human, unconventional weapon user
Occupation: Would-be crimelord; martial arts teacher
Group Membership: Golden Tigers
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Kevin Chang, William Hao, Iron Fist (Daniel Rand), Power Man (Luke Cage)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: New York, USA
First Appearance: Power Man and Iron Fist I#72 (August, 1981)
Powers/Abilities: Thomas Arn was a skilled martial artist. He used classical oriental weapons like shuriken and high-tech weapons like a triple-iron electro-blasting nunchaku.
History:
(Power Man and Iron Fist I#72 - BTS) - Thomas Arn was a teacher in a judo school. Several years after Robert Hao, the original Chaka, was arrested, Arn took his place using Hao's costume and favorite weapon. He also rebuilt the street band of the Golden Tigers, probably choosing some of his best students as members.
(Power Man and Iron Fist I#72) - The repeated crimes and extortions of the Golden Tigers forced the Lindon Street Company to send Power Man and Iron Fist to protect its businesses in the Chinatown area. The investigations and interferences from the Heroes for Hire caused a lot of trouble for the Golden Tigers.
Arn knew that the investigations of William Hao, Robert's brother, could be a problem for the Golden Tigers' activities and so he dispatched a squad of warriors to torture Hao before killing him. Arn wanted him to become an example for the people who stood against the Golden Tigers. When he saw that his gang members had to fight Iron Fist and Power Man too, Chaka intervened. His energized nunchaku knocked down Power Man, but the potential outcome of the battle was too uncertain, so he withdrew with his Golden Tigers and promised that there would be a reckoning.
However, the Golden Tigers' illegal activities
kept getting spoiled by
Power Man, who was following the gang as they committed crimes. Meanwhile, Daniel Rand enrolled in Ting So
Ling school, as well as several other martial arts schools. While attending the
training,
he tried to guess who among teachers and students could be Chaka.
Rand also
visited Arn's school but he could not recognize anyone, but no-one recognized him either.
Later, a pack of Golden Tigers attacked Rand and Kevin Chang, and the fight escalated with the arrival of Power Man. Chaka then intervened to defeat his enemies. He managed to put Luke Cage out of the fight with his energized nunchaku, but, even using trickery, when he confronted Iron Fist in a man-to-man fight, he was easily defeated. Kevin Chang accused Arn to be a man without honor and witnessed against him. Arn was arrested and many victims of the Golden Tigers also attested to the gang's crimes.
Comments: Created by Mary Jo Duffy, Kerry Gammill and Ricardo Villamonte.
How did Arn come in possession of Chaka's triple-iron energized nunchaku? Did Robert Hao tell him of this while in prison? Could it be that some members of the original Golden Tigers found it in one of Robert Hao's hideouts? Perhaps Thomas Arn was once a member of the Golden Tigers before taking control.
Some info by Matthew Baugh:
The first Chaka debuted in 1976. His name is not Chinese and I've never seen how Chris Claremont came up with the name but I have a theory. Chaka wields a three-section staff, or triple-irons, which resembles the better-known nunchaku. In the 70s, the nunchaku was sometimes slangily called "nunchucks" or "Chaka sticks."
Also in the 1970s the singer Chaka Khan, called the "queen of funk," was at the peak of her popularity. The similar names seem to have been confused. Part of this confusion also comes from two other Marvel characters. The first of whom was a sorcerer named Master Khan. He had originally appeared in Strange Tales #77 way back in 1961, but Claremont brought him back as a villain for Iron Fist in Marvel Premier#22 in 1975.
Finally, in 1976, Doug Moench and Paul Guilacy created a Shang Chi villain named Shaka Kharn in Master of Kung Fu #46. I suspect this character's Name is a pun on the name of the singer, Chaka Khan. In any case, I believe that there was confusion between the names of Chaka, Master Khan, and Shaka Kharn, who all debuted at roughly the same time. Add confusion with the singer, Chaka Khan, And the Iron Fist villain "Chaka" Is now remembered as "Chaka Khan."
The speculation that Chris Claremont's inspiration from the name came from Chaka's signature weapons, nunchaku, is likely correct imo, but another option (in-universe at least) does present. There is a place called Chaka in China. So perhaps the title given to the leader of the Golden Dragon is the name of the original home town of the gang.
--Loki
I just spoke to my Chinese Singaporean partner & the word & English pronunciation of Chaka isn't Chinese. The Chaka location you see in China is in the western provinces (Tibet) & is the Chinese phonetic translation of the local language - going by the Chinese characters, it's not even the English "Ch" sound. I'd definitely stick with the Claremont explanation (derivation from nunchaku).
--Grendel Prime
Claremont getting it from nunchaku is purely speculation, and may not be correct. I'd concur that it is more likely than Claremont deriving the name from a place in China, based on the assumption (and it is an assumption) that Claremont would have been unlikely to know the names of semi-obscure Chinese locations. However, in universe that option makes less sense - firstly, nunchaku is the Japanese name for that weapon, while a Chinese individual would be more likely to call them shuang jie gun. In universe, I'd be more willing to go with it being a bad Anglicization of his actual name (cf Golden Claw vs Yellow Claw), and that would still permit the option of the actual name deriving from the aforementioned region.
--Loki
Profile by Spidermay.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Chaka should not be confused with:
and has no known connections to:
Kevin Chang is probably a relative of:
and has no known connections to:
Kevin was a normal boy who was well-trained in the martial arts as were many of his friends. He studied martial arts at Thomas Arn's school, and also knew many members of the Golden Tigers, but he was not an active member of the gang. As student, he looked up to his master and believed he was a honorable man. However, one day, Chang met Daniel Rand during a lesson at Arn's school. Outside, a dozen of Golden Tigers tried to rob Daniel. Chang tried to defend him, but he soon realized that Daniel could do it by himself. Chang was amazed by Daniel's abilities and considered him to be the best martial artist that he had ever seen. The fight escalated with the arrival of Power Man and Chaka. Kevin noticed that Chaka didn't fight with honor, as a real warrior should do, and so he no longer respected his master. When Iron Fist defeated Chaka, Kevin accused Arn and the villain was arrested. His example was followed by other victims of the Golden Tigers' crimes.
--Power Man and Iron Fist I#72
images:
(without ads)
Power Man and Iron Fist I#72, cover ("Chaka" title)
Power Man and Iron Fist I#72, p10, pan2 (Chaka, main image)
Power Man and Iron Fist I#72, p21, pan6 (Thomas Arn without mask)
Power Man and Iron Fist I#72, p11, pan4 (Chaka, head shot)
Power Man and Iron Fist I#72, p17, pan1 (Kevin Chang)
Appearances:
Power Man and Iron Fist I#72 (August, 1981) - Mary Jo Duffy (writer),
Kerry Gammill (pencils), Ricardo Villamonte (inks), Dennis O'Neil
(editor)
First Posted: 03/24/2008
Last updated: 03/22/2008
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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