RICHARD DRAGON

Real Name: Richard Drakunovski

Class: Human

Occupation: Martial artist, secret agent

Group Affiliation: formerly G.O.O.D.

Known Relatives: unnamed father (deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Bludhaven, formerly St. Louis, MIS, Detroit, MI

First Appearance: Richard Dragon, Kung-Fu Fighter #1 (May, 1975)

Powers: Richard Dragon was a master of virtually every discipline of empty hand combat.

History:  (DC Comics Presents #39 (fb)) - As a misguided young man from the slums  Richard Dragon broke into a Japanese temple to steal a priceless jade Buddha. He was apprehended by the temple s O-Sensei and his student Ben Turner, but they decided not to turn him over to the authorities. Instead they taught him the martial arts and helped him find inner peace.

(DC Comics Presents #39) - Richard Dragon's students, and anyone around him started dying, and he realized the culprit was Ben Turner, the hypnotized Bronze Tiger. Dragon sought out O-Sensei s council, and realized he was responsible for stopping his friend. He went to see Barney Ling for help, but found him with the Tiger. Barney had been the one sending death threats to Ben Turner, and tricked the heroes into fighting his own enemies. Professor Ojo brainwashed Ben, and turned him into Ling's pawn, and Ling used him as a weapon to destroy Dragon's life. Dragon and Tiger fought, and when Dragon dodged one of Tiger's blows it hit Ling, who fell from a window to his apparent death. With Ling dead Tiger was directionless, and Richard took him to a doctor to heal his mind.

(Question I #2, Question Annual #1 (fb)) - The Question was determined to clean up Hub City and bring down it's corrupt mayor Wesley Fermin. Lady Shiva was working for Fermin and easily bested Question in combat. Fermin's men beat him and tossed him off a pier, but Shiva was interested in Question's passion for combat and rescued him. She chartered a helicopter ride for him, so he could learn from the wheelchair bound Richard Dragon. Dragon told Question not to underestimate him even though he was crippled, and said Question needed to train his mind before all else. He chopped wood, subsisted on foraging and listened to Dragon's words of wisdom until Richard felt he'd learned all he could from him. Richard Dragon taught Question a lesson about pain, saying that life inevitably broke people in different ways, and it was unavoidable. Question asked if he was supposed to give up and cry, but Dragon said that would be safe but allow the pain to remain. He insisted that pain had to be accepted and embraced no matter the form it took. Shiva appeared to check on his progress, and attacked him, telling him that if he didn't defend himself she would kill him. He fended off her attacks, and she was satisfied, saying she'd saved him because he was destined to master the martial arts. Dragon still maintained that Question's passion was curiosity, not combat.

(Question I #34, 35) - Hub City descended into chaos, with crime running unchecked and the police department barely functioning. Richard Dragon flew into the city, where he was immediately beset my criminals trying to mug him. He easily defeated them despite being in a wheelchair and made his way to Mayor Fermin’s home, offering to help her restore order to Hub City. Richard Dragon told Fermin he needed to find vic, and described his time training him. Dragon said he tried to help Vic move past the rage and chaos in his life to find his true self, but feared he’d failed. He hoped to help Vic reach the next stage in his life, which Dragon said would help him move on to the next stage of his own life as well. The visited Rodor, who said he hadn’t seen Vic in days. He admitted Vic went out on nights on citizen patrol, and while he claimed to be maintaining order in the city tot knew he was getting off on committing violence. Myra and Dragon drove around looking for Vic and found the scene of his car accident. Vic Sage was in a car accident, and Melly Warder, one of the thugs who rolled him afterwards, found his Question gear and donned it. As “Question” he shot the owner of a Christmas tree farm. He shot up a bodega before breaking into Rodor’s house and robbing him. Lt. Izzy O’Toole caught up with him and shot him in the chest. Melly managed to flee, but soon died of his injuries. Izzy took off his mask and was incredulous that the man who’d set him on the straight and narrow turned to crime. He was ready to cry, both for being betrayed and believing he’d killed Question. Dragon and Myra found the badly injured Vic hiding in the church where his mother had abandoned him as a child. He said he had a vision of his mother, and she’d told him the way to solve his crisis in life was to leave behind Hub City for good.

(Question I #36) - Myra wanted to drive Vic home, but her car had been destroyed by vandals. A man approached them swaddling an infant begging for money. Myra noticed the child was dead and the man said he’d hoped they wouldn’t notice before dumping the little body in a trashcan. The incident catalyzed how rotten Hub City had become for them. Richard Dragon rose from his wheelchair and seated the still delirious Vic. Richard explained that when Vic sought training from him his nature would have seen Richard Dragon as a threat and someone to be defeated if he was at his peak. His mental control over his body allowed him to remain handicapped from a time until he no longer needed to be. Fermin found someone had set her office on fire, and the fire department was no longer operating so she decided they should return to Aristotle's house. They came across Izzy O’Toole, still sitting by the body of the fake Question. He’d realized that the imposter was in jail when the cowboy bounty hunters came to town to fight Question, so he realized he was a fake. At Aristotle’s Izzy put Vic into bed and said he realized that if Melly robbed Vic it meant he was the Question, and asked why he’d chosen to become a vigilante. Vic said putting on the mask let him act the way he felt on the inside and admitted that in recent days he questioned more and more who he really was. Izzy said he wanted to go bust some heads and left to patrol. Myra told Vic she loved him, which she realized neither of them had ever said to the other, even in the heat of passion. Everyone woke the next day and Vic and Myra celebrated Christmas by playing in the snow. Vic reiterated that they had to leave, telling Fermin there was nothing she, he or anyone else could do for Hub because it was beyond helping. They picked up Myra’s daughter Jackie, and the nun at her school begged Myra to take some of the orphans at her school away from Hub City, but Myra said they didn’t have room. Richard Dragon arranged for a helicopter to pick them up, and Lady Shiva was aboard. She told Vic she wanted to test herself against the anarchy of Hub City and would be taking his place. Myra had a change of heart and told Vic she had to stay and asked him to watch over Jackie. She said she had a responsibility and duty to help her constituents even if it was hopeless. She told Vic she loved him again before leaving.

Comments: Created by Dennis O'Neil, Jim Berry & Leopoldo Duranona.

Richard Dragon received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #19.

Richard Dragon had a cameo in Question I #37.

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