that Terek's mother comes from a pure bloodline; this means that Ming is the source of Terek's deviation. After Flash frees the planet's water reserves, the people of Mongo revolt against Ming when they discover that he has poisoned the planet's drinking water. Ming forms an alliance with Azura and her warriors in exchange for making her his queen, her army would battle against the rebels. She gives him an amulet. Ming is captured after a battle with Flash Gordon and Aura. Terek orders his execution. When Aura coldly tells her father 'good-bye', Ming finally admits he is proud of his daughter. Ming is placed inside a gas chamber. As the chamber filled with gas, Ming vanishes, having been teleported to safety by Azura's amulet. Yellow peril Ming has often been connected to the Yellow Peril imagery of the era, in which tyrannous East Asian villains such as Fu Manchu were common. His East Asian appearance, his name, referencing the Ming dynasty of China, and the name of his planet Mongo, "a contraction of Mongol", contribute to his Oriental identity. Jonathan C. Friedman says that Ming and Fu Manchu were "the incarnations of the yellow peril in the Oriental crusade to conquer the world". Peter Feng calls him a "futuristic Yellow Peril", quoting a reviewer who referred to him as a "slanty eyed, shiny domed, pointy nailed, arching eyebrowed, exotically dressed Oriental". According to Jim Harmon and Donald Glut, while Ming is modeled on Fu Manchu in the first Gordon serial, his appearance copies imagery of the devil in the second serial, Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars. In popular culture Many parodies of Ming the Merciless have appeared in popular culture, including: "Muffet the Mericiless" in Ralph Bakshi's holiday special Christmas in Tattertown "Mung the Mirthless" in Wally Wood's comic strip Sally Forth "Wang the Perverted" in the sexploitation film Flesh Gordon "Count Zarth Arn" in the B movie space opera Starcrash "Gorzo the Mighty", a columnist for The Onion "Ding the Merciless", an opponent of Trash Gordon in one segment on Sesame Street "Moo-ing the Merciless", enemy of Lash Holstein, Space Cow-det in one episode of Muppets Tonight "Supreme Overlord Maximus IQ", the main villain on the animated series Atomic Betty "Dr. Chaotica" on Star Trek: Voyager as a Holodeck character in the episodes "Bride of Chaotica!", "Night" and "Shattered". "Mandrake the Malfeasant" on the animated series Wander Over