Sons of the Tiger

Publication history

The Sons of the Tiger first appeared in comics published by Curtis Magazines (a short lived imprint of Marvel Comics) called the Deadly Hands of Kung Fu. The series was created by Gerry Conway and drawn by Dick Giordano, and was published in the early 1970s amidst the "Kung Fu" or Chopsocky movie craze.

The Sons of the Tiger made appearances in Special Collector's Edition: Savage Fists of Kung Fu #1. They also appeared in the Special Album Edition of Deadly Hands of Kung Fu. Both of these appearances contained the same story, titled "The Master Plan of Fu Manchu". In this story, the Sons of the Tiger team up with Iron Fist and Shang-Chi. The Special Collector's Edition contained the story in color, while the Special Album Edition was in black-and-white.

Origin

Lin Sun is returning from a martial arts tournament with his first place trophy when he is suddenly attacked by ninjas in front of his school in San Francisco. After defeating the villains, he goes into the "Tiger Dojo", which has been ransacked. He finds a dying Master Kee, who tells him that there are forces in this world which would destroy us and then points to a box on a shelf, after which he dies. In the box, Lin finds three amulets made of jade, a tiger's head and two claws: the symbol of the school. The inscription at the base of the box reads, "When three are called and stand as one, as one they'll fight, their will be done...For each is born anew, The Tiger's Son." They are later known as "The Amulets of Power".

Soon after, Lin meets up with his two friends, Abe Brown and Bob Diamond, who have also been attacked by ninjas. Lin recounts the story of Master Kee's death and gives each of them one of the jade tiger claw amulets. They soon discover that when they join hands and chant the inscription from the box they become mystically connected. Their martial arts skills combine to become one force and their physical abilities are tripled when they wear the amulets.

During the series run, the trio runs up against "The Silent Ones", an evil organization with mystical ties attempting to gain world domination.

Demise

Beginning in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #19, entitled "An Ending", the trio breaks up and Lin Sun throws all three amulets in a trashcan located in an alley. There, Hector Ayala of Puerto Rican descent finds the amulets and wears them to become the White Tiger. The Sons of the Tiger appeared in the next two stories, "A Beginning" and "To Claw the Eyes of Night", during the transition to the White Tiger stories. The character of Abe Brown is mostly seen periodically after that. The book continued using the title "Sons of the Tiger" even though the trio had split up and power was transferred to the White Tiger.

After cancellation

Bob Diamond continued to make occasional appearances in Power Man and Iron Fist as Colleen Wing's lover.

The Sons of the Tiger appeared briefly with Luke Cage's Human Resistance after the Scarlet Witch altered the world during the House of M crossover, along with the Daughters of the Dragon, Black Cat, Iron Fist and Moon Knight. Lin Sun, Abe Brown and Lotus Shinchuko appeared in an issue of The Pulse as bodyguards for Luke Cage, who had been injured during the events of Secret War. They also appeared alongside Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up #40. In November 2008, they made an appearance in Manifest Destiny: Wolverine. The Sons of the Tiger reunited in the 2014 Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu mini-series, where they aided Shang-Chi and his comrades.