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Sun Wukong, the classic hero of Chinese mythology, goes up against Darkseid in his own 12-issue series courtesy of Gene Luen Yang and Bernard Chang.
One of the greatest heroes of Chinese mythology, Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, is getting a series from DC.
The Monkey Prince, introduced to DC continuity in May’s DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration #1 anthology, will star in a new twelve-issue book set to hit comic shops in February 2022. Written by Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese, New Super-Man) and illustrated by Bernard Chang (Batman Beyond, Green Lantern Corps) DC’s Monkey Prince will run for 12 issues and feature the Monkey Prince and a collection of characters inspired by the classic story Journey to the West fighting against Darkseid. Character designs revealed by DC show not only the Monkey Prince’s new look, but also Chang’s interpretation of the Chinese god Erlang Shen alongside Journey to the West characters Princess Iron Fan, Bull Demon King and Red Boy.
DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration debuted the Monkey Prince in the story “The Monkey Price Hates Superheroes.” There, the Monkey Prince battled Dr. Sivana and showed off his shapeshifting powers by masquerading as Shazam. The story also revealed that DC’s version of the Monkey King appears to be a young boy of Chinese descent who can transform into monkey form and trains under Shifu Piggy, a character inspired by the humanoid pig named Zhu Bajie in Journey to the West.
Journey to the West is widely considered one of the greatest classical novels of Chinese literature and one of the most popular mythological stories in East Asia. The novel, published in the 16th century and attributed to Ming Dynasty novelist Wu Cheng’en, tells the tale of Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who travels from China to India to gain access to Buddhist texts. Along the way, Xuanzang is helped by a number of disciples, the most famous of which is Sun Wukong, the Monkey King.
The plot of Journey to the West has served as the inspiration for a number of comics, films, and games, including Akira Toriyama’s original Dragon Ball series, which used Son Goku — the Japanese translation of Sun Wukong — as a stand-in for the Monkey King. Marvel has also offered their own adaptation of Sun Wukong as a crime lord who encountered the spirit of the original Monkey King, experienced a change of heart and decided to atone for his crimes. The character met his death in War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #4.
DC’s Monkey Prince #1, by Yang and Chang with variant covers by Stanley “Artgerm” Lau and Zao Dao, goes on sale in February.
Source: DC FanDome
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