| Character Name: | Kung |
| Real Name: | Thomas Morita |
| Publisher: | DC Comics |
| Debut: | Wonder Woman #237 (November 1977) |
| Creators: | Gerry Conway José Delbo |
| Aliases: | Assassin of a Thousand Claws |
| Powers: | Ability to transform into animals |
Kung (Thomas Morita) is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly as a recurring foil of the superhero Wonder Woman.[1] A Japanese-American mercenary with the magical ability to transform into animals, he first appeared in 1977's Wonder Woman #237,[2] written by Gerry Conway and illustrated by José Delbo. He would reappear several years later in both All-Star Squadron and Who's Who in the DC Universe, as well as in Crisis on Infinite Earths, the 1985 company-wide publication event that rebooted DC Comics' continuity. After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Wonder Woman and her supporting characters and foes were re-imagined. Though originally absent from this revised mythos, Kung was reintroduced for the Modern Age in 1998's Guns of the Dragon, a four-issue DC Comics limited series by Tim Truman. An updated version of the character, a shape-shifting martial arts master, would emerge to once again confront Wonder Woman in 2007's Wonder Woman (vol. 3) Annual #1, written by Allan Heinberg and illustrated by Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson.
Thomas Morita is a Japanese-American man whose parents die during the Great Depression. Afterward, he becomes a samurai and undergoes a mystical process that gives him the ability to transform into animals.[3] [4]
In Wonder Woman #237, Kung is killed while saving his sister Nancy from a teetering battleship.[5] The Monitor later retrieves him, among other heroes, to battle the Anti-Monitor in Crisis on Infinite Earths.[6] [7]
In post-Crisis continuity, Kung is killed during the bombing of Hiroshima, but returns as a spirit to battle the Justice Society of America.
A second unidentified Kung appears in Wonder Woman (vol. 3) Annual #1 (2007).
Kung can transform himself into animal forms through concentration. His animal forms are larger than their normal counterparts and maintain his human mind. He is also a skilled samurai and martial artist.