Dr. Winston Shugel-Shen is the adoptive father of Marcus Shugel-Shen, aka the Monkey Prince. Along with his wife Laura he is a criminal scientist who works for some of the most notorious villains in the country, yet is nevertheless a loving and devoted parent to Marcus.
History
Fifteen years ago Winston was working for Laura's father Gerard Shugel, aka the Ultra-Humanite. He and Laura dated but she broke up with him, as she was disappointed that he was unable to stand up to Gerard despite the courage he showed in his work. Winston was able to get a stolen Phantom Zone Projector working and the three of them attempted to open a portal to the Phantom Zone and free the Monkey King. They succeeded in opening the portal, but boulders rained down out of it, almost crushing them. Gerard's insistence on running the experiment in the open in the middle of Metropolis quickly drew the attention of the Justice League, who broke the Projector in half and smashed its Phantom Crystal Lens.
Winston and Laura escaped while the League were distracted fighting Gerard. As they were getting away they heard crying from one of the boulders, which cracked open to reveal a baby boy inside. They both immediately fell in love with him and took him from the scene with them. Winston and Laura resumed their romantic relationship, got married and adopted the boy, who they named Marcus. They told Gerard that they found Marcus in an orphanage and cut all ties with him when Marcus was a toddler, as they knew Gerard would try to exploit Marcus if he knew his true origins.[1][2][3]
The Shugel-Shen's moved to Gotham City, where Laura and Winston worked as freelance henchpeople, selling their scientific skills to the city's numerous supervillains and criminals. One night Batman broke into their home during a thunderstorm and attacked them, looking for information on their current employer. When he realised there was a child in the house Batman left, but Marcus was traumatised and suffered panic attacks for years afterwards. The family left Gotham and began travelling around the country as Laura and Winston sought employment with villains around the country. They worked for The Riddler, Intergang and Captain Cold, among others, and earned a sterling reputation among the supervillain community.[4] The Shugel-Shen's were careful to keep the nature of their work secret from Marcus, letting him believe they were merely boring scientists.[5]
Their moves eventually brought them back to Metropolis, where they took jobs with LexCorp. King Fire Bull attacked the facility they were working in and Laura was grievously injured. Winston was forced to take her to Gerard to save her life.[1] While Laura was healing, Supergirl tracked them to Gerard's home. He attempted to chase her away with a new weapon but she easily overpowered him, and only left when a mysterious rain fell on Metropolis, mutating the civilians and causing havoc. Gerard noticed that the rain repaired the crystalline battery powering his gun after Supergirl destroyed it and realised that he could use the rain to fix his Phantom Crystal Lens. He successfully restored the lens and told Winston they would now succeed where they had failed years ago.[2]
Winston was unable to get the Phantom Zone Projector to work as Gerard had replaced the missing half with parts manufactured on Earth, which could not perfectly replicate the original Kryptonian technology. They went to the ruins of the Hall of Justice to recover the original other half of the Projector, which the League had confiscated fifteen years ago. Winston successfully rebuilt the Projector, but before he could test it Marcus confronted them in his guise as Monkey Prince. The Monkey Prince unleashed a wave of miniature clones to restrain them, but as Gerard fought the clones he knocked Winston over. Winston fell and hit his head on the Projector, activating it and knocking himself out.
While Winston was unconscious, the Monkey Prince leapt through the portal into the Zone when he saw the Monkey King on the other side seeming to reach for Winston. From this Gerard deduced that the Monkey Prince was Marcus and, when he emerged, injected him with the pain-inflicting nanobots he had intended to use on the Monkey King. Gerard carried the still-unconscious Winston back to his lab and treated his injuries.[3] Winston and Laura both made a full recovery and reconciled with Gerard, unaware that Marcus was the Monkey Prince and Gerard had injected him with the nanobots.[6]
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
Related
- 13 Appearances of Winston Shen (Prime Earth)
- 3 Images featuring Winston Shen (Prime Earth)
- Quotations by or about Winston Shen (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Winston Shen (Prime Earth)
Footnotes