You are currently viewing “Wu Assassins”: Martial Arts Series Based On True Life Story Hits Netflix

“Wu Assassins”: Martial Arts Series Based On True Life Story Hits Netflix

Wu Assassins is an American crime drama action web television series. Netflix dropped all 10 episodes of Wu Assassins two days ago, and here are fun facts you should know before checking out the show.

 

In the new Netflix series, Wu Assassins, chef Kai (Iko Uwais, The Raid) is granted unrivalled martial arts abilities by the “Monk Piece,” a stone containing the power of a thousand monks.

 

wu assassins
Photo: Netflix

 

But there’s a catch: Kai must now find and kill five elemental warlords — Earth, Water, Metal, Wood, Fire — corrupted by the power of the Wu.

 

Check out the trailer below:

 

One of those five elemental evils happens to be Kai’s adoptive father, Uncle Six (Byron Mann, Altered Carbon), a powerful businessman and gang leader in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

 

But while Wu Assassins is a wildly fictional medley of crime, magic and martial arts, one of the villains of the series takes his inspiration from a real-life figure, a Chinatown godfather named Little Pete.

 

little pete inspires wu assassins
Photo: SF News

 

Little Pete immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of five in 1870. As a child, he witnessed a battle between the Suey Sings and the Kwong Docks Tongs in 1875. He also studied how the outcome of the battle could have been saved.

 

little pete inspires wu assassins
Photo: SF News

 

Little Pete became involved in San Francisco’s underworld by 1885. Eventually, he became a well known Tong hatchetman involved in prostitution, illegal gambling and opium peddling.

 

Eventually, members of the rival Suey On Tong attacked him. Little Pete, wearing a steel-reinforced hat and chain mail, managed to drive off the men armed with hatchets and clubs. The whole of Chinatown thought he was invincible.

 

little pete inspires netflix wu assassins

 

By 1890, at the age of twenty-five, Little Pete was the leader of the Som Yop Tong. He quickly became involved in a gang war with rival Sue Yop Tong. In this rivalry, Little Pete killed over fifty Tong members.

 

Little Pete inspired fear and used his influence to eliminate his rivals. His legendary story greatly inspired the plot of Wu Assassins. This amazing bit of history infused in an energetic supernatural martial arts series will be pretty engaging. It will also be representative for Asian-Americans who make up 5.6% of the population.

 

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Tokoni Akosubo

Tokoni is a content writer and screenwriter who is passionate about stories and social issues. When she's not tapping away at her keyboard, she's a committed foodie with an eye for style and interior decor.

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