Origin
Tae was just a baby in 1950 at the beginning of the Korean War. His mother was fleeing a North Korean tank when she was crushed to death by falling debris. He narrowly missed being crushed but was left alone until night when he was found by another woman who would raise him like her own. As a kid, he befriended a local troublemaker, Min-Jae, and by the time they were teenagers, they had their own street gang. By the time they were in their late 20s, the gang had expanded into gun-running. After getting a lead on a military weapons project, they tried to break in and steal it. Tae ended up being exposed to the rays from the Psylot Gem, which gave him his powers. He was inspired to do good by his adoptive mother. She hadn’t talked to him in over a decade due to his criminal behavior, but when he had no one else to call after his accident, she refused to turn her back on him.
Creation
Taegukgi first appeared in Taskmaster (2020) #3 by Jed MacKay and Alessandro Viti
Major Story Arcs
Mind Control
Tae was mind controlled by the presumed dead psychic, Mongdal. Mongdal was a body snatcher, capable of possessing a target. He was working for the Choi Faction, a gangster family. They were going to use Tae to leverage the South Korean government to give them control over the country.
Once Mongdal got a taste of Tae’s power, Mongdal turned on the Choi Faction and planned to keep Tae for himself. The Tiger Division came to his rescue, but they were forced to fight Tae’s body until White Fox and Black Cat could sneak up on Mongdal and take him out.
MTO Corporation
The team was called in by White Fox after someone broke into their southeast storage unit, where they kept the dangerous and rare artifacts they had seized in the field. The Psylot Gem had been stolen but exposed the thief to an energy signature that The General could follow. However, they were lured into a trap and ambushed by robots. The team were barely overwhelmed, but The General took a blast to the midsection, so the team retreated with his body.
Luckily, Gun-R was able to scan a hunk of metal they recovered from The General. He found that it was custom made by the MTO Corporation, which he then hacked and found resources for something called “The Kal Duo Project.” The name reminded Tae of something from his past and broke off from the team to investigate MTO on his own. MTO was secretly being run by his former childhood friend Min-Jae, who Tae thought had died following their attempted break-in. Jealous of Tae’s power, he stole the Psylot Gem to steal Tae’s powers. Luckily, Gun-R had finally hacked through into the security feed and saw Tae in trouble.
With The General healed up, the team races to Tae’s rescue. They were too late to stop Tae from being drained of his power, but they were able to delay Min-Jae from taking it for himself. Before anyone could release the energy, they were interrupted by Doctor Doom, Min-Jae’s silent partner. The team was forced to fight Doom and even more of Min-Jae’s robot sentries, far more than were at the early ambush.
Luckily, Tae was able to get through to Min-Jae, who betrayed Doom for his old friend. While they all keeped Doom busy, Gun-R was able to activate the compressor the gem was put in and re-power Tae. The compressor wasn’t designed for more than one use though, so it exploded destroying the gem and isolating the power to Tae.
Powers & Abilities
Enhanced Individual: Tae-Won has enhanced strength. His strength has been compared to Blue Marvel, Sentry, and Hyperion.
- Near Invulnerability: Tae-Won has enhanced stamina. He is much more resistant to physical injury and fatigue than a normal human. This does not extend to his mind which is susceptible to mind control.
- Flight: Tae is capable of flight
- Laser Vision: Tae can shoot powerful blasts from his eyes.
- Longevity: Despite being born in the 1950s, Tae still has the appearance of a 30 year old man. This may be due to a time in his life when he was trapped in the “Quad Dimension.”