Stuff, the Chinatown Kid is a

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 ...

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

, a

sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...

to the original

Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

. He first appeared in ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics ...

'' #45 (February 1942). In ''American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944'', Kurt Mitchell and

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

say that "Stuff the Chinatown Kid was a refreshing change from the usual antiquated stereotypes of Chinese-Americans, since he spoke perfect, albeit slang-filled English and acted like any other red-blooded American kid sidekick".

Fictional character biography

Jimmy Leong is the grandson of Lin Chou, leader of the White Lotus tong in New York's Chinatown. Jimmy assists the Vigilante when a Japanese spy known as the Head frames his grandfather for provoking a Tong war. Jimmy becomes the Vigilante's sidekick "Stuff, the Chinatown Kid". While with the Vigilante, he fought the Pecos Kid, the Rainbow Man and

the Dummy "The Dummy" is episode 98 of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone'' starring Cliff Robertson as a ventriloquist. It is not to be confused with a similar episode "Caesar and Me", in which Jackie Cooper plays a ventriloquis ...

. After Jimmy is killed (see below), his younger brother Victor becomes the new Chinatown Kid. In contrast to his brother's Western attire, Victor wears traditional Chinese garb. Later as an adult, Victor assists the now-retired Greg Saunders (the Vigilante's alter ego) in running his chain of Western-themed restaurants. Saunders and Stuff annually invite Pat Dugan (

Stripesy S.T.R.I.P.E. (short for Special Tactics Robotic Integrated Power Enhancer) is a superhero in the DC Comics DC Universe, Universe. S.T.R.I.P.E. is a powered armor suit invented and worn by Patrick "Pat" Dugan, the former adult sidekick to teenage ...

) and his family for Christmas, despite the Dugans' failure to take them up on their offer. Jimmy is deceased as of the present time. His murder has been credited to two separate killers: The Dummy killed him in ''World's Finest'' #246 (August-September 1977). After the reality alteration caused by the ''

Crisis on Infinite Earths "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to March ...

'', mobster

Bugsy Siegel Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (February 28, 1906 – June 20, 1947) was an American mobster who was a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Siegel was not only influential within the Jewish Mob, but along with his childhood frie ...

is shown to have killed him in the mini-series ''Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice'' (1995-1996).

Powers and abilities

Both Jimmy and Victor Leong have no superpowers but are proficient martial artists in judo and hapkido as well as several kung-fu techniques.

In other media

Stuff appears in the 1947 15-chapter serial '' The Vigilante: Fighting Hero of the Old West'', portrayed by George Offerman, Jr. In this appearance, Stuff is a thirty-something

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...

, rather than an Asian teenager.

References

External links

About the first one on dcuguide.com

About the second one on dcuguide.com

* {{GoldenAge Comics characters introduced in 1942 Characters created by Mort Weisinger DC Comics sidekicks DC Comics male superheroes DC Comics martial artists Chinese-American superheroes Golden Age superheroes Chinese superheroes