The Folding Circle is a gang of mystically powered mutates who derive their power from the ancient Well of All Things. For centuries, the ancient Asian Cult of the Dragon's Breadth guarded and kept secret the Well of All Things, which was an interdimensional hole that was bursting with an incredible array of mystical energies. During their stewardship off the Well, the Cult of the Dragon's Breath engaged in selected breeding in order to produce children that could tap the energy from the Well. According to prophecy this would culminate in a generation that would mate with "Westerners", the resulting offspring of which would finally fully control the Well's Energies. In the 20th Century the Cult produced a generation of women that could tap the energies far better then any other before them. One of these women, Tai, realized that her daughter Miyami and the generation she belonged to would be the mothers of the prophesied children. In anticipation of that, Tai killed off her own mystic peers so that she alone could guide and exploit the next generation.
Several decades after Miyami's birth, an American military unit known as the "Half-Fulls" (comprised of Private Diego Casseas, Sgt. Andrew Chord, Lt. Mark Conroy, Private Collier Mack, Lt. Daryl Taylor and Vietnamese Soldier Lt. Min Li Ng) stumbled upon the Temple of the Dragon's Breadth and were captured by Tai. Tai convinced the soldiers into making a pact whereby the soldiers would marry the selected Daughters of the Cult and in exchange would receive wealth and power. All accepted except Taylor because he was already married. Tai's daughter Miyami married Chord and bore twins, but to protect her children from Tai she faked her death and the deaths of her children. To replace these children in the pact, Tai mystically forced Chord into killing Daryl and Melody Ann Taylor so that she and Chord would become the legal guardians of their son Dwayne, who grew up to become the vigilante Night Thrasher. Miyami's lost twins, who were born with mystical powers, grew up to become the Concrete Dragons gang members known as Midnight's Fire (who had enhanced physical abilities) and Silhouette (who also had enhanced physical abilities and could teleport through the Darkforce Dimension). While in their teens Night Thrasher befriended the duo, though Midnights Fire later turned on Night Thrasher. Meanwhile the children of Conroy, Mack, and Ng also grew up with Conroy's son becoming the super strong Chicago mob enforcer Eric Conroy, Mack's son becoming the deadly maniac Smiling Tiger, and Ng's daughter becoming the flame-throwing eco-terrorist Firewall. Unlike the other children of the prophecy, the daughter of Diego Casseas was rendered comatose after an accident that also killed her mother. Realizing that his daughter was possessed of great power, Diego Casseas usurped his daughters Darkforce based powers and plotted to become master of the Wells energies on his own by becoming the Left Hand and studying ancient mystic texts.
Knowing that the children of the pact must be sacrificed to the Well in order for the energies to be harnessed, Tai feared that the children might usurp the energies instead whereas she wished to make them her servants. Realizing that youths of like power could be cast into the Well instead and still cause the same result Tai and her pawn Chord encouraged Night Thrasher's formation of his super-team, the New Warriors, whom Tai planned on sacrificing in lieu of the children of the prophecy. During the first few months as a team, the New Warriors encountered Midnights Fire, Firewall, and Silhouette (the latter of whom became the first recruit to the team). Meanwhile, Tai had discovered the true fate of her daughter and grand-children, and killed Miyami and attempted to kill Silhouette as well.
Completing his studies the Left Hand began gathering the others recruiting Midnights Fire, Eric Conroy (who was re-named Bloodstrike), Smiling Tiger, and Fire Wall (who was re-named Silk Fever) into the organization which he named the Folding Circle. Left Hand also recruited Night Thrasher, who joined seeking answers about his past as they went to the Temple to discover the origins of the prophecy. Night Thrasher helped the Warriors defeat the circle when the Warriors arrived and both teams attacked Tai when she revealed the full story. During the battle Night Thrasher shot Tai and the Well was sealed when Left Hand and Tai fell into the rupture. The rest of the Folding Circle escaped and settled into Madripoor where they became leading figures in the Lowtown underworld as enforcers for crime lord Tyger Tiger. One of Tyger Tiger's rivals, Aardwolf went to war with the Folding Circle who nearly killed the mutant criminal. Night Thrasher and Silhouette became involved in the confrontation both beating Aardwolf and the Circle and forcing them to come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Since the incident in Madripoor the Folding Circle have not been seen together but Bloodstrike and Smiling Tiger were arrested and pressed into US government service as members of the Thunderbolts army, battling hordes of Wellspring empowered humans who were being controlled by the Grandmaster.