Lei Zhenzi 雷震子
In Lei Zhenzi, part of the Investiture of the Gods cycle, he first appears as an infant. King Wen finds him after a peal of thunder. Later he grows wings, and they first come in useful when he has to carry his adoptive father away from danger. On screen the hero keeps his wings, but his origins change. In League of Gods, for instance, he comes from a winged tribe.
Lei Zhenzi (雷震子) first appeared in the novel Investiture of the Gods. On his way to the capital, King Wen is caught in a downpour and, after a peal of thunder, finds an infant in the Yanshan mountains. The boy becomes his hundredth son. The sage Yunzhongzi takes the child to his cave on Mount Zhongnan and trains him. Later Lei Zhenzi eats two wondrous fruits, his face changes, and wings of wind and thunder grow from his back. His weapon becomes a golden cudgel.
When King Wen returns from captivity, Yunzhongzi sends his disciple to his aid. To pass the checkpoints, Lei Zhenzi takes flight with his father on his back. He then returns to his master and comes back to the Zhou only during the war against the Shang. There he meets his elder brother King Wu, the new ruler of Zhou. The connection with thunder here is part of the story of King Wen's adopted son. Lei Gong, the god of thunder in Chinese lore, has an image of his own.
In the Hong Kong Gods of Honour (2001), Lei Zhenzi was played by Dickson Lee. In The Legend and the Hero (2006), the young Lei Zhenzi is played by Ma Rui-Han, and the adult one by Li Bo-Tun. In League of Gods (2016), Jacky Heung's character searches for the sword of light together with Nezha and Yang Jian on a mission from Jiang Zi-Ya. In the standalone film about the hero, Lei Zhenzi (2024), the lead role was played by Liu Lin-Cheng.
