- "You bend someone long enough and they break! Poor little Chan Ho Yin may have believed your lies, but not Scorch!"
"Who?"
"Oh, crap. They gave him a name." - ―Chan Ho Yin, Melinda May, Phil Coulson[src]
Chan Ho Yin, also known as Scorch, was a Hong Kong street magician who developed pyrokinetic powers. He was killed by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Melinda May after he went rogue and joined the Centipede Project under encouragement from Raina.
Biography
Early Life
Put on the Index
- "His file didn't say anything about him being psychotic, did it?"
"No. It just said he was kind of a tool." - ―Melinda May and Phil Coulson[src]
Chan Ho Yin was a native of Hong Kong, China. Taking after his idol, Harry Houdini, Chan made his living performing street magic for locals and tourists.
Chan in Hong Kong
Chan realized that he had developed pyrokinetic abilities when a dish towel burst into flames in his hands. The origin of Chan's abilities is still under investigation, but he was a nearby resident when the decommissioned Wan Tai nuclear power plant caught fire. There are no other known cases of powers developing near Wan Tai.
Chan came to the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. when informants saw him using his abilities in his street show, lighting a torch with his pinkie. S.H.I.E.L.D. listed him on The Index, and assigned him a case worker, Hong Kong based Agent Quan Chen, who recommended that Chan not use his abilities in public. Chan violated this arrangement on at least three different occasions.[1]
"Scorch"
Recruited by Raina
- "You need a simpler name. A more powerful name. A name like Scorch."
"Scorch? Are you joking?"
"Have you ever heard of Steve Rogers? No? But Captain America-- now he's on the news, on a lunch box, on a poster on the wall." - ―Raina and Chan Ho Yin[src]
In 2013, Chan was approached by a woman named Raina, who offered to increase his power and give him the fame that he craved. She suggested that he take the alias of "Scorch" to further his fame. However, Raina was just using him to further her own ends and the ends of her mysterious employers.
Scorch tests out his new increased power
After being captured by Raina, Scorch was taken to a nearby lab, where he was injected with Extremis, a component to the Centipede Serum, by a doctor named Debbie. Extremis enhanced his abilities, and due to special heat-resistant platelets in his blood, he did not overheat or detonate like other users of the serum. Having gotten what they needed from him, Debbie ordered his blood be drained from his body in order for it to be replicated to stabilize the Extremis element of the Centipede Serum. A S.H.I.E.L.D. extraction team led by Quan Chen and Agent Phil Coulson came to rescue him.
Scorch brutally burns Debbie to death
Scorch was growing more mentally unstable by the minute (a side-effect of the serum as the same thing happened to Michael Peterson) and attacked the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, killing Quan by blasting a hole into him. Coulson attempted to shoot tranquilizer darts at him, but he vaporized them on approach. He then escaped from the lab. Upon confronting Debbie, Scorch incinerated her reducing her to ashes within seconds while Raina escaped.[1]
Overload and Death
Scorch moments before exploding
- "Mr. Yin, we don't want to hurt you... but we have to."
- ―Phil Coulson[src]
Seeing no other option to subdue Scorch non-lethally, Coulson ordered Agent Melinda May to sneak up behind him when he was distracted and overdose him with Extremis, which caused him to overheat and detonate, killing him.[1]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Fire Manipulation: Chan Ho Yin had the power to create and manipulate small flames, usually using his powers as part of his street magic performances. However, the injection of the Centipede Serum greatly enhanced his powers, and using the codename "Scorch", he became able to create stronger burst of flames, powerful enough to burn a hole in a person's chest or burn another to ashes. He also used his powers in a defensive manner, creating a shield of flames around him that was able to melt the bullets shot at him.
Former Powers
- Fire Immunity: Chan Ho Yin was immune to his own powers due to special heat-resistant platelets in his blood. However, after being injected with Centipede Serum, a Centipede scientist removed some of those platelets, resulting in him losing this immunity.
Abilities
- Multilingualism: Chan Ho Yin spoke fluent Chinese and English.
Relationships
Enemies
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Quan Chen † - Case Worker turned Victim
- Coulson's Team
- Phil Coulson
- Melinda May - Killer
- Centipede Project - Allies turned Enemies
Appearances
In chronological order:
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Season One
- Girl in the Flower Dress
- The Bridge (mentioned)
- The Magical Place (mentioned)
- Season Two
- Aftershocks (mentioned)
- Season One
Trivia
- In the comics, there are many characters that use the "Scorch" codename. Among them are Tommy Ng, a pyrokinetic mutant; Ross Jonas, former Air Force Major mutated by adrenalin taken from Prime Skrull; and a former member of A.R.E.S.
Behind the Scenes
- Marvel.com originally listed the character as Renshu Tseng.
