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History

Preface[]

Hirohito (1901-1989) is based on the real life wartime emperor of Imperial Japan. Presumably, the fictional character's history is mostly the same as his real life counterpart. The scope of this article is to cover the activities of the fictional character and his interactions in the Earth-616 universe. For a full history of the real life Hirohito, consult Wikipedia.

Further, as it has been revealed that a number of wartime adventures were fictional accounts of actual events,[1] some of the appearances listed below are as accurate as their depiction in Timely Comics publications. In addition to the slanted propaganda of these publications, a number of appearances by Hirohito may have been the work of impersonators as, much like Hitler, Hirohito employed actors to pose as him in public.

World War II[]

In his first recorded appearance, during the summer of 1942, Hirohito paid a visit to Nazi Germany on to meet with Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini to discuss the progress of the war. Their meeting was interrupted by an attack by the Victory Boys who came to rescue their teammate Maxie Stein who was captured by Nazi forces. Hirohito was insulted by the boys, who called him "Little Hitler" before fleeing into the night.[2]

In 1943, Hirohito personally deployed the Serpent to eliminate Ling Toy, a Chinese-American who learned that the Japanese had dug a tunnel from Japan to the United States. However, the Young Allies got involved, clashing personally with Hirohito, delivering the emperor a humiliating defeat before destroying the tunnel.[3] Later that year, Hirohito joined his Axis allies Hitler and Mussolini to accept an offer from the mad scientist known as the Torso to eliminate Captain America and Bucky. Although Hirohito and the others agreed to fund the Torso's plan, it ultimately failed.[4] Hirohito faced another humiliating defeat at the hands of the Young Allies, when the group of youths once more found themselves prisoners of the Japanese. Hirohito's agent the Whip was torturing the Allies to learn the location to some stolen plans, when Toro freed his pals and knocked Hirohito into the torture device -- a mixture of the iron maiden and the electric chair. Given a powerful jolt of electricity, Hirohito exclaimed his deepest doubts about their victory over the American's before being pulled out. The Whip attempted to recapture the Young Allies, but they escaped, prompting the Whip to commit suicide for his failure.[5] Later still, Hirohito sanctioned his agent Yoko to use a submarine decoyed to look like an American freighter in order to attack convoys unnoticed. This plan was ruined by the Sub-Mariner.[6]

In his last recorded appearance, circa 1944, Hirohito answered a call to bid on a meteor fragment that could be harnessed as a powerful weapon. He sent some of his agents to bid on the item; however, it was ultimately destroyed by Captain America and Bucky.[7]

Death[]

In real life, unlike many others involved in the War, Hirohito avoided war crime persecution and continued to rule as Japanese emperor until his death in 1989.

If this is same fate shared by his Earth-616 counterpart remains to be seen.

In more recent times (in what can be considered a topical reference), Hirohito was still active as His Imperial Majesty, Emperor of Japan, and his name was included in the invitation for the wedding of Mariko Yashida with Logan.[8][9]

In an excerpt from her biography of Doctor Stephen Strange that was published in the November 1989 issue of Now Magazine, author Morgana Blessing wrote of Doctor Strange's funeral and referenced how the Japanese emperor Hirohito had "died soon afterward."[10] This is also a topical reference since, due to the Sliding Timescale, the "Secret Wars" during which Strange was supposedly killed by the Beyonder is now considered to have taken place decades after 1989.

Notes

  • Thanks to the Sliding Timescale, the Earth-616 Emperor Hirohito is now considered to have lived his entire life before the Modern Age.

See Also

Links and References

References

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