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'''Chai Soua Vang''' (王才, born [[September 24]], [[1968]]) is a hunter who shot several [[hunting|deer hunters]] in northern [[Wisconsin]] on [[November 21]], [[2004]]. According to court proceedings to date, Vang has acknowledged shooting the hunters, which included women, but has challenged the chain of events that caused a dispute over a deer stand to become violent and how it escalated into multiple deaths. Eventually, six of the hunters died and two were left wounded. Vang, now a [[naturalization|naturalized]] [[United States|U.S.]] citizen, is a [[Hmong]] immigrant from [[Laos]] who lived in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]] at the time of the shootings. He is currently being held at [[Sawyer County, Wisconsin|Sawyer County]] [[Jail]].
{{Superherobox| <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
image=[[Image:Silversurfercommunion.jpg|235px]]
|caption=The Silver Surfer. <br>Art by [[Joe Jusko]].
|comic_color=background:#ff8080
|character_name=Silver Surfer
|real_name=Norrin Radd
|publisher=[[Marvel Comics]]
|debut=''The [[Fantastic Four]]'' #48
|creators=[[Jack Kirby]]<br>[[Stan Lee]]
|alliance_color=background:#ffc0c0
|status=Active
|alliances=
|previous_alliances=[[Galactus]], [[Defenders (comics)|Defenders]], [[Star Masters]]
|aliases=
|relatives=
|powers=Wields the Power Cosmic which he can weild to a variety of effects
|}}
The '''Silver Surfer''' is a [[Marvel Comics]] [[superhero]]. Created by [[Jack Kirby]] and [[Stan Lee]], he first appeared in ''The [[Fantastic Four]]'' #48 ([[1966]]).
The Surfer was originally Norrin Radd of the planet [[Zenn-La]]. He agreed to serve as a herald for the alien [[Galactus]] to save Zenn-La from the planet-consuming super being. Galactus granted Radd enormous cosmic powers and a silvery appearance. On a [[surfboard]]-like vehicle he roamed the [[cosmos]], searching for new planets for Galactus to consume. However, after an encounter with Earth’s Fantastic Four, he betrayed Galactus, who doomed the Surfer to exile on Earth.
==Background==
In a heavily philosophical late [[1960s]] series, which was popular in the [[hippie]] counter culture, the Surfer explored Earth. Another, more cosmically themed series with a freed Surfer was published in the [[1980s]] and [[1990s]]. Marvel is currently attempting another revival.
== Character history ==
[[image:ff50.png|Cover to '''The Fantastic Four #50'''. Art by Jack Kirby.|thumb|left]]
Born Norrin Radd on the idyllic planet Zenn-La, he volunteered to serve the planet-eating entity [[Galactus]], who travels the [[universe]] looking for energy-rich planets to consume, to save his homeworld. Galactus accepted the young mortal's sacrifice and imbued him with a portion of the Power Cosmic, transforming him into the Silver Surfer. He served Galactus for an unspecified amount of time until he came to the planet [[Earth]].
Vang is the father of six children, a family [[shaman]] [http://www.thepowerhour.com/news/hmong_hunter.htm], and a hunting enthusiast. Chai Vang and his brothers came to the [[United States]] from [[Laos]] in [[1980]] and settled in [[California]]. Chai Vang lived in [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] and eventually enlisted with the California National Guard.
On Earth, the Surfer encountered a number of individuals whose [[nobility]] and [[honor]] touched him, such as the [[Fantastic Four]] and their companion [[Alicia Masters]]. The Surfer chose to rebel against Galactus and attempted to prevent his master from consuming the Earth. Galactus was eventually driven off, but as punishment for his rebellion, Galactus confined the Surfer to Earth by creating an invisible barrier which affected only him.
Around the year [[2000]], Vang moved to [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]]. A few years later, he and his family moved a few miles to the neighboring city of St. Paul. Both the Minneapolis and St. Paul [[police]] departments answered several calls about domestic violence at the Vang residences during this time.
The Silver Surfer is a unique product of the Marvel system of comic creation. Unlike in the full scripts employed elsewhere, creators [[Stan Lee]] and [[Jack Kirby]] would discuss general storylines or plots initially but leave the specific story elements to the penciller (this was especially so in the case of Kirby). Reputedly, Kirby created the character of the Silver Surfer reasoning that a cosmic [[predator]] of planets should have some sort of [[herald]]. Lee was surprised by this creation but, taken by the noble features of the new character that Kirby had pencilled, scripted him, adding to his characterization.
On the weekend of the murders, Vang went out deer hunting with two friends and their two sons in northwest [[Wisconsin]], a region where deer hunting is particularly popular, east of [[Birchwood, Wisconsin]] and around the town of [[Meteor, Wisconsin|Meteor]] (the town has a large area with a low population, and would be considered a [[township]] in other U.S. states). In this region, there is a mix of public and private land. It is believed that Vang and his friends began their day on public land, but he later went onto a private 400 [[acre]] (1.6 km²) tract of land. Residents and local hunters (almost exclusively white) are known to frequently accuse the Hmong of trespassing onto private land and hunting and fishing more than is allowed.
Though Kirby is clearly the primary creator of the Silver Surfer, Lee enjoyed the character and decided to feature him in his own comic magazine. Unfortunately, Kirby was unavailable and penciller [[John Buscema]] was chosen as the artist for the brief run (18 bi-monthly issues). The ''Silver Surfer'' comic and character allowed Lee to script some of his most thoughtful and introspective stories. Thematically, the stories dealt with the inhumanity of man as observed by the noble yet fallen Surfer. After his own comic was cancelled, the Surfer continued to make sporadic appearances as a guest star or [[antagonist]] in other comic books. A personal favorite of Lee's, a number of specials and graphic novels featuring the character have been published over the years.
On Sunday, [[November 21]], a hunting party of about 15 people were in a [[cabin]] on this private land. One person, Terry Willers, left the cabin and saw Vang sitting in a deer stand. He used a handheld [[radio]] to ask the people still in the cabin whether or not anyone should be in the stand. Upon receiving a response in the negative on that question, he began to approach Vang and called to him to leave the private land. After asking directions, Vang proceeded to walk away towards a trail through a forested area of the property. He was confronted at that point by five of the hunters from the cabin who had heard Terry Willers radio message. The events after the confrontation are under dispute. [What is fairly certain is that as he was walking away, Vang turned and began shooting. - What does this mean?]
He was given a chance at a solo title for the second time in the [[1980s]] where he finally managed to escape the confines of Earth and left for the spaceways. This series was originally written by [[Steve Englehart]] and illustrated by [[Marshall Rogers]], and later written by [[Jim Starlin]] and drawn by [[Ron Lim]]. Starlin was later replaced by [[Ron Marz]] as writer, and later in the series' publication [[George Perez]] and [[J. M. DeMatteis]] had brief stints at writing the series as well. The series was ultimately cancelled in the [[1990s]] due to low sales. A new Silver Surfer series began in [[2003]], but only lasted fourteen issues. He later made an appearance in ''Cable/Deadpool'', where he was the final line of defense against an overpowered [[Cable (comics)|Cable]]. Most recently, he has been reunited with the superhero group he took part in, [[The Defenders]].
Terry Willers radioed the cabin and said that they had been shot. The others came out to provide assistance, some riding on [[all-terrain vehicle]]s. Vang proceeded to shoot more of the hunters. Within a short period, five of the hunters were dead and three more were wounded. Vang then disappeared into the woods. It is believed that he fired about 20 rounds from an [[SKS]] rifle chambered in [[7.62 x 39 mm M43|7.62x39]]. The rifle is fairly inexpensive, ordinarily sold with a 10 round fixed magazine. However, there are kits to retrofit the SKS to take either a larger fixed magazine or detachable box magazines as used on the AK47. 7.62x39 is roughly equivalent in power to the 30-30 Winchester round commonly used for deer hunting.
The [[graphic novel]] ''The Silver Surfer: Parable'' (originally serialized in two parts in [[1988]]-[[1989]]) was scripted by Stan Lee and drawn by [[Jean Giraud|Moebius]].
[[Image:Surferjp.jpg|200px|thumb|The Silver Surfer as illustrated by [[Alex Ross]] on the cover of ''[[Marvels]]'' #3 ([[1994]]).]]
Vang was apprehended about five hours after the shootings and was placed in custody of the Sawyer County Jail on [[November 24]], [[2004]]. His bail is set for $2.5 million.
==Superhuman powers==
The Silver Surfer possesses vast cosmic power granted him by Galactus as a part of the process of physically restructuring the Surfer's former organic body. He has the ability to channel ambient cosmic energy into his body at will, and expel it violently as concussive force or gently as a means to restructure molecules according to his mental design. He can generate beams of energy through his hands with sufficient destructive force to shatter a planet or generate such subtle amounts of energy to restructure the molecules of the natural pigments within a plant to change its color. The Surfer can rearrange the molecules of matter to create other configurations, and can transmute elements.
One of the wounded hunters died the next day, bringing the toll to six dead and two wounded.
The forces binding together the molecules making up the silvery material that composes the Silver Surfer's "skin" are so great that there are few known forces in the universe great enough to overcome them. The inner portions of his body have also been made highly resistant to injury. Thus, the Surfer is invulnerable to most forms of physical harm. He can withstand great extremes of temperature caused by the build-up of friction within atmospheres or the vacuum of space or (within limits) the intense heat within the near vicinity of stars. He can survive without difficulties in the vacuum of outer space and hyperspace, and his body can withstand the stresses of travel at near-light speeds in this universe and of even greater speeds, in hyperspace.
== Victims==
The Silver Surfer has certain cosmic energy enhanced perceptions which enable him, through concentration, to become aware of the patterns of energy which surround him. Accordingly, he can sense great concentrations or deployments of energy anywhere in the world. He has a special affinity for the life energies of living beings, and can use his cosmic powers to augment them to a certain degree. While he can use his power to revitalize life energies and heal the wounded, he cannot create life or restore life to the dead.
The victims were part of a group about 15 people who made their annual opening-weekend trip to the 400 acre (1.6 km²) property co-owned by Robert Crotteau and Terry Willers. Among the victims were a father and son, Robert and Joey Crotteau. A memorial website for the victims was created [http://www.rice-lake-hunters-memorial.com Memorial Page]
Those who were killed:
The Silver Surfer does not need to eat or breathe since he absorbs life-maintaining cosmic energy directly through his skin. Although his body does not require sleep, his mind must still rest in order to give it an opportunity to dream.
# Robert Crotteau, 42, owned concrete business in Rice Lake. Married with 3 children. Shot once in the back.
By exceeding 99% of the speed of light (186,000 miles per second), the Surfer can shift himself into hyperspace, a dimension in which velocity is not limited by the speed of light. The Surfer can also compress his own bodily matter so as to shift himself into a so-called microverse. He once used his powers to travel through time, but may be unable to engage in time travel under normal circumstances.
# Joey Crotteau, 20, Robert's son and partner. Shot 4 times in the back.
# Allan Laski, 43, manager of a Rice Lake area lumber yard. Married with 3 children. Shot in the back 3 times.
# Mark Roidt, 28, a friend of the Drew family. Shot once in the head.
# Jessica Willers, 27, a nurse from Rice Lake who had moved to Green Bay. She was engaged. Shot in the back twice.
# Denny Drew, 55, a car salesman in Rice Lake. Shot once through the stomach and died in the hospital.
Those who were wounded:
== Paraphernalia and weapons ==
# Lauren Hesebeck, 48, a manager at car dealership in Rice Lake. Drew was his brother-in-law. Shot once through the shoulder, exiting the back.
[[Image:Fantasticfour72.jpg|200px|thumb|left|The Silver Surfer returns to Lee & Kirby's ''[[Fantastic Four]]'' for #72 ([[1968]]).]]
# Terry Willers, 47, father of Jessica Willers. Worked in Crotteaus' concrete business. Shot once in the neck.
In flying the Silver Surfer usually makes use of an object known on Earth as his "[[surfboard]]," due to its resemblance to Earth objects of that name. The Surfer's "surfboard" is a construct of unknown materials created by the vast cosmic energies of his former master, Galactus. The board is composed of the same silvery substance that the Surfer's body is covered with, making it impervious to virtually all forms of physical damage. Few forces short of the cosmic power of Galactus could affect it at all. Even when the board ''was'' destroyed, the Surfer was able to reconstruct it easily.
==Reaction and controversy==
The surfboard is psionically linked in an unknown way with the Surfer's mind. Apparently only a being possessing the Surfer's cosmic powers can cause the surfboard to fly, and it is controlled mentally by him. The surfboard apparently taps ambient cosmic energy in much the same way that the Surfer himself does. Although the Surfer can utilize his cosmic power to fly without it, the surfboard enables him to fly with greater maneuverability and without the expenditure of his own energy.
The shooting incident attracted nationwide attention and sparked much controversy. Because of Vang's background as a [[Hmong]] immigrant from [[Laos]], many Hmongs have felt that they have been greatly discriminated against because of the incident. Many white upper-Midwest residents say the focus of news reports was on the potential discrimination against Hmong instead of on the actual suffering of the victims of the shootings. This included a brief circulation of bumper stickers entitled "Save a Deer, Shoot a Mung" akin to the controversial 1989 campaign of "Save a Walleye. Spear a Indian" at Rice Lake. [[Racism]] also became a major disputed issue, as many claim that either Vang or the white shooting victims was the target of [[hate crime]].
== Investigation ==
The Silver Surfer can utilize the surfboard to attain 99% of the [[speed of light]], but seldom exceeds [[Mach number|Mach]] 10 (ten times the [[speed of sound]]) within the outer layers of a planet's atmosphere, and Mach 5 within the inner layers.
There have been conflicting reports about what may have led to the shootings. According to oral statements by Vang, one of the local hunters, Terry Willers, took the first shot at him from about 100 feet (30 m) away, and therefore the shootings were in self-defense. No shell casing was never recover from Willer's gun even though during the trial Hesebeck admitted to a single shot. Additional no forensic analysis of Willer's gun was ever perform by the local law enforcement. [[Race]] may have also been a factor, according to Vang, who alleges that during the verbal dispute, some of the local hunters yelled out racial slurs at him such as "[[chink]]" and "[[gook]]".
On the other hand, Vang has a history of family violence. In addition, the criminal complaint states Vang shot four of the victims in the back and Vang himself admits he shot one victim in the back, which does not help the case for self defense. In addition, many of the victims were shot multiple times.
In addition, the Surfer and the Fantastic Four realized that Galactus' means of imprisoning the Surfer on Earth was linked to the board since the entity knew that his former herald would not think of leaving the planet without it. As a result, the Surfer left the board planetside and the Four transported him off the planet in their spacecraft. Once he realized he was free of Earth, the Surfer remotely converted the board to energy, recalled it to him and reformed it in space. Then the Surfer met up with Galactus and did him a favor by rescuing his current herald, [[Nova (comics)|Nova]], from the [[Skrull]]s and the entity fully freed the Surfer in turn.
== Trial ==
== Appearances in other media ==
The trial of Chai Soua Vang began Saturday, [[September 10]], [[2005]] in Sawyer County Courthouse. 14 jurors (10 women and four men) were selected from [[Dane County, Wisconsin]], and bussed about 280 miles northwest to Sawyer County, where they were sequestered.
[[image:surfertoon.jpg|The Silver Surfer from the animated series.|thumb]]
Silver Surfer briefly had his own cartoon series on the [[FOX Network]] in [[1998]] after appearing in the Fantastic Four cartoon that ran in [[1996]]. Although it was the first to feature computer graphics, the series was too true to the comic and had too much of a serious tone for kids to take lightly, and it was cancelled after only thirteen episodes. The art style resembled the famous style of [[Jack Kirby]] incorporated with computer graphics. Eight more episodes had been written and begun production but were never animated due to the legal battle between companies. At that time, [[Marvel]] had also gone bankrupt.
He says he shot two of the victims in the back because they were "disrespectful". It was interesting that he was able to tell everybody how he killed these victims clearly during the trial. When asked to comment, Chai Vang said, "They are deserved to die."
==== References to Silver Surfer in other media ====
In the movie ''[[Crimson Tide (movie)|Crimson Tide]]'', [[Denzel Washington]]'s character breaks up a fight between two crewmen. The fight was over a disagreement about which Silver Surfer was better, the Jack Kirby Silver Surfer or the Moebius Silver Surfer. This scene was written by [[Quentin Tarantino]] in an uncredited rewrite of the script.
=== Conviction ===
In the movie "Breathless," Richard Gere's character reads, and comments on, an issue of a Silver Surfer comic. In a stirring moment, he compares his own alienation with the Surfer's profound cosmic aloneness.
On [[September 16]], [[2005]] Chai Soua Vang was found guilty of all six charges of first degree murder and two charges of attempted murder by an all white jury of eight women and four men. (Two alternates did not participate in the decision.) It should be noted that this jury pool did include other people of minority descent but was eliminated due to conflicting issues. On [[November 8th]], [[2005]], he was sentenced to six consecutive life terms plus seventy years (40 for two counts of attempted murder plus five additional years for each count of murder in the first degree).
==Military experience==
In his song "Darkside of Aquarius," Bruce Dickinson gets help from the lonely Silver Surfer in keeping the Wheel of Time moving.
* Six years in the California National Guard, [[1989]]–[[1995]]
* Sharpshooter qualification badge (mid-level, above "marksman," but below "expert")
* Good Conduct medal, among others
==References==
Lastly, classic art of the Surfer was featured on the cover of the guitarist Joe Satriani's album "Surfing with the Alien."
*Ashley H. Grant ([[November 24]], [[2004]]). [http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/politics/10258341.htm Shooting suspect had Army sharpshooting badge.] ''Duluth News Tribune''/Associated Press. Accessed November 27, 2004.
*Duluth News Tribune/Associated Press. Posted on Sep. 04,2005. "Victims in the Shootings That Killed Six Deer Hunters".
== External links ==
* [http://www.tvtome.com/SilverSurfer/index.html '''TvTome.com''' Silver Surfer episode guide]
* [http://members.aol.com/drg4/surferx.html?f=fs '''DRG4''''s Silver Surfer the Animated Series Page]
[[Category:1968 births|Vang, Chai]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States|Vang, Chai]]
[[Category:Hmong Americans|Vang, Chai]]
[[Category:American murderers|Vang, Chai]]
[[zh:王才]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics superheroes]] [[Category:Marvel Comics aliens]]
[[de:Silver Surfer (Comic)]]
[[pt:Surfista Prateado]]
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