Lady Shiva
Real Name: Shiva Woosan
Nicknames: Sandra Woosan/Wu-San
Former Aliases: Paper Monkey
Other Current Aliases: No other known current aliases
Status
Occupation: Assassin
Legal Status: Legal status unknown
Identity: Secret
Marital Status: Marital status unknown
Group Affiliation: No known group affiliation
Base of Operations: Base of operations unknown
Origin
Origin of character unknown.
Place of Birth: Place of birth unknown
Known Relatives: Carolyn (sister, deceased)
First Appearance: Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter #5
History
Not much is known about Sandra Wu-san before the murder of her sister, Carolyn. After her sister was murdered, a rich and powerful criminal named Cravat convinced Sandra that a 'spy' named Richard Dragon had killed her. There was a spark of what Sandra would become in her even then. Cravat saw that spark in Sandra and took advantage of her, sending her after Dragon for reasons of his own. Dragon was a world class martial artist. Knowing that she would have to be well-trained to avenge her sister, Sandra trained herself in martial arts. As she trained, she found that she had a natural inborn skill for the movements and the techniques. Her skills increased at an unheard of speed until she felt as though she was ready to find and challenge Dragon.
The battle she craved was not to be. After tracking Richard Dragon down, he managed to explain that Cravat had lied about the identity of Carolyn's killer. Cravat had used her for his own purposes in an attempt to kill Dragon. With this revelation and no knowledge available to her as to who actually had killed her sister, Sandra's purpose vanished. There was no need for her extensive martial knowledge and all of the training she had done. Seeing the potential for great things in her, Dragon continued to teach Sandra, the training giving her purpose again. He also coaxed her to explore the spiritual side of martial arts. During that exploration of herself and the mystic world, Sandra discovered what she saw as important truths. These discoveries helped her decide to let go of her past and to embark upon a new life, a new future - from then on she was Sandra no more, renaming herself Shiva.
After her reinvention, she fought crime with Richard Dragon and Ben Turner. Her time as a crime fighter lasted for a short time. This time, in its brevity, prepared her for the wandering existence her life would become. Richard Dragon decided to retire into the mountains, becoming reclusive. Ben Turner was brainwashed and eventually transformed into the Bronze Tiger. Shiva sought a path closer to her perception of her true self.
Shiva decided to go with her skills and natural talents, continuing to perfect her martial arts. During her time with Richard Dragon she had become addicted to combat and life-or-death situations. Already a very accomplished martial artist, Shiva hired herself out as a mercenary in order to finance her activities and training. While doing right had been a factor in her life previously, it was becoming less and less of a consideration as she followed the path she set for herself. Her considerable skills allowed her to ask a high price for her services, and there were plenty of takers.
Shiva was once hired to kill Victor Sage, The Question. She defeated him with ease. After his defeat, he was shot in the head and dumped into the river. Having seen something in him, maybe having been impressed by his potential skill, she saved him, fishing him out of the river. Shiva took him into the mountains to meet her former sensei, Richard Dragon, so he could have the same chances to refine and improve upon his skill. They have encountered each other from time to time since then, and almost every time Shiva tests his skills against her own. Sage has become a measuring stick for Shiva and she has been heard to comment that his skills are among the best in the world.
Shiva continued to sell her services as a mercenary for the money and the challenge it brought her. Eventually, she crossed paths with the League of Assassins, and its leader, Ra's al Ghul. Ra's handed most of the operations over to Shiva, which would bring about a struggle for control between the two of them later on. Though Shiva’s primary concern is the perfection of her skills, she has kept close ties with the League over the years.
Shiva was also hired to train prospective assassins, mercenaries or terrorists. She was in the Middle East training a small group of would be terrorists when it came to light that she had something to do with the father of Jason Todd, the second Robin. This connection caused Jason and his mentor Batman to seek her out, thinking that she might perhaps be his mother. Shiva fought with Batman, impressing him quickly with her skill, speed and power. If not for the intervention of Robin, Shiva would have defeated the Dark Knight. When asked, under the effect of sodium pentothal if she was Jason’s mother, she laughed, finding the idea amusing. Shiva began to track down those who referred to themselves as Shihan, “Master,” or any other title proclaiming mastery of a martial arts form. She would learn what she could from them and, depending on their skill, kill them when they were of no further use to her. Shiva’s decision whether or not to kill a particular opponent seem to be based on whimsy. During this time, while seeking out Green Arrow with Sensei for a mission, she encountered and fought with Black Canary.
Fighting Black Canary
Later, Shiva developed a specific interest in Koroshi, master of the art of empty-handed fighting, after hearing that he had been defeated. Any time a true martial arts master is defeated, Shiva does her best to verify the fact and discover how it was accomplished. After gaining no information from Koroshi himself, she started to look for the man rumored to have defeated him, King Snake, to get the information from him instead. During her search, she met Tim Drake, who was undergoing training to become the new Robin. Tim was fighting King Snake's criminal organization, the Ghost Dragons, with the help of a DEA agent, Clyde Rawlins. Shiva trained Tim in martial arts generally and specifically in one weapon - he chose the bo staff. Shiva mentioned, somewhat derisively, that it was not a lethal weapon and replied that was the reason he had chosen it. At the end of his training he defeated Shiva once with the bo, and she gifted him with a collapsible bo staff.
King Snake was creating a virulent plague. The three attempted to stop them from releasing it but the Ghost Dragons escaped with a few of the canisters. After tracking them to Hong Kong, they eventually defeated King Snake, though Rawlins died in the attempt and Shiva mostly watched the proceedings. Shiva ordered Robin to kill King Snake while he hung from a building, though he refused to do so. Shiva kicked him off the cliff to his death, though later it would be revealed that he did actually not die.
After Bane broke the Batman's back, he sought out Shiva to help him regain what the skills and fighting spirit which he had lost. She deemed him unworthy of her efforts. Out of respect for what and who he was before his back was broken, she devised a training regimen for him. As part of this training, Shiva killed an armless sensei in Gotham while wearing a tengu mask, making sure that his best student witnessed the death. There were plenty who sought revenge or to challenge Shiva. Shiva then made Batman wear the tengu mask while performing training missions. He was taken by surprise when he was attacked by the master’s students, who mistook him for Shiva. He defeated all of them in turn. Shiva was attempting to “complete” Batman’s training by manipulating him into killing an opponent. Batman fooled Shiva into believing he had done so, using a false imitation of the Leopard Blow technique she had taught him. Shiva later discovered the truth, but did not seek vengeance.
After the earthquake in Gotham, the Brotherhood of the Monkey Fist held a martial arts tournament in the ruined city, attempting to prove their worthiness and skill after having been dishonored. Under the alias “Paper Monkey,” she fought and defeated many other competitors. Her final opponent was Green Arrow (Connor Hawke). Though it was a very close and taxing contest, Shiva was the winner. Robin had saved Shiva's life previously and asked her not to kill Connor, trading a life for a life. After warning Robin that using the favor now meant she would challenge and kill him when he was older, she refrained from killing Connor. Over the years, Shiva amassed groups of followers who seem to worship her as an incarnation of Shiva, the Hindu goddess of death. Shiva pays them little attention, other than occasionally using them as lackeys or killing them when it suits her whims. Some of her followers have even created temples to honor her victories. There was one such temple in Gotham, which she destroyed, and there are likely others around the world. Her followers are nearly as obsessed as she is, though they do not come close to matching her skills.
Shiva later sought out Cassandra Cain, the new Batgirl, in order to test her skill. Having heard that she was a fighter with legendary talent, Shiva was disappointed to find her barely able to defend herself. Batgirl had been raised in isolation by her father, the assassin David Cain, who never taught her how to speak, read, or write any language. Instead, she developed a phenomenal ability to analyze the body language of others, which, coupled with the martial arts training she received, made her an incomparable fighter. After being gifted with an understanding of language by a psychic whom she had rescued, she lost her talent for understanding body language.
Shiva and Batgirl struck a deal. Shiva would re-teach the girl the skills she had lost, and in return, Batgirl would face her in a battle to the death one year later. Shiva appeared to fight Batgirl at the Forum of The Twelve Caesars. Initially, Shiva defeated Batgirl, rendering her clinically dead. Realizing that Batgirl had not given her all, Shiva revived her. Batgirl admitted to Shiva that she had been fighting suicidally, harboring a death wish due to the fact that Cain had forced her to kill a man with her bare hands when she was only a child. Her ability to perfectly understand the agony of her victim traumatized Batgirl. Having now overcome her death wish, Batgirl fought Shiva again, shattering the sword she wielded. In the midst of battle, Batgirl accused Shiva of having a death wish herself, and that she was really only traveling the world and fighting other martial artists in search of her own death. Batgirl defeated Shiva by breaking her jaw, but refused to kill her.
Characteristics
Height: x'xx"
Weight: xxx lbs (xxx kg)
Eyes: Eye colour unknown
Hair: Hair colour unknown
Unusual Features: No unusual features
Powers
Known Powers: Lady Shiva is a deadly assassin and one of the preeminient martial artists on the planet.
Known Abilities:
Strength Level: Strength level unknown
Miscellaneous
Equipment: No known equipment.
Transportation: No known transportation.
Weapons: No known weapons.
Notes
For many years, there was ongoing debate among comics fans on whether or not Shiva is the greatest martial artist in the DC Universe. The primary other candidates are:
Batman defeated her in Batman #427 (December 1988), but not alone, and only with the help of Robin II (Jason Todd). Batman has stated on other occasions that he considers her to be better than him. In Batman #509 (July 1994), Batman thinks to himself that Lady Shiva "may well be the best fighter alive." In Batgirl #27 (June 2002), Batman states, "Even I've never beaten Shiva hand-to-hand." However, in the Superman/Batman: Public Enemies" storyline, Batman finally manages to incapacitate Shiva in combat, as revenge for "the beating she gave Catwoman." At the time, Batman and Superman were being attacked by a group of supervillains under the influence of mind-control, so it is unclear whether or not Shiva was performing at her full capacity. In the comic, Batman speculates that she may be fighting of her own volition, since she is a mercenary, though whether or not this is the case is unknown. Nonetheless, this defeat is questionable.
In the Brotherhood of the Fist storyline, which concluded in Green Arrow (2nd series) (August 1998), Lady Shiva sought out the second Green Arrow, Connor Hawke, because she had heard about his fighting ability. She defeated him in single combat.
The only person other than Batman (whose defeat is questionable, considering Shiva may have been mind-controlled at the time) who has ever defeated Lady Shiva in single combat was the fourth Batgirl, Cassandra Cain, in Batgirl #25 (April 2002).
In the 2004/05 Richard Dragon miniseries, Richard Dragon managed to maneuver Shiva in position so that he could kill her with the Leopard Blow, but was blindsided by Shiva's henchmen before he could strike. Shiva was enraged, and demanded that they not interfere further. The fight began again, and this time, Shiva managed to kill Dragon using the Leopard Blow. After this, Dragon was resurrected by the demon Neron, who Dragon had previously made a deal with to kill Shiva for her soul. Since he had failed, Neron wanted to make Dragon another deal, but since losing to Shiva wasn't one of the options given to him earlier, he was free from the demon.
The Leopard Blow is Shiva's trademark finishing technique, which she uses to kill her strongest opponents. What it is exactly is not entirely clear, having changed as it has appeared in comics by different writers. In Batman #509, Shiva demonstrates the Leopard Blow as a move in which one folds the foreknuckles inward and strikes with the heel of the palm. Later, in Legends of The Dark Knight #62, Bruce Wayne identifies the Leopard Blow more specifically as a move in which one uses the heel of the palm to drive the "nasal bones" into the brain. (This ability is a common urban legend in the martial arts.) In the Richard Dragon miniseries, however, the Leopard Blow is clearly depicted, both in the art and narration, as a maneuver wherein one first draws the hand back and above the head, and then thrusts it forward with the fingers straightened, driving them through the skull and brain.
Trivia
- Lady Shiva is portrayed by Sung Hi Lee in the Birds of Prey TV series. Here, she is about equally skilled as Barbara Gordon and Huntress.
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