The main character in
The Destroyer series of novels by
Warren Murphy and
Richard Sapir and also in the 1985 motion picture
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.
Remo was raised by Catholic nuns in a Newark, New Jersey orphanage. After serving in the Vietnam War, he became a police officer. In his rookie year, he was framed for a murder and eventually executed in the electric chair: a series of charades scripted by a secret United States government organization called CURE. Presented with a choice between becoming CURE's "enforcement arm" and a quick trip to a real grave, Remo joined CURE under duress.
Remo was made a student of Sinanju under Master Chiun. Chiun, the world's greatest living assassin, was hired by CURE to teach Remo some Ninja-like martial arts tricks. When Remo showed surprising aptitude, the childless Master decided to give him full knowledge of the sun source and train him to be the next Master of Sinanju. Remo has been a reluctant student, prone to frequent rebellion and lapses into bad habits, such as eating hamburger and consorting with American women. Over the years, however, Remo has come to regard Chiun as an adoptive parent, even referring to the aged Korean as "Little Father". Remo is now the heir to Sinanju and will assume the responsibilities of the Master when Chiun dies.
Working for CURE with the codename "Destroyer", Remo's job is to eliminate people who are dangerous to the citizens of the United States. Some of his targets have been mafia members, drug dealers, mad scientists, foreign spies or cult leaders. In addition, Remo has occasionally been the avatar of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction.