History
Warriors of Three Sovereigns
Lin Lie was a young man who lived in Shanghai, China. One day his archeologist father gave Lie a mysterious sword and left with his brother, Feng, for Quianfengou, never to be seen again. One year later, received a mysterious package which contained a puzzle box. After solving the puzzle which revealed a red orb, Lie was attacked the deliveryman, who transformed into a demon but was saved when the sword moved on its own to attack the demon and by the arrival of Ji Shuangshuang. When Lie demanded answers, Shuangshuang stabbed him with the sword, which gave him a vision of the Huaxia defeating Chiyou in 3000 BC and revealed that the sword was the Sword of Fu Xi. Shuangshuang revealed that she and Lie were the descendants of Nü-wa and Fu Xi, respectively, and that the Sword and Chiyou's Orb had been removed from their resting place, allowing the seals containing Chiyou to weaken and unleashing his demon army. Believing Lie to be too incompetent to fight Chiyou, Shuangshuang took the Orb from him. Lie tried to chase after her but was attacked by Baron Mordo, who wanted the Sword for himself. Lie was rescued by Doctor Strange, who drove Mordo away. After Lie explained what the Sword was and the threat of Chiyou, Strange offered to take the Sword for safekeeping but relented when Lie told him of his family duty and that it was the only clue to finding his father. Strange reminded Lie that he needed to work with allies and used his magic to send him to Shuangshuang's location. Lie and Shuangshuang were able to defeat the remaining demons in the area and Shuangshuang was contacted by her grandmother, who ordered her to return to the Nü-wa estate in Gansu with Lie and the Sword. Unable to take a flight due to the Sword failing security checks at the airport and Shuangshuang's magic not being strong enough to transport them, Lie recruited his roommate Ah Cheng to drive them as he had a driver's license. When the met Cheng in downtown Shanghai, the Sword moved on its own and pointed out Feng from a crowd. By the time Shuangshuang and Cheng caught up with Lie, Feng disappeared. Lie and his friends helped Ji Xiangyun and the Nü-wa Clan defend the Nü-wa mansion when it was attacked by Chiyou's demons. Afterwards, Xiangyun took Lie and Shuangshuang to the tomb containing Chiyou's body and used her magic to show memories of Chiyou's sealing and release, as well as the last moments of Lie's father before his disappearance. Lie was told by Xiangyun that he needed to start his training under Shuangshuang.[4]
Agents of Atlas
Sometime after his training, Lie took on the name Sword Master and embarked on his quest to find his family and fight Chiyou's demons. Lie later joined the new Agents of Atlas during the War of the Realms. He stayed with the team while continuing to look for his family.[5]
Lin Lie as Sword Master
While looking for his father, Lie encountered his Atlas teammate Shang-Chi in Flushing, who took Lie under his wing. Sword Master and Shang-Chi were confronted by Ares, who demanded Lin Lie's Sword of Fu Xi to confront the kidnapper of his son Ismenios, who Ares believed was another god. Coming to a truce, the three were able to track Ismenios to a temple in Madripoor, where they confronted his kidnapper, the Mother Goddess of Madripoor Davi Naka. Naka explained that she imprisoned Ismenios for his protection after the young drakon was caught stealing from Atlantis' treasure hoard during the absence of its sea serpent guardian. Despite Naka's attempt to placate the kingdom, King Namor was still outraged over the missing dragon.[6]
During Sword Master and Shang-Chi's training, they were reunited with the New Agents of Atlas when Flushing and other Asian communities in every major city were merged into the portal city of Pan by tech mogul Mike Nguyen. Despite their suspicions of Nguyen and his hired mercenary, Issac Ikeda, the "Protector of Pan", the New Agents of Atlas agreed to protect the city after it was besieged by Wyverns and Sea Serpents.[7] It was later revealed that Atlantis' dragon had been captured by the Big Nguyen Company, who had been harvesting her scales to power Pan's portals. Upon this discovery, an enraged Namor launched an invasion of Pan to reclaim his stolen dragon.[8]
Sword Master and the other New Agents of Atlas were summoned by Brawn during his confrontation with Namor, who warned the group to return Atlantis' dragon in a day or else face the wrath of Atlantis before retreating. Sword Master and the other New Agents were subsequently introduced to the original Agents of Atlas by Woo. When Woo sent Namora, Venus, Aero, and Wave to Atlantis for a diplomatic mission, Brawn discretely ordered Shang-Chi and Sword Master to spy on Namora, due to her familial ties with Namor. The dragon was eventually released from captivity, but upon arriving home she unexpectedly went berserk and attacked the underwater kingdom. Witnessing the destruction caused by the dragon, Shang-Chi and Sword Master relayed to Amadeus that Atlantis' scientists discovered an implant embedded in the dragon's scales to be the source of her behavior and that Namor believed Amadeus to be behind the sabotage, prompting the king to resume his attack on Pan.[9] When Amadeus was forcibly transformed into the Hulk and put under Nguyen's control with Sirena tech in a last ditch effort to destroy Atlantis, Sword Master helped Shang-Chi remove the device from Amadeus, freeing him from Nguyen's control and reverting him back into Brawn.[10]
King in Black
During the invasion of the symbiote god Knull on Earth, Lin Lie learned that symbiote dragons were attacking Shanghai and travelled there assuming they were minions of Chiyou. Upon learning from his Atlas teammate Aero that the symbiote dragons were servants of a different dark god, Knull, Lie was disappointed and stubbornly refused to assist in repelling the invasion, arguing that the Sword of Fu Xi had a proud will of its own and was meant to be wielded against Chiyou alone. Angered by the boy's arrogance and hubris, the Sword of Fu Xi left him for Dane Whitman, the Black Knight, who had been stranded in Shanghai after a symbiote-dragon. [11]
Attacked by a symbiote dragon, the Black Knight lapsed into a berserk state - the Sword of Fu Xi belatedly realizing he wasn't a noble warrior and attempting to return to Lie. Lin and Dane's struggle over the blade was interrupted when the symbiote-dragon latched onto them with tendrils to mentally connect them to Knull; the Sword of Fu Xi setting Dane's hand ablaze with divine flames to force him to relinquish it before returning to Lie. With Knull desiring to claim both the Ebony Blade and the Sword of Fu Xi for himself, Lie wielded the divine sword alongside Aero and the Black Knight in order to vanquish Knull's avatar.[11]
When the death of Doctor Strange prompted legions of demons to invade parts of the world, Sword Master and Wave drove off an invasion in Cebu. Afterwards, Sword Master was sent to Seoul by Woo to assist his teammate White Fox with taking down a demonic Kumiho that had been terrorizing the South Korean countryside. While fighting the Kumiho, the Sword of Fu Xi was destroyed by a bite from the beast's jaws. When a shocked Lie wondered how that was possible, the demon claimed that the sword recognized how weak he was and proceeded to throw him into a ravine. Despite the best efforts of the Agents of Atlas and Tiger Division Lie was unable to be found, with only a shard of his sword recovered by White Fox.[12]
The New Iron Fist
An unconscious and gravely wounded Lin Lie was washed ashore outside K'un-Lun, just as Shou-Lao hatched from his egg. The dragon bestowed his chi onto Lie, saving his life and granting him the power and title of the Iron Fist. Lie was saved by Mei Min, who took him home to her family. With several of the Sword's shards embedded in his hands, Lie aspired to recover the remaining shards and reforge the Sword to prevent Chiyou from escaping his seal. Several months later, Lie tracked down a large piece of the sword in a Chinese antique shop in Flushing, where he met his predecessor Danny Rand, who helped him recover the piece from several of Chiyou's minions. Danny attempted to ask Lie about his background but Lie brushed him off and fled through a portal to K'un-Lun in the subway.[2]
Saved by Shou-Lao
Lie continued hunting down the Sword's pieces while fighting Chiyou's forces across the world, with Min joining him on several occasions. After returning from an excursion in Shanghai, Lie was provoked into a fight with Yang Yi but was stopped and reprimanded by Sparrow Yu-Ti. Lie later confessed to Min that he felt unworthy of being the Iron Fist as he had not gone through the traditional steps required, but Min cheered him up by telling him the story of Wu Ao-Shi, an Iron Fist similar to Lie. Sparrow also offered some encouragement to Lie and took him under her wing to help him overcome his handicap. One day during his training, the shards in his skin started radiating energy and left Lie in excruciating pain, making him realize that the seal in Chiyou's first tomb had been destroyed.[13]
The energy from shards guided Lie back to Min's home, where he was confronted by demon minion of Chiyou, who had previously killed and disguised himself as Min's father. Having gravely wounded Min's mother, the demon demanded the Sword's other remains sealed in the Mei household but Lie, Min and Yi fought him. The demon was too powerful for three of them and subdued Min and Yi, threatening to kill them if Lie didn't hand him the shards. Lie resorted to stabbing his arms with the remaining shards, preventing the demon from stealing them and empowering him enough to mortally wound the demon. With his dying breaths, the demon told him that Lie's brother Feng destroyed the seal in the first tomb for his new master, Chiyou, and that Feng would be waiting for him at the second tomb. Shaken by the revelation, Lie immediately took a portal from K'un-Lun to Gansu with Min and Yi accompanying him. Shortly after arriving, the three encountered Fat Cobra and the Bride of Nine Spiders.[14]
Fat Cobra revealed that he and the Bride were asked by Danny Rand to track Lie down but decided to test the new Iron Fist's skills out by fighting him. Lie was able to briefly hold them off with the Shards' energy but failed to summon the Iron Fist, to which Fat Cobra denounced him as weak. Min and Yi stayed behind to fight the Immortal Weapons while Lie raced to the Second Tomb, only to find it attacked by Feng and Chiyou's demons, including a giant centipede. Lie was defeated by the centipede and was reunited with Feng, who had just defeated Shuangshuang and taken her Bands of Nü-wa and prepared to take the Sword's shards from Lie.[15]
Attributes
Powers
Divine Empowerment: As the last descendant of the Xian Fu Xi, Lin Lie can wield the Sword of Fu Xi and use its magical powers. After the sword was shattered, several of its shards became embedded within Lin Lie's hands, allowing him to use the sword's mystical energy through his fists.[2]
- Mystic Energy Manipulation: Lin Lie can generate and project the Sword's mystical energy, whose aura resembles green flames, which can be used in a variety of ways. After the sword was shattered and several of its shards became embedded in his flesh, Lin Lie can still generate and project the mystic energy of the Sword of Fu Xi through his hands.[2]
- Enhanced Punch: Lin Lie's strikes from his hands are much stronger when encased in the sword's aura and are still effective against Chiyou's demons.[2]
- Weapon Infusion: Under Sparrow's tutelage, Lin Lie can channel the energy of the shards in his hands into weapons such as swords, increasing their cutting power and destructibility.[13]
Chi Augmentation: After being saved by the chi of Shou-Lao the Undying, Lin Lie was bestowed the power of the Iron Fist, gaining the ability to augment his physical and mental capabilities to superhuman levels:
- Iron Fist Punch: Like every Iron Fist before him, Lin Lie is able to summon his chi and focus it into his hands, drawing upon the superhuman energy derived from the heart of Shou-Lao and make his fists inhumanly powerful.[2]
- Chi Enhanced Healing: Lin Lie can use chi to to heal his wounds. While he can use his chi to ease the pain from the shards in his skin, he cannot completely heal it, and sometimes the chi makes the pain worse.[13]
Abilities
Expert Swordsman: Lin Lie is an expert swordsman, being able to use his skills to defeat Chiyou's demons, fire goblins,[5] wyverns,[17] and symbiote dragons.[11] While not perfect, Lin Lie's swordsmanship has helped him hold his own against powerful and experienced warriors such as Ares[18] and the Black Knight.[11]
Expert Martial Artist: Due to his training under Shang-Chi,[19] Crescent,[13] White Fox[13] and Sparrow,[13] Lin Lie is an expert martial artist. He is proficient in Bajiquan,[2] Wing Chun,[2] and K'un-Lun's martial arts.[2]
Skilled Acrobat: Lin Lie is an extremely skilled acrobat.[2]
Master Enigmatologist: Lin Lie is exceptionally good at puzzles.[20]
Weaknesses
Due to shards of the Sword of Fu Xi being embedded in his arms, Lin Lie is in a constant state of pain and agony. The shards' energy disrupt the flow of his chi, which prevents him from channeling the Iron Fist consistently and causes his body to leak spiritual energy. Failure to balance his chi and harness Shou-Lao's chi can potentially result in Lie's death and immediate removal of the shards are potentially fatal.[2]
Paraphernalia
Weapons
See Also
- 38 appearance(s) of Lin Lie (Earth-616)
- 2 minor appearance(s) of Lin Lie (Earth-616)
- 1 mention(s) of Lin Lie (Earth-616)
- 68 image(s) of Lin Lie (Earth-616)
- 8 quotation(s) by or about Lin Lie (Earth-616)
- 1 item(s) used/owned by Lin Lie (Earth-616)
Links and References
References
- ↑ Timeless #1
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Iron Fist Vol 6 #1
- ↑ Warriors of Three Sovereigns #2
- ↑ Warriors of Three Sovereigns #1-12
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #1
- ↑ Sword Master #1-6
- ↑ Agents of Atlas (Vol. 3) #1-3
- ↑ Agents of Atlas Vol 3 #5
- ↑ Atlantis Attacks #1-2
- ↑ Atlantis Attacks #5
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 King in Black: Black Knight #1
- ↑ Death of Doctor Strange: White Fox #1
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Iron Fist Vol 6 #2
- ↑ Iron Fist Vol 6 #3
- ↑ Iron Fist Vol 6 #4
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Sword Master #8
- ↑ Agents of Atlas Vol 3 #1
- ↑ Sword Master #3
- ↑ Sword Master #1
- ↑ Warriors of Three Sovereigns #1
