Kirigi
Encyclopedia
Kirigi is a fictional ninja
assassin
in the Marvel Comics universe
. After being resurrected by The Hand
, he works as an operative for the group. He is extremely powerful; for example, he is capable of lifting at least 1000 pounds. Both a weapons master and an accomplished martial artist, his various areas of expertise include the use of the Katana
, Shuriken
, Kyoketsu shoge
(rope knife), and sai. In addition, the use of a form of meditation
allows him to recover from otherwise-mortal wounds. As a result, he is virtually impervious to all but devastating wounds.
.
The character subsequently appears in Daredevil #187-188 (October-November 1982).
feared Kirigi, little else is known of his history.
Kirigi is an opponent of both the Chaste
, a group commanded by Stick
, and two of Stick's former pupils, Daredevil
and Elektra Natchios
. This hatred eventually prompts the Hand to resurrect him in order to destroy Elektra. This plot eventually reaches its climax as Elektra, walking into a trap laid by the Hand, attempts to kill the Hand's Jonin (ninja master) with the assistance of Daredevil. Instead of meeting the Jonin, she meets Kirigi. In response, she stabs him with two sai; however, he merely pulls them out effortlessly. He then dupes her into going for her sai, only to choke her with his rope knife. However, she manages to impale him with her blade, forcing him to break off the fight. A day later, however, he returns to attack Elektra again after recovering from his wounds using meditation and mystic ointments. Once again, a fierce battle ensues. Elektra flees into a semi-rig and smashes into him at a high speed. She then leaps out of the semi-rig before it explodes. In spite of this, Kirigi merely stands back up, though his skin is still engulfed in flames. Finally, Elektra simply decapitates him as he tries to regain his bearings, saying: "God or demon, Kirigi had a neck and that was human enough."
Several Hand ninjas soon clash with the Chaste and Daredevil and sacrifice their lives in order to resurrect Kirigi once again, to aid them in their battle against the Chaste and Daredevil. At the moment, Daredevil has temporarily lost control of his enhanced senses and is in an isolation tank with Stick, who is trying to help him regain control of them. The newly revived Kirigi attempts to ambush Stick, but he is no match for the Chaste warriors, who collectively are able to defeat him. Stick then orders Kirigi's body destroyed to prevent him from being resurrected once again.
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
in the Marvel Comics universe
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. After being resurrected by The Hand
Hand (comics)
The Hand is a fictional supervillainous organization in the Marvel Comics universe.The Hand is an order of evil mystical ninja who are heavily involved in organized crime and mercenary activities such as assassination plots. The Hand covets power above all other objectives. They are primarily based...
, he works as an operative for the group. He is extremely powerful; for example, he is capable of lifting at least 1000 pounds. Both a weapons master and an accomplished martial artist, his various areas of expertise include the use of the Katana
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
, Shuriken
Shuriken
A shuriken is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing...
, Kyoketsu shoge
Kyoketsu shoge
The kyoketsu-shoge, which means "to run about in the fields and mountains", is a double edged blade, with another blade attached at 90 degrees to it. This is attached to 12-18 feet of rope, chain, or hair which then ends in a large metal ring...
(rope knife), and sai. In addition, the use of a form of meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
allows him to recover from otherwise-mortal wounds. As a result, he is virtually impervious to all but devastating wounds.
Publication history
Kirigi first appeared in Daredevil #174-176 (September-November 1981), and was created by Frank MillerFrank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
.
The character subsequently appears in Daredevil #187-188 (October-November 1982).
Fictional character biography
While it is known that the ninjas of ancient JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
feared Kirigi, little else is known of his history.
Kirigi is an opponent of both the Chaste
The Chaste
The Chaste is a fictional mystical martial arts enclave led by Stick, that was created by Frank Miller in the pages of Daredevil for Marvel Comics.-History:...
, a group commanded by Stick
Stick (comics)
Stick is a fictional American comic book character owned by Marvel Comics who appears in that company's Marvel Universe.-Fictional character biography:The mysterious Stick is a sensei who trained the young but inexperienced Matt Murdock Marvel...
, and two of Stick's former pupils, Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
and Elektra Natchios
Elektra Natchios
Elektra Natchios, usually referred to only by her first name Elektra, is a fictional character in publications from Marvel Comics.Elektra is a kunoichi – female ninja assassin – of Greek descent. She wields a pair of bladed sai as her trademark weapon. She is a love interest of the superhero...
. This hatred eventually prompts the Hand to resurrect him in order to destroy Elektra. This plot eventually reaches its climax as Elektra, walking into a trap laid by the Hand, attempts to kill the Hand's Jonin (ninja master) with the assistance of Daredevil. Instead of meeting the Jonin, she meets Kirigi. In response, she stabs him with two sai; however, he merely pulls them out effortlessly. He then dupes her into going for her sai, only to choke her with his rope knife. However, she manages to impale him with her blade, forcing him to break off the fight. A day later, however, he returns to attack Elektra again after recovering from his wounds using meditation and mystic ointments. Once again, a fierce battle ensues. Elektra flees into a semi-rig and smashes into him at a high speed. She then leaps out of the semi-rig before it explodes. In spite of this, Kirigi merely stands back up, though his skin is still engulfed in flames. Finally, Elektra simply decapitates him as he tries to regain his bearings, saying: "God or demon, Kirigi had a neck and that was human enough."
Several Hand ninjas soon clash with the Chaste and Daredevil and sacrifice their lives in order to resurrect Kirigi once again, to aid them in their battle against the Chaste and Daredevil. At the moment, Daredevil has temporarily lost control of his enhanced senses and is in an isolation tank with Stick, who is trying to help him regain control of them. The newly revived Kirigi attempts to ambush Stick, but he is no match for the Chaste warriors, who collectively are able to defeat him. Stick then orders Kirigi's body destroyed to prevent him from being resurrected once again.
Powers and abilities
Kirigi has a seemingly superhuman resistance to pain and injury. He is capable of lifting at least 1,000 pounds. Both a weapons master and an accomplished martial artist, his various areas of expertise include the use of the Katana, Shuriken, Kyoketsu Shogi (rope knife), and sai. In addition, the use of a form of meditation allows him to recover from otherwise-mortal wounds. As a result, he is virtually impervious to all but devastating wounds.Film
- In the 2005 film, ElektraElektra (2005 film)Elektra is a 2005 superhero film directed by Rob Bowman. It is a spin-off from the 2003 film Daredevil, starring the Marvel comics character Elektra Natchios . The story follows Elektra, an international assassin whose weapon of choice is a pair of sai.For the screenplay, Zak Penn, Stuart Zicherman...
, Kirigi is portrayed by Will Yun LeeWill Yun LeeWill Yun Lee is an Korean American actor.He is best known for his roles on TNT's supernatural drama series Witchblade as Danny Woo and as Jae Kim on NBC's science fiction television drama Bionic Woman...
. In addition to being a master swordsman, Kirigi is able to move and attack at superhuman speed. Elektra challenged Kirigi in a final battle on who should get the Treasure, which was a girl named Abby. They fought but Kirigi got the upper hand, beating Elektra around until she realized he killed her mother when she was a child. Kirigi then ran up to her, but Elektra impaled him in the chest with a sai and flipping him into a well, where he disintegrated while falling.