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#act II.  ——     ❛     it’s  a  race .  /  vengeance  was  always  the  prize .     ❜
mindsgame · 5 years
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tag dump!
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sebeth · 5 years
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Fantastic Four # 4 - 6
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Warning, Spoilers Ahead…
 Brief Summary: The return of Namor, the debut of Doctor Doom, and the first Namor-Doom team-up.
Debuts:
·         Doctor Doom
·         Baxter Building
·         Yancy Street Gang
Favorite Cover: #4 – I love the image of Namor escaping into the ocean with Susan.
Points of Interest:
·         Ben’s very indecisive on Johnny’s leaving the team. He starts with “He’s nothin’ but a spoiled brat of a teenager! What do we need him for?” to “When I find ‘im, I’ll team him to run off on us that way!” So do you want Johnny gone or not?
·         Sue once again causes panic in a public setting by using her powers for ordinary tasks. Why do you need to be invisible to drink soda in a café?
·         The amount of time Johnny has been away from the team isn’t specified. If it’s only been a few hours, the team is panicking over nothing. Johnny wouldn’t be the first teen to storm off for a few hours, cool down, and then return home. If it has been over a day, Johnny owes Sue a huge apology.
·         Reed yanks a passing motorcyclist off his bike to see if he’s seen Johnny.  Reed tells the man “But if you don’t know where Johnny Storm is, I’ve no more time to waste with you!”Reed’s rather rude.  I mean, Reed was the one who yanked the poor man off of his motorcycle – possibly damaging the bike in the process.
·         Reed thinks “I’ve got to keep trying!  Sooner or later I’ll find some teen-ager who’s seen him!” Yep, that’s Reed’s solution to the missing Johnny problem – question every teenager in New York City on Johnny’s whereabouts.  I was expecting more from the world’s smartest man – maybe a device that would sense Johnny’s elevated temperature or energy output but nope, instead he’s going to interrogate all of New York’s thousands upon thousands of teenagers.
·         It’s revealed that Johnny is at Swanson’s Garage working on cars and hanging with his pals. The same Swanson’s Garage we saw Johnny at during the first issue of the Fantastic Four.  I can understand Reed not being aware of the garage – he becomes so absorbed in his experiments he forgets the outside world – but are you telling me that Sue didn’t check out the place?  Sue wouldn’t be fooled by the “tell her I’m not here” game – one invisible drop-in later and Johnny’s busted.
·         Johnny uses his powers to weld the engine.  He also shows off by flaming on – while near cans of gasoline!  Johnny explains: “Notice how I can control my flame!  By not moving, it doesn’t go near the gasoline!” Way to scare the crap out of your friends!  
·         Ben enters the garage by breaking through the wall.  The team is racking up the collateral damage for a simple search mission – Swanson’s garage wall, the man’s motorcycle, and who knows if Sue paid for that soda!
·         Ben warns Johnny: “And now I’ll teach you what happens to deserters!  And your flame doesn’t scare me!  I know you can’t move while you’re burning, because there’s gasoline all over here!  One spark and your pals are done for!”
·         Reading Ben’s early appearances are rather jarring compared to his later personality. I understand Ben’s anger, frustration and bitterness.  I’m also sure his transformation caused a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder but casually dismissing the safety of innocent bystanders?  Not the Ben we know and love.  
·         Johnny, acting as the mature one, immediately flames off and attempts to defuse the situation.  Ben proceeds to throw a car through the other wall of the garage.  Ben takes a swing at Johnny: “You’ve always laughed at me because I was ugly!  Well? Why aren’t you laughing now? Don’t worry, sonny boy…I’m not gonna spoil your pretty features!  I’ll just rough you up a little…teach you who’s boss, once and for all!”
·         Ben turns back to human mid-rant.  Johnny takes the opportunity to flame on and retreat.  Ben’s calls after Johnny: “Go on, Torch!  Fly off!  What do I care!  Ha Ha! I’m human again!  Fly away, you flaming freak!!”
·         A flying Johnny thinks to himself: “The poor fool!  He should know by now his change is only temporary!” Sure enough, Ben changes back into the Thing seconds later.
·         Johnny’s often portrayed as the immature one but he was the exact opposite in this scene – he stayed calm, attempted to defuse the situation, prevented innocent bystanders from being harmed, and retreated at the first opportunity instead of being dragged into a senseless fight.
·         The scene nicely shows that Ben’s rage is caused by the transformation – as soon as Ben regained his human form, he lost all interest in the fight.  “The flaming freak” comment was interesting – did Ben feel that he was removed from that category since he regained his human form. Would Ben consider Sue a freak? Does Ben call Johnny a freak because he resents Johnny’s attractiveness?
·         Johnny decides to retreat to the Bowery and hang with the derelicts.  Johnny finds a comic from the 1940’s about the Sub-Mariner.  A derelict tells Johnny that they have “a stumble-bum right here who’s supposed to be as strong as that Joker was supposed to be!”
·         The derelicts harass the stumble-bum until a brawl breaks out and the bodies hit the floor! “Wham!  Pow!  Bam!”
·         The derelicts gear up for round two but Johnny intervenes: “Hold on!  Let him alone!  Can’t you see, he’s ill?  He’s got amnesia!  A loss of memory!  He doesn’t even know who he is!!”  Johnny decides to shave off the amnesiac man’s beard and cut his hair with his flame abilities.  Johnny proclaims: “Wait!! His face! No – it – can’t be!  It is!  It is!! He – He’s the Sub-Mariner!”
·         Johnny has clearly been working hard on controlling his powers as evidenced by this scene and the previous scene at the garage.  He seems to have done this without any prompting by Reed or Sue.  It makes sense as Johnny’s powers are clearly the most destructive of the Four.  
·         I highly recommend this issue for Johnny fans – he has many shining moments and it’s a nice, subtle look at his character.  
·         Reed’s continues his quest of randomly harassing random citizens on Johnny’s whereabouts – the latest being a helicopter crew (while in the sky) and travelers in the subway.   This amuses me way more than it should – maybe Reed really needed social time?
·         An invisible Sue enters the Bowery: “I can’t believe that Johnny would ever come here!” Sue proceeds to walk right past Johnny and Namor!  Seriously, is Ben the only observant member of this team? I guess Johnny gets points too for recognizing Namor
·         Johnny flies Namor to the ocean and drops him in!  Thankfully the bum is Namor and not some homeless man that Johnny terrorized for no reason.  
·         Namor returns to Atlantis to find that “It’s destroyed!!  It’s all destroyed!!  That glow in the water – it’s radioactivity!  Now I know what happened!  The humans did it, unthinkingly with their cursed atomic tests!”
·         Sadly, this issue is from 1962 but the “human unthinkingly destroy” plot is still relevant today – for example, the bleaching of the coral reefs and the tons of plastic found in the ocean.  
·         Namor returns to New York City with vengeance on his mind: “I am the mightiest living mortal on earth!!  And now, mankind shall feel that might…as it is turned against you all!”
·         Namor’s been able to make that claim – unchallenged in the Marvel Universe – since World War II.  He had to be really annoyed when the Thing, the Hulk, and Thor all debuted within months of each other.  Namor being Namor, I’m sure was still telling everyone that he was “the mightiest mortal living on earth!”
·         Namor uses a monster-controlling horn to summon Giganto from the depths of the ocean. Ben defeats Giganto by hauling a bomb into the monster’s abdomen. Poor Giganto!
·         Sue adds another name to the list of men infatuated with her. Namor declares: “Well! Here is a prize worth catching! You’re the loveliest human I’ve ever seen!  If you will be my bride, I might show mercy to the rest of your pitiful race!”
·         Namor’s not one to beat around the bush!  We now know Namor’s true weakness – it’s not lack of water, it’s beautiful women.  We can’t even justify that he’s attracted to Sue’s personality – Namor glanced at Sue and was all “Whoa, mamma!”
·         We now begin the longest running triangle in all of comics – Namor, Sue, and Reed.  I don’t count Superman-Lois-Clark as that triangle only involves two individuals.
·         Namor’s the epitome of mercurial mood swings so he changes from “Now I’ll have the girl, and my revenge!”  to annoyance that Sue isn’t properly impressed by his manly manliness.
·         Issue 5 opens with Doctor Doom playing with chess pieces modeled after the Fantastic Four. First Doom and later the Puppet Master – do all of the FF’s enemies act out their upcoming fights with action figures?
·         Doom’s lair contains a stuffed vulture and reference books labeled “Demons” and “Science and Sorcery” on the table. The books nicely foreshadow Doom’s later affinity with magic.
·         Johnny’s reading the “Hulk” comic back at the Fantastic Four headquarters. Marvel was really pushing the debut of the Hulk title – the previous issue had multiple “who is the Hulk” statements at the bottom of the pages.
·         “Fantastic Four!! Heed my words!  This is Doctor Doom!”
·         Sue: “Who?” I wish Sue had been able to say that to Doom’s face.  I don’t think his ego could handle it.
·         Reed: “That voice!  I recognize it!  But I thought he was dead!”  Reed has quite the talent for voice recognition since Doom is speaking through a metal mask from a helicopter.
·         I’m loving campy, over-the-top Doctor Doom.  Can you imagine if this was your first exposure to Doom in modern years?  You’d seriously question how Doom became the top villain in the Marvel Universe!  The crossover I want to see:  First-appearance Doctor Doom versus Batman from the 1966 tv series!
·         Flashback time: Reed and Victor Von Doom were college roommates.  Doom, a brilliant science student, was fascinated with sorcery and black magic: “One night, the evil genius went too far, as he brought forth powers which even he could not control!”  Cue explosion, facial disfigurement, and school expulsion.
·         The extent of Doom’s scarring/disfigurement caused much debate throughout the years – was it a small scar that Doom’s ego couldn’t tolerate or was it massive disfigurement?  The panel shows Doom’s entire head wrapped mummy-style so I’m going with the massive disfigurement option.
·         Reed tells the group that Victor left the school and when he was last heard of “he was prowling the wastelands of Tibet, still seeking the forbidden secrets of black magic and sorcery”.
·         Doom demands the Four send Sue to him as a hostage.  Sue:  Girl Hostage happens a lot in the early comics.  Sue insists it’s the only way and Reed agrees.  Seriously?  The net only covers the exterior of the building – Ben and Johnny have the strength to tunnel underneath the building and exit elsewhere.  Shouldn’t that be an option instead of handing Sue over to some ranting psycho?  Reed’s definitely not earning “the world’s smartest man” title during the early adventures of the Four.  Doom opens a section of the net so Sue can enter his helicopter.
·         Doom demands the rest of the team “board my plane, and you must swear you will not attack me!”  The team agrees.  What?! Seriously, Reed, this is why you can’t hang with Captain America and Cyclops when it comes to strategic planning.
·         Doom sends the male members of the Four back in time: “: “Gone to bring me the gems which, unknown to them, will make Doctor Doom the ruler of the earth!”
·         The boys disguise themselves as pirates.  Ben tells Reed to “Take it easy, Bub!” Ben was using “Bub” decades before Wolverine!
·         Ben’s having a blast playing the role of pirate: “Ahoy, matey!  Let’s see if we can date one of these pretty barmaids!  Heh Heh!”  It’s nice to see Ben enjoying himself as he’s been miserable throughout the series.
·         Johnny’s also having fun: “This is keen!  I feel like Errol Flynn!”  
·         Reed’s a fuddy-duddy: “Knock it off!”
·         Ben has a moment where he refuses to return to the present: “Why can’t I stay?  The future holds nothing for me!  In the Twentieth Century I’m nothing but a monster…a freak!  But here I’m somebody!  I’m a leader of men!  I’m a captain!  I’m the guy who started the legend of Blackbeard!  The kids will read about me in school some day!  I ain’t never giving this up…never!” Ben, you’ve been in the past for 30 minutes, calm down!
·         The trio returns to the present only for Doom to escape.
·         A total campy, ridiculous and fun issue.  Despite the goofiness, a few of Doom’s defining characteristics – the intelligence, the sorcery, the Doom-bots, the ego, the grudge with Richards – were clearly established in this issue.
·         “Have the Fantastic Four at last met their match when Mighty Sub-Mariner and Evil Doctor Doom team up??  Don’t miss the Diabolical Duo join forces!”
·         Johnny blazes across the sky.  An onlooker gasps “The Torch!! A living legend!  And I thought I’d never see him with my own eyes!” The onlooker seems to be mixing Johnny up with the World War II era Human Torch (Jim Hammond).  Johnny hasn’t been the Torch for long. Definitely not enough time to be considered a “living legend”.  Would the general public even realize there was a difference between Johnny and Jim?   Issue 6 was published in the early 1960s.  The original Human Torch operated in the 1940s – the older citizens of the Marvel Universe would assume it was the original making a comeback after a long sabbatical.  After all, how many blonde men can set themselves on fire, fly, and call themselves the “Human Torch”?
·         The same citizens gawking at Johnny are pushed aside by an invisible Sue.  Sue turns visible to apologize and enter the Baxter Building.  We’ve seen Sue use her powers multiple times to scare or push through people.  She’s either a big fan of the “jump-scare” or using her powers to let out her frustrations by shoving people. Seriously, it would be easier – and more polite – to stay visible and skirt around people as opposed to moving around unseen and shoving people out of the way.
·         Sue notes that “The Torch has been scouting for signs of Doctor Doom.”  Isn’t Sue better suited for the task?  She is the “Invisible Girl”!  Johnny’s a human-sized ball of fire – Doom will see him coming from a mile away!
·         We receive our first detailed glimpse of the Baxter Building.  The Fantastic Four’s headquarters are located on the 34th to the 37th stories of the building.  The members of the Four take the express elevator to the 34th floor.  The elevator operates via a signal that is sent from the belt buckle of the members’ uniforms.  The 34th floor clearly belongs to Reed – it consists of labs and computers. The 35th floor are living quarters, the recreation room, and the gymnasium.  The 36th floor are conference rooms.  The 37th floor holds the team’s vehicles.
·         Reed catches up on the team’s mail.  He discovers a letter sent from a child at Harmon General Hospital.  The hospital is located across the street so Reed stretches across to have a long chat with the child.  A sweet moment for Reed who is too often characterized as obsessed with science and oblivious to social mores.
·         Johnny and Ben continue reading the mail.  We receive the first mention of the Yancy Street Gang: “…and if the Thing will meet us on the corner of Ashby and Main Street, we’ll knock that chip off his shoulder and make him like it!  Signed, the Yancy Street Gang!”
·         Ben is not amused: “I’ve heard from those mealy-mouthed braggarts before!  They get their kicks out of tryin’ to rile me!” Ben decides to answer the challenge: “This block is titanium steel – six inches thick and the strongest metal known to man!  I’ll just roll it by hand into a from acceptable for mailing – I wouldn’t want the Yancy Gang to think I wasn’t neat – Here!  Send this to them!  And on the day they manage to unroll it, I’ll personally congratulate ‘em!” Clearly, adamantium wasn’t known to the Marvel Universe at this point.
·         The Fantastic Four – secret identities or publicly known?  The writers in the Fantastic Four and Strange Tales titles go back and forth on this point in the early issues. A few issues ago, the identities were stated to be a “secret”?  If so, how does the Yancy Gang recognize Ben?  He looks significantly different post-transformation!  If the identities are still a secret at this point and the Yancy Gang still realize the Thing is Ben Grimm…well, Batman will have to forfeit the “World’s Greatest Detective” title!
·         Ben’s itching to fight someone worthy of him, “a foe like Doctor Doom…or a Submariner!”
·         Sue defends her crush: “Submariner is hostile because he’s hurt and bitter!”
·         Yeah, Namor has man-pain!  The fact that he looks damn good in a speedo has nothing to do with Sue’s defense of him!
·         We switch to the ocean where the “hurt and bitter” Namor instructs porpoises in swimming maneuvers.
·         Doctor Doom travels to Namor’s location, proposes an alliance, and brags up his credentials: “ I am strong – strong enough to join the powers of science to those of darkness!  Show me the puny mortal who does not tremble at the name of Doctor Doom!”
·         Let’s recap Sue’s reaction upon hearing the name of Doctor Doom: “Who?”
·         Doom notes “It would appear that you’ve taken a holiday from your campaign against the surface world!  Men no longer speak your name in fear!”
·         Well, playing with dolphins doesn’t exactly reinforce an angry and vengeance-driven persona.
·         Doctor Doom notes a framed photo of Susan Storm.
·         Namor warns “Take care!  That female is no concern of yours!”
·         How did Namor get the photo?  Did Sue give it to him?  Did he take the picture while he held her hostage a few issues ago?  Clip it out of a newspaper?
·         Doom taunts Namor into assisting him: “What happened to your thirst for revenge? Have you forgot the glistening towers of your once great civilization?  The culture and comfort enjoyed by your happy subjects…imagine your great and proud people struggling for thousands of years, defeating all the terrors of the deep to build a civilization, superb and beautiful…yes, beautiful and glowing with life until that last terrifying moment when that monster of a bomb lodged in the midst of that beauty…gone! All that glorious history gone in one brief instant! Replaced by an ugly crater in the ocean floor…littered with fused masonry and bitter memories that cry out…revenge! Revenge! Revenge upon the surface world which did this in its ignorance! Revenge upon humanity’s defenders! Death to the Fantastic Four!”
·         Namor agrees: “I cannot harm the girl! But I will aid you in defeating the others!”
·         Dr. Doom is a large ham.
·         Namor is easily manipulated.
·         I want to see a “What If?” where Namor’s all “Nah, I’m gonna keep playing with the dolphins”.
·         Wouldn’t it be easier for Namor to simply ask Reed for assistance in locating the lost Atlanteans instead of trusting some random dude in armor?
·         Namor leaves to pursue his part of the plan and plays “chicken” with an airplane along the way: “No time to dodge! It’s going to hit us head on!” “Bah! That’s enough horseplay!  I mustn’t forget the mission!”
·         Back to the Baxter Building where Johnny snoops around Sue’s possessions. Why is Johnny snooping in Sue’s room? Typical younger sibling nosiness? Johnny’s around 16-17 years old at this time.  Sue raised Johnny – I’ve always felt that she was 10 – 12 years older than him.  The dual mother-sister role makes it even odder that Johnny is nosing around her room.
·         Johnny finds a photo of Namor and isn’t happy about it: “So! You’ve gone soft on Submariner – our arch-enemy!” The Four have only fought Namor once. I don’t think that’s enough to qualify him as an “arch-enemy”. Of course, the other options are: a short man who lives underground, aliens who were outsmarted by “B” horror movies, a maybe-maybe not hypnotist, and an egotistical man in armor whose master plan was throwing a net over a skyscraper.  I can see why Johnny chose Namor for the arch-enemy role.
·         Sue is not amused: “Give me that photo, you insolent brat!” When did this photo exchange between Namor and Sue take place?  Were they taking pictures of each other during issue #4?
·         Namor arrives at the Baxter Building and all hell breaks loose as Ben and Johnny brawl with the Sub-Mariner.
·         Namor advises Sue to get out of the way: “He’s too angry to listen to reason! You’d best stay out of the way! I do not fear the Torch!”  Yeah, Namor has had plenty of experience battling Human Torches.
·         It’s curious that Johnny is so angry over Sue’s crush on Namor. Does he dislike Namor so much or is he afraid it would cause the breakup of the Four which is his home, family, and a large part of his identity?
·         Namor states he’s come in peace and doesn’t mention the devices he’s rigged to the Baxter Building.
·         Crack! The Baxter Building is launched into space for the first but not the only time!
·         Namor rages: “The double-crossing dog is in a rocket plane above pulling this building into space!” And yet Namor will continue to ally with Doom after this betrayal.
·         Namor’s not in much danger – he can simply jump out and fly away.  Johnny would normally be able to escape but he “exhausted his flame” during his fight with Namor.  Johnny didn’t have much stamina in the early issues. The Four’s planes were damaged in the launching of the building.
·         Reed insists “our only hope of ever getting down is to seize control of that plane!”
·         Does Doom ever recall his earliest attacks on the four and face-palm?  They were so ridiculous and over-the-top!
·         Reed stretches after Doom’s plane: “Somehow, conditions in space tend to weaken my powers!” Was this ever mentioned again? The Four spend a lot of time in space.
·         Namor decides enough is enough: “That jackal Doctor Doom still has Prince Namor to reckon with!” Namor dives into a water storage, amps up to full strength, launches himself to Doom’s ship, evicts Doom from the ship, assumes control of the ship, and returns the Baxter Building to earth.  Doom hitches a ride to earth on a meteor.
·         Ben: “How do you thank an enemy? Submariner’s above us in that confounded ship.  And if I could reach him I still don’t know if I’d shake his hand or try to smash him!”
·         Sue: “Oh, he isn’t our enemy! I just know it! He’s so full of pain and bitterness that it blinds his better instincts! Submariner needs time…time to heal!” Sue, dear, I think the boys are over your continued defense of Namor.
·         Namor: “So shall I return to the sea! Perhaps someday when I am no longer haunted by bitter memories of my lost people, I may return…but, until then, this is where I belong! In the sea which is my home!”
·         So ends the first super-villain team-up in the Marvel Universe and the beginning of one of Marvel’s longest running love-hate relationships.
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samacharlive · 5 years
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HONG KONG, CHINA – Media OutReach – 10 January 2019 – The Hong Kong Jockey Club today announced pan-Asian insurer FWD as the new title sponsor for FWD Champions Day, one of the world’s top 10 richest race days.
  FWD Champions Day is scheduled for Sunday 28 April at Sha Tin Racecourse and the marquee fixture will carry prize money of HK$70 million across its 10 races. The premier day’s three Group 1 feature contests are the HK$24 million FWD Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m), the HK$18 million FWD Champions Mile (1600m) and the HK$16 million Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m).
  Each of the three Group 1 contests on FWD Champions Day ranks among the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ (IFHA) World’s Top 100 Group 1 Races.
  Mr. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “The Jockey Club and FWD share similar values and we are delighted to welcome them as title sponsor to this exciting event. Hong Kong racing is high-end lifestyle entertainment synonymous with the style and pace of the city. This event continues our effort to raise the Hong Kong brand globally and I would like to take this opportunity to thank FWD for joining us in this new partnership.”
  Mr. Ken Lau, FWD Managing Director of Greater China and Hong Kong Chief Executive Officer, said: “Horse racing is one of Hong Kong’s most established and world-class activities, and the unique atmosphere created by Hong Kong racing alongside the city’s dynamism attracts a huge fan base. We’re proud to partner with the Hong Kong Jockey Club to host the new FWD Champions Day and together we hope to bring a new level of racing excitement to local and international audiences.”
  Last year marked the first time that the Hong Kong Jockey Club staged Champions Day. The Club made a strategic decision to present three of its most prestigious Group 1 contests on one race day, creating another championship occasion to complement its globally-renowned LONGINES Hong Kong International Races, staged in December each year.
  The inaugural Champions Day saw Pakistan Star perform brilliantly to win the QEII Cup. Hong Kong’s popular galloper joined an esteemed list of past winners that includes international stars such as Japan’s Neorealism, Rulership and Eishin Preston, Germany’s Silvano, and Jim And Tonic from France, while locally-trained champions on the honour roll include Werther, Ambitious Dragon, Viva Pataca and Vengeance Of Rain.
  The Champions Mile has an equally prestigious roll-call of past winners, notably Japan’s champion Maurice, South African star Variety Club and Hong Kong greats Able Friend and Good Ba Ba, while the 2018 renewal went to a horse still in process of creating an impressive legacy, the brilliant Beauty Generation.
  Ivictory fulfilled his potential as one of the world’s most exciting young sprinters when winning the Chairman’s Sprint Prize. The contest was opened to international competition as recently as 2016 and has produced stellar results – Australian champion Chautauqua won that initial G1 version. Previous winners include Hong Kong’s world champion sprinters Silent Witness and Sacred Kingdom.
About The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class racing club that acts continuously for the betterment of our society. The Club has a unique integrated business model, comprising racing and racecourse entertainment, a membership club, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charities and community contribution. Through this model, the Club generates economic and social value for the community and supports the Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2017/18, the Club made a record return to the Government of HK$22.6 billion in duty and profits tax and contributed HK$1.2 billion to the Lotteries Fund. Approved charity donations were HK$4.2 billion. The Club is Hong Kong’s largest single taxpayer and one of the city’s major employers. Its Charities Trust is also one of the world’s top ten charity donors. The Club is always “riding high together for a better future” with the people of Hong Kong. Please visit www.hkjc.com.
  About FWD Hong Kong & Macau
FWD Group spans Hong Kong & Macau, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan. In Hong Kong, FWD offers life and medical insurance, general insurance, employee benefits, and financial planning. The life insurance and general insurance operating entities have been assigned strong financial strength ratings by international rating agencies — FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited is rated “A3” by Moody’s and “A” by Fitch; and FWD General Insurance Company Limited is rated “A” by Fitch.
  FWD is focused on creating fresh customer experiences, with easy-to-understand products, supported by digital technology. Through this customer-led approach, FWD aims to become a leading pan-Asian insurer that changes the way people feel about insurance.
  Established in Asia in 2013, FWD is the insurance business of investment group, Pacific Century Group.
  For more information please visit WWW.FWD.COM.HK and WWW.FWD.COM.MO.
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