Asians Agents of Atlas
Overview
The Agents of Atlas, instead of being a government-sanctioned team, are survivors of human trafficking. Each of the children trafficked with Lin Lie represents a different story of survival, adoption, and reclaiming identity— with Matt and Jessica overseeing their placements; Matt ensuring legality and Jessica sniffing out bad actors.
Sword Master/Iron Fist (Lin Lie)
See here to read profile.
Brawn (Amadeus Cho)
A Korean boy with an incredible gift for numbers and engineering. Ends up placed with a kindly Greek immigrant mathematician or inventor in New York, where he’s nurtured instead of exploited. By 16, he’s designing clockwork devices, experimental radios, and rudimentary “computing machines.”
Trivia
I picture Amadeus having a bit more of a high fashion vibe as he was adopted by a slightly well off family. His clothes are the same color palette of his usual modern outfits, plus a hat cause I think he looks cute like this.
Aero (Lei Ling)
Sent to San Francisco’s Chinatown, where she’s adopted by a seamstress who lost her own daughter. She later discovers her ability to manipulate air currents, which makes her a kind of ghostlike protector of her community.
Trivia
Lei Ling is wearing what would be a regular dress for young ladies at the time. Even if her new adoptive mother couldn’t afford it, she manages by using her seamstress experience. I find it funny that a girl with wind powers wears such a restrictive dress, but her aerokinesis helps making breathing easier.
Crescent (Dan Bi)
The youngest, a Korean girl, placed with a pair of widowed Chinese herbalists who care for her like their own granddaughter. She keeps the talisman of her bear spirit guardian, which manifests whenever she feels threatened.
Trivia
Dan Bi is also wearing traditional clothes for little girls at the time, with the exception of her pigtails to display her gung-hō and fiery nature. She’s not a taekwondo prodigy in this AU as taekwondo was only invented in the 1940s-1950s, but she makes up for it by being a bit of a outdoorsey tomboy.
Luna Snow (Seol Hee)
A Korean girl trafficked as a “performer” but rescued before that fate could take hold. Adopted by a stage actress in London who recognizes her musical talent. Becomes a rising star of Gaslight music halls, secretly channeling her icy abilities into her performances.
Trivia
Luna is a Proto flapper (@a-roguish-gambit goes more into detail about it here), on her way to becoming an actual flapper once she’s a young adult in the 1920s. I’m assuming she got her cryogenic abilities somewhere through her trafficking process. Maybe the traffickers were actually A.I.M in disguise seeking to experiment of the smuggled children because they knew no one would miss them. Regarding her poliosis and heterochromia, for the most part, a white streak in the hair was likely treated as a unique or "striking" visual difference, similar to a birthmark. Heterochromia meanwhile was a rare and mesmerizing trait that could evoke fascination rather than fear. Luna uses it on her favor as a stage actress and singer.
Wave (Pearl Pangan)
A Filipina girl, found working near the docks after being smuggled in. Taken in by a family of pearl divers in California, where she discovers her connection to water and the sea.
Trivia
Pearl’s wearing what was supposedly the “Edwardian Summer Girl.” Folks were obsessed with this aesthetic back then, with many promotional ads being spread. They claimed that the Edwardian summer girl was “robust, strong and independent.” That they’re “bare-armed, collarless, hatless and short-skirted and doesn’t care if she gets freckles or a tan.” That she was as good at sports as men: swimming, rowing, hunting– and even played barefoot golf!
White Fox (Ami Han)
A Korean girl who carries the blood of the kumiho (fox spirit). Taken in by a Japanese scholar in San Francisco who sees her as both student and ward. She grows into a sharp, observant young woman who balances human life with her supernatural heritage.
Trivia
Ami dresses a bit more maturely and sophisticated than the other girls to show she’s the oldest and how she, like Amadeus, was adopted by the wealthy enough family— hence her parasol, which was a symbol of high-society elegance and fashion back then. Her white hair is in a ponytail as they were a known hairstyle in 1903, though they may not have been as widely popular or fashionable as in later decades, and were mostly used for practical purposes.
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Author’s Note
Phew! Finally done. Y’know, I was a little worried because this is my first time drawing a group, so I hope this turned out okay. 😅
As you can see, I didn't go into much detail about the Atlas children, as they’re more of a group of "supporting characters" in this AU because they are, after all, children.
If you’re wondering why isn’t Shang-Chi with them despite him also being an Agent of Atlas in the comics, that’s because he’s still training with his father Wen Wu over at the Ten Rings headquarters, so he hasn’t escaped to the outside world (yet). As for Cindy Moon, well— let’s just say I have others plans for her.
