 From #49, art by Reed Crandall. This image is considered a racial stereotype and offensive by modern standards. |
 In the "New Blackhawk" uniform, from #199, art by Dick Dillin & Chuck Cuidera. |
 In his "secret identity" as Dr. Hands, from #231, art by Dick Dillin & Chuck Cuidera. |
The six Blackhawks are sent to Japanese occupied China on a secret mission. Arriving, they encounter a mysterious resistance fighter wearing a white dragon costume and known only by that name. They meet an old warlord and the warlord's young son, Liu Huang, who argues against the Blackhawks and counsels his father to cooperate with the Japanese. Of course, shades of Zorro, the ineffectual-seeming son is really the White Dragon, and is soon captured by the Japanese. The Black Knights come to the rescue and through an exciting series of feats, the Blackhawks and the young Chinese fighter save the warlord and convince him to fight the Japanese. Liu Huang explains that he can not go back to being the White Dragon because his capture caused him to "lose face." The Blackhawks invite him to join them and decide to call him Chop-Chop, for the sounds he habitually made when making his martial arts attacks (the origin of Chop-Chop as described in issue #203).
When the team adopted "secret identities" in the late '60s, Chop-Chop combined his martial arts skills with titanium gloves to become Dr. Hands(#230).
In the '70s, the knick-name Chop-Chop, which some considered offensive, was changed to Chopper. Chopper was the chief test pilot for the Cunningham Aircraft company(#244). He was gravely wounded in a battle with the "metalloid" minions of the cyborg Bio-Lord (as told in issue #248). His ultimate fate is unknown.
DLT's note: See "Chop-Chop to Wu Cheng: The Evolution of the Chinese Character in Blackhawk Comic Books" for an academic analysis of ethnic stereotyping and its evolution over the decades of Blackhawk's publication.
All characters, pictures, and related indicia on these pages are the property of DC Comics. All text is ©1998-2001 Dan Thompson, except where otherwise noted. This homepage is not intended to infringe on the copyright of DC Comics to its characters, but was created out of gratitude to all the wonderful writers, artists, and editors who created the Blackhawks.
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