Background/History: As a young girl, Tieh Tieh suffered from a variety of aliments, mostly of a respiratory nature. Her parents took her to numerous doctors and specialists, none of whom seemed able to diagnose the cause of her illness, much less supply a cure. Eventually they stopped trying, tired of doctors who promised them everything and delivered nothing. Resigned to the fact their daughter would never be healthy, Tieh Tieh’s parents decided to make the best of it by helping her enjoy what little life they assumed she had left.
Just when things looked their worst, with Tieh Tieh suffering from one her worst bouts of sickness yet, an aged gentleman by the name of Tai-Shan approached Teih Tieh’s father. Having heard of the young girl’s plight, he wished to help. When Tieh Tieh’s father expressed his doubts—after all, a veritable legion of doctors had come up with nothing—Tai-Shan explained he wasn’t a doctor, but a herbalist who followed the ancient traditions. Deciding they had nothing to lose, Tieh Tieh’s father agreed to let Tai-Shan at least take a look.
It took only a few moments for Tai-Shan to announce that Tieh Tieh was suffering from an imbalance of chi. A few quick jabs at various pressure points, and Tieh Tieh was breathing easier for the first time in months. Impressed, her parents allowed the old man to continue. What followed was a series of acupuncture sessions, designed, Tai-Shan said, to release the negative chi pooled in Tieh Tieh’s body. He also changed her diet and stopped all Western medicines, instead giving the young girl different specially brewed concoctions to drink. Finally, he enrolled the girl into a beginner’s wu shu class, stating the exercise would do her good. All of this resulted in Tieh Tieh not only recovering her health, but going from bed-ridden girl to skilled athlete and martial artist. Tai-Shan’s final treatment combined acupuncture, moxibustion, and an infusion of herbal teas. The result, Tai-Shan stated, would unlock Tieh Tieh’s ‘true potential’.
Tieh Tieh pondered Tai-Shan’s rather cryptic statement for some time, as the exact meaning didn’t become apparent until long after he’d left. Whereas before she’d simply been healthy, now she was stronger, faster, and more durable than anyone she knew. As she grew older, so did her physical abilities, till she was capable of lifting immense weights, could leap the length of a soccer pitch, and was almost immune to harm.
Deciding to put her new-found powers to good use, Tieh Tieh became a superhero of sorts, battling Triad crime in and around Hong Kong, helping the police and fire department with emergencies, and even appearing in several Hong Kong action films (of questionable quality). However, the hand-over to communist China resulted in her and her parents leaving Hong Kong for America, to settle in Los Angeles.
Personality/Motivation: Having been bedridden for most of her early childhood, Tieh Tieh revels in her superhuman abilities. She’s become a proponent of exercise programs for all age groups and a spokeswoman for the United States of America Wushu-Kungfu Federation. While she realizes that hers is a special case, she’s a strong believer in self-improvement through martial arts training, feeling it promotes fitness, self-reliance, and confidence. In addition, having been ill for so long while growing up, she can sympathize with those who aren’t as physically capable, and takes a dim view of bullies and the like.
Currently, Tieh Tieh divides her time between fundraisers for the USAWKF, promoting physical fitness on behalf of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and working as an adjunct to the Los Angeles superhero team.
Quote: “I have overcome much to get where I am.”
Powers/Tactics: Tieh Tieh possess superhuman strength, agility, and speed. As her name indicates, she’s extremely hard to hurt and can withstand most small arms fire with ease. In combat she tends to be a blur of motion, acrobatically bouncing about the battlefield, while dispatching foes with various kicks, punches, and throws. Against tougher opponents, she’ll resort to one of her specialized striking techniques. She’s a master of the Dim Mak and can use it to either strike objects on the other side of rigid barriers or to simply punch through the barrier itself! Her other techniques allow her to shatter most anything with a single blow or send foes flying.
Although capable of crippling blows, Tieh Tieh prefers to utilize restraint, using disarms and joint locks to render her foes incapable of continuing. If pressed, however, she won’t hesitate to use the rest of her wu shu repertoire, although she has been known to demonstrate her strikes on inanimate objects first in order to cow opponents into surrendering (a PRE Attack). While quite confident in her skills, Tieh Tieh is no fool, and will withdraw if faced with overwhelming odds or firepower.
Appearance: Tieh Tieh is of average height with black hair, brown eyes, a well-shaped athletic physique. She binds her hair up when in costume, securing the braids with silk caps and ribbons in the manner of Chinese circus and opera acrobats. Her costume is a modified version of traditional Chinese jacket and trousers in blue with gold trim.
Designer's Notes: Tieh Tieh was my first submission to Oddhat’s “Pictures That Might Be A Superteam” thread. The image shows a woman dressed as Chun Li (of Street Fighter II fame), with her costume reduced to a bikini. I decided that ‘scant costume = invulnerability,’ then started building out from there. At some point I set on a 400-point total, and worked the character up to that level. I finished the character, except for Disads, and then mulled over her origin. Tired of mutants (I’d written up a few of those recently), I thought about how non-X-men comics might have done it, and eventually come up with the ‘magic potion’ concept (even if it did remind me of the origin for Demon Hunter Kanu). Things flowed from there, and once I finished up her background text, I edited her skills a bit (to reflect what I’d written in her origin), and that was that.
To reduce Tieh Tieh’s power level, drop her STR to 30, her DEX to 21, her CON to 25, and her other characteristics accordingly. Remove her Fists of Fury Multipower and her Damage Reduction. To make her more powerful, Increase her STR to 50, her DEX to 26, her CON to 30, her SPD to 6, and increase her Fists of Fury Multipower accordingly.
(Character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)