If you’re a Marvel fan (or you keep up with this blog), you know about the Daughters of the Dragon. But a few years before Misty Knight and Colleen Wing teamed up, there was a trio of martial artists who called themselves the Sons of the Tiger. They made their first appearance in 1974 in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1. 

The three team members were from different backgrounds and showed an impressive degree of diversity for the time. The leader, Lin Sun, was Chinese and the adopted son of their martial arts instructor, Master Kee. Abe Brown was an African American from Harlem and Bob Diamond was a white Hollywood actor. Though already friends, they become a real team following a tragedy (yes, it’s a ninjas and “you killed my teacher” sort of thing) and discover a mystical force that increases their martial arts skills and power.

Though the trio barely made it past 20 issues in their own comics, they did pop up occasionally to assist other Marvel heroes, including Spider-Man, Human Torch, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Wolverine. Bob Diamond even went on to date Colleen Wing for a time. So if martial arts heroes are your thing, check out some back issues of Deadly Hands of Kung Fu for a fix.