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The Triads prefer secrecy and keeping a low profile when possible. Therefore unlike a Yakuza oyabun or Drug Cartel boss, the Shan Chu embraces a cover of humility. Where a Yakuza boss will sit on the board of a public company or a Colombian Drug Lord has a vast estate complete with a zoo and private airport, the most powerful Triad dragonheads publicly run a restaurant or small business by day. Which leads them to be underestimated by those unfamiliar with the Triads. |
The Triads prefer secrecy and keeping a low profile when possible. Therefore unlike a Yakuza oyabun or Drug Cartel boss, the Shan Chu embraces a cover of humility. Where a Yakuza boss will sit on the board of a public company or a Colombian Drug Lord has a vast estate complete with a zoo and private airport, the most powerful Triad dragonheads publicly run a restaurant or small business by day. Which leads them to be underestimated by those unfamiliar with the Triads. |
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| − | * The leader of the Triad is the Shan Chu (Lodge Master - 489) who is a quasi-legitimate businessman whom has very little to no contact with the rank and file members. |
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| − | * Below are the "483" ranked members. The Fu Shan Chu (Deputy Lodge Master, the top ranked 483) who handles the day-to-day management of the Triad. Next are two of equal rank; the Heung Chu (Incense Master) who enforces traditions of the Triad, and the Sin Fung (Guardian) who does the recruiting. Last are the Sheung Fa (Double Flower), whom the Triads send out to establish new branches of the Triad. |
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| − | * At the next level are the officers of the Triad, starting with the Hung Kwan (Red Pole, 426) who is the military commander whose job is to coordinate the underling gangs. The Pak Tsz Sin (White Paper Fan, 415) is an accountant. The Cho Hai (Grass Sandal, 425) is the public face of the Triad when it comes to gangs and businesses, who pays and collects the graft and bribes. |
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| − | * Rank-n-file members are the Sze Kau (49), the enforcers of the Triad. Said enforcers may officially act as muscle or security. They may be in charge of running a business or safehouse. Perhaps they are hitmen who few know about. |
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| − | [[File:Triads'_Organization_(Wikipedia).png|700px|thumb]] |
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==Gallery== |
==Gallery== |
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Revision as of 00:04, 6 July 2018
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Wild Tiger Mob, Drug Lab (Journey Into Mystery Vol 1, #516)
The Triads are a global criminal network in the Marvel Universe, often the foes of vigilante heroes.
Background
The Triads originated in China as secret societies and over time evolved into criminal organizations. Various costumed superheroes, mutants, and vigilantes have had encounters with the Triads and their affiliates. The Triads being an organized crime group are involved in a wide variety of criminal activities, including narcotics, prostitution, money laundering, gambling, human trafficking, contraband smuggling, and protection rackets.
Though there is usually no Triad boss of bosses, occasionally someone in the Chinese underworld rises to be the overlord of the Triads and Tongs in a specific city, region, or the world. In London, it was the White Dragon who became the Triad overload. On the Southeast Asian island of Madripoor, since the 1980s it has been the beautiful sometime lover of Wolverine, Jessan Hoan (Tyger Tiger). In the city of San Francisco in the 1st decade of the 20th century, Wolverine himself for a time was the overlord of the Tongs and then another hero, Fat Cobra became the Tong overlord. On the island known as Mandarin City it was Lord Remaker.
Spider-Man's foe, Mister Negative has established his rule over NY City's Chinatown gangs and Tongs, and now also rules the underworld in Shanghai, China. Hong Kong has had Iron Man's foe the Mandarin and the daughter of Fu Manchu (Cursed Lotus) as Triad overlords. Only one man has ever been the criminal overlord of all the Triads, and that is the brilliant, semi-immortal criminal mastermind, Fu Manchu (aka, Zheng Zhu).
Major Factions
- Clan Fei of China
- Black Dragon Tong of San Francisco
- Lucky Few Triad of Hong Kong
- Missing Sixes Triad of Hong Kong
- Dragon Tong of New York City
- Sydney Triad of Australia
- August Dragon Clan of Canada
- Wild Tiger Mob of Hong Kong
- Steel Lotus Group of China
- Coiled Serpent Syndicate of China
- Sleeping Dragon Clan of China
Crimelords
- Fu Manchu of China.
- Mister Negative (superhuman) of New York City and Shanghai.
- Cursed Lotus (Fah Lo Suee, daughter of Fu Manchu) of China.
- Mandarin of China.
- Lady Chi (superhuman) of China.
- Jade Claw (Suwan) of China.
- Lord Remaker of Mandarin City.
- Wild Tiger (Deng Ling-Xiao) of Hong Kong.
- Yi Yang (6,000 year old immortal woman) of New York City.
- Dark Tongji (sorcerer) of Hong Kong.
- Tyger Tiger (Jessán Hoan) of Madripoor.
- Fat Cobra (superhuman) in San Francisco.
- Leiko Wu in London.
- Wolverine in San Francisco.
Triads in Alternate Realities
- Dragon Fang of Taiwan. (Ultraverse)
- Tong Triad of New York City. (Iron Man Adventures)
Organization
The level of organization among the Triads varies greatly, from loosely organized associations (with a degree of infighting) to highly structured groups (with a ruling council). Members are given numerical codes based on Chinese numerology to identify their rank.
Modern Triads are created by absorbing smaller Chinese gangs. All members of a Triad use centuries-old Triad hand signals, take the loyalty oaths, and speak in the numbered code. When it comes to the Triad leaders (Dragonheads), most of the Shan Chu lead public lives as businessmen.
The Triads prefer secrecy and keeping a low profile when possible. Therefore unlike a Yakuza oyabun or Drug Cartel boss, the Shan Chu embraces a cover of humility. Where a Yakuza boss will sit on the board of a public company or a Colombian Drug Lord has a vast estate complete with a zoo and private airport, the most powerful Triad dragonheads publicly run a restaurant or small business by day. Which leads them to be underestimated by those unfamiliar with the Triads.
Gallery
.png "Triads (Wolverine, Manifest Destiny Vol 1 4).png (441 KB)")
.png "Triads (X-Treme X-Men Vol 1 5).png (399 KB)")
.jpg "Mister Negative (Web of Spider-Man Vol 2 4).jpg (40 KB)")
.jpg "Mandarin (Invincible Iron Man Vol 1 511).jpg (48 KB)")
.jpg "Fu Manchu (Secret Avengers Vol 1 18).jpg (50 KB)")
.jpg "Tyger Tiger (All-New Wolverine Vol 1 16).jpg (32 KB)")
.jpg "Jade Claw (Agents of Atlas Vol 2 10).jpg (45 KB)")
.jpg "Cursed Lotus (Fearless Defenders Vol 1 12).jpg (50 KB)")
NOTE
In the real world, there is a difference between a Triad and a criminal Tong. In reality the Triads are only one type of "Black Society" (the Chinese name for criminal groups), and there are a wide variety from secret societies (Triads) to corporate-like syndicates to criminal brotherhoods, and so on when it comes to organized crime within mainland China and the overseas Chinese Diaspora. It's the media and Western scholars who have used the catch all word of "Triads" to describe Chinese organized crime. Though the Triads are the biggest and richest Chinese crime syndicates, especially the "Sun Yee On" of Hong Kong.
Marvel Comics has also used the word "Triad" to describe a wide variety of criminal syndicates of Chinese origin. Even going so far as to call the Tongs of San Francisco Triads in the comics, even though they call them "Tongs" also which is a different type of association. In this page I've gone by what Marvel has done, using "Triads" to describe Chinese organized crime in the Marvel Universe.