Blevins (Shang-Chi foe) (original) (raw)
BLEVINS
Real Name: Carl Blevins
Identity/Class: Human; conventional weaponry user; British citizen
Occupation: Former member of MI-6
Group Membership: Led Cadre of Salvation
Affiliations: Employed a number of Si-Fan imposters;
old ally of Sir Denis Nayland Smith and Winston Neville
Enemies: Fu Manchu and theSi-Fan; Iron Fist, Neville, Shang-Chi
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Savior
Base of Operations: a maze-like subterranean lair in London, England
First Appearance: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#29 (October, 1976)
Powers/Abilities: None. Blevins employed a number of mercenaries, who used swords, staffs, and equipment of the martial arts. Blevins was willing to sacrifice anyone and anything in what his twisted mind saw as a never-ending mission to protect England from the evil of Fu Manchu.
History:
(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#29(fb)-BTS) - Blevins was an ally of Sir Denis Nayland Smith and his allies, who opposed the evil of Fu Manchu, in the first half of the twentieth century. In 1947, Smith, Blevins, and Neville forced Fu Manchu to flee his London subterranean maze-base.
(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#29(fb)-BTS) - Over the years, Blevins grew progressively more paranoid about the evil of Fu Manchu, and determined to put an end to it at any cost. In the modern era, he organized the Cadre of Salvation, a band of mercenaries, to help him accomplish his goal. He established his base within the maze formerly used by Fu Manchu.
(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#29) - Seeking to recruit more powerful agents, specifically Shang-Chi and Iron Fist, into his Cadre. To this end he had his old ally Neville abducted to draw out Shang-Chi, and faked the kidnapping of Colleen Wing to draw out Iron Fist. In addition, he planted a complex bomb inside the House of Parliament, which would require the bomb-defusing skills of Neville.
The two martial artists followed the instructions they were given, each fighting their way past several seeming Si-Fan before arriving in Blevins' subterranean base. There, Blevins attempted to recruit them . By Blevins' statements, they quickly realized him to be quite mad, and so they refused his offer. Blevins then put a knife to Neville's throat and demanded that the two fighters battle each other--or Neville throat gets slit--and parliament gets destroyed.
Blevins realized that the two were merely parrying and cut into Neville's neck, prompting them into actual combat. However, the two warriors still thwarted him, as Shang-Chi augmented Iron Fist's leap, tossing him toward the balcony where Blevins stood. Using his Iron Fist, Iron Fist (hmm...too many Iron Fists, baby) shattered the balcony, and the two made quick work of Blevins and his men. They rushed Blevins and Neville to Parliament, just in time to see the bomb go off. However, Blevins had only planted a flashy, harmless explosive, not truly wanting to destroy one of England's most sacred institutions.
Smith was puzzled by Blevins' inexplicable behavior and had him taken him into custody, prompting Blevins to believe that he, too, had been brainwashed.
Comments: Created by Doug Moench and Rudy Nebres.
My knowledge of the Sax Rohmer novels is pretty weak, but my BOYZ at the Appendix tell me that Blevins was NOT a member of the cast of Fu Manchu's enemies in the original stories. Is this true?
Blevins' first name was revealed in Marvel Atlas#1.
CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connections to:
- Holden Blevins, a spirit who died in utero when his mother was slain by Ice Box Bob, @ Blaze II#1
- Sally Blevins, aka Skids, @ X-Factor I#7
The Cadre of Salvation has no known connection to:
- Cadre (Dementia, Shard, and Vortex), Hellbent foundlings, @ Web of Spider-Man Annual#9
- Cadre, aka the Host, a team of Warskrulls, @ Uncanny X-Men#275
- Cadre K, a band of rogue K class/mutant Skrulls, organized and trained by Xavier,
@ X-Men II#97, Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet - Arms of Salvation, a black market human organ transplant organization, @ Marvel Comics Presents#83
- Salvation-1, a robot built by Yellowjacket/Hank Pym as part of an insane plot to prove his innocence in a court martial,
@ Avengers I#213 - other "Cadres" or "Salvations."
Cadre of Salvation
They are a band of mercenaries employed by Blevins in his seeming war against the forces of Fu Manchu. A number of the Cadre impersonated Fu Manchu's Si-Fan.
Most of them were trained in various forms of combat, some employing different forms of weaponry, but none of them could hold a candle to a couple of masters like Iron Fist and Shang-Chi.
--Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#29
Appearances:
Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#29 (October, 1976) - Doug Moench (writer), Rudy Nebres (artist), John Warner (editor)
Last updated: 07/14/03
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Fu Manchu and any of the characters from his novels are the creations of Sax Rohmer, and are owned by whoever owns his stuff.
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!