this week kicks off Lunar new Year as well as DC Comics is celebrating with the release of gene Luen Yang’s 12-issue comic book series about the trickster Monkey Prince! The character was very first introduced in the DC celebration of Heroes last year as well as likewise DC Fandom. Yang as well as artist Bernard Chang took motivation from the prominent Monkey King stories that they had grown up with as well as turned it into something unique for DC Comics. I had the chance to checked out the Monkey Prince series debut as well as let me say: it is FANTASTIC. I cannot wait to checked out the other eleven problems as well as I’m so excited to see a myth from my youth coming to life in the DC Universe.
Who Is The Monkey Prince?
picture via DC Comics
The Monkey prince was originally produced by Yang as well as illustrated Chang, as well as was based on the Monkey King, a famous hero from Chinese mythology as well as cherished protagonist of the traditional tale, Journey to the West. The Monkey prince is one of DC’s newest shape-shifting superheroes. His alias is Marcus sun as well as he’s the son of the Monkey King, although he was increased by adoptive parents and, ironically, does not think about himself a superhero as well as hates them as a whole, believing they are arrogant as well as see themselves as above normal people. Marcus’s powers are connected to his emotional state; he may revert to human type if he is afraid, or summon a wind as well powerful to manage if he becomes angry. In an interview on the DC Comics blog, both Yang as well as Chang talked extensively about why they wished to bring the Monkey prince to life. Yang said:
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“We’re hoping that it will introduce American visitors to Chinese mythology, as well as Chinese visitors to the DC Universe. We truly want it to feel cross-cultural. On the fun side, we want the Monkey King to go up against other DC characters, both heroes as well as villains.
In Asia—in China as well as Japan specifically—Monkey King’s story is so prominent that it’s ended up being almost ubiquitous. I believe they release a couple of Monkey King movies every year. Dragon sphere Z is based on the Monkey King story. Goku is essentially an anime version of the Monkey King. There are just so many versions of him.
One of the concerns we had to ask was, why are we doing it? What makes our version different? We wished to firmly ground our character in the DC Universe. We desired it to feel like a story that couldn’t be told anywhere else. The primary character isn’t the Monkey King himself, he’s really the son of the Monkey King—that’s why he’s called the Monkey Prince. Second, we wished to tie him into DC heroes as well as DC conventions. We desired some type of connection between the character as well as the heroes as well as villains that already exist in the DC Universe. one of the conventions of DC superheroes is that there’s a trick identity, so we wished to provide him one. We wished to provide him a human identity as well as something to hide.”
While the Monkey prince is based on Chinese mythology that may not be familiar to many comic readers, the character himself is somebody that visitors from all backgrounds can associate to. Marcus is a typical teenager that wishes to in shape in, however he has the added layer of having these mystical powers too. He needs to discover exactly how to rein in his emotions as well as exactly how humility can make him a much better person and superhero.
Why I’m particularly excited For The Monkey prince Series
picture via DC Comics
The team behind Monkey Prince could have just said, “Oh yes, Marcus is the son of the Monkey Prince,” as well as left it at that. Instead, they took the time to truly interweave the Monkey King myth into Marcus/Monkey Prince’s story. It was excellent to see familiar characters like Pigsy, who acts as Marcus’s teacher, or shifu. In the original Monkey King story, Pigsy wasn’t rather a smart mentor; rather, he commonly got his companions in difficulty for his laziness, gluttony, as well as propensity for lusting after quite women.
Similar to Yang’s other works, he likewise includes little details that I, as an Oriental American reader, can appreciate. For example, in a flashback, the Monkey King is fighting against a swarm of giant bugs as well as as they get killed, their innards are spewed everywhere as well as Pigsy states they odor like durian. I might promptly odor the pungent fruit in my mind (or rather, my nose). much like Shang-Chi or the Alysia Yeoh, representation matters, as well as the more diverse characters as well as stories we see, the richer the comic book reading experience. As Yang himself said:
“It’s not that that there’s not that many Oriental characters—it’s that there’s not that many that aren’t problematic. There’s Egg Fu. There’s a whole lot from the 1940s. There’s Chop Chop. It was a thrill. (DC Editor) Jessica (Chen), Bernard Chang as well as I, we talked about exactly how this was type of a container listing product for us. all of us are heavily thinking about seeing Oriental representation within the DC Universe. however even beyond that, there’s something about the Monkey King. All three of us have youth memories of hearing Monkey King stories from our parents. For all of us, it’s connected in with our like of superheroes. There’s a great deal of overlap between the Monkey King as well as the American superhero genre. They both are heroes, they’re battling for the fate of the world, they’re both dressed up in fancy, vibrant costumes, as well as they both have these fantastical, superhuman powers. It felt great to bridge that space between those two loves—American superheroes as well as the legend of the Monkey King.”
The themes commonly seen in comics usually have universal themes of acceptance, friendship, as well as love. To disregard a specific group since a story “isn’t for them” is to clean aside the truth that visitors not only requirement to see themselves however can likewise learn about others, as well as gene Luen Yang’s Monkey Prince is perfect for that.
What occurred In The Monkey prince series Debut as well as What Is His part In The DCEU
picture via DC Comics
In the DC celebration of Heroes story, “The Monkey prince Hates Superheroes,” we discovered that the Monkey prince interacts with Shazam as well as is finest good friends with Billy Batson (I presume Marcus doesn’t recognize his finest good friend is, in fact, the superhero he despises). Then, in this very first problem of the Monkey Prince series debut (titled “Enter the Monkey: part 1), we discover that Marcus is currently living in Gotham City as well as that Batman is after his family! What?! just some chronological clarification: “Enter the Monkey” is the beginning of Marcus’s origin story as well as introduces us to a teen boy who is trying to comprehend his location in high school.
After satisfying Mr. Zhu, the institution janitor who is likewise a disguised Pigsy, Marcus starts to experience weird things. believe clouds appearing around him, growing a monkey’s tail, as well as squeaking like an animal. only after dealing with his fear of the pool as well as jumping in does he transform into the Monkey Prince. integrating “The Monkey prince Hates Superheroes,” “Enter the Monkey,” as well as the DC Fandome story, “Apokolips in the Heavenly Realm,” we get a much better sense of the Monkey prince as well as Marcus. Pigsy is there to teach the young superhero “confidence, not arrogance,” as well as will most likely try to direct him towards a more mature mindset toward things. Pigsy has likewise fought together with the Monkey King, so he can likewise assist Marcus link to his household as well as culture. However, the shocker comes at the end of “Enter the Monkey,” when the Monkey prince is attacking a trainee as well as Batman as well as Robin appear to stop him. In the process, Batman cuts off the Monkey Prince’s head!
But exactly how does the Monkey prince in shape into the DCEU though? In “Enter the Monkey” we discover that Marcus’s adoptive parents are really working for Penguin as well as it seems like they’ve likewise done work for The Riddler, Intergang, as well as Captain Cold, which explains why Batman was after him. I had previously mentioned that the Monkey prince had very first interacted with Shazam/Billy Batson in “The Monkey prince Hates Superheroes,” so we understand for sure there’s a connection there too. will future problems include more interconnected crossovers like these? What is going to occur to the Monkey Prince’s head? I assumption the only method to discover out is to buy the next problem of gene Luen Yang’s Monkey Prince, right?
The Monkey Prince series debut is now offered for purchase everywhere.
What do you believe of gene Luen Yang’s Monkey Prince? Do you feel like you requirement to checked out the rest of the Monkey Prince’s adventures after this Monkey Prince series debut? let us understand in the comments below!
Featured picture via DC Comics