divine_wolf-liu-shi-upper divine_wolf-liu-shi-unmasked-lateralDIVINE WOLF

Real Name: Apparently Shu-Hu

Identity/Class: Extradimensional (K'un-Lun) warrior;
    allegedly the distant past (see comments), World War I, pre-modern, and modern era (and presumably all era in between, although only those confirmed/shown are listed)

Occupation: Leader of the House of Wolf, warrior

Group Membership: Council of Liu-Shi (Choshin/House of Bull, Haichun/House of Bear, Patience/House of Rabbit, Qi/House of Snake, Seng/House of Eel, Yue/House of Rat), Liu-Shi's House of Wolf, people of Liu-Shi;
    formerly the people of K'un-Lun

Affiliations: Eel of the Blessed Waters, Haichun, Hark, Long-Armed Bull, Mountain-Slaying Bear, Patience, Qi, Rabbit of Holy Flame, Rat of 12 Plagues, Resourceful Snake, Seng, Yu-Ti (any predecessor to Tuan/Tu-An), Yue
    formerly Choshin, Yu-Ti (presumably Tuan/Tu-An; see comments);
    at least formerly Quan Yaozu (they were once the two mightiest warriors seeking the same goal; it is unclear whether Shu-Hu considered him an ally at any point, and whether Shu-Hu considered him an enemy (or at least resented him) at any point after his defeat);
    unrevealed associations with Lei Kung the Thunderer, Master Khan, etc.

Enemies: Choshin, Iron Fist (Daniel Rand-K'ai), Quan, Shou-Lao, Yu-Ti (presumably Tuan/Tu-An; see comments), Yu-Ti (Nu-An), multiple unidentified Iron Fists that he defeated and/or slew;
    presumably the H'ylthri;
    he presumably despised Phineas and Orson Randall; and likely his robotic successor, the One

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Lightning (translation of Shu-Hu);
    formerly the Onedivine_wolf-liu-shi-mask

Base of Operations: Liu-Shi island, unrevealed location on Earth;
    formerly K'un-Lun

First Appearance: (Behind-the-scenes, unidentified, involvement in plot) Iron Fist V#1 (May, 2017)
    (Identified and seen, cloaked) Iron Fist V#2 (June, 2017);
    (Uncloaked, nature as Shu-Hu revealed) Iron Fist V#5 (September, 2017)

divine_wolf-liu-shi-quanyaozuPowers/Abilities: Shu-Hu is a supremely talented martial artist. He can harness his chi into energy claws he can extend from his body.

Among his attacks were the "Falling Night Front Kick," which looked to be a side-sweeping kick; and the "Raging Tiger Claw Slash," which apparently utilized some of his chi energy in a downward arm slash.

Height: Unrevealed (perhaps 6'10" or taller)
Weight: Unrevealed (perhaps 375 lbs.)
Eyes: Unrevealed (likely brown)
Hair: Head shaved or bald (likely originally black)

History:

(Iron Fist V#5 (fb) - BTS) - In the past, when the dragon Shou-Lao attacked K'un-Lun, it was decided that the city's champion would face the dragon to protect their people.

(Iron Fist V#5 (fb)) - Shu-Hu and Quan Yaozu were the most skilled fighters in the village; they fought for hours, pushing each other to their breaking points. In the end Quan Yaozu narrowly won.

(Iron Fist V#5 (fb)) -While Quan Yaozu became Iron Fist, Shu-Hu became "the One," the final challenge for those on a quest to become Iron Fist.divine_wolf-liu-shi-one

(Iron Fist V#5 (fb) - BTS) - Shu-Hu thusly destroyed many a dream, not to mention life, of those who were unworthy of the mantle of Iron Fist.

    Though honored by this, Shu-Hu was frustrated that his station meant that he could never become Iron Fist, no matter how often he proved himself worthy.

(Iron Fist V#5 (fb)) - After Phineas Randall arrived in K'un-Lun circa 1898, Yu-Ti (presumably Tuan), interested in tales of Earth from Phineas Randall, wished to experience Earth himself and, in exchange, he agreed to order Shu-Hu 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 discovering and traveling to Earth's Liu-Shi island where he eventually renamed himself the Divine Wolf.divine_wolf-liu-shi-one-2

(Iron Fist V#4 (fb) - BTS) - Ten years after  Shu-Hu had departed from K'un-Lun, a large group of K'un-Lun natives departed for similar reasons, feeling that their Yu-Ti had corrupted their beliefs but that they lacked the numbers to stand and fight Yu-Ti's forces.

    These former K'un-Lunians also traveled to Liu-Shi, which they felt promised to be a better K'un-Lun for all of them.

(Iron Fist V#4 (fb) - BTS) - When Iron Fist (Daniel Rand-K'ai) exposed the One as a robot, more turned their back on K'un-Lun, and the numbers on Liu-Shi swelled, but with greater numbers came discord, and the island split into seven factions, initially said to be in honor of the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven.

(Iron Fist V#4 (fb) - BTS) - The seven masters, aka the Council of Liu-Shi, united the island toward the goal of destroying the current Iron Fist (Daniel Rand-K'ai) and claiming the title for Liu-Shi. With this accomplished, they would move to reclaim K'un-Lun. 

(Iron Fist V#2) - The Council of Liu-Shi resolved to bring Iron Fist (Daniel Rand-K'ai) to participate in a tournament involving each of the champions of their houses. divine_wolf-liu-shi-cloaked

    Believing that the corrupt Yu-Ti (Nu-An) had arranged Rand's victory, they were certain their champions could defeat him, which would allow them to absorb his chi, the chi of Shou-Lao the Undying.

    At this point they would then have a champion of the Seven Heavenly Cities amongst their ranks, which would be their path to replacing K'un-Lun as the Seventh Heavenly City.

(Iron Fist V#1 - BTS) - Choshin, head of the House of Bull, sought out Iron Fist (Daniel Rand-K'ai), convincing him to come to Liu-Shi to participate in a tournament to against "those whose skills are equal to your own in a place where Kung Fu is held above all else."

(Iron Fist V#2 - BTS) - Iron Fist was introduced to the the other six members of the Council, who expressed hope that his participation in their tournament would grant them legitimacy.

    Patience of the House of the Rabbit explained that the Divine Wolf was not there as he represented his own house in the tournament and wanted time to prepare for the competition.

    Patience provided the final information to convince the suspicious Iron Fist to participate, telling him he could absorb the chi of the other challengers if he was victorious, replenishing his own seemingly depleted supply.

(Iron Fist V#2) - After Iron Fist won the first challenge, defeating the Eel of the Blessed Waters, the House of the Eel's head, Seng, railed against Iron Fist's right to compete.

    The Divine Wolf asked if this Iron Fist was not worthy, how had he defeated the Eel's champion, and what did that say about Seng and his temple.

    When Seng retorted, noting that the Wolf would be the final challenge after the other champions had weakened him, the Wolf grabbed Seng by the throat, reminding him that Iron Fist would have by then accumulated the chi from the six defeated champions.

    The Wolf further noted that Seng's misunderstanding indicated that he understood the stakes of the challenge even less than the Wolf had previously thought.

    The Wolf advised the others that, even if he was illegitimate, that this Iron Fist had proven himself a capable opponent and should not be underestimated. He finished by advising his fellow council members that those who were too sure of themselves were destined to fall at theh ands of those with something to prove. divine_wolf-liu-shi-challenge

    Patience reminded her associates that they were all after the same thing and that they needed to prove themselves better than the corruption of K'un-Lun.

    After Choshin assured the others that Rand would be defeated and that they would achieve their goal, the Divine Wolf joined the others in proudly proclaiming, "To Liu-Shi!"

(Iron Fist V#3) - The Divine Wolf remained silent as Patience chided Haichun for mocking Yue after the defeat of his house's Rat of 12 Plagues at Iron Fist's hands.

(Iron Fist V#3 - BTS) - Unwilling to take the chance that Iron Fist might defeat all of their chances, Chosin arranged with Quan and other allies to murder Iron Fist's guide of Liu-Shi, Hark, and frame Iron Fist for his death.

    After Iron Fist defeated the Resourceful Snake, Quan and his agents ambushed Iron Fist and Hark, slitting Hark's throat and using a flaming gas to burn up Iron Fist's chi, which would leave him comatose for days. Before they could take the weakened Iron Fist to the Council, however, Quan and his men were ambushed and incapacitated by the Rabbit of Holy Flame.divine_wolf-liu-shi-fight

(Iron Fist V#4) - When Choshin and Quan reported Iron Fist's alleged, murderous actions to the Council and demanded an end to the trial and punishment for Rand, the Divine Wolf insisted the outlander would complete the trial, noting that to disqualify him after he had beaten three of their champions would make them look weak and afraid. Arguing that they were not weak nor afraid of any, the Wolf assured them that Rand would die by his hands at the trial's conclusion, which would be held in the city, where they could supervise him and he could not cheat.

(Iron Fist V#4 - BTS) - Choshin met with Haichun, convincing him that while he believed the Divine Wolf could defeat Iron Fist, that this would only benefit the Divine Wolf, and that they could send their own champions, the Mountain-Slaying Bear and the Long-Armed Bull to attack in unison and destroy Iron Fist together for the people of Liu-Shi.

    After Iron Fist fully recovered, the Rabbit of Holy Flame challenged him and was defeated.

    The Long-Armed Bull and Mountain-Slaying Bear then arrived to battle Iron Fist in unison, but he defeated them both and instructed the Rabbit to take him to the Council.

(Iron Fist V#5) - After the Rabbit confirmed that he had seen Choshin's men murder Hark with the goal of framing Iron Fist, the Wolf noted that Iron Fist could only depart if he survived the final trial: Iron Fist and the Wolf, to the death.

     Within the arena, the finally uncloaked Wolf denounced Daniel as a false champion, explaining his origins and past history as Shu-Hu of the Challenge of the One.

    The Wolf further explained tha the mantle of Iron Fist was never meant for outworlders; it was meant for the people of K'un-Lun so they could protect themselves against those who'd seek to bring them harm. He supported this point by noting how the previous Iron Fists from Earth departed K'un-Lun and returned to Earth at their earliest opportunities. As the realm now lied in ruins, it was time for its people to take back what was theirs.

    As Iron Fist leapt forward to challenge him, the Wolf caught both of his wrists and drained the chi taken from their island, advising Rand that if he was really deserving of the title of Iron Fist, he would have to survive the true Challenge of the One.

    The Wolf pummeled Daniel and instructed him to yield, and when Daniel refused, Shu-Hu told him when he got to Hell to be sure to say "Hello" to the Yu-Ti.

    However, rallying to the challenge and not wanting to deprive K'un-Lun of its champion, Daniel summoned his chi and smashed back Shu-Hu with the Iron Fist. However, as Rand prepared to finish off the stunned Wolf, Choshin had his archers strike Rand in the chest with a trio of arrows.

    Choshin ordered the archers to end the fallen Iron Fist, but the Wolf jumped in their path, knocking them back and accusing Choshin of having tainted the quest he had been working toward for more than a century.

    When Choshin argued that with the Wolf's failed effort to soothe his wounded ego, he was doing what had to be done. Stopping short of fatally choking Choshin, the Wolf denounced him as a traitor and ordered the guards to be locked and held under guard until he could be tried for the murder of Hark.

    Choshin questioned whether he would believe an outworlder over one of his own, but the Wolf instructed the guards to take him away before he changed his mind about killing him here and now.

    Although the Wolf offered to resume the battle when Iron Fist was rested and healed, Iron Fist refused to wait, and as he pulled the arrows out, he reaffirmed that he was the Iron Fist, K'un-Lun's champion, and that he would lay down his life to protect his home. divine_wolf-liu-shi-chi-recapture

    Accepting this as he felt the result would be the same regardless, the Wolf stepped forward and prepared to drop Iron Fist, but Rand -- now using the purpose of fighting for K'un-Lun to tap into his chi -- caught his fist and battered the Wolf repeatedly, knocking him to the ground.

    The Wolf refused to yield, and so Iron Fist beat him and tried to force his surrender. However, the Rabbit interrupted the fight, announcing the Wolf's defeat and that Daniel Rand-K'ai had won the Trial of the Seven Masters and had proven himself the true Iron Fist.

(Iron Fist V#5 - BTS) - Daniel Rand-K'ai departed Liu-Shi, acknowledging that K'un-Lun needed help, and that he would do his best to help them.

Comments: Created by Ed Brisson & Mike Perkins.

    I feel like the stories about the corrupt Yu-Ti were intended to be about Nu-An, but we know that Nu-An didn't become Yu-Ti until after the death of his father Tuan (or Tu-An), and that Tuan was still the Yu-Ti when Wendell Rand defeated Davos approximately 30 years ago. So, it had to be Tuan (or possibly a predecessor) that was Yu-Ti when Shu-Hu (and later the larger groups) departed.

    I really dislike the idea of the One being a more fierce test than Shou-Lao, but it didn't start in this series, Kaare Andrews did that in his Iron Fist: The Living Weapon series.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Divine Wolf should be distinguished from:

images: (without ads)
 Iron Fist V#2, story pg. 10, panel 4 (cloaked face);
    #5, story pg. 5 (upper body, arms raised, ties flowing);
       pg. 6, panel 1 (vs. Quan Yaozu);
       pg. 7, panel 1 (as the One);
          panel 2 (as the One, standing over a fallen Iron Fist);
       pg. 8, panel 2 (unmasked, arguing with Yu-Ti);
       pg. 9, panel 1 (masked face);
       pg. 10, panel 1-2 (catching Iron Fist (Rand)'s hands, draining the chi obtained on Liu-Shi);
          panel 3-4 (with energy claws, challenging Iron Fist);
       pg. 11, panel 6 (raging tiger claw slash)

Appearances:
Iron Fist V#1-5 (May-September, 2017) - Ed Brisson (writer), Mike Perkins (artist), Kathleen Wisneski (assistant editors), Jake Thomas (editor)

First posted: 05/16/2019
Last updated: 05/16/2019

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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