I-Ching (Earth-One)

I-Ching
Mainstream Universe‎, 1950s-1986
Gallery
Real Name	I-Ching
Main Alias	I-Ching
Relatives	Lu Shan (daughter)
Affiliation	Diana Prince
Base Of Operations	Hidden monastery in China
Status
Alignment	Good
Identity	Public Identity
Citizenship	Chinese
Marital Status	Widowed
Occupation	Monk
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Brown
Hair	Grey
Origin
Universe	Earth-One
Creators	Dennis O'Neil · Mike Sekowsky
First Appearance	Wonder Woman #179 (December, 1968)
Appearance of Death	Wonder Woman #204 (February, 1973)

Where there is no light, the fool sits in darkness; but the wise man feels carefully ahead!

— I-Ching

I-Ching was a skilled martial arts expert and the last surviving member of an ancient Chinese sect.

History

The monastery where I-Ching once lived was hidden high in the mountains; it was founded when men believed that magic and science were different. It was the sect's belief that they were just two sides of the same coin. Over the centuries, the monastery had collected a fortune in gold, precious jewels, and other such valuable objects. Doctor Cyber sent two of her agents to attack the monastery and steal the fortune. The monks fought back, but they had no guns and were killed, all except I-Ching, who escaped but was badly wounded.

I-Ching was tasked with training Diana Prince, a.k.a. Wonder Woman, when she surrendered her powers in order to stay in Man's World, while her mother and her Amazon sisters relocated to another dimension. Diana now owned a mod boutique for an income and worked with I-Ching to improve her now-powerless fighting skills. I-Ching trained her body as a weapon, and she learned both martial arts and weapons skills.

The old master spent much time with Diana, travelling all over the world to stop Doctor Cyber and, later, also Lu Shan, I-Ching's daughter. She had allied herself with Cyber in order to exact revenge for the death of her mother, and later struck out on her own to do the same thing.

I-Ching was murdered by a mad sniper who was gunning down innocent people from his rooftop vantage point. He died in Diana's arms.

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

• Martial Arts: I-Ching was one of the preminent martial artists on the planet. He combined many moves and elements from numerous martial arts techniques, including a few forgotten ones, to create a combat form that matched his own strengths.
  • Karate
• Weapons Master: Through his martial arts training, he had become an expert on all melee weapons. I-Ching displayed exceptional sword fighting capability and proficiency with knives, bo sticks and various other weapons.
• Tactical Analysis: I-Ching was very literate in body language. He could often predict what an opponent would do before they even did it and better plan his attacks that way.
• Indomitable Will: I-Ching could control his nervous system, enabling him both to deaden his body to physical pain and control his emotions and even his bleeding rate.
• Hypnosis

Notes

• This version of I-Ching, including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and later restored following the rebirth of the infinite Multiverse during the Dark Crisis of 2022–2023. Even though other versions of the character may have appeared, this information does not apply to those versions.

Related

• 38 Appearances of I-Ching (Earth-One)
• 2 Images featuring I-Ching (Earth-One)
• 2 Quotations by or about I-Ching (Earth-One)
• Character Gallery: I-Ching (Earth-One)

Footnotes

Wonder Woman Supporting Cast This character is or was an ally of Wonder Woman. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Wonder Woman Supporting Cast" category.