The following story and photos are from Giant Panda King's book,
Gotham 1919-1939 by Russall S. Beattie, available from www.giantpandaking.com.
Viewer discretion is advised.
David Cain was not the only former member of the League of Assassins in Gotham in the 1920s.
Shiva was also one of the League’s most valued assassins.
Born San-ra Wu-San, she was raised in a small village in rural China. She had a sister,
Kar-lyn, and they were both trained in their village in a unique martial art.
It allowed its practitioners to predict the body movements of one’s opponent.
The two sisters became proficient in the art of combat. Kar-lyn wanted to be the
best martial arts grandmaster in the world one day, although San-ra was more adept than she.
San-ra’s skill went unnoticed by most; she held herself back because of her love for her sister.
She wanted Kar-lyn to be able to achieve her dream without overshadowing her abilities.
In spite of this, San-ra’s skills did not go unnoticed by all.
As the years passed, and they reached adulthood, Kar-lyn’s dream seemed almost within her grasp.
Although both of the sisters were very skilled, David Cain’s attention was caught by San-ra.
He realized that San-ra was holding herself back for her sister’s sake.
Cain was there as a talent scout for the League of Assassins. He wanted to recruit San-ra,
but after approaching her various times, was refused by her. Cain realized the reason for this:
San-ra would never willingly leave her sister.
This love that San-ra had for her sister was what eventually led to Cain murdering
Kar-lyn. He saw that love as a weakness, and expected it to give San-ra the focus and drive
she would need to join the League as one of its assassins. No one discovered that Cain was behind
Kar-lyn’s murder until decades later. San-ra desired vengeance for her sister, but, with
no one to blame, turned to her martial arts. She eventually agreed to join the League of Assassins;
she decided she would honor her sister by achieving Kar-lyn’s dream in her stead.
She would become the greatest martial arts grandmaster she could. After joining the
League, she took a new name. In a sort of rebirth, San-ra Wu-San became Lady Shiva.
David Cain and Lady Shiva’s relationship grew as well. It eventually blossomed
into a short-lived romance; an attempt to breed the perfect warrior for the League.
Shiva did conceive a child, but when the time came for childbirth, Cain lied to her afterwards,
telling her the child hadn’t made it. Shiva was grief-stricken; it drove her into a depression.
Cain eventually fell out of good graces with the League and left,
having become too unpredictable for the tastes of the League’s leader. Shiva left not long after to
take on the League’s US operations. Unbeknownst to Shiva, her daughter had survived. Cain had her
under his guardianship, intent on still training the child to become the world’s greatest warrior;
the world’s greatest weapon. In the US, Shiva’s business led her to take over the opium empire
operating out of Gotham City’s docks. Her main base of operations was in Gotham’s Chinatown.
She made a name for herself separate from the League of Assassins,
but never forgot her true ties. The name of Lady Shiva became feared in Gotham’s underworld.
Soon, Shiva found that power came at a cost:
rivals would always be seeking to take it from her. One such rival was King Snake.
Formerly known as Edward Dorrance, he had been a British soldier stationed in Hong Kong during
his younger days. He had been one of the best in Her Majesty’s Service, but was dishonorably
discharged after it was discovered he was taking bribes from the local Triads. After his discharge,
his usefulness to the Triads had run its course. Never ones to leave loose ends,
they sent men to ambush him. They beat him to a bloody pulp, and, as he lay broken in the street,
they used a hot iron to blind Dorrance. Scarred, blinded, and bruised, Dorrance
bided his time and healed. He never stopped practicing what he’d learned in the military,
even developing his own techniques to make use of his other senses now that his sight was gone. He
used the last of his wealth to travel to Southeast Asia, learning every new fighting style he could.
Soon, he found himself functioning well enough to be back in the action. Dorrance
started using his newfound skills as a mercenary, eventually ending up in pre-revolution Mexico.
He found work with the corrupt factory owners, as well as the president at the time,
Porfirio Diaz. He aided them in suppressing the workers striking for fair pay.
Dorrance became known for his efficiency and brutality in dealing with these workers, amassing
new wealth and even marrying a local woman. All the while, he plotted his revenge against the
Triads in Hong Kong. As the Mexican Revolution loomed closer, Dorrance had to flee the country.
He was branded a traitor to his country, and he left his pregnant wife behind,
knowing full-well that she would receive the punishment in his stead.
This deplorable decision he made allowed him to return to Hong Kong.
Using his newfound skills, Dorrance began attacking the heads of the Triads. He took them
over one-by-one, eventually changing his name to the King Snake of Hong Kong. His combined forces
were renamed the “Ghost Dragons.” He set his sights towards Gotham, having heard about Lady
Shiva’s lucrative operations. She was becoming one of the most powerful women in Gotham’s underworld.
Cain, hearing that King Snake’s attention was set on Gotham,
approached him and offered his assistance, as well as that of his daughter Cassandra. Cassandra was
now one of the deadliest assassins in the world, her skills surpassing that of even the Bat-Man.
King Snake agreed, and Cain joined the battle. The following weeks erupted in what would be the final
Tong War that the US would see. The Ghost Dragons attacked Shiva’s operations from every front.
Shiva had consolidated all of Chinatown’s illegal business; opium, prostitution, gambling,
and racketeering were under her control. Shiva’s forces fought back against the Ghost Dragons,
but the final straw was when Cain sent Cassandra after Shiva on an assassination mission.
When Cassandra confronted her, Shiva recognized her fighting style as a combination of her own
and of Cain’s. With a sudden shock, it became clear that this was her daughter
standing before her. She told Cassandra this, which confused the young woman. She fled,
leaving Shiva untouched. Shiva could see that she was slowly losing the Battle for Chinatown;
her businesses were crumbling around her. The Bat-Man and the GCPD had been trying to put an end
to it, but without inside information, had been unsuccessful. Wanting an end to the strife, Shiva
struck a deal with the Bat-Man; she would give him vital information on the Ghost Dragons, as well as
ease up on her illegal operations. All he had to do was help her to save her daughter from Cain.
The Bat-Man agreed, and within the week, the two brought down King Snake and his Ghost Dragons.
There had been numerous casualties on both sides, as well as many civilian casualties,
but Gotham’s Battle for Chinatown was at an end. The Bat was able to convince Cassandra to leave
the manipulation of her father behind, and she joined his crusade against crime as the Black Bat.
Shiva, true to her word, eased up on her operations.
These events all took place before the Court of Owls struck in 1934. It was the last vestige of
organized crime that the Bat was aware of before learning of the Court’s existence.
The Bat-Man, in retrospect, saw it as the first warning of Gotham’s eventual reckoning.
Lady Shiva would not be heard from by police or the Bat-Man for many months. They presumed she had
gone into hiding, wanting quiet after the horrors of the Battle for Chinatown, but the truth was
much more grim. Her secession of the operations in Gotham had been the final straw in cutting her
ties with the League of Assassins. They would not be happy, and so Shiva decided to go into hiding.
She would remain in hiding until she saw the opportunity to fight back.
The League had its sights set on Gotham, and when they wanted something, they would try to
gain it by any means necessary. Shiva knew that war was coming, and she feared for her daughter.
Gotham had not seen the last of Lady Shiva.