Richard Dragon: Bio, Origin & History

Real Name: Richard Drakunovski

First Appearance: Dragon’s Fists (1974)

Powers: Richard Dragon is a master martial artist. This means that he is proficient in every form of martial arts in existence. He’s so versed in fighting that many consider him the greatest martial artist in comic books.

Affiliation: G.O.O.D., League of Assassins, Longbow Hunters

Did You Know? In his younger years, Richard Dragon trained alongside Ben Turner, the Bronze Tiger. 

A Little History

The origin of Richard Dragon is pretty straightforward. 

As a youth in Japan, Richard Drakunovski attempted to break in a Chinese Dojo and steal a Buddhist Statue. Unbeknownst to him but on the inside was a well-trained ninja apprentice by the name of Ben Turner. Having no formal training, Ben easily dispatched of Richard. 

Luckily, Ben’s sensei, O-Sensei, saw something in Richard. Rather than letting him simply walk away, O-Sensei offered to train the boy. Over the next seven years, O-Sensei poured ever form of martial arts into Richard. The more Richard learned the more he learned that martial arts came naturally to him. In fact, in those seven years, Richard became proficient in every form of known martial arts. Under O-Sensei’s guidance, Richard quickly found inner peace and vowed to only use his knowledge of the situation absolutely dictated it.

At the conclusion of the training, which included history, philosophy, combat, and science, O-Sensei sends the two into the world to find their purpose. Now alone, the two were recruited by Barney Ling to be apart of G.O.O.D. (Global Organization of Organized Defense). As members of G.O.O.D., Ben and Richard were instrumental in taking down well-known corrupt businessman, Guano Cravat. 

With Cravat defeated, the two opened up their own martial arts school.

And that’s it. The origin of Richard Dragon.

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