Basic Information
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Superhero/villain Name: Formerly 'Young Dragon'
Civilian Name: Bruce Phoenix/Lim Fenghuang
Origin city/Planet: Born in San Francisco, CA
Hometown: Wanderer
Sex: Male
Race: Asian
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 141 lbs
Age: 90 Birth Date: August 8th, 1930
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Costumed Appearance: None
Civilian Appearance:
Icon: (Symbol, logo, or trademark symbolizing the persona they undertake; like Flash's lightning bolt, Batman's Bat, or Superman's emblazoned S.)
Costumed Personality: No different than normal.
Civilian Personality: Bruce tries his best to remain calm and meditative and project the outward appearance of a friendly, middle aged man just trying to get along with everyone and offer advice and help when it's needed. His goal is to find worthy students among the new generation of heroes and mentor them in both combat and if necessary, a larger ethos or philosophy of heroism, and to that end he tries his best to be what he feels his students need him to be. However he still has deep and painful regrets about the end of the previous age of heroes and his failure to do anything about it, and hopes that he can help shape this new one into something better and less ultimately dark. Bruce also still has a strong drive toward heroics, and while he's normally happy to leave things to younger heroes, if he feels it's necessary he's more than happy to step in and show the world some old-fashioned heroism.
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Super abilities:
-Skills:
Master Martial Artist-Bruce Phoenix is a master of a seemingly impossible array of martial arts including Jujitsu, Karate, every form of Shaolin Kung Fu, every form of Wudang Kung Fu, Taijiquan, Kali, Kempo, Muay Thai, Western Boxing and Savate. He has also studied the use of numerous systems for martial arts weapons and is skilled in improvising weapons of his own when necessary.
Highly Skilled Acrobat-a childhood with two stars of the Peking Opera and a lifetime of training since ensured that Bruce Phoenix is an excellent acrobat, whether for show, running across rooftops or outmaneuvering opponents in unexpected ways.
Polyglot-due to both his travels and his advanced age, Bruce has learned to speak numerous languages fluently. Specifically he can speak English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Fujianese dialect groups of Chinese, Central Tibetan, Japanese, French and some Spanish and Arabic.
Some Academic Knowledge of Magic-While he has no potential to actually manipulate magical forces, Bruce's studies in Nanda Parbat gave him some knowledge and insight into the practices of magic and the nature of the supernatural, though he's hardly an expert by any means.
Skilled Actor and Performer-Because of his childhood of training to rejoin the Peking Opera and a lifelong personal interest, Bruce is a fairly skilled singer, dancer and actor though his style may be a bit out of date.
-Powers:
Peak Physical Fitness-Thanks to a combination of rigorous training, meditation and internal chi manipulation Bruce has maintained perfect physical fitness and a fair degree of youth in spite of his technically being a nonagenarian. He can lift over 400 pounds (More more with use of his Chi), sprint for marathon distances without tiring and take a punch from a professional boxer without slowing down.
Chi Manipulation-Having been trained in the esoteric arts of true chi manipulation in Nanda Parbat, Bruce can use his body's own natural reservoir of chi to briefly boost himself to truly superhuman levels of physical ability, accomplishing feats like lifting a car, deflecting a bullet (though not stopping sustained gunfire) and leaping small buildings in a single bound or denting solid steel. He can also use chi to heal himself or others of injuries or toxins if he's able to concentrate, and can use the expanded awareness he's gained along with this control to sense emotions and certain unusual types of energy, though the fainter either is the harder such a thing becomes.
-Gadgets:
-Weapons:
Civilian Occupation: Wanderer, Adventurer, Teacher.
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Biography
Character History/Origin: Bruce Phoenix was born in San Francisco, California in 1930 when his parents, who were both involved in the attempted internationalization of Peking Opera, were on their first ever American tour. As a result they stayed behind in America to raise their son. They hoped he would someday become the first American Born Chinese man to be a major star of their beloved art form, hopes that became more fervent when the Japanese shut down nearly all Peking Opera schools in 1931. They had his name recorded as Bruce Phoenix, for its American sound and feel and the surname's auspicious nature.
Although he was raised with far more kindness by his own parents than any traditional Opera school would have allowed, Bruce's childhood was focused around cultivating the key skills of singing, dancing, acting, acrobatics and martial arts from a young age. The last was what Bruce excelled in the most, driving himself beyond his parents' expectations in his appetite for learning combat even off the stage. His parents were proud even as they had to split their time between difficult day-jobs and his training, but dreams of opera stardom weren't what motivated their son.
Instead, Bruce dreamed of belonging to an entirely different profession of flashy, costumed fighters: The Actor Activists. They were heroes who fought war and corruption in battles more exciting and dramatic than he could find in any opera and the best part was they were real, here and now! He idolized the Impossibles for their role in the war effort, especially Jade Mantis, a Chinese immigrant like his parents who stood and fought with the Impossibles as an equal.
That was why in 1945 with the war having just drawn to a close, 15-year-old Bruce Phoenix ran away from home to try and convince Jade Mantis, then a returning war hero, to take him on as an apprentice. It took rescuing his hero and earning a name for himself in the papers as the teenage vigilante 'Young Dragon' before he convinced the veteran Actor Activist to take him on as a sidekick, but they adventured together throughout the late 40's and 50s, with Bruce expected to take up Jade Mantis's role if the latter eventually retired. Bruce wanted more for himself, at least as far as the martial arts that had originally drawn him to heroism were concerned. inspired by his predecessor's tales of a mythical city in the Himalayas that the Axis tried to infiltrate during the war, Bruce left America in search of the lost city of Nanda Parbat in 1957, agreeing to take up the identity of Jade Mantis upon his return.
Even with directions from his mentor it still took Bruce two years of wandering through Asia to find the city, but the training it offered him was extraordinary. Nanda Parbat had been graced by a number of masters of the martial arts and their knowledge throughout the centuries. It took him seven more years until he felt he had learned enough from the monks to leave the hidden city in 1967, but the world Bruce found outside was far different from what he remembered. His old mentor and nearly all of the Impossibles were dead, Actor Activists were outlaws and the world's trust in America had been irreversibly shattered.
For decades after, Bruce wandered the world in disillusioned retirement, questioning the relevance of heroes to the modern age and the wisdom of Nanda Parbat, taking odd jobs and feeling joy only in practicing martial arts and adding to his repertoire of skills, always moving from one place to another before the decreased aging he gained from his experiences in the Himalayas became apparent.
Bruce didn't return to Nanda Parbat until the early 2000s, when the growing presence of terrorists in India and Pakistan motivated by religious extremism and later U.S. intervention made him concerned for the city's safety. There, he finally found out what had drawn so many great martial artists to the holy place, as Rama-Kushna and the monks offered him the spiritual guidance he needed to heal his broken soul while he guarded the sanctuary. Bruce's second stay there also helped inspire him to find new purpose in his life, and now he's set out into the world to find worthies among the new generation of heroes, so that they can both benefit from his experience and avoid his mistakes.
Optional information
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Nemesis: None Yet
Allies: Formerly Jade Mantis
Team: Formerly a junior affiliate to the Impossibles.
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