SHOU-HSING
Real Name: Shou-Hsing
Identity/Class: Chinese god
Occupation: God of time, stars and immortality, vizier to Yu-Huang, mentor to the Ba-Xian
Affiliations: The Council of God-Kings, The San Hsing (gods of fortune) of the Xian
Enemies: Akhenaten
Known Relatives: Lu-Hsing, Fu-Hsing (brothers), Nugua (sister-in-law), Mo-Ye (nephew), Fu-Fei (neice)
Aliases: Shou-Xing, Shou-Shen, Shou-Lao, Old Man of the South Pole
Base of Operations: Palace of the Happy Isles in Ta-Lo (Chinese Heaven)
First Appearance: Marvel Universe: The End#2 (May, 2003)
Powers/Abilities: Shou-Hsing possesses the conventional attributes of
the Chinese Gods. He has superhuman strength (Class 15 perhaps), resistance to
injury and a long-life enchantment. He quite possibly has mystical skills that
have yet to be revealed. In myth, he could predict the life spans of mortals and inscribe them in stone.
History: (Chinese myth)- Shou-Hsing is one of the San Hsing, Chinese gods of
fortune who predestined the fates and destinies of mortals. He has serves as an
advisor to Yu-Huang who rules the Chinese Gods and protects the sacred garden
of Hsi Wang Mu, the queen of the
Chinese Gods, whose apples, the P’an-T’ao, offer immortality. He also serves as
mentor to the Ba-Xian, eight mortals who were favored by the gods that they
were given immortality. (Marvel Universe: The End#2)- A group of
Godheads met to discuss the actions of Akhenaten against humanity: Atar
(Vedic/Persian), Horus (Egyptian), Hunab Ku (Mayan), Izanagi
(Japanese), Ndriananahary (African), Thor
(Asgardian), Vishnu (Hindu), Zeus (Olympian), and Shou-Hsing. They also discussed
summoning Those of the Forgotten Realm. Horus, who was most familiar
with Akhenaten used the Eye of Ra to spy on the powerful being, but Akhenaten
detected them and attacked, destroying all present, except Thor and Zeus, who managed to flee.
(Marvel Universe: The End#4 (BTS))- Thanos
gained the virtually unlimited power of the Heart of the Infinite and altered
time so that Akhenaten never gained his power, effectively undoing his actions
and restoring those he had destroyed. However, to those who could understand or
even remember what had happened, these actions were seen as the replacement of
one threat with another, perhaps even worse.
(Marvel Universe: The End#5-6)- The Godheads joined together with a multitude of heroes and villains from Earth and
the rest of the universe to oppose Thanos, who had gained supreme power from
the Heart of the Infinite. Thanos easily wiped out every single being in the
universe, but later was convinced by Adam Warlock to sacrifice himself to
restore the universe to its previous state.
Comments: Adapted by Jim Starlin and Al Milgrom
The San-Hsing are China's counterpart to the Olympian Fates.
Shou-Hsing’s trademarks were the peach which
represented long life and the crane, a sign of immortality. The concept of
storks delivering babies supposedly comes from Chinese myth.
While it is entirely possible the denizens of K'un-L'un posed as the Chinese
Gods, as the Eternals did for the Olympians, the extent of their coincidences
could be attributed to interaction between their races.
by
CLARIFICATIONS: Last updated: 08/25/03
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
Shou-Hsing should not be confused with:
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