Yellow Claw

Yellow Claw
Yellow Claw #1. Cover art by Joe Maneely.
Publication information
Publisher	Atlas Comics (Marvel Comics)
First appearance	Historical: Yellow Claw #1 (Oct. 1956) Modern-day: Strange Tales #160 (as telepathic "voice") Strange Tales #161 (as robot double) Captain America #164 (as genuine character)
Created by	Al Feldstein (writer) Joe Maneely (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Plan Chu
Notable aliases	The Golden Claw (his preferred transliteration from the Chinese characters to English), Bhagwan Sri Ananda
Abilities	Telepathy Genius-level intellect Long lifespan

The Yellow Claw is a fictional comic book supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Al Feldstein and artist Joe Maneely, the character first appeared in Yellow Claw #1 (cover-dated Oct. 1956), published by Atlas Comics, the 1950s predecessor of Marvel.

While the short-lived espionage series named for him ran only four issues (Oct. 1956 – April 1957), it featured work by such notables as writer Al Feldstein and artist Joe Maneely, who created the character, Jack Kirby, and John Severin, and introduced characters later integrated into Marvel Comics continuity. Kirby took over as writer-artist with issue #2 – inking his own pencil art there and in the following issue, representing two of the very rare occasions on which he did so. Unusually for a Kirby series, other artists drew the covers: Severin on #2 & 4, Bill Everett on #3. The series' influence was felt during the 1960s Silver Age of Comic Books, as writer-artist Jim Steranko brought the Yellow Claw into Marvel Comics continuity, beginning with the "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." feature in Strange Tales #160 (Sept. 1967), which introduced a robot version of the character; the actual Yellow Claw resurfaced later. Woo was reintroduced that same issue, eventually joining the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. in Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #2 (July 1968).