The Monkey Prince Has Arrived! DC Comics’ upcoming Festival of Heroes will introduce a new Monkey Prince superhero to the mythos of DC. The company will release its 100-page DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration commemorative anthology on May 11 and one of the 11 stories inside will tell the tale of a new superhero, Monkey Prince. This hero is inspired by the Monkey King of Chinese mythology and will be the star of the 12-page story, “The Monkey Prince Hates Superheroes.”
“Debuting in a story written by award-winning writer Gene Luen Yang (Superman Smashes the Klan, Batman/Superman, New Super-Man) with art by Benard Chang (Teen Titans, Batman Beyond), Monkey Prince is inspired by the Monkey King, legendary hero of Chinese mythology and the classic tale, Journey to the West,” a release from DC reads. “In Yang and Chang’s original 12-page story, ‘The Monkey Prince Hates Superheroes,’ Monkey Prince battles and teams up with Shazam to defeat both the evil Dr. Sivana and a Chinese deer demon spirit.”
Monkey Prince is inspired by the same Monkey King from Chinese mythology featured in Game Science’s Black Myth: Wukong video game, which received a new trailer focused on bosses, enemies, areas in the game, and spells last month.
To celebrate this character’s arrival to the DC Comics universe, the publisher is releasing a special, 1 in 25, Monkey Prince variant cover by Chang. This Asian superhero celebration anthology will feature 10 other stories about Asian superheroes and it will arrive to comic book stores and digital platforms on May 11, 2021.
Other characters featured in the anthology include stories starring Batgirl Cassandra Cain, Green Lantern Tai Pham, Cheshire, Katana, and more.
“DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration is an incredible celebration anthology spotlighting DC’s past, present, and even future Asian super heroes, featuring some of the most dynamic Asian storytellers in and out of comics,” the release reads. “Featuring an incredible cover by the team of DC Publisher and Chief Creative Officer, Jim Lee, and colorist Alex Sinclair, this anthology includes a foreword by activist and CNN and WSJ Online contributor, Jeff Yang, a selection of tribute pinups of DC’s Asian super heroes, plus an awesome variant cover featuring Cassandra Cain by artist Stanley ‘Artgerm’ Lau.”
Yes, the Monkey Prince has arrived! You can check him out plus more at DC UNIVERSE INFINITE!
