Olive Chu

Origin

Olive Chu was born to Tony Chu and Min "Mindy" Tso. Tony met Olive's mother in high school, but they didn't begin dating until Tony was in the police academy and Min was in College. However, before Tony popped the question of marriage to his girlfriend, an unaware Tony didn't know that Min was obsessed with him. Even to the extent that she began to mutilate his name into her body. When Tony asked Min to marry him, she accepted with joy. As a token of Tony's kindness, Min gave her new fiancé a lovely wedding gift -- her left big toe! From there on out, there life would never be the same. After those events, it is unknown what happens to the couple after Tony's shocking revelation of his wife's insanity.

Creation

Olive Chu was created by artist Rob Guillory and writer John Layman. Both Rob and John wanted to add another protagonist to the series and wanted to make her have the ties to Tony Chu as well as give her special abilities like him (the powers of a cibopath). The result was the creation of Olive Chu daughter of Tony and Min Tso.

Character Evolution

With the beginning issues that Olive has appeared in, she has changed slightly. In her first appearance in Chew #15, Olive was (and still currently is) cold and distant with her father. Whether it's because she is being taken care of by her aunt Rosemary Chu and uncle Tang Shen and not her dad, or because she inherited his bizarre abilities; nothing is known for sure except she doesn't see eye-to-eye with her dad. While Tony does care for Olive, there has been little reconciliation between the two. John and Rob convey a lot to the comic book readers that they are trying to make Olive extremely different from her father as well as being unique as a cibopath.

As Olive is a cibopath, she has evolved greatly as a character and getting used to her cibopathic abilities (this can be seen in issues 22 and 24). In the beginning of her cibopath abilities she was very timid of what she ate, trying to stray far away from being like her father. However, being kidnapped by ex-F.D.A. agent Mason Savoy, she has expanded her abilities as a cibopath. Writer John Layman has taken great thought about the different characteristics, and also emotions, she might have as a cibopath and also as a woman. Making her even more unique from other (and future) cibopaths. Olive was very scared when she witnessed a innocent man's blood splatter all over her body, and even more so when she took a bite of his dead body. While she was at first afraid to bite, or drink, blood from another human being, she has gotten used to it. While it has not gotten to the extent that she'll take big chunks out of a human corpse, she has grown greatly in her abilities.

Her evolution as a cibopathic character has evolved just like her father. In the beginning of the series, Tony Chu was exactly like his daughter with wanting to devour a dead (or even an alive) human body. While Tony wasn't a bit hesitant like his daughter, he has gotten use to the fact that it comes with the job/life that he choose. Olive too has come to this realization while training with Savoy. As most Cibopath's have the ability to get a telekinetic impression from anything they might eat, only Tony and Olive have been seen to have "different" abilities that add to there current Cibopath ones. It is revealed that she might be the only cibopath that has the power which allows her to 'sniff' things if she chooses, instead of always having to devour a living or dead organism. But this has proven very limited in finding information as a cibopath's main ability is to gain information from eating.

Major Story Arcs

Flambé

Mason Savoy had come to the realization that he is going to need help saving the world from an impending threat that might destroy the human race. Savoy knew that his ex-partner, and fellow cibopath, Tony Chu would never help him after there fight with the moral code and how things should be done by the book, but he had another idea of who might help in his noble cause: Olive Chu! While Olive was walking home from school, Savoy knocked her unconscious and drove her to his apartment. Savoy would later train Olive to strengthen her cibopathic powers and help him in saving the world.

Major League Chew

Still being held captive by Mason Savoy and Caesar Valenzano, Olive has been able to hold her own. While still tied-up, Savoy is only trying to get her to eat so that Savoy can learn where she is at in her abilities as a cibopath. Though Olive wants nothing to do with her 'special abilities', she eventually breaks down and makes a deal with Savoy. She solved the reason why a special coffee was mind controlling people, and she also agreed on being trained by Savoy; but on her terms. Hours later, Valenzano and his parter at the F.D.A. stopped the perpetrator from making any more coffee that mind controlled (and brainwashed) his customers; the coffee clerk, in turn, was thrown in jail for his crimes against the public. This was the beginning of a glorious team-up that'd strengthen the abilities of amateur cibopath Olive Chu.

Savoy, Valenzano and Olive all went on a field mission to track down Hershel Brown, a fugitive xocoscalpere (a type of power that allows him to craft anything out of chocolate, and a cousin power to a cibopath). When Olive agreed to work with Savoy, she also gained her freedom. Olive is contacted by her instructor that they are on the hunt for Mr. Brown. While being driven to Brown's last location Savoy gives her a cup of blood that belonged to a kung-fu master. Olive is disgusted when she taste the blood, but she only needed a taste to gain a black belt level in kung-fu.

The trio arrive at the scene of the arms deal that Hershel Brown was holding to sell a chocolate laser gun to terrorist. When Savoy begins to combat the terrorist, Olive tries to save Brown from being killed. She isn't paying attention when a near-dead terrorist shoots the chocolate laser ending up killing Brown and slicing him into multiple pieces. Olive begins to panic because she recently saw a man killed brutally. Savoy tells her that she did good and with further training she'd be able to come to terms with her extraordinary abilities, and that what she eats, she does become! After taking home pieces of the late Mr. Brown's body, Olive takes a bite of his arm and then gains the abilities of a xocoscalpere; and begins carving a knife out of chocolate! Possibly being the only cibopath with the abilities of a xocoscalpere, and possibly the last xocoscalpere that is alive.

Powers and Abilities

Cibopath

As a cibopath, Olive has the ability to learn any bit of information from taking a bite, or taste from any animal, inanimate object, and even a human life form (dead and/or alive). It has been shown that Olive and her father are special types of cibopaths. While Olive isn't like her father, nor like her aunt Toni, she is the only cCibopath that has the ability to "sniff" anyone or anything and get a very limited source of information. This ability came in handy when she discovered the true ingredients to the coffee that had been possessing people to steal for a coffee clerk. But Olive relies more on her ability to get information by biting (or eating); as all cibopaths rely on.

She is a bit timid with eating human flesh, or anything breathing, but she is starting to learn knowledge that she didn't already know. Even though she somewhat dislikes the special abilities of a cibopath.

From the training that was provided by Mason Savoy (her current instructor), Olive has the rare (and possibly only) powers of a xocoscalpere. With biting the deceased fugitive, Hershel Brown's, arm; she gained the ability to carve any type of weapon (or anything she might choose) out of chocolate. With this ability, she is now even more dangerous in the field as she can make weapons out of chocolate and also has martial arts skills that she gained from a near-dead kung fu master. So far, her powers as a cibopath can match her instructor's skill set.

Martial Arts

From the encounter with Mason Savoy, Olive gained the abilities of 12th level martial arts black belt master Matt Carroway. When Savoy gave Olive a 16 ounce blood-shake and Olive tasted a sip of the drink, she gained the abilities of the martial arts master. Though she didn't drink the whole thing, a sip was all that was needed for her to gain abilities that'd allow her to become incredibly agile as well as being an exceptional fighter if she ever was on her own and had to fight for herself.