Master Ling (Earth-616)

Master Ling
Name	Ling
Current Alias	Master Ling
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Five Weapons Society
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Irises: Brown
Hair	Black
Origin and Living Status
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-616
Personal Information
Identity	No Dual
Citizenship	Chinese
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Gene Luen Yang, Dike Ruan, Philip Tan
First	Shang-Chi #3 (November, 2020)
First	Shang-Chi #3 (November, 2020)

History

Origins

Master Ling was a high-ranking member of the Five Weapons Society. Ling educated Shang-Chi, Brother Sabre, and Sister Dagger on jiangshi and trained the three in how to defeat them at the House of the Deadly Dagger. Ling provided the three with paper amulets marked in chicken's blood to defeat the jiangshi army created by Sister Hammer during her assault on London and crowned Shang-Chi as the new Supreme Commander of the Society following Hammer's defeat.

After Shang-Chi established a new House of the Deadly Hand in New York City to serve as the Society's new headquarters, Master Ling took up residence at the new estate. Master Ling continued to advise the new Supreme Commander, including helping him track down his half-sister Zhilan and using his magic to track Shang-Chi's mother Jiang Li within the Negative Zone. When several assassins were sent by Chieftain Xin to take Shang-Chi's head at the House of the Deadly Hand, Ling came to his leader's aid by using an enchanted mirror to defeat several of King Wild Man's Yeren. When King Wild Man turned his comrade Red Dot into a Yeren, Master Ling's mirror failed to stun him due to Red Dot's cybernetics. After Shang-Chi and his siblings destroyed several Taotie created by Xin, Master Ling examined the cauldron they were created from, concluding that Xin was creating an army of Taotie to destroy anyone bearing Zheng Zu's DNA and with the blood Xin had taken from Sister Hammer's severed hand, these Taotie will bee significantly more powerful that the ones already faced. With the cauldron, Master Ling and the Warriors of the Deadly Hand were able to repair Zheng Zu's makeshift portal to Ta-Lo. Before the five Champions of the Five Weapons Society left to rescue Jiang Li and stop Xin, Master Ling warned them of the temptations that existed within Ta-Lo which drove their father to obsession. When the Qilin Riders attacked the House of the Deadly Hand, Ling defended the Society's headquarters along with the Warriors of the Deadly Hand and Jiang Li, who had escaped Ta Lo to warn the Society of the invasion. The Qilin Riders and Xin were eventually defeated by Shang-Chi with the Ten Rings.

When Shang-Chi discovered that the Eyes of the Dragon survived their destruction and were stolen from one of the Society's safehouses by Kamran, Master Ling used his magic to track the Eyes to Jersey City and joined Shang-Chi, Sister Dagger and Sister Staff to reclaim them. The group confronted Kamran, who was attempting to use the Eyes on Ms. Marvel to sacrifice her life for that of his boss, Lineage. With Ms. Marvel's help, the Society was able to apprehend Kamran and secure the Eyes.

Master Ling contacted Shang-Chi while he was on a date with Delilah Wang when the House of the Deadly Hand was under attack by several criminal organizations after the Ten Rings. A traitorous Warrior of the Deadly Hand took Ling hostage but when he lowered his guard Ling overpowered him with his magic. At Ling's urging, Shang-Chi donned the Rings to force the invading criminals to flee from the House and Ling came to his aid when Shang-Chi collapsed from the strain of using the Rings. Ling advised Shang-Chi to keep the Rings on his person but Shang-Chi relocated the Ten Rings to a more secure vault in the Appalachians. Ling welcomed Leiko Wu when she visited the House of the Deadly Hand to recruit Shang-Chi for a rescue mission. When several Hand ninjas attempted to break into the House again, Ling drove them away with his magic; unbeknownst to him the ninjas were disguised MI6 agents who stole the coordinates for the Appalachian vault while the "rescue" mission was a ploy to keep Shang-Chi distracted so that they could steal the Ten Rings. Shang-Chi eventually reclaimed the Rings and took Ling's suggestion to start wearing them from that point forward. Ling later accompanied Shang-Chi when he encountered King Wild Man again and debriefed the House Champions when the siblings reunited for a mission to thwart a ritual conducted by Zheng Zu's loyalists to summon their father from the past.

During the Gang War, Ling continued to provide counsel and supported Shang-Chi's decision to have the Five Weapons Society prioritize protecting Chinatown over attacking the rival gangs fighting each other. After Shang-Chi was injured and left bedridden following a skirmish with Mister Negative and the Inner Demons, Capitan Feng used the opportunity to launch a coup by having his sorcerers trap Ling outside of Shang-Chi's bedchamber and seal the Ten Rings in a magic prison. Feng and his men said that both Ling and Shang-Chi were the real traitors for making the Society look weak in front of their enemies and prepared to execute Shang-Chi, but Shang-Chi revealed that he feigned his injuries to expose Feng's treachery and easily beat him down. Feng and his loyalists fled, breaking the barrier holding Ling but the Rings remained trapped in their seal. Master Ling worked to break the charm, but warned Shang-Chi that by the time the Ten Rings would be freed, the rival gangs and heroes will come for him while he was unarmed, which Shang-Chi was unfazed by and retorted would be more fun. Ling accompanied Shang-Chi to Central Park when the Supreme Commander challenged Mister Negative, Lady Yulan and Diamondback for control of their territories and used his magic to help in his duel against them, but also realized that they each had sent decoys in their places, which Shang-Chi anticipated. Despite his best efforts, Ling and his sorcerers were unable to break the charm ensorcelling the Rings. During the later part of the Gang War, Ling led the defense of Chinatown by erecting magical barriers while Shang-Chi remained alone at his personal tower to bait the invading heroes, villains and Feng and his loyalists into attacking him.

Attributes

Powers

Sorcery:

• Memory Spell
• Energy Blasts
• Telekinesis

Abilities

Knowledgeable in Taoist exorcism, sorcery and creatures of mythic origin.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Enchanted Mirror: Master Ling possesses an enchanted mirror that expels rays of light that can harm creatures of mythic origin. However, beings with cybernetic enhancements are immune to the mirror's abilities.

Talismans: Master Ling utilizes talismans to channel his magic.

See Also

• 16 appearance(s) of Master Ling (Earth-616)
• 1 mention(s) of Master Ling (Earth-616)
• 2 image(s) of Master Ling (Earth-616)