Ministry of Self-Reliance

The Ministry of Self-Reliance is an organisation that features in DC Comics.

History

The Ministry of Self-Reliance was an organisation that operated as part of the modern Chinese government. (New Super-Man v1 #4)

The activities of the Ministry resulted in dissidents forming the Freedom Fighters of China that opposed their illegal activities. This group of costumed individuals looked to destroy the Ministry of Self-Reliance leading to them being branded as supervillain terrorists. (New Super-Man v1 #4)

Five years ago, the Ministry was known to had built the Crab Shell prison after the first major supervillain outbreak that happened a year after a similar event in America. (New Super-Man v1 #3) They later responsible for developing the Warhead cybernetic soldier that was manufactured by the Chinese and leased to the government of Kahndaq. The machine was deployed for use in the Bialyan engagement killing people who were surrendering at the behest of his Kahndaqi masters. During maintenance, Warhead was damaged and went rogue as per his programming he went away to try and repair himself leading to a confrontation with Aquaman whose powers had the ability to restore the cyborg's capabilities. (Aquaman v8 #18)

Dr. Omen looked to create a Justice League of China to become the nation's new protectors and to replace the Great Ten. (New Super-Man v1 #3) Developing the means of replicating Superman's powers, the Ministry sought a test subject to be imparted these abilities. Dr. Omen decided to use Kong Kenan who had recently to fame after helping thwart a public supervillain attack. He ultimately came to accept the offer and became China's new superhero known as the 'new Super-Man'. (New Super-Man v1 #1) Kenan then joined the ranks of the Justice League of China alongside the existing Chinese Batman and Wonder Woman. (New Super-Man v1 #2)

The three Chinese Justice League members later came to encounter the Freedom Fighters of China that were being led by Flying Dragon General. (New Super-Man v1 #3) Many members of the Freedom Fighters were then apprehended and sent to the Crab Shell prison. Meanwhile, recent events led to Dr. Omen deciding to do a public unveiling of the Justice League of China with this being made to reporter Laney Lan of Shanghai Primetime news. However, ties to the Ministry was kept secret and instead the superhero team were said to be a government task force similar to the Great Ten. (New Super-Man v1 #4)

One of their agents took the identity of Kuang Meitai who was sent to infiltrate a radical cell headed by Zhongdan brother. The Ministry recalled her back into active service with her faking her death and abandoning the family she had made as she returned back to headquarters where she had resumed her life as Dr. Omen. The fake death of her Meitai person was meant to be a warning to Zhongdan and his compatriots to prevent them from their continued engaging in Metahuman politics. (New Super-Man v1 #15)

After the defeat of All-Yang, Kong Kenan and the Justice League of China sought to sever their ties with the Ministry of Self-Reliance in order to become better heroes in the world and bring about balance. They sabotaged the compliance devices of the Ministry to allow themselves to depart without incident despite the wishes of Dr. Omen. Officials to the Ministry then determined that the Justice League of China was too unwieldy a tool as it was based on Western superheroes. Thus, they revealed their next venture which was the creation of their own version of the Green Lantern Corps to replace the Justice League of China. (New Super-Man v1 #18)

Overview

In appearance, the Ministry of Self-Reliance was a shadow organisation that existed within the Chinese government. (New Super-Man v1 #4) It was said that the Ministry existed to keep China safe and gained funding from private investors. (New Super-Man v1 #3)

It was noted for its practice of apprehending individuals and holding them without trial. The Ministry was said to engage in the creation of weapons for use against political agitators. (New Super-Man v1 #4)

Among the creations of the Ministry included:

• Warhead : cybernetic superhumans that possessed increased strength, durability and speed. (Aquaman v8 #17) Their implants gave them mild telepathic abilities where they able to control the minds of organic beings and operate machinery as well. This allowed them to create immersive illusions or take over the mind of another person. Warheads were known to be leased to other nations and used in combat engagements where they had set instructions such as seeking shelter if damaged in order to repair themselves. (Aquaman v8 #18)
• G.M.S. : the Genetically Modified Starro (G.M.S.) was a weapon designed by the Ministry to be the ultimate weapon for use against political agitators. (New Super-Man v1 #4) Genetic material was collected from the alien Starro and used to manufacture a personal mind control device with the parasite able to reproduce at an unfathomably rapid rate. The original G.M.S. then granted psychic control to its human host over its offsprings hosts. (New Super-Man v1 #5)

They came to develop a way to replicate the abilities of beings like Superman into normal humans. An origin chamber was created that made a person into a superhuman being though there was a 17.5% of terminal failure. (New Super-Man v1 #1)

One of their headquarters was the Oriental Pearl Tower located in Shanghai. (New Super-Man v1 #1) They also maintained watch over the Crab Shell that was the only prison in the nation equipped to house Metahumans. (New Super-Man v1 #3) The location of the prison was kept a secret as a matter of national security. (New Super-Man v1 #4)

Members

• Dr. Omen : (New Super-Man v1 #15)
• Mingming :
• Siyu : a male who was taken to be transformed into a cyborg called Warhead that was deployed in various military engagements. (Aquaman v8 #18)
• Peng Deilan : a dark haired female warrior who became the Wonder-Woman of China. (New Super-Man v1 #1)
• Wang Baixi : a chubby male who became the Bat-Man of China. (New Super-Man v1 #1)

Notes

• The Ministry of Self-Reliance was created by Gene Luen Yang and Viktor Bogdanovic where they made their first appearance in New Super-Man v1 #1 (September, 2016)

Appearances

• New Super-Man v1: (2016)
• Aquaman v8:

External Links

• DC Database Entry

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