A Marvel Legend: MASTER OF KUNG FU

Art: Jim Starlin & Al Milgrom

It is true that we are not yet out of this difficult situation we are all in today. It will be some time before the world can go back to what it was before. But in our self-isolation, I would like to see if I can maybe point out some rather interesting things that are to come, hopefully soon, to the big screen. I would like to talk about a Marvel character that initially had no superpowers. Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, had been trained in all kinds of martial arts to become a lethal weapon in the service of his father, Fu Manchu (as based on the novels of Sax Rohmer). A killing machine, that was what Shang-Chi was supposed to be.
If you know something of Sax Rohmer and his Fu Manchu novels, you may know that these novels were written in a time where racial stereotypes were plentiful. But these novels, written in a time where America was afraid of the Yellow Peril, told of an evil Asian mastermind by the name of Fu Manchu, whose interests lay in nothing short of world domination in order to be able to restore China to its ancient glory. He was an ancient Ming-like character , who had discovered immortality by way of his elixir of life, allowing him some true long term planning to attain his goals. Fu Manchu was opposed by the British Secret Service, led by Sir Denis Nayland Smith, who was assisted by Dr. Petrie. Fah Lo Suee was the daughter of Fu Manchu, whose loyalty sometimes could not be counted upon, as she at times also opposed her father. 
In the early 1970s, (a time when Martial Arts were hip and Eastern Philisophy was very popular among the young) Steve Englehart wrote a storyline in which Fu Manchu had his son, Shang-Chi, raised to be a killing machine; yet in his education Shang-Chi had not been informed of the nature of his father's work and life. Fu Manchu sent Shang-Chi on his first mission: to kill Dr. Petrie. But, confronted by Smith after having killed Dr. Petrie, Smith told Shang-Chi about the true nature of his father. After hearing all this and having this confirmed by the evil Fu Manchu himself , Shang-Chi made the intellectually sound choice to reject everything in his upbringing that represented his father and his philosophies.

Jim Starlin & Al Milgrom

The first issues found Shang-Chi looking around in his new life, without a home or a family to go back to. And his martial arts prowess helped him get thru some tough situations. Eventually, Shang-Chi decided to join Sir Denis Nayland Smith in his vocation to fight all evil, not only that which is represented by Fu Manchu.
Artist Jim Starlin brought an incredibly powerful realism to the comic book but Starlin felt the whole Fu Manchu thing was a bit too cliché and wanted to leave the comic. Steve Englehart followed his example and Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy took over. This did not hurt the stories at all and over time Moench and Gulacy created some real gems, tales of action and philosophy, embedded in a cinematic visual style that had never been seen before.

Paul Gulacy & Dan Adkins

Taking the stories into James Bondian directions, Moench and Gulacy placed Shang-Chi in the forefront of the British Secret Service in battle against druglords, master criminals (other than the earlier mentioned Fu Manchu), supervillains and more interesting opponents, while never forgetting to touch upon the Eastern Philosophy that was so popular among the young at the time.

Paul Gulacy & Dan Adkins

Paul Gulacy also seemed to specialize in bringing a very cinematic touch to the stories, sometimes blatantly ripping off the faces of moviestars such as Marlon Brando and Groucho Marx along the way. And besides, does Shang-Chi in this above page not look just a teensy weensy bit like the late Bruce Lee in the legendary ENTER THE DRAGON? Yes he does. Yes he does.

Paul Gulacy & Dan Adkins

And to illustrate that it was not only Fu Manchu these heroes fought ( Shang-Chi was 'assisted' by the associates of Smith: Black Jack Tarr and Clive Reston (who was supposedly the son of James Bond, if we are to buy that bit of wisdom, thank you Moench and Gulacy!) and other assorted characters ), the above pages show stories with Carlton Velcro and Mordillo as the villains, both of whom are very memorable, even if they did not survive their storylines.

Paul Gulacy

The series MASTER OF KUNG FU ran for a number of years with great succes, even after the departure of Paul Gulacy. Mike Zeck and Gene Day later took over for him but Gulacy returned to the character in a later series, a decade after the original series came to an end in the 1980s. Zeck and Day were also very good artists (even though a good inker would do a lot, as any comic book afficionado well knows ) but for me Starlin and Gulacy remain the artists that were essential to the character of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. (Please note that recent comics have also given Shang-Chi superpowers. I am not sorry to say that I am not in the least interested in those comics.)

Mike Zeck & Gene Day

The Cinematic Marvel Universe is now working on a movie based on this material. It is unlikely that the name of Fu Manchu will still be heard because first of all Marvel does not have the rights to use that character anymore. Secondly, Marvel does not want to use stereotypical depictions of characters in their modern films. As we have seen with the Ancient One in the Dr. Strange film (and AVENGERS: ENDGAME) changes will be made that sometimes seem to be devoid of logic. The irony that Shang-Chi brings as a character, being the son of Fu Manchu turning his back on his father, that really is a shame if that is lost. But I'm sure the writers will think of something that will make it work.

Mike Zeck & Gene Day

I have to remind you that all movie production is still on halt due to the Corona Crisis. But when movie production resumes, I hope we will get a film that will be nothing short of Amazing. Canadian actor Simu Liu will play Shang-Chi in SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS, which is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. 

Now, if only someone will tell me why the Ten Rings, normally associated with the Mandarin, a villain of the Iron Man comics, will be the central villain of this film ? Oh well...... let's just wait and see.