Shang-Chi
Master of Kung Fu Part 1: Mortal Spirits
Shang-Chi the Master of Kung Fu adventure 1 out of 6. Awesome artwork from Paul Gulacy and Jimmy Palmiotti.
Shang-Chi as depicted by Bob Larkin
Shang-Chi (Chinese: 上氣; pinyin: shàng qì; literally “rising of the spirit”) is aMarvel Comics character, often called the “Master of Kung Fu“. He was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin.
He has no special superpowers, but he exhibits extraordinary skills in the martial arts and is a master of Wushu (the actual Mandarin name for the various Chinese fighting arts) both empty handed and with weapons, including the staff, nunchaku and double-edged sword.
Publication History
The character was conceived in late 1972 when Marvel Comics acquired the comic book rights to Sax Rohmer‘s pulp novel villain Dr. Fu Manchu while they held the rights to the Kung Fu television program. Instead of producing a straight adaptation of either source, Marvel combined the two. The result was Shang-Chi, a master of kung fu, who was introduced as the previously unheard of son of Fu Manchu. Though an original character himself, many of Shang-Chi’s supporting characters (most notably Fu Manchu and Sir Denis Nayland Smith) were Rohmer creations. No characters from the Kung Fu television series carried over into the comic series, though the character Lu Sung, in an early issue, bears a strong resemblance to Kwai Chang Caine with the addition of a moustache.
Shang-Chi first appeared in Special Marvel Edition #15 (December 1973) by Englehart and Starlin (SME #1–14 were reprints of older Marvel superhero stories). Shang-Chi appeared again in issue #16, and with issue #17 (April 1974) the title was changed toThe Hands of Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu. Amidst the martial arts craze in the United States in the 1970s, the book became very popular, surviving until issue #125 (June 1983), a run including four giant-size issues and an annual. He co-starred withSpider-Man in Giant-Size Spider-Man #2[4] and Marvel Team-Up #84 and 85. Shang-Chi teamed up with the Thing in Marvel Two-in-One #29. Special Collector’s Edition #1 (1975) cover titled as “Savage Fists of Kung Fu” reprinted stories from Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu #1-2; Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu Special #1; and Special Marvel Edition #15. He did several crossovers with other Marvel martial artists, including White Tiger, Iron Fist, and Daughters of the Dragon (Colleen Wing and Misty Knight). He appeared regularly in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu.
The series began by introducing Shang-Chi as a man raised by his father Fu Manchu to be the ultimate lackey for the would-be world conqueror. In Shang-Chi’s first mission, he killed one of his father’s old enemies, Dr. Petrie and learns of Fu Manchu’s true, evil nature. Disillusioned, Shang-Chi swore eternal opposition to his father’s ambitions and fought him as an agent of British intelligence, under the orders of Nayland Smith.
The series was an instant sales success. Though Englehart and Starlin soon left as the creative talent for the title, its success grew once writer Doug Moench and artist Paul Gulacy, began collaborating in issues #22. Comics historian Les Daniels observed that “Ingenious writing by Doug Moench and energetic art by Paul Gulacy brought Master of Kung Fu new life.” Their critically acclaimed run continued with short gaps until #51 when Gulacy was replaced by artist Jim Craig. Craig was later succeeded by Mike Zeck who became the regular penciller in issue #64 (1978).
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| “Call me Shang-Chi, as my father did when he raised me and molded my mind and my body in the vacuum of his Honan, China retreat. I learned many things from my father: That my name means ‘The Rising and Advancing of a Spirit’, that my body could be forged into a living weapon through the discipline of kung fu, and that it might be used for the murder of a man called Dr. Petrie.Since then I have learned that my father is Dr. Fu Manchu, the most insidiously evil man on earth…and that to honor him would bring nothing but dishonor to the spirit of my name.” –Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu |
Gulacy was a film buff, and modeled many characters after film stars: Juliette on Marlene Dietrich, James Larner on Marlon Brando, Clive Reston (often broadly hinted at as being the son of James Bond as well as the grand nephew of Sherlock Holmes) occasionally looking like Basil Rathbone and Sean Connery, and a minor character Ward Sarsfield (after the real-life name of Sax Rohmer) who looked like David Niven. Moench introduced other film-based characters, including ones modeled after Groucho Marx and W. C. Fields.
Moench continued for a long tenure, though the title did not again receive the same level of acclaim as the Gulacy period until Gene Day, who had previously been inking the book, took over penciling in #100 (1981). Despite critical success, sales lagged, and the publication schedule change from monthly to bimonthly. Day died of a heart attack after finishing issue #120, and Moench left the book after #122. The character’s long-running battle with his father ended with #118 and with the main storyline resolved, the book was canceled with issue #125 as Shang-Chi retired to a passive life as a fisherman in a village.
Shang-Chi had two more short series: the Master of Kung Fu: Bleeding Blackone-shot (1990) and the MAX miniseries Master of Kung Fu: Hellfire Apocalypse (2002) with artist Paul Gulacy on art again. The character had two stories in the anthology series Marvel Comics Presents including one by Moench that ran in the series’ first eight issues in 1988, and co-starred in the Moon Knight Special (1992). In 1997 a story arc starring Shang-Chi ran in Journey into Mystery #514-517, and was intended to lead into a mini-series for the character in 1998.
Although spun out of licensed properties, Shang-Chi is a Marvel-owned character and has been firmly established as a part of the Marvel Universe with guest appearances in numerous other titles, such as Marvel Team-Up, Marvel Knights and X-Men. Most of the original, licensed, characters in the supporting cast have been phased out in the more recent series and stories.
In some of his modern appearances, mention is made of his villainous father either in cryptic terms or using a variety of new names, due to Marvel no longer having the rights to Fu Manchu. In Secret Avengers #6-10, writer Ed Brubaker officially sidestepped the entire issue via a storyline where a rogue group of S.H.I.E.L.D agents resurrect a zombified version of Fu Manchu only to discover that “Fu Manch” was only an alias; that Shang-Chi’s father was really an ancient Chinese sorcerer who discovered the secret to immortality.
Shang-Chi returned as a main character in the 2007 Heroes for Hire comic book, and both he and several characters of his supporting cast appear in that year’s Wisdom miniseries.
Shang-Chi appeared in Wolverine: First Class #9, where Wolverine approached him for advice in order to defeat his nemesis, Sabretooth.
