Creation

The characters first appear on the cover of Mystery Men Comics #10 (May 1940), with art by Joe Simon, depicted as three greenish-skinned men wearing traditional Chinese-style clothing. They are presented as criminals armed with a steam-firing machine, while a woman is tied up. The Blue Beetle appears dramatically to stop them.

Despite their visual prominence, these characters do not appear in the issue's internal story, being another example of Cover Only Characters.

Major Story Arcs

Thrilling Nostalgia Comics

The villains were later used in the Liberty Brigade series by Thrilling Nostalgia Comics, where they were given the name Emerald Mandarins. As with many other characters in the public domain, although the original visuals are free to use, the name Emerald Mandarins is protected under copyright as a modern creation and cannot be freely used by others.