Shang-Chi, the titular Master of Kung Fu, is a long-running Marvel character, an almost unparalleled martial artist who is the rebellious son of an infamous Chinese supervillain. His father lived for centuries, but the elixir that preserved his youth also warped his mind. When Shang-Chi realised his father's true nature, he allied with the British security service MI6 to foil his schemes.
Moench and Gulacy were responsible for some of the most iconic stories in the original Shang-Chi comic, Master of Kung Fu, and this series is the first time they reunite to tell a new story about the character. The MAX mature readers imprint allowed them to tell a darker story and include stronger language.
In the wake of the original series, Shang-Chi's father is finally dead and the reluctant hero has retreated to a peaceful life in China, leaving the violence and espionage of his former adventures far behind. However, an old friend is now in trouble and there are rumors of another Long-Lived villain making plans - a contemporary of his father who may be sliding into the same elixir-induced madness.
When the original Shang-Chi stories were published, Marvel held the rights to adapt the Sax Rohmer Fu Manchu novels - Shang-Chi's father was Fu Manchu himself, and some of his MI6 supporting cast were also taken from the books. By the time of the 2002 series, Marvel no longer had those rights - so some characters were completely omitted and others, such as Shang-Chi's father, are never referred to by name.
The first issue was released September 18, 2002.
Tropes in Shang-Chi: Master of King Fu (2002):
- Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: By the finale, MI6 Commander Spetz, a nominal ally but always a loose cannon, is The Unfettered, chasing his own promotion and more concerned with derailing Tarr's team than stopping the Big Bad and his Doomsday Device. Spetz has attacked Tarr's team and is just about to open fire on Tarr himself when the Comte's troops solve the problem by shooting him in the back.
- Big Bad: The Ghost, otherwise known as Le Comte de St. Germain (who is actually Shang-Chi's father).
- Cain and Abel: Shang-Chi is the Abel to his half-brother Moving Shadow's Cain. One of the unusual occurrences where the younger sibling is the villain.
- Creepy-Crawly Torture: Leiko is locked into stocks, which are connected to a miniature maze for scorpions. Her captors encourage her to talk before the scorpions find a way to reach her.
- Did Not Do the Bloody Research: Downplayed, but to British ears some of Morgan Spetz's swearing doesn't flow in the expected way.Spetz: You sad wanker excuses for whining pussies!
- ("You sad wankers are-" would be the usual phrasing when insulting a group)
- Doomsday Device: The Hellfire Array, based on Tesla's research, which can rain fiery devastation from the sky.
- Double Agent: The whole story starts when Leiko is betrayed to the Comte's forces by a double agent, who comments that British Intelligence just doesn't pay well enough.
- The Dragon: Moving Shadow plays this role to the Le Comte de St. Germain.
- Hijacked by Ganon: The Le Comte de St. Germain is introduced as a Historical Domain Superperson, another Long-Lived villain, driven mad by the same Psycho Serum life-extending elixir that Shang-Chi's dead father used to drink. Except that, actually, he is Shang-Chi's father, who managed to escape again despite his presumed death at the end of the Master of Kung Fu series.
- If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!: After a batch of the Count's new recruits have been tempted by luxury and beautiful women, then left Brainwashed and Crazy by drugs and mind control, they are asked to show their loyalty by shooting a captured American spy, who's helpless, bound and gagged. They don't hesitate.
- Latex Perfection: Played straight. Clive Reston is wearing a perfect mask, disguised as an Asian man, when he tracks down Shang-Chi in the first issue. As Shang-Chi doesn't recognise him, his reward is a kick in the face when he pulls a gun.
- Offing the Offspring: When Moving Shadow finally fails to defeat Shang-Chi, their father promptly kills him with a throwing knife. As he says, an incompetent child is worse than a rebel.
- Only Sane Woman: Stone is the only one of Spetz's Omegans to challenge him when he becomes more interested in stopping Tarr than stopping the Ghost. This is partly why she ends up as the Sole Survivor from the squad.
- Personal Hate Before Common Goals: Morgan Spetz's obsession with beating Tarr to the top job at MI6 brings him to the point where he’ll risk the mission by directly attacking colleagues so that his team can be the ones to save the day. It almost dooms the whole mission - and it gets Spetz and his team killed.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: As with the 1970s series, Black Jack Tarr is still referring to Shang-Chi as "Chinaman" rather than using his name. This time, though, Shang-Chi's definitely had enough of it.
- Relationship Upgrade: After Shang-Chi resolved the previous Love Triangle by retiring to the other side of the world, Leiko Wu and Clive Reston eventually got married.
- Shout-Out: One scene has Moving Shadow training with a sword while talking to his father. Who is sitting in his sanctum, holding a game controller, and playing Pac-Man.
- The Tunguska Event: Apparently the 1908 Tunguska devastation was the result of Nicolai Tesla testing a potential Doomsday Device, which Le Comte de St. Germain is now planning to use.
- The Unfettered: Morgan Spetz, who's shown to be more concerned with advancing his career at MI6 than actually saving the world. Even if that means attacking allies so he can claim that his own team saved the day.
- Unknown Relative: Moving Shadow is revealed to be Shang-Chi's younger half brother, who was raised separately and has remained loyal to their father.
- Villainous Legacy: Played with. As Reston explains early in the story, the Le Comte de St. Germain, alias "The Ghost", has inherited the murderous criminal organisation that Shang-Chi's dead father created. Except that he is Shang-Chi's father, who's just using an alias to conceal his survival.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- In the first issue, Shang-Chi tells Tarr to stop calling him "Chinaman". Tarr ignores him, but the series ends with Shang-Chi giving him a longer speech about it. This time he finally gets the point.
- When Spetz decides to physically attack his MI6 rival Tarr's team, to ensure that they don't reach the Count and save the day before he does, his subordinate Stone bluntly calls him out on his obsession. He responds by punching her in the face. A little later, after the Count's forces take advantage of the chaos to attack both teams, Spetz is dying and gets a longer, even harsher speech from Stone. He earned it.
- Writing Around Trademarks: Shang-Chi's father and his legacy play a significant part in the story, but as Marvel no longer had the rights to Fu Manchu, he's never referred to by that name. Reston refers to him as "your devil doctor daddy", for example. And when he actually turns up, he's using his Le Comte de St. Germain alias.
- "You!" Exclamation: Leiko's reaction in the first issue, when Le Comte de St. Germain first speaks.
- You Have Failed Me: When Shang-Chi finally defeats Moving Shadow, their father simply kills him, saying that a loyal failure is even worse than a rebel.
