Warning! Spoilers for DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration #1 below!
The newest hero in the DC Universe isn't a fan of superheroes at all and has a particular distaste for Shazam. In the Monkey Prince's debut story, he finds himself fighting a deer spirit who takes over a longtime Shazam villain in order to eat his heart, however, when the magical hero arrives on the scene, the Monkey Prince is not impressed.
DC's newest hero, the Monkey Prince, made their first appearance in this week's DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration #1. The character, created by Gene Luen Yang and Bernard Chang, is based on the 16th-Century Chinese mythological character the Monkey King from the classic tale Journey to the West. In "Monkey Prince Hates Superheroes," by Yang, Chang, Sebastian Cheng, Janice Chiang, and Jessica Chen, the Monkey Prince is hot on the heels of a demon who has taken over the body of Dr. Sivana, leading him face-to-face with the real Shazam.
Monkey Prince's first story opens with Shazam on the operating table, as a mind-controlled Dr. Sivana - who stole a Yuan Dynasty Gourd and released a demon who overtook his body - reveals he wants to eat his heart to become immortal. But, as Sivana begins his experiments, Shazam turns into the Monkey Prince, as the shapeshifter went undercover to track the deer spirit. After being given the Powdered Immortal Eye from Shifu Piggy, a mentor who was friends with the Monkey King, the Monkey Prince is able to see the demon. The real Shazam appears to see what's causing the commotion with Dr. Sivana, and Monkey Prince immediately thinks "look at his stupid YouTube-star smile," and that he "wants to punch his face in."
After the Monkey Prince takes down the demon (who tries to devour Shazam) with his Jingu Bang, the two heroes confront one another. Shazam wonders if he and Shifu are partners of Dr. Sivana. The Monkey Prince meanwhile tells him he was trying to save Shazam and it was "degrading" to shapeshift into the hero. The Monkey Prince angrily states to Shazam that he's tired of superheroes thinking they're better than everyone else while questioning what makes them the "sole arbiters of right and wrong." As the Monkey Prince starts to lose control, Shifu tightens the band around his head to calm him down and discipline the enraged hero.
The story ends in a hilarious fashion, as it turns out the Monkey Prince, whose real name is Marcus, goes to Fawcett high school and is good friends with Billy Batson, who's actually Shazam. Neither hero knows the other's secret identity. Although, Marcus is sure to let Billy know "superheroes suck" when he's showed Shazam taking down Dr. Sivana on his phone. Marcus aka the Monkey Prince might be Shazam's biggest hater, which is deeply ironic given his friendship with Billy.
The Monkey Prince's adventures will continue later this year, but his debut shows some real promise for the character. Hopefully, his relationship with Billy is further explored - as it's going to be quite funny when he finds out one of his best friends is actually Shazam, a hero he despises. DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration #1 is in stores now.
