History ComicBook / ShangChi

The RealLife story of his creation is unusual. Marvel had acquired the rights to publish comics based both on the character Fu Manchu and on the then enormously popular TV series ''Series/KungFu.'' Rather than do a straight adaptation of either, however, they combined the concepts and made Fu's heroic opponent his own son, based loosely on Kwai-Chang Caine from ''Kung Fu.''

Shang-Chi, for most of his time following the end of his original title, was a C-list character appearing every now and then and disappearing just as quickly. First, he was part of the ''ComicBook/HeroesForHire'', then didn't appear until ''ComicBook/SpiderIsland''. He became also one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in ''ComicBook/JonathanHickmansAvengers''. Since then, he has risen in popularity, even getting a miniseries in ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015''.

Originally, he was the renegade son of the infamous Franchise/FuManchu, a Chinese crime lord, and was constantly pulled into adventures against his will (which he frequently referred to as "games of deceit and death"). He was the protagonist and star of ''Master of Kung Fu'', which ran until issue #125 in 1983.

* BruceLeeClone: These days, dependingOnTheWriter and Artist, he is sometimes a Bruce Lee Clone. During Creator/WarrenEllis' ''Comicbook/SecretAvengers'' stint, Shang-Chi even wore a black and red variant of Lee's iconic ''Game of Death'' tracksuit. (Comicbook/{{Ultimate|Marvel}} Shang-Chi, by contrast, is a Creator/JackieChan Clone -- his ''Ultimate Marvel Teamup'' appearance even featured Uncle from ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures''.) When he was first created, though, he was largely based on Kwai-Chang Cain from ''Series/KungFu.''

* WorldsBestWarrior: Usually considered to be Marvel's greatest martial artist by a considerable margin, with the exception of Comicbook/IronFist, who is usually considered his equal -- though the Fist has supernatural abilities, meaning Shang is definitely the greatest non-superpowered martial artist in the world.

* BruceLeeClone: DependingOnTheWriter and Artist, he is sometimes a Bruce Lee Clone. During Creator/WarrenEllis' ''Comicbook/SecretAvengers'' stint, Shang-Chi even wore a black and red variant of Lee's iconic ''Game of Death'' tracksuit. (Comicbook/{{Ultimate|Marvel}} Shang-Chi, by contrast, is a Creator/JackieChan Clone -- his ''Ultimate Marvel Teamup'' appearance even featured Uncle from ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures''.)

* WorldsBestWarrior: Usually considered to be Marvel's greatest martial artist by a considerable margin, with the exception of Comicbook/IronFist, who is usually considered his equal (though the Fist has supernatural abilities, meaning Shang is definitely the greatest non-superpowered martial artist in the world).

* WorldsBestWarrior: Usually considered to be Marvel's greatest martial artist by a considerable margin, with the exception of Comicbook/IronFist, who is usually considered his equal.

Shang-Chi for most of his time, was a C-list character appearing every now and then and disappearing just as quickly. First, he was part of the ''ComicBook/HeroesForHire'', then didn't appear until ''ComicBook/SpiderIsland''. He became also one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in ''ComicBook/JonathanHickmansAvengers''. Since then, he has risen in popularity, even getting a miniseries in ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015''.

Originally, he was the renegade son of the infamous Fu Manchu, a Chinese crime lord, and was constantly pulled into adventures against his will (which he frequently referred to as "games of deceit and death"). He was the protagonist and star of ''Master of Kung Fu'', which ran until issue #125 in 1983.

%%Shang-Chi will make his Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse debut in the Netflix original series ''Series/IronFist2017''.

Shang-Chi will make his Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse debut in the Netflix original series ''Series/IronFist2017''.

Shang-Chi for most of his time, was a C-list character appearing every now and then and disappearing just as quickly. First, he was part of the ''ComicBook/HeroesForHire'', then didn't appear until ''ComicBook/SpiderIsland''. More recently, he became one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in ''ComicBook/JonathanHickmansAvengers''. Since then, he has risen in popularity, even getting a miniseries in ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015''.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shang_chi_earth_616_from_marvel_war_of_heroes_001.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Franchise/MarvelUniverse's [[BruceLeeClone equivalent]] of Creator/BruceLee]]

Shang-Chi (literally translates as "the rising of the spirit" in Chinese) is a Marvel Comics character, first conceived in 1972 by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin, and first appearing in ''Marvel Special Edition'' #15 (1973).

In the decades since, Shang's connection to his father has been downplayed, largely due to Marvel losing the rights to Sax Rohmer's work. He remains a mainstay of the Marvel Universe, even joining the Avengers during the Jonathan Hickman run. He frequently appears alongside the Heroes for Hire. Shang also helped Spider-Man develop his unique martial art, the "Way of the Spider."

Shang-Chi (literally translates as "the rising of the spirit" in Chinese) is a Marvel Comics character, first conceived in 1972 by Creator/SteveEnglehart and Creator/JimStarlin, and first appearing in ''Marvel Special Edition'' #15 (1973).

* DoesNotLikeShoes: He went barefoot everywhere in TheSeventies.

Shang-Chi will make his Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse debut in the Netflix original series ''Series/IronFist2016''.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: This has since been dropped in the more recent days.

* GoodIsNotNice: Shang is one of the genuinely nicest heroic sorts in the Marvel Universe, and generally prefers to avoid violence. If someone forces his hand however, Shang rarely holds back.

%%* TranquilFury

* BruceLeeClone

* TranquilFury

In the decades since, Shang's connection to his father has been downplayed, largely due to Marvel losing the rights to Sax Rohmer's work. He remains a mainstay of the Marvel Universe, even joining the Avengers for a time during the Jonathan Hickman run. He frequently appears alongside the Heroes for Hire. Shang also helped Spider-Man develop his unique martial art, the "Way of the Spider."

* BadassNormal: Despite being a baseline human, Shang-Chi is arguably the single most dangerous hand-to-hand fighter in the Marvel Universe, and is capable of holding his own both alongside and against superhuman opponents. He's even been known to turn down offers of technological upgrades, on the basis that he doesn't really need anything else, and he's usually right. (He does use a pair of Stark Industries-brand power nunchaku at one point in ''Avengers'', though.) During the ''Infinity'' crossover, Shang-Chi is on the team of Avengers that goes into space to fight in an interstellar war, and he ''still'' holds his own, albeit mostly through a stubborn refusal to stay down.
* DoesNotLikeShoes
* GoodIsNotNice: Shang is one of the genuinely nicest heroic sorts in the Marvel Universe, and generally prefers to avoid violence. If someone forces his hand, however, Shang rarely holds back.

Shang-Chi will make his MarvelCinematicUniverse debut in the Netflix original series "Series/IronFist2016."

Shang-Chi will make his MarvelCinematicUniverse debut in the Netflix original series "Series/IronFist."

In the decades since, Shang's connection to his father has been downplayed, largely due to Marvel losing the rights to Sax Rohmer's work. He remains a mainstay of the Marvel Universe, even joining the Avengers for a time during the Jonathan Hickman run. He frequently appears alongside the Heroes for Hire.

Shang also helped Spider-Man develop his unique martial art, the "Way of the Spider."

* BadassNormal: Despite being a baseline human, Shang-Chi is arguably the single most dangerous hand-to-hand fighter in the Marvel Universe, and is capable of holding his own both alongside and against superhuman opponents. He's even been known to turn down offers of technological upgrades, on the basis that he doesn't really need anything else, and he's usually right. During the ''Infinity'' crossover, Shang-Chi is on the team of Avengers that goes into space to fight in an interstellar war, and he ''still'' holds his own, albeit mostly through a stubborn refusal to stay down.