I Ching (often spelled I-Ching) is a
fictional
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places
Place may refer to:
Geography
* Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population
** Census-designated place, ...
,
blind martial artist
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...
published by
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
. He first appeared in ''
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
'' #179 (November 1968), and was created by
Denny O'Neil
Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...
and
Mike Sekowsky
Michael Sekowsky (; November 19, 1923 – March 30, 1989) was an American comics artist known as the penciler for DC Comics' ''Justice League of America'' during most of the 1960s, and as the regular writer and artist on ''Wonder Woman'' during t ...
. The character was created to further the editorial plans to reboot ''Wonder Woman's'' premise and characters.
Fictional character biography
Pre-''Crisis''
I Ching is the last surviving member of an ancient sect, whose monastery was hidden high in the mountains. Their task was to maintain ageless knowledge lost centuries past - a time when men concluded that magic and science are different. Only the sect knew that they are two sides of the same coin. The temple contained several precious gems and metals. Desiring this treasure,
Doctor Cyber
Doctor Cyber is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly as a recurring adversary of the superhero Wonder Woman. She first appeared late in the Silver Age of Comics in 1968's ''Wonder Woman'' (volume ...
sent agents to raid the temple. During this attack, all members of the temple were murdered with the sole exception of I Ching, who managed to escape with serious injuries.
Around this time,
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
surrendered her powers to remain in "Man's World" rather than accompany her fellow Amazons when they relocated to another dimension so they could "restore their magic." Now a mod boutique owner, the powerless Diana Prince acquired I Ching as her mentor. Under I Ching's guidance, Diana trained her body as a weapon, learned martial arts and weapons skills, and undertook adventures that encompassed a variety of genres, from espionage to mythology. It is also revealed that I Ching has a daughter, Lu Shan.
I Ching and Diana subsequently help
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
to defeat a malignant other-dimensional duplicate known as the "Sand Superman" in ''
The Sandman Saga'' (''Superman'' #240-242).
Wonder Woman's powers and traditional costume were restored in 1973 (issue #204). The issue begins with a lunatic sniper gunning down innocent passersby from his rooftop vantage point. A newly married couple driving to their honeymoon destination are among the fatalities and their car crashes into a nearby restaurant where Diana Prince and her mentor I Ching are dining. During the chaos, the sniper fires again and this time he kills I Ching, who dies in the arms of a distraught Diana.
Post-''Crisis''/"One Year Later"
In ''
Justice League of America
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
'' #0, Wonder Woman is shown in her white "Diana Prince" outfit during a flashback. It is unknown if her time as a powerless adventurer has been restored in her history, or if I Ching was her mentor.
Later, in ''Wonder Woman'' #2, photos are obtained of Wonder Woman training with an Eastern mystic code-named I Ching. In the photos (presumably obtained during the one-year gap), Wonder Woman is in her white "Diana Prince" outfit.
In ''Detective Comics'' #838, ''Robin'' (vol. 2) #169, and ''Nightwing'' (vol. 2) #139, I Ching works with Batman against Ra's al Ghul, ultimately involving himself in Robin and Nightwing's conflict regarding the Lazarus Pit.
I Ching returns to help Batman and Robin defeat
Sensei
Sensei, Seonsaeng, Tiên sinh or Xiansheng, corresponding to Chinese characters , is an East Asian honorific term shared in Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese; it is literally translated as "person born before another" or "one who comes ...
in ''Batman'' #705-707.
''DC Rebirth''
In ''
DC Rebirth
DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 initiative in May 2016 as its launching point, DC Rebirth restored the D ...
'', I-Ching appears in ''New Super-Man'' #7 as a martial arts instructor in China, whose guidance
Kong Kenan
Kong Kenan ( ; ) is a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and is known as the Super-Man of China. The character, who first appeared in ''New Super-Man'' # 1 (July 2016), was created by Gene Luen Yang and Viktor Bogdan ...
, the
Super-Man of China, seeks in order to better control his powers. I-Ching introduces Kenan to the
Bagua
The bagua or pakua (八卦) are a set of eight symbols that originated in China, used in Taoist cosmology to represent the fundamental principles of reality, seen as a range of eight interrelated concepts. Each consists of three lines, each lin ...
, the eight trigrams that represent the fundamental principals of reality, explaining that each of his powers are organized around it. I-Ching accompanies Kenan on his adventures to provide guidance and develops a close father-son relationship with him. In later issues, he is revealed to be connected to an identical-looking villain named All-Yang, who caused multiple conflicts for Kenan and the Justice League of China, using the disguise of Ching Lung, a villain from ''
Detective Comics
''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...
'' #1. It is revealed that I-Ching and All-Yang are twin brothers and All-Yang imprisons I-Ching in the
realm of ghosts. Despite being trapped in the realm of ghosts, I-Ching is able to send his consciousness to the "realm of abstraction" when Kenan calls upon him for help against All-Yang. I-Ching recounts his and All-Yang's youths during their training at a monastery. Upon discovering that I-Ching and All-Yang were the living embodiments of
yin and yang
Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the c ...
, respectively, their masters instructed each brother to learn a bit of the other's nature to achieve balance. All-Yang refused out of arrogance and abandoned his training, forcing I-Ching to embody both yin and yang. With Kenan's training complete and I-Ching unable to leave the realms of ghosts, I-Ching passes the mantle of yin and yang onto Kenan, who uses his new powers to defeat All-Yang and absorb him into his body. I-Ching's consciousness continues to advise Kenan within the realm of abstraction while All-Yang's consciousness repeatedly attempts to manipulate him. Despite the brothers' warning to not travel between realms, Kenan uses his yin form to travel to the realm of ghosts to rescue his mentor, only to send himself and the entire Justice League of China there instead, where they encounter evil future versions of themselves, including a fully immersed yin and yang version of Kenan called "Perfect-Man". I-Ching appears and rescues his student from Perfect-Man with his own yin and yang abilities. When I-Ching warns Kenan not to rescue him again, Kenan voices his frustration as I-Ching was the only adult figure in his life who never lied to him nor tried to manipulate him. I-Ching tells Kenan to "let go of the goodness that can never be and embrace the goodness that is" and sends him and his friends back to the realm of humans.
References
External links
Superman - The Sandman SagaThe Diana Prince Era (Fanzing.com)The Unofficial I Ching Chronology{{Wonder Woman
Comics characters introduced in 1968
Fictional blind characters
Fictional male martial artists
DC Comics martial artists
DC Comics male superheroes
Wonder Woman characters
Characters created by Dennis O'Neil
Characters created by Mike Sekowsky
Fictional Buddhist monks
Chinese superheroes