Ladykiller

Creation

Ladykiller was created by Peter David and Andrew Currie in 2006 and first appeared in Wonder Man # 1.

Major Story Arcs

Huan came from China and her parents were farmers so they were very poor and they offered her daughter as payment. She was told to make men happy and forced into prostitution at the age of twelve. Huan ended up killing her first client by strangling him to death with his necktie. The man turned out to be a crime boss and her actions caught the attention of the Mandarin. The Mandarin took Huan under his tutelage and she became a top notch assassin. Her first assignment was to kill her own parents but she did not have the courage to do it. The Mandarin met Huan on her farm and he burned downed their home where her parents died in the fire. Huan was strictly loyal to the Mandarin and became a ruthless killer.

Wonder Man was having lunch with his former agent, Neal Saroyan when Ladykiller appeared to assassinate a movie producer named Ken Flaven who was also dining in the same restaurant. Wonder Man engaged the assassin and noticed her blind rage alongside her awesome fighting skills and deadly weaponry. Wonder Man eventually knocked out Ladykiller and his agent offered the challenge to rehabilitate this villain. Simon decided to help Ladykiller and enlisted the aid of Ms. Marvel and Beast with the rehabilitation process at a private safehouse. Huan was forced to wear a collar that would shock her whenever she became violent or exhibit any hostility. The process was slow and Huan tried to escape the compound on several occasions but she would run into a booby trap that would take her to Beast who was waiting to play checkers with her. Eventually Huan began to change her outlook and she started to develop feelings for Simon.

Meanwhile a group of assassins called the Nobility were looking for Huan because she was a former operative and lover to Lord Thunder. The Nobility discovered that Huan was part of a documentary project after her rehabilitation and confronted Neal Saroyan. It turned out that Saroyan had mind control abilities and forced the Nobility to join him. Saroyan had plans to use Huan to kill the Avengers after she was rehabilitated. Wonder Man and Huan had a bonding moment during a talk one night and the shock collar was removed. Huan would leave the compound and caught the attention of the police when she took down some gang members inside a building. Wonder Man found Huan and grabbed her before a police sniper could shoot her. Simon felt that Huan has changed for the better and was completely rehabilitated in his eyes. Wonder Man would asked Huan to be his date for a function involving the Avengers and several other heroes. Wonder Man wanted to introduce Huan as a new super-heroine and change her name into Ladyfair. Carol Danvers would help Huan with her make up and new outfit.

Wonder Man and Huan came to the function and she was introduced to several heroes including Captain America and Thor. During the party, Huan heard Saroyan through a receiver he had implanted in her jaw when he secretly hired her to kill the movie producer, Ken Flaven. Saroyan also implanted a capsule containing dangerous drugs behind her right wisdom tooth. Saroyan had convinced the Nobility that Huan will always be a killer despite her rehabilitation and she will do what she is told. Lord Thunder warned Saroyan that his plan should work or there would be consequences. Saroyan told Huan to drop the capsule in the punch bowl and not to try anything funny because he would be able to detect it. Huan dropped the capsule into the drink and it would be a slow poison that would kill anyone that drank the punch in nine hours. Wonder Man asked Huan to dance when she noticed Captain America getting a cup of punch. Huan disobeyed Saroyan and kicked the cup out of Captain America's hand and knocked over the punch bowl. Saroyan told Huan that she was an animal, a killer and she would never change. Huan pulls a knife out of her inner boot and tells Saroyan that she will be free and plunges the dagger into her chest. Huan collapses in Simon's arms and she tells him that Saroyan had mind control abilities and was behind it all. Huan tells Simon to honor her and remember her before she dies in her arm. Wonder Man races to Saroyan's office where he finds him dead with a sword sticking through his body. Wonder Man traveled to the Great Wall of China and lit the watchtowers. Wonder Man promised to light the watchtowers every year on the anniversary of Huan's passing to remember her and remind himself that the walls we create around ourselves can be overcome.

Powers And Abilities

Huan was a skilled assassin who had superb hand-to-hand combat skills and good agility. Huan mastered various weapons from the Orient but she normally carried a chain-whip and two kamas that were charged with anionic energy.