Chiun

Real Name: Nuihc

Identity/Class: "Normal" human, highly skilled in martial arts

Occupation: Assassin

Affiliations: Remo Williams (apprentice); Smitty

Enemies: Nuihc, The Dutchman, Wu Ming Shi (a.k.a. Fu Manchu, former employer turned enemy of Sinanju), Sagwa (a.k.a. Bruce, former student of Chiun turned movie star and servant of Wu Ming Shi)

Known Relatives: Master Hwa (grandfather, deceased), Master Nuihc (father, deceased), Song (son, deceased), Nuihc (nephew), Lai (cousin)

Aliases: Little Father, Master Chuin the Great, Chuin the Teacher, Mr.Park

Base of Operations: CURE HQ, Folcroft Sanitarium, Rye, New York
formerly the village of Sinanju, Korea

First Appearance: Created: The Destroyer

Powers/Abilities: A master of Sinanju, the original (Sun Source) and most deadly of all assassin's arts, Chiun can dodge bullets (by spotting subtle signs telling him when the shooter is about to fire, and then predicting the trajectory), perform incredible feats of acrobatics, and has the ability to control his entire body to negate the need for sleep or food if so required. He is capable of killing or incapacitating people with the slightest touch, and can throw objects with marksmans' accuracy and missile like force. He can run on sand without leaving a trace, and even run on semi-liquid surfaces (e.g. wet cement) without sinking in.

History: Chiun is the current Master of Sinanju, an ancient killing art developed in the Korean village of the same name. Centuries ago, the people of the village were starving, and to survive, they began to send babies "home to the sea", a euphemism for drowning them before they slowly died of starvation. To make money which might sustain their village and allow them to end this culling of their children, the men of Sinanju hired themselves out to others as warriors and assassins. They soon became the most prized killers in the world, used by kings and emperors alike. Eventually one of the Masters, the Great Wang, had an epiphany, and learned how to use the "Sun Source" to become truly unstoppable. He taught himself what would become known as Sinanju, the first and greatest of all martial arts, from which all lesser arts are but stolen remanants. He stopped using weapons other than his own body, and killed the other assassins. From that day forth, there has always been but a single Master and his apprentice, providing for their home.

Originally known as Nuihc, the current master reversed his name as a sign of contempt for his nephew and former student of the same name, after the student betrayed his village by becoming an assassin for personal gain, not for the betterment of the village. Chiun, who had retired, had to return to work, but he believed he had failed his village, as now there would be none to replace him when he died (his son had died years before during a training accident). Reluctantly he took an assignment to train a westerner as an assassin. Chiun took what he considered an undignified and somewhat dishonourable job, consoling himself that it was necessary since the village was again on the brink of starvation and that he could simply show his charge a few simple martial arts tricks already known to the rest of the world.

However Chuin changed his mind when he realised that his student Remo was the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy concerning the first white Master of Sinanju. Despite his own misgivings, he came to like his new apprentice (not that he'd ever admit it), and set about training Remo to be his replacement as Master.

Comments: Created by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy.

Played by Joel Grey in the 1985 movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, and by Roddy McDowell in the failed TV pilot for a Destroyer series.

CLARIFICATIONS: None.

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

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