Ming the Merciless

Click to help Cruella!

This scum Ming the Merciless is driving Cruella insane! IT MUST BE REWRITTEN OR ADDED TO!! So sayeth the great Lord of Darkness Sauron, or he will send Darth Vader to terminate you. Help improve this article by rewriting, expanding, updating the poorly written text of the article. ✓

Evil-doer
Full Name	Ming
Alias	Ming the Merciless Emperor Ming
Origin	Flash Gordon
Occupation	Ruler of the Universe Emperor of Mongo
Powers / Skills	Technological advanced armies Spaceship armadas Slaves Swordsmanship Scientific genius mind
Hobby	Spreading oppression all across the entire universe. Ruling.
Goals	Defeat Flash Gordon (failed). Conquer Earth. Marry Dale Arden.
Crimes	Mass murder Genocide Slavery Abuse of power War crimes Attempted universal hegemony
Type of Villain	Hegemonic Tyrant

“	I like to play with things a while, before annihilation.	„
	~ Ming the Merciless.

Ming the Merciless, also simply known as Ming or Emperor Ming, is the main antagonist of the Flash Gordon franchise. He is also Flash Gordon's archenemy.

Ming is the blasphemous and tyrannical ruler of the cosmic planet of Mongo, who is bent on conquering Earth. When Flash Gordon and his companions, scientist Hans Zarkov and Dale Arden, traveled to Mongo to prevent its collision with Earth, they were captured by Ming's forces. Soon, the latter's megalomaniacal views brought him into conflict with the earthlings and has become a staple of the "Flash Gordon" mythos, in which he appears in every incarnation.

In the 1980 Flash Gordon film, he was portrayed by the late Max von Sydow, who also played Joubert in Three Days of the Condor, Brewmeister Smith in Strange Brew, Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Never Say Never Again, Vigo in Ghostbusters II, Leland Gaunt in Needful Things, Lamar Burgess in Minority Report and Varden Reynard in Rush Hour 3.

Biography

Comics

Ming the Merciless was introduced in the original 1934 run of the "Flash Gordon" comic strip written and drawn by the late Alex Raymond in the newspapers. Ming was originally introduced under the name"The Emperor" and he immediately expressed desire to marry Flash's female companion Dale Arden. He forced Flash Gordon into slavery and later made him fight in the arena. His daughter by the name of Princess Aura then fell in love with Gordon and joined him in his fight against her father.

Ming's first appearance in 1934 by Alex Raymond.

Eventually, Ming was overthrown by the Flash and his allies during the marriage ceremony. Prince Barin soon became Mongo's new ruler. 

Serials

When the comic strip got adapted in serial format for cinemas in the 1936 serial Flash Gordon, the role of Ming the Merciless was played by the late Charles B. Middleton. He was characterized as ruthless and slightly based on the character of Dr. Fu Manchu. Middleton reprised the role in two sequel serials: "Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars " (1938) and "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe " (1940). This interpretation of Ming became one of the most well-known in pop culture for years to come. 

1979 TV series

Ming the Merciless in Filmation's Flash Gordon.

In the 1979 animated series Flash Gordon which is based on the comic strip, Ming's voice was provided by the famed voice actor Alan Oppenheimer in the series, in which he was portrayed as a brilliant scientist and ruthless warlord who had a robot army to his disposal. Ming would engage in personal combat more than Charles Middleton's incarnation and was dispised by most races on Mongo but exacted control over his subjects due to the hatred between those races.

Defenders of the Earth

In the 1986 animated show Defenders of the Earth, a more unstable and green-skinned version of Ming the Merciless serves as the main antagonist. He faced off with an army of "Ice Robots" against Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, and other Golden Age comic strip heroes who came together. He was voiced by the late Ron Feinberg.

1980 Feature Film

Ming offering Flash a kingdom.

In the 1980 Flash Gordon movie, Max von Sydow's portrayal of Ming left a deep impact on popular culture and is regarded as the most popular version of the character. Max von Sydow portrays Ming as a sociopath and megalomaniac while keeping the character courtly and elegant. Emperor Ming possessed a magical ring with which he could force his will on others. He also had two close associates, his admiral, Klytus and the sadistic General Kala. Ming was also depicted as more sexual in nature. 

At the end of the film, He appears to have been killed after being impaled by a rocket ship, but his laugh is heard just before the credits. The idea for a sequel was established but was never produced. 

Max von Sydow's portrayal of Emperor Ming has become a beloved and well-recognized icon.

Flash Gordon: The Animated Series

The 1996 film, Flash Gordon: The Animated Series depicts Flash and Dale as teenagers in a more futuristic setting. In addition, Ming was more reptilian and monstrous and has an army of Lizard Men. 

This depiction of Emperor Ming was also the widower of a deceased wife. 

2007 TV series

In 2007, a twenty-one episode V series live action television series was produced for the SyFy Channel and is loosely based on the comic strip of the same name. The series followed "Steven Gordon" and his scientist companion Dr. Hans Zarkov, who discovers the existence of Mongo and its dictator Ming, in this series, the latter is depicted as a white, brown-haired male who controls his subjects over holding the only clean water supply. 

This version of Ming was portrayed by John Ralston.

Legacy

Ming the Merciless is regarded as one of the classic comic strip villains and has also become a famous wicked archetype. In the past, there have been claims of racism due to Ming's obvious Asian influence, but the Flash Gordon series and the latter continue to remain popular since 1934.

Ming the Merciless was parodied in the British satire program "Big Train" in 1998 and later in the 2012 comedy film Ted (when Sam J. Jones was with high and started to hallucinate that Ted's Chinese neighbor Quan Ming was Ming the Merciless himself).

A photo of Ming is featured in the first episode of season 3 of the 1990s Irish comedy series Father Ted. Ming appeared in a slideshow run by Ted at Craggy Island's pub, as a means to prove that the character is not a racist (Ming is often thought of as a negative portrayal of Chinese people, as the episode, entitled Are You Right There, Father Ted?, centered around Ted accidentally being racist towards Craggy Island's Chinese community).

In LEGO Minifigures series 13, the Evil Wizard is modeled after Ming.

Gallery

Ming the Merciless as drawn by Alex Raymond.

Charles B. Middleton as Emperor Ming in the Flash Gordon 1936 serial.

Ming the Merciless with Dale Arden in the Filmation Flash Gordon animated series.

Max von Sydow as Ming the Merciless in the Flash Gordon film.

Ming in the Defenders of the Earth animated series.

Toy set of Ming from the 1996 Flash Gordon series.

John Ralston as Ming in the 2007 Flash Gordon series.

Trivia

• In the 1936 Flash Gordon film, Lon Poff played the role of the first High Priest in the first few chapters, but was he was not seen in the ending credits. The scene in which Ming executed him was removed from the film, meaning that his replacement by the late Theodore Lorch as the second High Priest remained a mystery. An urban legend has developed that Poff died during the production of the serial. However, in reality, he did not die until he did in August 8, 1952 at the age of 82.

External Links

• Ming the Merciless on Wikipedia