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Cardboard Tube Samurai

An ancient Samurai of great renown, and legendary wielder of the Cardboard Tube, he is thought to be the only person ever to enter the Chasm of Eternal Sorrow and overcome his personal demons. Many years later, in 3,467, he ascended Mt. Wang in pursuit of the fleeing Shadow Lord and passed out of history. His exact fate is unknown.

Legends would have him as a charitable sort, one willing to undertake ridiculous risks for little (if any) reward. A friend of the peasant and downtrodden, one story tells of the brave samurai risking his own life to save someone's pig.

Tales of the Cardboard Tube Samurai

Good Things, Many Devils

The Cardboard Tube Samurai first appeared in Volume 4 of the Oriental Tales of the Wang Kingdom, entitled "Good Things, Many Devils". This is told from the perspective of his mentor, Wangdok, beginning with the Samurai beginning his training under Wangdok in 3,449 and ending in 3,467 with the Samurai ascending Mount Wang in pursuit of The Shadow Lord.

Stories told by Wangdok include:

Hawk's Harvest and the Path Through Oblivion

Enraged at the new threat, The Shadow Lord sends his best lieutenant and an half-dozen assassins after the Cardboard Tube Samurai. The Cardboard Tube Samurai defeats them.

Famine-of-Winter and the Last Rites

During his travels, the Cardboard Tube Samurai fought alongside many other heroes of the The Wandering Age. One such hero was Tobun, a swordsman of no minor skill. See The Last Rites.

Waking-Dragon and the Feast of Afterwinter

At one point he learns that the Shadow Lord's generals will be coming to a nearby outpost. He attacks the post and takes the soldiers there unawares.

Other stories

Originally Good Things, Many Devils was intended to be a complete account of the Samurai's campaign against evil. However, it contains some significant omissions - most critically, his origins, his trial at the Chasm of Eternal Sorrow, his ultimate fate, and of course the "many other adventures" Wangdok repeatedly refers to. Combined with the unexpected popularity of the character, this has resulted in numerous other stories written about the Cardboard Tube Samurai's life.

Perhaps most infamous of these is the non-canonical graphic novel Batman - Cardboard Tube Samurai: Legend of the Laughing Wang by Frank Miller.

Origin Theories

As mentioned above, it is almost universally believed that the Cardboard Tube Samurai gained his abilities by successfully enduring the Chasm of Eternal Sorrow, but conflict still rages in the fandom over the question over the exact circumstances leading to both his journey there and his subsequent adventures, as well as the origin of the Cardboard Tube. As an article on the Cardboard Tube Samurai would not be complete without mention of (at least) a few of these, the more popular theories are laid out below.

The Basic

This theory holds that there is not much else to the Cardboard Tube Samurai than what meets the eye and that any speculation beyond canon has no business in discussion. The reasons why individuals support this include apathy, lack of imagination, and a preference for that which is canonical and only that.

The Time-Traveler

This theory holds that the Cardboard Tube Samurai is actually a warrior from the time of Harbinger Portent who was sent back to the Wang Era following his victory over his own demons and that the Cardboard Tube was actually manufactured by Portent prior to the Samurai's journey to the Chasm.

Supporters of this theory recently gained a boost from the canon novel 'Til Time is No More, wherein one of the Chronoclave members, a sorcerer named Fendor Dalt, when asked about what he thinks is the most important ability in the world, replies, "The power to control time, to bend causality and twist it into your own image, to go from one end of eternity to the other. If you ask me, that's the greatest power. If one knew what he was doing, I'd daresay he'd be able to change the world with the power of time." Of course, the similarity of this statement with the canon information about the Chasm of Eternal Sorrow did not slip past the proponents of this theory.

Disgraced Xtchi Master

Supporters of this theory propose that the Cardboard Tube Samurai was a student of Xtchi, the martial art combining paper-folding, caligraphy, breathing, meditation, and physical power to harness the life-force of the universe itself to the ends of a Xtchi Master.

In the novel, Mime: The True Xtchi Master, it is casually mentioned that a an apprentice of Master Qi Gon Ball, a renowend Fire Xtchi Master, betrayed Qi Gon Ball, killing him. The young apprentice was described as an odd youth in yellow wielding a paper sword of unusual texture and thickness. Later in the novel, another student of the Southern Agni Temple revealed that Qi Gon Ball was actually planning on using his leverage over an army of Xtchi Masters to conquer the Wang Kingdom, but was stopped by his student. However, with no evidence to support allegations of his master's misdeeds, the young man wandered the lands as a nameless fugitive.

While the parallels are obvious, detractors point out that the Cardboard Tube Samurai never displayed the pyrokinetic abilities that a man of his training should posess. Others suggest that he vowed never to use the true extent of his Xtchi powers again, as pennance for disgracing his family's name.

No Chasm

Unlike the other theories, the 'No Chasm' theory intentionally conflicts with the widely accepted point of origin of the Cardboard Tube Samurai. This theory simply puts forth that the Cardboard Tube Samurai did not enter the Chasm of Eternal Sorrow, but instead rose to his heroic status through hard work or other means, possibly involving High Elemenstation. They attest that no one has survived the Chasm, but word of the Cardboard Tube Samurai's exploits were so great that the peasants of the time believed that he had.

This theory, however, has no known supporting evidence. While Wangdok did not cover his exploits in the Chasm of Eternal Sorrow in his viewpoint in "Good Things, Many Devils", the exclusion does not prove the opposite. Detractors are quick to point out other possiblities: the Cardboard Tube Samurai may not have told the stories to Wangdok (due to the highly personal nature), that Wangdok did not believe them (as no one had ever survived the Chasm), that Wangdok found them too gruesome or disturbing (as "Good Things, Many Devils" is primarily upbeat), or that the Cardboard Tube Samurai may have simply asked Wangdok to exclude them. Since most discussion of the Chasm of Eternal Sorrow in the series pertains to the fact that the Cardboard Tube Samurai survived it while many other heroes perished trying (and having their stories ended there), the lack of supporting evidence is conclusive. A few proponents point out that in Batman - Cardboard Tube Samurai: Legend of the Laughing Wang, the Cardboard Tube Samurai claims that his powers are a manifestation of the hope of the innocent. This, however, is refuted in two ways: first, this Frank Miller graphic novel is universally regarded as non-canon, and second, if this is true, how was the Cardboard Tube Samurai at full strength (if not overpowered, as some critics have mentioned) in the graphic novel?

A splinter theory posits that the Chasm of Eternal Sorrow does not exist; this is largely discounted as a futile path to even discuss, because at this point proponents are willing to throw out large swaths of the entire ELotH:TES universe at will, or simultaneously support and deny portions of it.

See also:

• Cardboard Tube
• Dark Master
• The Cardboard Tube of Unusual Sharpness and Popularity
• The Parchment Cylinder
• Tonkatsu
• Wangdok
• Wang Era
• Wang Kingdom

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