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In Hong Kong, you'd be dead!
~ Wah Sing Ku's most famous quote.

Wah Sing Ku (古華勝) is the main antagonist in the 1998 film Lethal Weapon 4, the fourth installment of the Lethal Weapon film series.

He was portrayed by Jet Li in his first villainous role, who also played the Dragon Emperor in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and Gabriel Yulaw in The One.

Biography[]

Wah Sing Ku is a high-ranking Chinese Triad negotiator trying to get the 4 Fathers (one of whom is his older half-brother Michael Sing Ku) bought into America and get them out of prison. He is first seen at Uncle Benny's restaurant listening to Uncle Benny talk to a States Department Man about bringing the 4 Fathers into America when they receive news that the Chinese ship that was bringing a family called the Hongs to them had been impounded by L.A.P.D. Detectives Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh, much to his displeasure. Ku asks about the Hong family and it is revealed that they have escaped, leading Ku to order Uncle Benny to find them. Ku and some of his henchmen follow the States Department Man in their car and ram his vehicle onto a level crossing, causing it to be hit by a speeding train and killing him.

The next day, Ku talks to Uncle Benny about delivering the family and that the family's uncle, who is being forced to work for Ku, won't finish his job (which is unknown) until he sees the family. Uncle Benny tells Ku not to worry and that the family will show up, to which Ku tells Uncle Benny that in Hong Kong he would already be dead (for his incompetence). Riggs, Murtaugh and their new partner Lee Butters enter the room and ask Uncle Benny if he knows anything about the ship that they impounded the night before. Benny lies and Riggs sees Ku nearby, looking incredibly irritated. Riggs asks Benny who he is but Benny replies that Ku doesn't speak English before telling the cops to leave. Before they depart, Riggs tells Benny and Ku that they are onto them, while Ku silently mutters to Riggs what he said to Benny earlier, this time in English, proving that he does in fact speak English, but rarely uses it, in which Benny lied. Once outside, Riggs, Murtaugh and Butters find the Chinese captain of the ship and attempt to catch him, but he manages to escape thanks to him being younger man with better stamina. As the captain climbs onto a rooftop and believes he is safe, Ku suddenly appears and attacks him for his failure the previous night. Despite the captain's attempts and effort to fight back, Ku easily gains the upper hand and strangles him to death with his ligature which is kept in to look like a necklace.

It is soon revealed that the Hong family was found by Murtaugh on the night of the crash and that he is secretly keeping them in his house until they are granted an asylum, and the oldest member of the family, Mr. Hong, is in fact the nephew of the uncle working for Ku. Mr. Hong had been writing messages to his uncle and when Ku receives it, he and his men go to Murtaugh's house and take the Hongs away. Ku then takes Lorna Cole, Trish Murtaugh, and Rianne Murtaugh-Butters hostage until Murtaugh and Riggs return home. Lorna manages to get free and she, Riggs and Murtaugh take on Ku's men while Trish and Rianne try to run to safety. Ku intervenes, easily beats them all and has the entire group tied up before setting the house on fire. After Ku leaves, one of the Hong children, named Ping, who had managed to hide to avoid capture frees Riggs and the others and they all escape unharmed.

Ku then travels to the prison where the 4 Fathers are located and promises the general that he will have the money for their release soon. He is also reunited with his older brother Michael and promises to free him soon before leaving. Meanwhile, Riggs, Murtaugh, and Butters go to confront Uncle Benny at the dentist office and give him laughing gas to make him tell the truth, and Benny foolishly tells them about buying back the 4 Fathers and that tonight would be too late. The Hongs are taken to Ku's hideout and one of Ku's men takes Mr. Hong to see his uncle. As Hong wonders what is going on, Ku tells him that his uncle is working for him in order to pay for him and his family to come to America. When the uncle says that he will only finish his job once his family has been taken to their new home, an angry Ku chokes Hong to death and threatens to kill the rest of the family if the uncle does not continue his work. Ku kills Uncle Benny for revealing too much information to Riggs and Murtaugh, and also kills Hong's uncle after the old man's usefulness expired.

It becomes apparent that Ku has counterfeited Chinese money in order to get the 4 Fathers out of prison, and before he can present it to the general, Riggs, Murtaugh and Butters turn up and reveal that the money is fake. A fight breaks out between Triad, General's men and Roger-Murtaugh team in which the general kills three of the 4 Fathers, but Ku and his brother Michael escape from him. During the shootout, Murtaugh tries to shoot Ku but winds up shooting Michael instead. Ku takes his mortally wounded brother below a pier and lays him down on the ground, watching sadly as he eventually dies. Enraged by this, Ku fights both Riggs and Murtaugh and almost ends up killing Riggs, but Murtaugh impales him with a sharp metal pole. Despite the fatal injury, Ku persists and continues fighting and he and Riggs fall into the water off the pier. The struggle continues beneath the surface and Ku attempts to strangle Riggs, but Riggs notices a submerged AK-47 machine-gun lying nearby and grabs it. Before Ku can stop him, Riggs pulls the trigger and pumps Ku's body full of bullets, killing him. Riggs then swims back up to the surface, leaving Ku's corpse underwater.

Powers and Abilities[]

  • Peak Physical Condition: Wah Sing is in top physical condition. He is strong enough to snap a man's neck in between his leg. His reflexes are great enough that he is capable of dodging a gunshot.
    • Master Acrobat: Ku can perform highly flexible and agile maneuvers in the middle of combat.
  • Master Martial Artist: Wah Sing Ku is a highly skilled martial artist. His fighting style seems to be comprised of Wushu, Changquan, and Fanziquan. He was able to easily defeat the Captain. take on Murtaugh and Riggs separately and at the same time, proving to be the better fighter among the three of them. He is even skilled enough to dismantle a handgun in the middle of a fight.
  • Skilled Marksman: Ku is skilled at handling firearms such as handguns and assault rifles. He can even use an assault rifle as a striking weapon in combat.
  • Master Tactician: Wah Sing is a highly skilled planner. Attempting to rescue his The Four fathers including his brother from a Genral using counterfeited money.
  • High Pain Tolerance: Ku has a high pain threshold, able to keep fighting after being stabbed by a sharp metal pole.
  • Bilingualism: Wah Sing Ku can speak his native Chinese in addition to English.

Equipment[]

  • Ligature Bead Necklace: Wah Sing Ku carries a bead necklace which he can use as an improvised garrote wire.
  • Norinco Type 59: Wah Sing Ku uses this handgun as his sidearm of choice.
  • Norinco Type 56: Ku used an assault rifle as an improvised striking weapon.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Wah Sing Ku was Jet Li's first antagonist role of his career, as well as his first role in a Hollywood film.
  • Jackie Chan was originally considered for Wah Sing Ku, but he declined the role, saying he doesn't do villains.
  • Director Richard Donner had to ask Jet Li to slow down during action sequences, because he was moving faster than the camera shutter speed, and it wasn't registering on film.
  • Jet Li would later work with Mel Gibson in The Expendables 3, where Gibson played the main villain. Here it's the exact opposite.
  • The name "Wah Sing Ku", is never mentioned until the end of the movie. It is revealed when Riggs asks Detective Ng. The character's name is Wah Sing Ku.
  • In the scene where Wah Sing Ku is shown killing Uncle Bennie with his beads, the very next frame you can see the top of Uncle Bennie's head reaching into the hamper retrieving cash.
  • Wah Sing Ku was the only Lethal Weapon antagonist to show any redeeming qualities, as he seemed to genuinely love his brother and sought to avenge his death in the film's climax.

Navigation[]

           LethalWeaponTitle Villains

Movies
Lethal Weapon: Peter McAllister | Shadow Company (Jack Joshua, Dixie, Endo, Gustaf & Larch) | Michael Hunsaker
Lethal Weapon 2: Arjen Rudd | Pieter Vorstedt | Hans
Lethal Weapon 3: Jack Travis | Tyrone | Hatchett | Billy Phelps | Smitty | Hubie Smith | Hershel | Darryl Smithers
Lethal Weapon 4: Wah Sing Ku | Benny Chan | Fan, Chu & Yee | George Proody | Four Fathers (James Wing Chow, Fan Wong, Michael Sing Ku & Li Lum Chong) | General | Captain

Television
Season 1: Tito Flores | Gideon Lyon | Eddie Flores | Ronnie Delgrado | Levon Tibibian
Season 2: Nathan Riggs | Tito Flores
Season 3: Tom Barnes | Sofia Vasquez | Calvin Marks | Tom Kessler | Sven Olsen | Victor Vasquez

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