The Master of the Iron Hand
Encyclopedia
The Master of the Iron Hand is a fictional martial artist and sensei
in comic book
s published by DC Comics
. The character was created by Staz Johnson and Chuck Dixon
and first appeared in Robin
#49 (1998).
, who had come to him because she wished to learn his most feared technique, "The Whispering Hand". Dava, small but fast, had realized years earlier that she would need to end fights quickly if she was to be effective and had become a master of "single blow techniques", attacks that could end a fight with a single move. Dava's mastery of these techniques had drawn the attention of Lady Shiva
(earlier Dava had used her skills to kill the crew of a ship carrying weapons intended to kill the people of her homeland). Shiva, in her guise as the Tengu, arrives at the Iron Master's dojo seeking Dava. Dava, however, had left upon learning the Whispering Hand technique, and the Iron Master refuses to give away his student's identity or location. Robin, realizing that there was nothing he could do against Shiva, agrees to the Iron Master's request that he face Shiva alone. The Iron Master reveals that the Armless Master
, who had been killed by Shiva, is his brother. Shiva recognizes this, stating that the brothers had been legends in the Thai fighting circuits. It is revealed that the Iron Master has no legs and had once been known as the Legless Master, just as his brother had been known as the Armless Master. The Iron Master does battle with Shiva, but is defeated and killed, never revealing Dava's identity or location.
Sensei
' is a Japanese word that basically means "person born before another." In general usage, it means "master" or "teacher," and the word is used as a title to refer to or address teachers, professors, professionals such as lawyers, CPA and doctors, politicians, clergymen, and other figures of authority...
in comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. The character was created by Staz Johnson and Chuck Dixon
Chuck Dixon
Charles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, best known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.-Biography:Dixon grew up in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area, reading comics of all genres...
and first appeared in Robin
Robin (comics)
Robin is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero Batman...
#49 (1998).
Fictional character biography
In Robin #49, Robin (Tim Drake) journeys to France seeking martial arts instruction whereupon he joins the dojo of the Master of the Iron Hand. The Iron Master teaches both Robin and a young female student named DavaDava (comics)
Dava is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. She is a martial artist created by writer Chuck Dixon and artist Staz Johnson, and she first appeared in Robin #49 .-Detailed history:...
, who had come to him because she wished to learn his most feared technique, "The Whispering Hand". Dava, small but fast, had realized years earlier that she would need to end fights quickly if she was to be effective and had become a master of "single blow techniques", attacks that could end a fight with a single move. Dava's mastery of these techniques had drawn the attention of Lady Shiva
Lady Shiva
Lady Shiva is a fictional comic book character co-created by Dennis O'Neil and Ric Estrada, and published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter as an antagonist of Richard Dragon...
(earlier Dava had used her skills to kill the crew of a ship carrying weapons intended to kill the people of her homeland). Shiva, in her guise as the Tengu, arrives at the Iron Master's dojo seeking Dava. Dava, however, had left upon learning the Whispering Hand technique, and the Iron Master refuses to give away his student's identity or location. Robin, realizing that there was nothing he could do against Shiva, agrees to the Iron Master's request that he face Shiva alone. The Iron Master reveals that the Armless Master
Armless Master
The Armless Master is a fictional character in the DC Universe. He is a martial arts master who first appeared in the "Knightfall" story arc.-Fictional character biography:...
, who had been killed by Shiva, is his brother. Shiva recognizes this, stating that the brothers had been legends in the Thai fighting circuits. It is revealed that the Iron Master has no legs and had once been known as the Legless Master, just as his brother had been known as the Armless Master. The Iron Master does battle with Shiva, but is defeated and killed, never revealing Dava's identity or location.