The FOOH The FOOH
Real Name: Unrevealed; possibly Fooh
Identity/Class: Extradimensional (K'un-Lun) high-tech scientist;
early 20th century, pre-modern era, and modern era (and presumably all era in between, as well as the eras before spanning back potentially as far as the distant past, although only those confirmed/shown are listed)
Occupation: Engineer, builder
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Bride of Nine Spiders, Luke Cage, Dog Brother #1 (Sihing), Gork, Iron Fist (Daniel Rand-K'ai), Okoye, Prince of Orphans, Quan Yin, Phineas Randall, Yu-Ti (Tuan/Tu-An), Yu-Ti (Sparrow)
formerly the One, Yu-Ti (Nu-An; he served Nu-An, but never trusted him);
possibly previous Yu-Tis
Enemies: Hierophant and his undead, Lady Bullseye, the One, Brenda Swanson (aka Yama Dragonsbane), Taskmaster, Yu-Ti (Nu-An);
indirectly Davos (aka Steel Serpent)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: The Mountain Fist;
"Counsel of Darkness" (accusation from Yu-Ti (Nu-An))
Base of Operations: Presumably a subterranean base below K'un-Lun
First Appearance: (Behind-the-scenes, unmentioned) Marvel Premiere I#15 (May, 1974);
(Unidentified) Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#5 (October, 2014);
(identified) Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#6 (November, 2014)
Powers/Abilities: The Fooh is a genius inventor as well as a master of technology, robotics, and forging/building technology.
Among his creations is the One, a powerful robotic warrior allegedly unable to be beaten even by an Iron Fist-powered warrior unless it was programmed to lose.
The Fooh originally seemed to be very cynical, sour, and mean.
After dying, his ghost was silly, madly cackling while dispensing sometimes wise advice in semi-humorous form. Upon being resurrected, he retained the attitude and behavior from his afterlife.
His ghost form could communicate with certain beings -- perhaps only those who had suffered a near-death experience, or who were experiencing some degree of madness, or perhaps just those he wished to see him -- but was apparently not seen nor heard by any others.
The Fooh was long-lived, at least
100 (if not thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or
even a million) years old. While he could be killed, he may have had an
extremely long lifespan, although he did at least physically develop an
elderly appearance.
The Fooh may or may not be skilled in the martial arts.
Height: Approximately 3'
Weight: Approximately 80 lbs.
Eyes: Unrevealed (presumably brown)
Hair: Sparse gray hair on head; gray beard
History:
(Iron
Fist: The Living Weapon#9 (fb) - BTS) - Fooh served the line of Yu-Tis serving as K'un-Lun's rulers.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#7 (fb) - BTS) - Fooh remained in the shadows of K'un-Lun, providing technology in a land that forbade it.
(Iron Fist V#5 (fb) - BTS) - After the departure of Shu-Hu in the late 19th century or early 20th century,
the Yu-Ti (presumably Tuan/Tu-An; see comments) resolved to replace Shu-Hu with a robot that would
not question him but simply obey.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#7 (fb)) - After Sparrow showed young Daniel Rand the secret mechanical systems in K'un-Lun's underbelly, the Fooh confronted them, noting crimes of training illegally, trespassing into a forbidden chamber, exposing an outsider to forbidden ways, illegally training in forbidden fighting techniques, and conspiring to commit insurgency. "Treason! Traitors! Idiots! Children!"
While Sparrow and Daniel were intimidated by his
massive shadow as he approached, with Daniel asking for mercy and
assuring him they were just leaving they were unimpressed by his
dimunitive size.
When the Fooh introduced himself as "Fooh! The
Mountain Fist! I am to be respected!", Daniel noted his small size.
Enraged, the Fooh then called the guards to arrest the children, and when Daniel asked what they were going to do to him and Sparrow, Fooh advised him that he would find out...one day, they'd all find out...
(Marvel Premiere I#15 (fb) - BTS / Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#8 (fb) - BTS) - Presumably under the direction of Yu-Ti (Nu-An), the Fooh programmed the One to lose to the newest Iron Fist (Daniel Rand).
(Marvel Premiere I#15 (fb) - BTS / Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#7 (fb)) - The Fooh stood amongst the Yama Kings and Yu-Ti as Iron Fist decapitated the One, exposing it as a robot.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#9 (fb)) - Yu-Ti accused Fooh of treason and betraying the tenets of technology by using a creation of lifeless metal and brutal science to impersonate an immortal of flesh; he noted that Fooh's "bastard perversion" would be purged from their lands and he would follow.
Fooh denounced the Yu-Ti and his
associates as cuckolds and idiots, as he had only been following
orders.
When Yu-Ti warned him against using lies and slander, Fooh mocked Nu-An and demanded he be released or he would share the kingdom's darkest secrets.
For having served his family well, the Yu-Ti "respectfully spared him the eternal fall" (whatever that means) but claimed that it was beyond his station to grant pardon as he had failed his people.
Fooh called Yu-Ti an arrogant snot
and insisted that he wouldn't dare.
However, as Yu-Ti told him he was
hereby stripped of his position, his citizenship, and his immortality,
the executioner raised his giant blade, and Fooh cried out, No!"
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#9 (fb) - BTS) - The Fooh was apparently decapitated.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#5) - As Iron Fist lay prone on the ground, helpless before the immense One robot and his undead ninjas, the Fooh (perhaps his spirit / astral self, or something else), seemingly came flying down the mountain on a sled at the leading edge of an avalanche, snatching away the helpless Iron Fist just before the snow crashed down on his opponents.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#6) - As Sparrow
carried the broken Iron Fist up the frozen Himalayas, the Fooh
mockingly urged haste to get shelter before sunset, cackling as he
noted that climbing a mountain begins with a single step...followed by
50,000 more, and noting that the frozen climate spared them K'un-Lun's
rank odor.
As Sparrow reached a cave, Fooh advised she start a fire to
warm Danny's cold-as-death body, noting that he might not survive but
that that was up to him. 
As Iron Fist recovered in his bed, the Fooh
reintroduced himself and noted how much Danny had grown, although he
wasn't that strong, as he had almost died...and maybe he would still
die, which might be easier.
The Fooh then went to gather firewood, telling Danny that he would see him next week, as it was a long climb back down.
After Sparrow inspired Daniel to retrain in Kung Fu, Fooh returned, asking what he had missed.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#9 (fb) - BTS) -
When Iron Fist spoke to the Fooh, Sparrow dismissed this as a man
half-dead talking to ghosts.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#7) - As Danny
trained against Sparrow, the Fooh mocked his dependence on the chi of
Shou-Lao.
After Sparrow kicked Daniel into and damaged the Fooh's
machines, the Fooh -- while threatening Daniel with a socket wrench -- advised him to consider alternative uses of the Iron
Fist power than just his fists.
As Daniel seemed to give up, Fooh
wandered off, telling him he wouldn't stop the One.
Subsequently questioning what Rand had accomplished with his advantages and noting that all in K'un-Lun were pawns of the Yu-Ti, Fooh gave Daniel a pair of iron braces for his arms.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#9 (fb) - BTS) - Iron Fist, Sparrow, +/- Fooh spent a total of four weeks in a Himalayan cave.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#8 (fb) - BTS) - Via the Randall Gate, the Fooh seemingly sent Daniel to the Diyu (the Chinese realm of the Dead; see comments) so he could seek out his mother.
After Daniel had accomplished this, the Fooh seemingly brought him back.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#8) - Fooh taunted the exhausted Daniel with having been away a long-time, and Daniel noted that it had only been a few hours; Sparrow explained that Daniel had been gone for a week and that time moved differently in Diyu.
Believing the One to be Wendell Rand, Daniel
asked the Fooh if his father (Wendell) knew what the Randall Gate was
capable of, and the Fooh noted that the machine parts of his certainly
did, as it had watched him build it, and that he had used the same
parts to do so.
After Daniel stated his plans, the Fooh explained to him that he had built the One and that -- via instructions from the Yu-Ti (Nu-An) -- Daniel had defeated him before only because the One had been programmed to fail; and now that it had become self-aware, it would not be easily overcome.
As Sparrow and Iron Fist prepared to confront the One, the Fooh insisted he come along, arguing that since he had built it, he was the best chance at stopping it.
Accepting this, Iron Fist instructed Fooh to open the gate, as he was going home.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#9) - Iron Fist,
Sparrow, and Fooh emerged into air some distance from the Rand tower
(in which the One was stationed). Iron Fist reached out for the Fooh,
who slipped right through his hand.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#9 - BTS) - When
Iron Fist complained about losing the Fooh, Sparrow told him the Food
had been executed a decade ago, and that she had spent the past four
weeks in the cave with him alone.
She refused to acknowledge Daniel's trip to see his mother, and she noted that they had just accessed the Randall Gate in Rand Tower's basement.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#9) - After the
One smashed Iron Fist into the Rand Tower's basement, the Fooh appeared
again, admitting to be dead, but noting that Iron Fist was currently
caught somewhere between living and dead, just like he was.
The Fooh encouraged
Iron Fist to fight by tapping into the One's chi engine and access the
K'un-Lun people's energy to fight for them.
As Iron Fist did so and screamed in pain, the Fooh noted that he had forgot to mention that this may sting a little.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#10) - After the One punched through Iron Fist's chest -- allowing him to access the dragon's heart's power, and used that to power the Randall Gate, opening a portal between the living and the dead -- Fooh taunted Iron Fist with mocking advice, telling him that war didn't prove who's right, but only who's left...
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#12 (fb) - BTS) - When Iron Fist used the One's massive form (incorporating Rand Tower) to destroy the immense fire god unwittingly summoned by the One, Fooh was returned to life.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#12) - Fooh
emerged from Zhu Rong's corpse/godstuff shortly after Iron Fist did so.
Hearing Fooh cry out, "We did it!, Danny assumed he was still suffering
some madness.
Cackling madly, Fooh asked Danny if he missed him and
told Danny that he looked good, although he smelled like cat dung.
Danny was shocked when Brenda reacted to Fooh, as no one else had
sensed him before, and Fooh explained that everyone could see him as he
was alive again.
Mocking the naked Danny, Fooh looked at the damage to
the city and considered that he had never imagined the cost of his
resurrection.
He then explained how, at the time of its creation, he
had programmed subroutines into the One to protect him from Nu-An by
any means. While it had not been his idea, the One had done all of this
-- involving (or posing as or somehow merging with (see comments))
Wendell Rand, allying with Davos, destroyed K'un-Lun, and caused
massive damage in Manhattan -- as extrapolation of his programming to
revive Fooh; he admitted he had made the wrong choice.
Resolving that one couldn't live in the past, the
Fooh advised Danny that the Randall Gate was unstable and had one trip
in it; they must use it to return to K'un-Lun before it exploded,
potentially threatening time and space.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#12 - BTS) - Noting that Fooh spoke truly, Sparrow gathered the people of K'un-Lun and returned them to their home.
(Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon I#1 (fb) – BTS) – On Earth, Fooh tinkered with the gate to K’un-Lun, finding a way to open it to all of the Heavenly Cities.
(Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon I#1) – Iron Fist tested out the gate with Fooh and they went to the Under City, where they found a deadly battle taking place, with Dog Brother I#1 leading his army against a powerful force of zombies. Iron Fist and Fooh rushed to the Citadel of the Ancients to protect that realm’s dragon, but they found Taskmaster there, who had just killed the dragon. Learning that someone was seeking to kill the other dragons and gather their hearts, They returned to Rand’s apartment and found Lady Bullseye and more zombies fighting with Pei and Luke Cage in an attempt to kill Gork, but Lady Bullseye was defeated. Quan Yin, the Mother of Mercy, then showed up with the corpse of Tiger’s Beautiful Daughter in her arms.
(Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon I#2) – Fooh joined Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Pei, and Gork in seeking out the Pagoda of Universal Compassion in the Heart of Heaven to commune with Quan Yin, who gave them the advice to use Fooh’s portals to bring all of the dragons and their citadels from the various realms to Earth. Fooh activated his portals, then saw the realm’s champions pass through, including Dog Brother #1, Fat Cobra, and Bride of Nine Spiders. Fooh joined them in facing Midnight Sun and the undead at the Bao Fu Citadel.
(Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon I#3) – After they defeated the undead at Bao Fu Citadel, Fooh, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Bride of Nine Spiders went to investigate Tiger Island’s citadel, which was currently in the Phllipines. The heroes tackled threats in the various cities using Fooh’s portals, and later, Fooh gathered the heroes back to the Hidden City.
(Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon I#4) – Fooh held off an army of the undead at Bao Fu Citadel while the others passed through a portal, after which he joined the group of heroes in confronting the various threats throughout the world. They were soon joined by new allies, the Prince of Orphans and Okoye. Seeking to restore balance and end the threat of Hierophant (who was behind all of this), Okoye killed the Spider Dragon and claimed its essence.
(Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon I#5) – As
the threats of Hierophant and Yama Dragonsbane (Brenda Swanson) revealed
themselves, Fooh continued fighting the undead alongside the others. To
distract Hierophant, Fooh had Cage throw him to the top of the tower, where he
fired a shot that closed the gateways.
(Iron Fist: Heart of the
Dragon I#6) – Hierophant lashed out at Fooh, who was knocked out. In the end,
Hierophant was defeated and Okoye became the new Iron Fist. Fooh marveled to
see Quan Yin return to life.
Comments: Created by Kaare Kyle Andrews.
Fooh was kind of like Bruce Willis in The Sixth
Sense movie. He either wasn't there (just a delusion of Iron Fist) or he
was a ghost and only Iron Fist could sense/communicate with him. Going
back and re-reading the series knowing that, you see that he responds
to what other people (usually Sparrow) say, but no one else (beyond
Iron Fist) responds to or acknowledges what he says.
When Fooh seems to do something, I guess it was
actually Sparrow? That's why I put seemingly in front of his actions.
It seemed like in the story that it was Fooh doing it...
Over and over again we've seen Yu-Ti (Nu-An)
conspiring against Iron Fist (Daniel Rand) and explanations were given
of this being due to his relationship to Wendell Rand, making him a
threat to his rule. So...then why would Nu-An have had the One robot
programmed to lose to Daniel so that Daniel could become Iron Fist? It
don't make no sense...
Diyu is the Chinese (Kami) realm of the dead.
Feng Tu is the name given for K'un-Lun's world of the dead, in which
Heather Rand was previously seen.
Profile by Snood.
Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon updates by Chadman
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Fooh should be distinguished from:
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#7) - Danny
trained against Sparrow, within Fooh's base.
After Sparrow kicked Daniel into and damaged the Fooh's
machines, the Fooh -- while threatening Daniel with a socket wrench -- advised him to consider alternative uses of the Iron
Fist power than just his fists.
As Daniel seemed to give up, Fooh wandered off, telling him he wouldn't stop the One.
Subsequently questioning what Rand had accomplished with his advantages and noting that all in K'un-Lun were pawns of the Yu-Ti, Fooh forged and then gave Daniel a pair of iron braces for his arms.
(Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#9 (fb) - BTS) - Iron Fist, Sparrow, +/- Fooh spent a total of four weeks in a Himalayan cave.
images: (without ads)
Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#5, pg. 17, panel 1 and 2 (in sled, distant and close-up);
#6, pg. 6, panel 2 (seated atop Danny as Sparrow carried him);
panel 5 (lateral face with star hat);
#7, pg. 9, panel 1-2 (K'un-Lun base);
pg. 17, panel 2 (Fooh with Yama Kings and Yu-Ti);
pg. 18, panel 1 (polka dot boxers);
panel 2 (forging braces);
pg. 19, panel 1 (profile)
#8, pg. 18, panel 4 (face);
pg. 20 (wearing blindfold like Sparrow, preparing for trip to Earth);
#9, pg. 1, panel 2 (accused, three-lens mask);
panel 4 (on the ground below executioner);
#10, pg. 17, panel 5 (face, taunting weakened Iron Fist);
#12, pg. 4, panel 1 (reborn)
Appearances:
Marvel Premiere#15 (May, 1974) - Roy Thomas (writer, editor),
Gil Kane (artist), Dick Giordano (inker)
Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#5-6 (October-November, 2014) - Kaare Kyle Andrews (writer and artist), Jake Thomas (editor)
Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#7 (January, 2015) - Kaare Kyle Andrews (writer and artist), Jake Thomas (editor)
Iron Fist: The Living Weapon#8-12 (March-July, 2015) - Kaare Kyle Andrews (writer and artist), Jake Thomas (editor)
Iron Fist: Heart of the
Dragon I#1-6 (March-August, 2021) – Larry Hama (writer), David Wachter
(artist), Jake Thomas (editor)
First posted: 01/24/2020
Last updated: 06/27/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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