Zheng Zu and his twin brother were once blacksmiths in ancient China. They forged the magical Eyes of the Dragon, which drew power from an unknown deity. Zheng Zu then betrayed his brother and sacrificed him as part of a ritual using the eyes in order to gain immortality. His origins were forgotten in time and he adopted many aliases over the years to hide his past.
Over the years, Zheng Zu learned martial arts, the various scientific disciplines, and esoteric knowledge at a monastery. In the modern day, Zheng Zu adopted the name Fu Manchu and created the false origin that he was empowered by the Elixir of Life. He became a crimelord, the shadow emperor of a worldwide invisible empire with a globe-spanning army of highly trained fanatical killers. At his command were the killers of various cults and secret societies, including; the Dacoits, the Thugees, the Phansigars, the Hashishin, and others. Zheng Zu had the intellect of three geniuses and the world's most beautiful women as his pawns.
