Fu Huang

**Huáng Fu** is the main antagonist of the comic series *The White Knight and his Lotus Flower (1950s).* In the beginning of the series his moniker was Master Fu and a supporter of communism, but in the reboot he is known as Crowned in Shadows. His first appearance was in *The White Knight and His Lotus Blossom #1,* and later again in the reboot in *The Knight #1.*

## **History**

### **Origins:**

Huáng Fu had a loving childhood in Shanghai, China, alongside his sister and father until their father, Huáng Tao, lost his job, alongside their mother disappearing when he was 8, causing their father to spiral into depression and alcoholism. Huáng Fu and Huáng Min learned how to fend for themselves in order to live, such as pickpocketing on the streets in order to pay bills and buy food. However, they would get caught every so often, forcing them to become more discrete and clever in their actions, lest they get beaten up and robbed of all their belongings again. When their father died the two siblings embraced their criminal acts, stealing from different stores and reselling items. However, there were times where they would get swindled in these deals, forcing them to lose out on money and supplies. This caused them to be bitter towards the world and how it led them to this situation unfairly.

In the earlier comics it was shown that Min and Fu stumbled into the communist regime, the Red Empire, after a string of bad luck. They were not able to scrounge up enough money to keep the apartment. The regime offered them housing and a hot meal. Huáng Fu and his sister slowly climbed the ranks, eventually reaching the protege position due to their disregard for humans. During their training, they were gifted powers to aid them when they became the leaders. Huáng Fu received a mind influencing power that allowed him to create his own soldiers and/or puppets via anyone he came into contact with and the ability to control/manipulate fog/smoke to his will.

In the newest version, Min and Fu had been born with these powers, and their father would call them freaks and monsters, blaming them for their mother's disappearance. After their father died, they began to find other ways to make money, ending up doing tasks for anyone who paid. It started small like stealing items from stores for people or beat up a person who wronged their client, but it escalated into kidnapping, finding information, and smuggling. They turned in full-fledged mercenaries, having no loyalties and only followed the coin.

### **Beginnings**

Huáng Fu by the start of the series had a successful business as an international criminal and villain. He debuts as the first antagonist to protagonist and hero Robert Smith when his plans of sending missiles to destroy USA government facilities get leaked. He hears of Robert Smith AKA The White Knight planning to infiltrate his secret base, and sends out his Shadow Guards, a league of lethal ninjas that are known for their silent but deadly efficiency. Once he found out that Robert beat his guard, Huáng Fu went to deal with the hero himself. A fight erupted between the two as they both tried to subdue the other, Huáng Fu using his smoke abilities to blind Robert and use the distractions to his advantage. However, he gets beaten when Robert blew away all his fog, giving the hero the opportunity to knock out the villain.

### **Early Adventures**

Huáng Fu spends his time in U.S. prison after being defeated by Robert, his communist reign propaganda and influence halting since he could not oversee it. However, inside of his cell he plans his escape, coordinating with his sister, Huáng Min.

### **The White Knight Infiltrates the Empire**

Huáng Fu escapes U.S. prison with the aid of his sister Huáng Min, also known as the villain Dragon Lady. The two siblings were on the move for over a month, dodging US officials and soldiers as they attempted to regain their power and regime once more. They did lots of their planning after successfully escaping away to their underground base, the Red Empire, in the Tianshan mountains. This base had a hidden layout that allowed for the siblings to have easy and quick access, while leaving any other person unaware of the traps and dangers that lay hidden.

When Robert and Mi Young attempted to infiltrate the base, they were caught in one of the many traps that Huáng Fu and his sister had set up. During this, Mi Young gets kidnapped by the siblings, leaving Robert to fend for himself. The siblings split off, Huáng Fu moving further away with Mi Young while Huáng Min acted as a decoy and distraction, intending to harm or kill Robert.

Huáng Fu leads himself and Mi Young to a throne room where he sets Mi Young up, trapped in a birdcage that hangs over a lava pit. Huáng Fu gets surprised when Robert shows up, not yet dead despite Huáng Min’s efforts, but begins to fight Robert unperturbed and confident in his abilities. After exchanging blows, Huáng Fu gets flung into a wall, giving Robert the opportunity to release his wife. Huáng Min rejoins with Huáng Fu and the four begin to fight again, Huáng Fu facing off against Robert and Huáng Min against Mi Young. However, Huáng Fu soon realized that he was at a disadvantage, as Robert had gotten familiar with his tricks and was able to counteract them with his own abilities. Despite Huáng Fu using his fog to act as a cover, he gets found out when Robert sent a whirlwind to dissipate all the fog, as well as knocking Huáng Fu out of the fight. This culminates in the siblings losing and getting captured, Huáng Fu once again being sent back to U.S. prison while Huáng Min joined him as well.

### **The Corruption**

Despite being jailed once more, the two Huáng siblings still schemed for ways to escape and/or regain power and control, communicating secretly. Huáng Fu aids his sister silently as she attempts to seduce and influence a guard, Ben, into controlling the superiors. Ideally, the superiors would have thereafter enacted the siblings’ evil plans of regaining power, but this plan is foiled by Robert and Mi Young, as the two find out and put a stop to it.

### **The Brave and Bold: The 2020s Reboot**

Once becoming adults, Huáng Fu and his sister decided to go into mercenary work, officially and professionally. Both of them found that the money was too good to resist, and it was also the only thing they were good at. They spent several years taking the most dangerous jobs to build their reputation as the ones that people needed to hire if they wanted to get something done. Being the most sought after mercenaries, they had the privilege to pick and choose their clients, and the employers had to follow the rules. Min and Fu refused to harm children or pregnant women in any way, and if the request was a hit, they had to pay extra for their services. No one was able to catch them until they had a request to kidnap a French diplomat to scare the other French government figures; the ransom was their bonus pay.

It took two weeks to plan and enact the plot. Huáng Min snuck into the home of the diplomat’s assistant in order to distract them long enough for Huáng Fu to break into the diplomat’s office and kidnap him. When Huáng Fu sent her the signal of succeeding in his mission, the two made their escape from the office and used a getaway car to aid them. It was an easy job, but then they got the word too late that the White Knight and the Harvester were investigating the case.

Huáng Min had the two siblings and their hostage change locations again, worried about getting caught. They chose to hide out at an abandoned warehouse, tying the diplomat up to get ready for the ransom video. Hearing footsteps, Huáng Min hides in the shadows with Huáng Fu. The two watch as the two heroes enter the building and use this chance to ambush them. Huáng Min fights against the Harvester, while Huáng Fu fights against the White Knight. Despite his fog abilities, Huáng Fu finds himself at a disadvantage, as the White Knight has super hearing and is able to tell where Huáng Fu is attacking from. However, Huáng Fu is still able to come out victorious in this battle as he holds a gun to Robert’s head, all the while arguing with his sister about who’s fault their failed ransom was. This argument gets taken advantage of by the Harvester, who provokes them into further discord. Huáng Min sends a pillar of fire towards Huáng Fu, causing him to dodge and remove the active gun threat to the White Knight, leading to Robert being able to capture the two with an iron pipe, wrapping them with it using his super strength. Due to this defeat, they get taken to prison for the first time.

### **The Knighthood**

While imprisoned, Huáng Fu and Huáng Min have long since forgiven each other for the dispute that lead to them being captured. Huáng Min kept tabs on the hero duo turned couple, making sure to be several countries away from them at all times as they continued on their mercenary work, teetering on the edge of legality. Min focused on information gathering and selling, and her brother

One day, they received two letters at one of their temporary bases from an organization called ASCEND. Huáng Min had heard from through grapevine that it was formed in response to hero league, the Knighthood, and that they were rapidly recruiting members to join them. The note talked about employing the siblings and being rewarded with a spot in the natural order. It freaked both of them out, so they ignored it. The second one was a wedding invite for the White Knight and the Harvester's wedding. It was alarming that they knew where they lived, and it felt like a trap, but Huáng Min made sure to cover their tracks when they crossed the line of legality. Neither of them wanted to go to prison. They decided to go..

After the wedding, Huáng Min keeps tabs on the Knighthood and ASCEND, not to avoid either of them, but to observe. Robert once showed up at another one of the temporary bases to ask if they created ASCEND. They couldn't help but laugh in his face and close the door.

### **The Alliance**

Still keeping an eye on ASCEND, Huáng Min discovered that organized several successful heists in different nuclear energy plants, secret labs, military bases, and etc. They were approached by Robert and Mi Young to find information about ASCEND, and Huáng Min revealed that the organization had sent them another letter, wanting their services and offering more money than the heroes. It was meant to tease the heroes, but they looked genuinely distressed, so Huáng Min dropped the facade. Huáng Fu told them that they would do it, forming a truce of sorts.

Huáng Fu copied and remade the ASCEND's costume in order for them to infiltrate one of the bases. They died their hair and wore contacts. Huáng Min added hidden platforms to the inside of the shoes to seem taller while Huáng Fu thinned the platforms on his and height the shoe to create an illusion that he was shorter. They had observed the low-ranked henchman and followed their behavior. It allowed them to wander throughout the facility and absorb the information. Huáng Fu relayed to the Knighthood that the members of ASCEND greatly outweighed their members. All of the conversations they overheard mentioned at least once of the amount of people each one recruited. The members also spoke of the Day of Beginnings; it turned out that the ASCEND wanted to use the stolen goods to create a machine that would send the entire world into the dark ages, allowing the organization to take over. They would establish the hierarchy where ASCEND stood above everyone while those below them would be a labor force. Huáng Min and Huáng Fu helped the Knighthood recruit more members, using old contacts and clients to gather people; some of which though had joined ASCEND and attempted to get the siblings to switch sides, and it weirded them out.

During the planning. Robert questioned why the siblings choose to work with them. her brother answered that they could tell something was up with ASCEND when the recruiter kept talking about a natural order to things. They decided to not elaborate further, figuring that the alliance would end once ASCEND was defeated. Everyone continued to work on a strategy to combat ASCEND.

### **The End of Red, White, and Blue**

Huáng Min, Huáng Fu, and The Knighthood discovered ASCEND's base of operations. The siblings refused to use the items that Robert got from the US government. While they had a civil relationship with the heroes now, they trusted their own items. Robert had planned for the army to do a full-frontal attack to attract the attention of ASCEND's members while the members from the first version of the Knighthood and the Huáng siblings infiltrated to dismantle the contraption and get a sneak attack on whoever the founder was. Huáng Min had tried to find any hint of who the leader was, but it had been completely wiped. None of the lower-ranked members knew, and the upper-ones were incredibly tight-lipped and creepy.

Walking through, Huáng Min noted from any escape points if they ran into trouble and kept an eye on her brother, so they could do a quick get-away. She sided with the Knighthood now, but she prioritized her brother and herself over them. They surprisingly discovered the room where the machine was held, but when Robert approached it, a shield popped out of nowhere. She noticed that the heroes went stiff and did a rigid turn. She and her brother followed, confused. They saw the leader of ASCEND, a man called Dr. Charles. Apparently, he had given the White Knight his powers to begin with and gave a spiel of his master plan to rule over the world as the only one with powers. He also boasted that he planned the whole thing, even being the one who designed the suits that the Knighthood and its army. He had a remote that sent signals to a hidden chip in the suit that would allow him to control their brains, feelings, and thoughts. He also made one more attempt to get have Huáng Min and Huáng Fu join his side, citing their swaying loyalties and promising grand rewards.

Huáng Min figured that it was bullshit, but she and Huáng Fu pretended to switch sides, walking over to the doctor with their hands open and free of weapons. The doctor cackled, but Huáng Fu pulled out a knife from his boot and held it to his throat as Huáng Min snatched the controlled and turned off the signal before breaking it under her foot. The tide turned back to their favor as the now freed Knighthood broke the shield's emitters while Mi Young and Starlight arrested the doctor. The Knights offered them a spot, and for a strange reason, Huáng Min found no reason to refuse and laughed with her brother.

## Personality

Huáng Fu is a callous and cautious man. He cares for his sister but is shown that he will do anything for his power/influence to remain in control.

In the reboot, Huáng Fu is also callous and cautious, but he has more personal morals that he and his sister abide by. They refuse to hurt/rob children, pregnant persons, and the elderly, showing that they care enough about others to not harm/disadvantage those who cannot defend themselves.

## Skills and Abilities

* Fog Manipulation: he can produce and control fog that allows him to provide cover, distract/trick others, and give him an advantage while sneaking