| 1 | %% As per Administrivia/HowToCreateACharacterPage, every character must have at least one listed trope that's not a Administrivia/ZeroContextExample. All characters who don't meet this requirement have been commented out. Add more tropes or add more context to any existing ZCE tropes before uncommenting them. |
| 2 | |
| 3 | !!'''WARNING:''' There are unmarked spoilers on these sheets for all but the most recent comics. |
| 4 | |
| 5 | '''Remember''', this sheet is for characters and examples from the main Franchise/MarvelUniverse (referred to in-universe as 'Earth-616') only. Please do not list characters or examples from shows, movies or alternate universe versions here. If you have thought of a trope that fits an alternate version of these characters, please take that example to its respective sheet. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | ---- |
| 8 | '''A note regarding Fu Manchu and other characters taken from the Sax Rohmer novels''' |
| 9 | |
| 10 | When Shang-Chi was first introduced, Creator/MarvelComics owned the rights to adapt Sax Rohmer's ''Literature/FuManchu'' novels. Several key characters came from the novels (including Shang-Chi's father, Fu Manchu himself) and some new characters created and owned by Marvel were given backgrounds closely tied to Fu Manchu. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | After Marvel lost the rights to ''Fu Manchu'' the characters directly taken from the books could no longer appear or be named in future stories. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | To work around this, Marvel's version of Fu Manchu was renamed to Zheng Zu -- this was initially positioned as a [[GivenNameReveal Real Name Reveal]], but was followed by a SoftReboot that made them distinctly different characters. As of July 2022, it's still unclear how this affects many of the pre-existing stories or characters. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | All of that could potentially make this character sheet a little confusing. With that in mind: |
| 17 | |
| 18 | * Descriptions and tropes for characters who haven't appeared since the rename and reboot (e.g. the supporting characters taken from the Rohmer books) may still refer to Fu Manchu, as they are specific to that version of the character. |
| 19 | * All other descriptions and tropes refer to Zheng Zu unless specifically discussing the SoftReboot's impact. |
| 20 | ---- |
| 21 | |
| 22 | For characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe's adaptation of Shang-Chi, see [[Characters/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings here]]. |
| 23 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 24 | !!Shang-Chi |
| 25 | [[folder:Shang-Chi]] |
| 26 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shang_chi_vol_1_3_anka_variant_textless.jpg]] |
| 27 | [[caption-width-right:350:Franchise/MarvelUniverse's [[BruceLeeClone equivalent]] of Creator/BruceLee]] |
| 28 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shang_chi_vol_1_2_shang_chi_timeless_variant.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see his original appearance]] |
| 29 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Zheng Shang-Chi |
| 30 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Brother Hand, Deadly Hand, Master of Kung Fu |
| 31 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Special Marvel Edition'' #15 (December, 1973) |
| 32 | |
| 33 | ->'''Lady Deathstrike:''' I've fought all kinds of people...ones whose '''bodies''' burned like '''fire'''...ones with '''superhuman healing''' and '''adamantium bones'''. What are '''you''' compared to them? |
| 34 | ->'''Shang-Chi:''' Well... just someone who's good with his hands. |
| 35 | -->-- '''''The Legend of Shang-Chi''''' #1 |
| 36 | |
| 37 | Shang-Chi (which, literally translated into English, means "the rising of the spirit") is the son of Zheng Zu, a LongLived Chinese supervillain who was head of the Five Weapons Society. |
| 38 | |
| 39 | (Originally, prior to the SoftReboot, his father was Fu Manchu and the organisation of assassins was the Si-Fan. However, when Marvel lost the rights to the [[Literature/FuManchu Sax Rohmer stories and characters]], those names were changed) |
| 40 | |
| 41 | Raised in his father's Hunan base, the House of the Deadly Hand, he was intended to become one of his father's most trusted lieutenants, but rebelled when he realised how corrupted his father had become. |
| 42 | |
| 43 | Allying with the British intelligence service [=MI6=], he opposed his father, his malevolent half-sister and many other villains. Eventually, he lost faith in [=MI6=] and, along with many of his allies, quit to form his own independent team. |
| 44 | |
| 45 | Later, after his father's defeat and death, Shang-Chi became much more involved with the world of superheroes, joining ComicBook/TheAvengers and ComicBook/HeroesForHire, and mentoring heroes such as ComicBook/SpiderMan and ComicBook/{{Domino}} when they [[BoxingLessonsForSuperman needed martial arts training]]. |
| 46 | |
| 47 | When his younger sister Shi-Hua (aka "Sister Hammer") reappeared and pronounced herself Zheng-Zu's true successor, Shang-Chi was pulled back towards his father's legacy, discovering more of his father's history, meeting a powerful extended family and uncovering the true scale of his father's centuries-old secret society. |
| 48 | ---- |
| 49 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: He's considered the best martial artist on Earth, but for most of his career he's only been human, with no powers or special weapons, and some superhumans who are both StrongAndSkilled have been able to easily defeat him (such as the mutant Gorgon and a demon-possessed Daredevil). |
| 50 | * AbortedArc: In the decades since Marvel lost the rights to Sax Rohmer's work, Shang-Chi's [[ArchnemesisDad connection to his father]] has been downplayed. Eventually averted when the SoftReboot replaced Fu Manchu with Zheng Zu and the 2020 series introduced the Five Weapons Society. Zheng Zu may be dead, but his legacy and conflict with Shang-Chi is back on center stage. |
| 51 | * TheAce: Considered to be the best martial artist/hand-to-hand fighter on Earth. |
| 52 | * ArmedFemalesUnarmedMales: Shang Chi usually fights unarmed and is capable of even [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower besting superhuman foes without the use of weapons]]. His love interest Leiko Wu is more within the ballpark of what a normal human is capable of and uses guns in addition to hand-to-hand combat. |
| 53 | * BadassNormal: Despite being a baseline human for much of his career, Shang-Chi is one of the most dangerous hand-to-hand fighters in the Marvel Universe, and is capable of holding his own both alongside and against superhuman opponents. |
| 54 | ** 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.) |
| 55 | ** 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 and his new-found KiManipulation powers. |
| 56 | * BashBrothers: With Lin Lie/Sword Master while both are at the Agents of Atlas. Also with his half-brother Takeshi/Brother Sabre. |
| 57 | * BewareTheQuietOnes: Usually Shang-Chi is TheStoic; [[TheQuietOne he says few words]] and is generally very mellow. But piss him off enough and you'll find out first-hand why he's the Master of Kung Fu. Lampshaded a little bit in the ''ComicBook/ShangChi2020'' series, when Leiko Wu points out that he's much chattier and less formal when speaking Chinese. |
| 58 | * BigBrotherMentor: Occasionally acts this way towards younger superheroes, including [[Characters/IronFist Sword Master]], [[Characters/AgentsOfAtlasNew Crescent]], [[Characters/IncredibleHulkSupportingCharacters Brawn]] and [[Characters/MarvelComicsKamalaKhan Ms. Marvel]]. Zig-zagged with his younger siblings, who either are already capable, have a contentious relationship with him or both, but are slowly learning how to overcome their father's evil influence over them from him. |
| 59 | * BoxingLessonsForSuperman: He often provides these to other superheroes, including Comicbook/SwordMaster, ComicBook/{{Domino}}, and ComicBook/SpiderMan. |
| 60 | * BruceLeeClone: These days, DependingOnTheWriter and Artist, he is sometimes a Bruce Lee Clone, something that began even at the time when it was illustrated by Paul Gulacy. During Creator/WarrenEllis' ''Comicbook/SecretAvengers'' stint, Shang-Chi even wore a black and red variant of Lee's iconic ''Game of Death'' tracksuit. When he was first created, though, he was largely based on Kwai-Chang Caine from ''Series/KungFu1972''. |
| 61 | * ButNotTooForeign: Shang-Chi being half-white and half-Chinese was a requirement from Editor-in-Chief Creator/RoyThomas. It was largely ignored after his mother's first appearance and eventually averted when the SoftReboot introduced Jiang Li as his mother. |
| 62 | * CelibateHero: Downplayed, and DependingOnTheWriter. He was involved with Leiko Wu and Juliette during the ''Master of Kung Fu'' run, but ''Heroes For Hire'' seemed to suggest this was a factor in his training regime. |
| 63 | * CharacterizationMarchesOn: He was created as a BruceLeeClone in the 1970s and spoke exactly how you'd expect white writers in the '70s expected kung fu masters to talk. As time went on, much of this phased out and while loving nods to Bruce can still be seen here or there, Shang-Chi has since developed into a friendly HumbleHero who just so happens to be the Marvel Universe's greatest martial artist. Some of this can be attributed to his movie portraying him as a more down to earth NiceGuy. |
| 64 | * CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Despite supposedly spending most of his career as a BadassNormal, Shang-Chi's abilities in later stories often drift into this territory. He's faster than any human ought to be, able to use ArrowCatch and BulletCatch techniques (on one occasion, he even catches a small calibre bullet between his teeth), and can immobilise even opponents with SuperToughness via nerve strikes. |
| 65 | * ExposedToTheElements: In an issue of ComicBook/HeroesForHire, the team has to travel through the South Pole on the way to the Savage Land for a job. Shang Chi is shown standing shirtless in the cold while Misty and Colleen are noticeably shivering despite wearing warm clothing. Shang Chi claims that his exposure to the cold [[CelibateHero was helping him take his mind off his growing attraction to Tarantula]]. |
| 66 | * FormerlyFriendlyFamily: Shang-Chi and his sister Shi-Hua were very close as children, but after many years separated, not only she has embraced their father's teachings, she's willing to kill Shang in order to be considered Zheng Zu's true successor, something Shang-Chi was completely unaware of and uninterested in. |
| 67 | * GoodIsNotSoft: 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. |
| 68 | -->"You do not brush a reed to the ground if you want it to stay out of your path. You snap it." |
| 69 | * PrefersGoingBarefoot: He went barefoot everywhere in TheSeventies. Called out on this by a security guard at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City ("Hey, kid! Why Don't you get some shoes?"), he replied, "Why do you fear to touch the ground? Does the concrete not separate you from it enough?". |
| 70 | * TheRival: Shen Kuei, the Cat, is a sometime-ally, sometime-enemy of Shang's. They have both loved the same woman more than once, and it's been repeatedly stated that neither really knows who is the better martial artist. |
| 71 | * SecretLegacy: Downplayed, as he's aware of much of his father's legacy. But he's not initially aware that he's the latest Brother Hand, and that others before him have held the Deadly Hand title over the centuries since his family founded the Five Weapons Society. |
| 72 | * SelfDuplication: Gains this ability in ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengersJonathanHickman Avengers Volume 5]], #38'' due to exposure to Ex Nihilo's Origin Bomb in Kobe, Japan. He's eventually BroughtDownToBadass again, losing the power. |
| 73 | * SlapSlapKiss: Overlaps with BelligerentSexualTension and InterplayofSexandViolence; during his tenure as a Hero for Hire, he starts liking Tarantula (Maria Vasquez). In one arc, after a brief but big fight, the two start kissing. Shang-Chi is at first disgusted, but eventually gives in to both his hormones, and Maria and the two have sex. |
| 74 | * TookALevelInBadass: While Shang-Chi could always use his chi ala ''ComicBook/IronFist''-style, it was never as flashy as Marvel's other kung fu guy. Come ''Comicbook/TheAvengersJonathanHickman'', it's as flashy and arguably as powerful as an Iron Fist's. |
| 75 | * TykeBomb: Like most of his siblings, he was trained for combat from a very early age. In one ''ComicBook/MasterOfKungFu'' story he mentions that he began when he was three. |
| 76 | * 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-Chi (when not empowered) is definitely the greatest [[BadassNormal non-superpowered]] martial artist in the world. |
| 77 | [[/folder]] |
| 78 | |
| 79 | !!The Five Weapons Society |
| 80 | [[folder:In General]] |
| 81 | * ColorCodedForYourConvenience: The members of the Five Weapons Society are identified by a respective color; the Hand signature color is red, the Hammer is yellow, the Sabre is white, the Dagger is black, and the Staff is green. |
| 82 | [[/folder]] |
| 83 | |
| 84 | [[folder:Zheng Zu]] |
| 85 | !!Zheng Zu |
| 86 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zheng_zu_28earth_61629_from_shang_chi_vol_1_2_001.jpg]] |
| 87 | %%!!!'''Alter Ego:''' Fu Manchu, Devil Doctor, Comte de Saint Germain, The Ghost, Wang Yu-Seng, Han |
| 88 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Fu Manchu, Han, Devil Doctor, Doctor Fu Manchu, Comte de Saint Germain, The Ghost, Devil Doctor Daddy, Wang Yu-Seng |
| 89 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Special Marvel Edition'' #15 (December, 1973) |
| 90 | |
| 91 | Shang-Chi's father and the former head of the Five Weapons Society (aka Si-Fan, Order of the Golden Dawn, Order of the Hai-Dai). He died a while back, and a partial resurrection in ''ComicBook/SecretAvengers'' was prevented, but he still shows up in flashbacks and as a spirit. |
| 92 | ---- |
| 93 | In the earlier Shang-Chi stories he was directly portrayed as Sax Rohmer's pulp villain Literature/FuManchu, but Marvel have since lost the adaptation rights to those books, so he's now referred to solely as Zheng Zu. This has also allowed him to develop in very different directions, avoiding some of the racism associated with the original character. |
| 94 | ---- |
| 95 | * ArchnemesisDad: Even after death, he continues to haunt his son and other children. |
| 96 | * BackForTheDead: In the ''Secret Avengers'' "Eyes of the Dragon" arc. He CameBackWrong via partial resurrection (revealing his identity as Zheng Zu), only to be killed again at the end of the story. |
| 97 | * BeardOfEvil: His signature goatee and mustache. |
| 98 | * CameBackWrong: The Shadow Council tries to resurrect him using the 'Eyes of the Dragon', but he's left as a horrific undead figure until they can sacrifice Shang-Chi to complete the resurrection. That doesn't happen, as the Secret Avengers intervene. |
| 99 | * ContinuitySnarl: When Shang-Chi first introduced in the 1970s, Marvel held the adaptation rights for the Literature/FuManchu stories and Shang-Chi's father was Fu Manchu. When they lost the rights, he was no longer named. Then ''Secret Avengers'' reintroduced him under the name of Zheng Zu in 2010. The SoftReboot of subsequent series has developed Zheng Zu as a very different character, enabling Marvel to abandon the racist elements of Fu Manchu, and it's left unclear which elements of the original stories are still canon. |
| 100 | * EvilMeScaresMe: Part of his motivation for [[spoiler:[[SacrificialRevivalSpell saving his brother at the cost of his own life]]]], and he says as much when [[spoiler:Zheng Yi derails it with a TakeMeInstead]]. Given subsequent events, he was right. |
| 101 | * FaceHeelTurn: A slow one. After his brother's death he slid from heroism into a WellIntentionedExtremist, then eventually became a supervillain. Flashbacks suggest that the villainy only really dominated after 1900. |
| 102 | * FantasticRacism: Judging by Takeshi and Esme's comments after his death, Zheng Zu was prejudiced against mutants. |
| 103 | * GivenNameReveal: The reveal of his name Zheng Zu was originally treated this way, with the implication that he was still Fu Manchu (but couldn't be named as such for legal reasons). After the 2020 series this falls away in favour of a wider SoftReboot, though. |
| 104 | * LongLived: Due to magic and the ''Eyes of the Dragon'', he lived for centuries. In the 2020 series, Shang-Chi mentions that he believes Zheng Zu was born during the Qing dynasty (which started in 1644). |
| 105 | * LoveRedeems: According to his wife Jiang Li, for a time it did, trying to become a better person for the sake of his family, only for his past actions to caught up to him and making him return to his villainous self. |
| 106 | * MassiveNumberedSiblings: He has fathered and adopted many children during his long life, Shang-Chi merely being the most prominent. |
| 107 | * MoralityChain: His younger brother Zheng Yi holds this role for Zheng Zu. |
| 108 | * OffingTheOffspring: He's killed at least one child and has repeatedly attempted to kill others. |
| 109 | ** After Shang-Chi defeats Moving Shadow, Zheng Zu kills him with a thrown knife, telling Shang-Chi that [[YouHaveFailedMe a loyal son who fails is even worse than a traitor]]. |
| 110 | ** He's attempted to kill Shang-Chi on many occasions. |
| 111 | ** He had an extended EnemyCivilWar with Shang-Chi's elder half-sister Zheng Bao Yu when she tried to launch a coup within his organization. There were several attempts to kill her as part of this. |
| 112 | ** He seemed ready to kill his young daughter Shi-Hua when she struck him to defend Shang-Chi (and, for a long time afterwards, Shang-Chi was left to assume that Zheng-Zu ''had'' killed her). |
| 113 | * RetCanon: In the movie, [[Characters/MCUTheMandarin Wenwu]] is a composite character of the Mandarin and Zheng Zu, in ComicBook/ShangChi2021, Gene Luen Yang took some stuff from the movie, Zheng Zu met his wife Jiang Li after invading Ta-Lo, Jiang Li was a mortal born in Ta-Lo, Lo, both got married and had two children (although this had already been shown in the ComicBook/ShangChi2020 miniseries), Jiang Li was banished from Ta-Lo and went to live with Zheng Zu on Earth, however, Yang also distances himself from the film when show that Jiang Li didn't die, she was just trapped in the Negative Zone and that Zheng Zu never took possession of the Ten Rings, which in this version, is Ta-Lo's weapon. |
| 114 | * SacrificialRevivalSpell: Via the "Eyes of the Dragon", which can save and empower the caster at the cost of a relative's life. This comes up a couple of times: |
| 115 | ** Zheng Zu attempts to use it to [[spoiler:save his brother Zheng Yi at the cost of his own life]], which fails when [[spoiler:Zheng Yi reverses its target, saving Zheng Zu with a TakeMeInstead.]] |
| 116 | ** The Shadow Council use it to resurrect Zheng Zu, but he's caught in a CameBackWrong state and needs Shang-Chi's death to return him to true life. The Avengers save Shang-Chi (and the Prince of Orphans kills Zheng Zu) before that can happen. |
| 117 | [[/folder]] |
| 118 | |
| 119 | [[folder:Zheng Yi]] |
| 120 | !!Zheng Yi |
| 121 | [[quoteright:248:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zheng_yi_28earth_61629_from_shang_chi_vol_1_4_001.jpg]] |
| 122 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Secret Avengers'' #6 (October, 2010) |
| 123 | Zheng Zu's brother and co-founder of the Five Weapons Society. He died in 1860, but still shows up in flashbacks and as a spirit. |
| 124 | ---- |
| 125 | * LongLived: He led the Five Weapons society alongside Zheng Zu for at least a century, extending his life with longevity spells. |
| 126 | * MoralityChain: For his elder brother Zheng Zu. |
| 127 | * RememberTheNewGuy: Shang-Chi and his father were introduced in the 1970s, but Zheng Yi was first mentioned in the 2010 ''Secret Avengers'' story and only named or seen in the 2020 ''Shang-Chi'' miniseries. |
| 128 | * SpiritAdvisor: Occasionally appears to his nephew Shang-Chi as a spirit. |
| 129 | * TakeMeInstead: [[spoiler:Rejected Zheng Zu's attempt to save him from Baron Harkness and the Mindless Ones, redirecting the spell to save and empower Zheng Zu instead]]. |
| 130 | [[/folder]] |
| 131 | |
| 132 | [[folder:Brother Sabre]] |
| 133 | !!Takeshi |
| 134 | [[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7824439_7823892_12.jpg]] |
| 135 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Takeshi Zheng |
| 136 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Deadly Sabre |
| 137 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Shang-Chi'' #1 (September, 2020) |
| 138 | Shang-Chi's half-brother Takeshi was raised in Japan, becoming head of the House of the Deadly Sabre. Initially one of Shang-Chi's biggest supporters, his views shifted a little after he was granted a prophetic vision of a BadFuture that would be caused by Shang-Chi's leadership. |
| 139 | ---- |
| 140 | * {{BFS}}: He wields a nine-ringed broadsword. |
| 141 | * DatingCatwoman: He used to be involved with Lady Iron Fan, an enemy of the Five Weapons Society. |
| 142 | * DeathFakedForYou: Arranged this for his half-sister Zheng Zhilan when he was sent to assassinate her. On the other hand, it seems he didn't really stop to explain that to her -- when they next meet, she assumes he's back to finish the job. |
| 143 | * HugeGuyTinyGirl: A Brother-Sister example with Esme, being at least two heads taller than her. |
| 144 | * ImprovisedWeapon: When faced with a Taotie and without his swords, he uses a food tray as a weapon. |
| 145 | * ManlyFacialHair: Characterized by his full beard and he's a huge and manly fighter. |
| 146 | * SelfRestraint: [[spoiler:At the end of the 2021 series he willingly returns to jail, viewing it as the honorable option.]] |
| 147 | * SleevesAreForWimps: His combat outfit has no sleeves. |
| 148 | [[/folder]] |
| 149 | |
| 150 | [[folder:Sister Dagger]] |
| 151 | !!Zheng Esme |
| 152 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7823894_shangchi2021001_su_covervar.jpg]] |
| 153 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Zheng Esme |
| 154 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Deadly Dagger |
| 155 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Shang-Chi'' #1 (September, 2020) |
| 156 | The youngest of Shang-Chi's half-siblings, Esme was raised in France and swiftly became head of the House of the Deadly Dagger. |
| 157 | ---- |
| 158 | * FrenchJerk: She's half-French and she's usually the least friendly of Shang-Chi's siblings who aren't his enemies. |
| 159 | * HugeGuyTinyGirl: A Brother-Sister version with Takeshi, being the shortest of the siblings while Takeshi is the tallest. |
| 160 | * MoreDeadlyThanTheMale: She's the first one to argue about using deadly force while her brothers usually try to talk first. |
| 161 | * SmokeOut: One of her favourite ways to end a confrontation. Her throwing daggers can release smoke. |
| 162 | * SourSupporter: She doesn't agree with some of Shang-Chi's decisions and is rather vocal about it but remains loyal to her half-brother. |
| 163 | [[/folder]] |
| 164 | |
| 165 | [[folder:Sister Hammer]] |
| 166 | !!Zheng Shi-Hua |
| 167 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shang_chi_vol_1_1_second_printing_wanted_comix_exclusive_virgin_variant.jpg]] |
| 168 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Zheng Shi-Hua |
| 169 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Commander Hammer, Deadly Hammer, [[spoiler:Red Cannon]]. |
| 170 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Shang-Chi'' #1 (September, 2020) |
| 171 | Shang-Chi's little sister (and his only full sibling), Shi-Hua was separated from her brother and raised in Siberia to became head of the House of the Deadly Hammer. She tried to become the Supreme Commander of the Five Weapons Society by killing her brother Shang-Chi. |
| 172 | ---- |
| 173 | * AnArmAndALeg: [[spoiler:Xin uses a special arrow to cut off her right hand.]] |
| 174 | * BaldHeadOfToughness: She shaved her head completely bald and is incredibly tough, plus using a war-hammer as a weapon. |
| 175 | * BigLittleSister: She's younger than Shang-Chi but has grown taller and more muscular when they meet again. |
| 176 | * BrutishCharacterBrutishWeapon: She wields a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChuÃ_(Chinese_weapon) chuÃ]], a type of Chinese hammer used in combat. |
| 177 | * FacialMarkings: She has a prominent tattoo on her forehead. |
| 178 | * FormerlyFriendlyFamily: She and Shang-Chi were very close as children, until he fled and she embraced their father's teachings. |
| 179 | * InadequateInheritor: Sister Hammer was initially convinced that Shang-Chi wasn't worthy of his father's empire. [[spoiler:By the end of ''Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings'' she's reversed that view, and plans on using the Red Dot Collective to protect Shang-Chi and the Five Weapons Society]]. |
| 180 | * PowerFist: [[spoiler:After losing her right hand to Chieftain Xin, she's outfitted with a high-tech hammer made of SolidLight that she can turn on and off at will.]] |
| 181 | * RetiredBadass: Following her BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind with Shang-Chi, she's dropped into a more mundane lifestyle, working as a lumberjack in Canada. [[spoiler:It doesn't last, as she soon adopts the Red Cannon identity and takes control of the Red Dot Collective]]. |
| 182 | [[/folder]] |
| 183 | |
| 184 | [[folder:Brother Staff]] |
| 185 | !!Brother Staff |
| 186 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brother_staff_28earth_61629_from_shang_chi_vol_1_1_0001.jpg]] |
| 187 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Unknown |
| 188 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Deadly Staff |
| 189 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Shang-Chi'' #1 (September, 2020) |
| 190 | The head of the House of the Deadly Staff, he was based in England and was apparently another of Shang-Chi's half-siblings. |
| 191 | ---- |
| 192 | * DefiantToTheEnd: He exits with a DyingSmirk, noting that Shang-Chi, not the murderous Sister Hammer, has been chosen as their father's new successor. |
| 193 | * WeHardlyKnewYe: Shi-Hua kills him before we even learn his name. |
| 194 | [[/folder]] |
| 195 | |
| 196 | [[folder:Sister Staff]] |
| 197 | !!Zheng Zhilan |
| 198 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zheng_zhilan_earth_616_from_shang_chi_vol_2_9_baldeon_variant_cover_001.jpg]] |
| 199 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Zheng Zhilan |
| 200 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Deadly Staff, Lake Witch, Witch of Muckross Lake |
| 201 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Shang-Chi'' (Vol. 2) #3 (July, 2021) |
| 202 | ---- |
| 203 | * AffirmativeActionLegacy: Sort of. She's a mutant while her predecessor as Deadly Staff was a normal human. |
| 204 | * AlliterativeName: '''Zh'''eng '''Zh'''ilan. |
| 205 | * BraidsOfAction: Has her hair in a long braid and she takes being the new head of the House of Staff pretty well. |
| 206 | * DeathFakedForYou: Her half-brother Takeshi arranges this when their father sends him to assassinate Zheng Zhilan. It seems he didn't really stop to explain this first, though. |
| 207 | * FakeDefector: While at first she seemed to have betrayed her siblings to their enemies, it's all part of the plan. Eventually, with Esme's assistance, she reveals her true allegiance and leads them into an ambush. |
| 208 | [[/folder]] |
| 209 | |
| 210 | [[folder:Master Ling]] |
| 211 | !!Master Ling |
| 212 | [[quoteright:109:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/master_ling_from_shang_chi_vol_1_3_2.jpg]] |
| 213 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Shang-Chi'' #3 (November, 2020) |
| 214 | ---- |
| 215 | * CourtMage: In the absence of Zheng Zu, he seems to hold this role for the leaders of the Five Weapons Society. |
| 216 | [[/folder]] |
| 217 | |
| 218 | [[folder:Ducharme]] |
| 219 | !!Ducharme |
| 220 | [[quoteright:343:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ducharme_earth_616_from_giant_size_master_of_kung_fu_vol_1_1.jpg]] |
| 221 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Agent D |
| 222 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Deadly Hands of Kung Fu'' #2 (April, 1974) |
| 223 | ---- |
| 224 | * BackForTheDead: She reappears, after a long absence, in the final Fu Manchu arc of the original ''Master of Kung Fu'' series. Fah Lo Suee seemingly shoots her dead. |
| 225 | * DoubleAgent: Nayland Smith believed that she was a DeepCoverAgent who'd been spying on Fu Manchu for him for decades, but she was actually loyal to Fu Manchu all along. |
| 226 | * KilledOffForReal: She hasn't reappeared since her death at the end of ''Master of Kung Fu''. |
| 227 | * LongLived: Fu Manchu supplied her with Elixir Vitae to extend her life. |
| 228 | [[/folder]] |
| 229 | |
| 230 | !!Relatives outside the Five Weapons Society |
| 231 | [[folder:Chieftain Xin]] |
| 232 | !!Chieftain Xin |
| 233 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/edbd2e58_bfaf_4f71_9b33_4609729abbd3.jpeg]] |
| 234 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Shang-Chi'' (Vol. 2) #1 (May, 2021) |
| 235 | Shang-Chi and Shi-Hua's maternal grandfather. Leader of the Qilin Riders, one of the mortal peoples of the dimension known as Ta Lo, and sworn to defend the "Treasures of the Gods". |
| 236 | ---- |
| 237 | * BeardOfEvil: A notable white beard and he has turned evil for the sake of vengeance. |
| 238 | * FormerlyFriendlyFamily: He used to be on good terms with his daughter, but she abandoned their people to run away with Zheng Zu, who was revealed as a would-be thief. He initially offered both Jiang Li and the young Shang-Chi his support, but his views have now hardened and he wants his daughter and grandchildren to suffer for Zheng Zu's sins. |
| 239 | * GruesomeGrandparent: While there was a time he was genuinely well-intentioned, now he wants to destroy Zheng Zu's legacy, even if it means killing his own grandchildren. |
| 240 | * {{Kirin}}: His people are Qilin riders, with a psychic link to them. He rides one into battle. |
| 241 | * MasterArcher: One of the two gifts of his people. He's certainly a lethally effective archer, but this still borders on InformedAbility. |
| 242 | * PsychicLink: One of the gifts of his people is a link to the [[{{Kirin}} Qilin]] they ride. |
| 243 | * RevengeBeforeReason: Even though Zu is long dead and his grandson Shang-Chi didn't want a feud, he wants to kill everyone who has Zu's blood in the name of revenge. |
| 244 | * TwoFaced: Half his face was burned by Shang-Chi when he was a child. He'd just offered his grandson sanctuary, but then Zheng Zu convinced Shang-Chi that Xin had just killed his mother. |
| 245 | [[/folder]] |
| 246 | |
| 247 | [[folder:Jiang Li]] |
| 248 | !!Jiang Li |
| 249 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jiang_li_earth_616_from_shang_chi_vol_2_4.jpg]] |
| 250 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Shang-Chi'' (Vol. 2) #4 (September, 2021) |
| 251 | Shang-Chi and Shi-Hua's mother, the daughter of Chieftain Xin. Like her father, she grew up in the dimension of Ta Lo, not on Earth, but she left her people after meeting her future husband Zheng Zu. |
| 252 | ---- |
| 253 | * AdaptationNameChange: In the ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' film, she's Ying Li. When she was subsequently [[CanonImmigrant introduced to the comics]], she was named Jiang Li (which was used in some early pre-release publicity for the movie, but amended before the final version). |
| 254 | * DatingWhatDaddyHates: She fell in love with her father's enemy Zheng Zu, and despite trying to help her husband become a better person, Zu eventually fell back into villainy. |
| 255 | * CanonImmigrant: First introduced in the Shang-Chi film, then introduced to the comics as part of the wider SoftReboot started by the 2020 series. Subsequent stories revealed that she also has a similar background to her movie counterpart. |
| 256 | * {{Kirin}}: Her people are Qilin riders, with a psychic link to them. She was riding one when Zheng Zu first met her. |
| 257 | * MasterArcher: One of the two gifts of her people. |
| 258 | * PsychicLink: One of the gifts of her people is a link to the [[{{Kirin}} Qilin]] they ride. During her time in the Negative Zone she was able to extend it to other creatures as well. |
| 259 | * VerbalTic: At least initially, she chitters like the bugs she psionically connected while trapped within the Negative Zone. |
| 260 | [[/folder]] |
| 261 | |
| 262 | [[folder:Kwai Far]] |
| 263 | !!Kwai Far |
| 264 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1136a328_3f20_414c_8aa8_abdaa131ab6c.jpeg]] |
| 265 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' |
| 266 | Daughter of Zheng Zu and another of Shang-Chi's half-siblings. Their father offered Kwai Far's hand in marriage to T'Challa, the Black Panther, to seal a [[AltarDiplomacy political alliance]]. Shang-Chi intervened, T'Challa politely declined -- and Zheng Zu angrily disowned his daughter for failing to ensnare her groom. |
| 267 | |
| 268 | Kwai Far also makes it very clear that she wouldn't have been quite so willing to accept her father's arranged marriage plans if the groom hadn't been to her liking. |
| 269 | ---- |
| 270 | * IHaveNoDaughter: Zheng Zu strikes Kwai Far -- and promptly disowns her -- as soon it's clear that T'Challa isn't going to marry her. |
| 271 | * PutOnABus: She hasn't reappeared since her original ''Black Panther'' storyline, so hasn't been seen or mentioned since the SoftReboot. |
| 272 | [[/folder]] |
| 273 | |
| 274 | [[folder:Zheng Bao Yu]] |
| 275 | !!Zheng Bao Yu |
| 276 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fah_lo_suee_earth_616_from_fearless_defenders_vol_1_12_001.jpg]] |
| 277 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Fah Lo Suee, Cursed Lotus, Daughter of Darkness |
| 278 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #26 (December, 1974) |
| 279 | Daughter of Zheng Zu and older half-sister of Shang-Chi. After feuding with her father for control of his criminal organization, she eventually acknowledged that she was losing and surrendered to [=MI6=]. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she moved from prisoner to employee and swiftly ended up as one of the agency's directors. Eventually she left [=MI6=] again and reverted to villainy, running her own organisation after her father's death and also assuming the leadership of Hai-Dai. |
| 280 | ---- |
| 281 | Zheng Bao Yu was originally introduced to the comics as Fah Lo Suee, a character from the original Sax Rohmer ''Fu Manchu'' novels. As Marvel have now lost the comic adaptation rights to that character, she has been renamed to Zheng Bao Yu in more recent appearances. |
| 282 | |
| 283 | As of March 2022 she hasn't actually reappeared in ''Shang-Chi'' since the SoftReboot, so it's unclear how much of her original background as "Fah Lo Suee" has been amended to reflect Zheng Zu's very different history. |
| 284 | ---- |
| 285 | * ArchnemesisDad: It's not just Shang-Chi who keeps feuding with Zheng Zu. In fact, in a flashback during her first appearance, she warns a very young Shang-Chi that he may have to pick a side when he grows up. |
| 286 | * CanonWelding: She is (or at least started as) Fah Lo Suee, a character from the Sax Rohmer ''Fu Manchu'' books who was later introduced to the Marvel Universe. |
| 287 | * CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Much like her half-brother, her martial arts skills are pretty much superhuman. She's good enough to hold off the Asgardian Valkyrie and Elsa Bloodstone simultaneously, at least for a while. |
| 288 | * DarkActionGirl: Evolved into this in later appearances. In the early ''Master of Kung Fu'' days she relied almost entirely on minions, mind-control and poison, and didn't physically confront her enemies. |
| 289 | * DatingCatwoman: She has romantic history with Sir Denis Nayland Smith (A MayflyDecemberRomance when he was much younger). It didn't end amicably. |
| 290 | * DragonLady: If the green dresses and dragon tattoos weren't enough of an indicator. |
| 291 | * DruggedLipstick: Has used this tactic to poison her enemies. |
| 292 | * GivenNameReveal: She gets one in ''ComicBook/FearlessDefenders'', not long after Zheng Zu's name is revealed. As with her father, it's mostly there to detach her from the Sax Rohmer stories and associated licensing issues. |
| 293 | * HypnoticEyes: Making eye contact with her is a really bad idea. At one point she also boosts this ability with the ancient gems known as the 'ruby eyes'. |
| 294 | * LongLived: She's considerably older than Shang-Chi and, in her first appearance, Nayland Smith notes that she hasn't aged a day in the forty years since he last saw her. |
| 295 | [[/folder]] |
| 296 | |
| 297 | [[folder:Falo]] |
| 298 | !!Falo |
| 299 | [[quoteright:126:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/falo_earth_616_from_shang_chi_vol_2_9_001.jpg]] |
| 300 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Shang-Chi'' (Vol. 2) #9 (February, 2022) |
| 301 | A violent small-time crook in the Hawaiian town of Kailua-Kona. He's first seen mugging some tourists, but when Chieftain Xin's Taotie start hunting Zheng Zu's bloodline, he's chosen as one of their targets. |
| 302 | |
| 303 | Falo survives and Esme reveals that he must be related to Zheng Zu, the "greatest supervillain ever". Falo seems very happy to hear that -- he now has something to aspire to. |
| 304 | ---- |
| 305 | * SecretLegacy: Until Esme revealed that Zheng Zhilan was one of Falo's relatives, he had no idea of his heritage. |
| 306 | * VillainousLegacy: He's a descendant from one of the many children of Zheng Zu. |
| 307 | * UnknownRelative: Until he was attacked by a Taotie, he had no idea he descended from Zheng Zu. |
| 308 | [[/folder]] |
| 309 | |
| 310 | [[folder:M'Nai]] |
| 311 | !!M'Nai |
| 312 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mnai_earth_616_from_deadly_hands_of_kung_fu_vol_2_3_001.jpg]] |
| 313 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Midnight, Midnight Sun, Dark Destroyer |
| 314 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Special Marvel Edition'' #16 (November, 1973) |
| 315 | Shang-Chi's adopted African brother. M'Nai was the sole survivor of a British attack on a village of Zheng Zu's followers. Seeing the anger and rage in baby M'Nai's face, Zheng Zu adopted him. The child's face was badly scarred, so he wore a mask for most of his life. M'Nai and Shang-Chi grew up and trained together, becoming best friends. |
| 316 | |
| 317 | M'Nai eventually received superpowers from the Kree, subsequently changing his moniker from "Midnight" to "Midnight Sun". |
| 318 | |
| 319 | Although he's appeared in other Marvel comics since the SoftReboot, as of February 2022 he hasn't yet reappeared in ''Shang-Chi'', so it's unclear how much of his original background has been amended. |
| 320 | ---- |
| 321 | * CapeSnag: In his first appearance he's killed when he falls from a crane, his cape snags on the hook and the sudden stop breaks his neck. Then again, it was a long drop and the alternative was probably fatal as well. And it's a temporary death anyway. |
| 322 | * EmpoweredBadassNormal: He's pretty dangerous before he gains powers. Afterwards he's capable of duelling the Silver Surfer… |
| 323 | * TheFaceless: His face is scarred and he's always masked. Even as a child, he fought Shang-Chi (before they became friends) rather than show his face. Once he's resurrected by the Kree, he's ''still'' horribly scarred, but this time due to their scientists' modifications. |
| 324 | * FormerlyFriendlyFamily: As Shang-Chi's adoptive brother, he's the first of his siblings to appear. And although they're good friends, he's still loyal to Zheng Zu, whereas Shang-Chi's betrayed him. So they're going to have to fight. |
| 325 | * IdentityAmnesia: After his resurrection as Midnight Sun, he initially lacks all memory of his previous life. But he definitely retains his skills. |
| 326 | * ScarsAreForever: He was scarred as a baby, a victim of the attack that killed his parents. He [[TheFaceless hid his face beneath a mask]] for the rest of his life. When he's resurrected by the Kree, using a cloned body, he acquires a ''different'' set of horrible facial scars. |
| 327 | * StealthHiBye: He's stealthy enough to pull these on Shang-Chi. |
| 328 | * TykeBomb: Like most of Zheng Zu's other children, he was taught to fight from a very early age. |
| 329 | * VillainEpisode: Gets a short solo story in an ''ComicBook/IronMan'' annual, a flashback tale in which he's sent to Singapore during the UsefulNotes/VietnamWar to recruit supervillain Half-Face for Zheng Zu's cause. |
| 330 | * TheVoiceless: When resurrected by the Kree, he's initially unable to speak. |
| 331 | [[/folder]] |
| 332 | |
| 333 | [[folder:Moving Shadow]] |
| 334 | !!Moving Shadow |
| 335 | [[quoteright:347:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moving_shadow.jpg]] |
| 336 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu'' #1 (September, 2002) |
| 337 | Shang-Chi's younger half-brother, raised to be a perfectly loyal heir to Zheng Zu. He's an exceptionally talented assassin and, like, Shang-Chi, he's one of the world's finest martial artists. |
| 338 | ---- |
| 339 | * BloodKnight: At the darker end of the scale. He talks about enjoying killing people in the same way he talks about enjoying fine wine and sex. |
| 340 | * TheHedonist: Downplayed, but when he tells his father that he doesn't believe in an afterlife, he adds that he's more interested in excellent wine, beautiful women and [[BloodKnight the chance to kill so many people]]. |
| 341 | * KilledOffForReal: He was killed by Zheng Zu and hasn't returned so far. |
| 342 | * OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: His actual name is unknown, he's only called Moving Shadow. |
| 343 | * YouHaveFailedMe: On the receiving end. Zheng Zu declares that a loyal son who fails is even more disappointing than a traitor, then [[OffingTheOffspring promptly kills him]]. |
| 344 | [[/folder]] |
| 345 | |
| 346 | !!Allies |
| 347 | [[folder:Leiko Wu]] |
| 348 | !!Leiko Wu |
| 349 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/leiko_wu_28earth_61629_from_shang_chi_vol_1_1_001.jpg]] |
| 350 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Leiko Wu Reston |
| 351 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #33 (October, 1975) |
| 352 | |
| 353 | Shang-Chi's on-and-off-again love interest and a member of [=MI6=]. |
| 354 | ---- |
| 355 | * ActionGirl: Very much so. She's a field agent for spy agency [=MI6=] and seems equally comfortable with guns and hand-to-hand combat. |
| 356 | * AnArmAndALeg: Prior to her death and resurrection, Leiko lost a hand to the villain Argus and replaced it with a prosthetic. |
| 357 | * ArmedFemalesUnarmedMales: While no slouch in hand-to-hand combat, she is much more reliant on weapons than Shang Chi. |
| 358 | * DatingCatwoman: Leiko's been in relationships with both Cat and Skull-Crusher. |
| 359 | * DeathIsCheap: In 2014's ''Deadly Hands of Kung Fu'', she's killed by Razor-Fist and then resurrected by Skull-Crusher's ThanatosGambit towards the end of the same storyline. |
| 360 | * EloquentInMyNativeTongue: Leiko's a British woman with Chinese heritage and English is her first language. In the 2020 ''Shang-Chi'' series, Shang-Chi asks her to stick to English because her Chinese is 'YouNoTakeCandle' levels of awful. |
| 361 | * GracefulLadiesLikePurple: Leiko has a tendency of wearing purple outfits and she sure is a skilled and graceful [=MI6=] Agent. |
| 362 | * LoveTriangle: She's been in relationships with both Reston (who she eventually married) and Shang-Chi, sometimes causing some tension between the two men. She was also, briefly, in a relationship with Shang-Chi's rival Cat, which led to other complications. |
| 363 | * NakedFirstImpression: She meets Shang-Chi when [=MI5=] arrange a London flat for him. When he and Reston first visit it, she's already soaking in the bath. |
| 364 | * SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Downplayed, but as an attractive Asian ActionGirl working for Nayland-Smith and [=MI5=], she's initially pretty similar to Sandy Chen, a character who was teased as a love interest but killed off after her initial story. Shang-Chi even thinks "''she reminds me of... '''Sandy'''...''" on the first page of Leiko's introduction. |
| 365 | [[/folder]] |
| 366 | |
| 367 | [[folder:Black Jack Tarr]] |
| 368 | !!Black Jack Tarr |
| 369 | [[quoteright:163:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jack_tarr_earth_616_from_official_handbook_of_the_marvel_universe_vol_3_7_0001.jpg]] |
| 370 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Blackjack Tarr, Black Jack Blue |
| 371 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #17 (January, 1974) |
| 372 | |
| 373 | Shang-Chi's brawny ally and a member of [=MI6=]. Often assists Sir Denis Nayland Smith. |
| 374 | ---- |
| 375 | * DentedIron: Tarr's taken a lot of injuries over the years and his back has never quite recovered. |
| 376 | * TheOneThatGotAway: Anna, who worked with Tarr in the British Foreign Service thirty years ago. She vanished without explanation. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, when she returns in the present it's after a FaceHeelTurn and she's now part of the Black Demon Sect, working for the Chinese government]]. |
| 377 | * PoliticallyIncorrectHero: When he first meets Shang-Chi, he makes several racist remarks based on his experiences as an officer in British Hong Kong, and constantly refers to him as "Chinaman" rather than using his name. Eventually, Shang-Chi directly calls him out with a WhatTheHellHero speech (in the [[ComicBook/ShangChiMasterOfKungFu2002 2002 series]]) and he drops it. |
| 378 | * RefugeeFromTime: As well as working in British Hong Kong, Tarr was established as a World War II veteran who had some "particularly nasty experiences" during that war. |
| 379 | [[/folder]] |
| 380 | |
| 381 | [[folder:Clive Reston]] |
| 382 | !!Sir Clive Reston |
| 383 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clive_reston_earth_616_from_all_new_official_handbook_of_the_marvel_universe_a_to_z_update_vol_1_2_001.jpg]] |
| 384 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu'' #3 (December, 1974) |
| 385 | Leiko Wu's ex-husband. Also a member of [=MI6=]. |
| 386 | ---- |
| 387 | * ArtisticLicenceAwards: When he reappears in ''ComicBook/WisdomRudimentsOfWisdom'' and ''ComicBook/CaptainBritainAndMI13'', he's introduced as "Sir Clive Reston, KCBE". This doesn't exist as a [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever British honour]] -- it's likely that it was supposed to be KBE, which would justify the "Sir". KBE does stand for '''K'''night Commander of the Order of the '''B'''ritish '''E'''mpire, but when it's abbreviated the C is omitted. |
| 388 | * BondOneLiner: Has been known to make these. Given the hints about his father, they may run in the family. |
| 389 | * CaringGardener: Played with. He grows orchids, and treasures them, but his care for them represents his romances, not a broader care for all living things. |
| 390 | * DistinguishedGentlemansPipe: Smokes one in some early appearances. |
| 391 | * LoveTriangle: Clive and Shang-Chi have both been in relationships with Leiko Wu, which has caused some stress between them. |
| 392 | * PoorCommunicationKills: In ''ComicBook/WisdomRudimentsOfWisdom'', Reston's unwillingness to share information between [=MI6=] and [=MI13=] leads to the death of [=MI13=] agent Maureen Raven and an other-dimensional alien invasion of London, with heavy civilian casualties. Both Wisdom and [=MI13=]'s leadership make their feelings on this ''extremely'' clear. |
| 393 | * RecoveredAddict: He was TheAlcoholic for a little while, but managed to stop drinking. He stopped smoking at the same time. |
| 394 | * ShoutOut: His father is said to be a British spy -- the best ever enlisted -- with "[[Franchise/JamesBond a licence to kill]]". His great-uncle was apparently a more intellectual fellow [[Franchise/SherlockHolmes who spoke of "elementary" problems and played the violin at odd hours]]. |
| 395 | [[/folder]] |
| 396 | |
| 397 | [[folder:Sir Denis Nayland Smith]] |
| 398 | !!Sir Denis Nayland Smith |
| 399 | [[quoteright:328:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/denis_nayland_smith_earth_616_from_special_marvel_edition_vol_1_15_001jpg.jpg]] |
| 400 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Special Marvel Edition'' #15 (September, 1973) |
| 401 | Fu Manchu's longtime nemesis and a member of [=MI6=]. Often gives Shang-Chi missions to put an end to Fu Manchu's plans. |
| 402 | ---- |
| 403 | Sir Denis is the hero of some of the original Sax Rohmer ''Fu Manchu'' novels and Marvel have now lost the comic adaptation rights to the character. As of February 2022, he hasn't been renamed or replaced following the SoftReboot, so specifically remains an adversary of Fu Manchu rather than Zheng Zu. |
| 404 | ---- |
| 405 | * AgeLift: He's considerably older than he was in the original books, as the comics are a sequel set decades later. |
| 406 | * CanonWelding: He's a character from the Sax Rohmer ''Fu Manchu'' books who was later introduced to the Marvel Universe. |
| 407 | * ComicBookTime: Averted. He directly states that in 1911, when he was 28, he first saw Fu Manchu. |
| 408 | * ContinuitySnarl: He's one of the characters from the original Sax Rohmer ''Literature/FuManchu'' novels and hasn't been seen in the comics since Marvel lost the rights to those stories. The subsequent SoftReboot transformed Fu Manchu into Zheng Zu, but Sir Denis hasn't been seen since and as of Feb 2022 it's unclear how and if he still fits into canon. |
| 409 | * DatingCatwoman: He has romantic history with Fu Manchu's daughter Fah Lo Suee (a MayflyDecemberRomance when Nayland Smith was much younger). It didn't end amicably and when they meet again forty years later, he states that she's irredeemable. Of course, that's before she pulls a FaceHeelTurn, joins [=MI6=] and tells him she wishes they'd been able to age gracefully together. |
| 410 | * DemotedToExtra: Downplayed, but he's the hero of most of the original novels. Whereas Shang-Chi is the star of the comics and Sir Denis is just supporting cast. |
| 411 | * DisabledInTheAdaptation: When first introduced in ''Special Marvel Edition'' he's a wheelchair user who can't stand; at some point after the last of the Rohmer novels, one of Fu Manchu's servants mangled his legs. [[ThrowingOffTheDisability He gets better]]. |
| 412 | * DistinguishedGentlemansPipe: He's a pipe smoker in the early stories. |
| 413 | * ThrowingOffTheDisability: In a very early story, after a speech from Shang-Chi, he finds the HeroicWillpower to stand despite the injuries to his legs. After that he can walk, but still needs a cane for a while. |
| 414 | * WhatTheHellHero: Gets a fairly epic one from Shang-Chi at the end of one ''Master of Kung Fu'' storyline, accusing him of prioritising his hate for Fu Manchu over right and wrong. And then Shang-Chi quits [=MI6=], as do Leiko Wu, Reston and even Black Jack Tarr. |
| 415 | [[/folder]] |
| 416 | |
| 417 | [[folder:Doctor James Petrie]] |
| 418 | !!Doctor James Petrie |
| 419 | [[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/james_petrie_earth_616_from_master_of_kung_fu_vol_1_44_0001jpg.jpg]] |
| 420 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu'' #3 (December, 1974) |
| 421 | A chemist and adventurer who aided Nayland Smith in his struggles against Fu Manchu throughout the 20th century. He was married to Karamenah, an Egyptian woman he met during those adventures, but is now a widower. Petrie's very aged and decrepit by the start of the first ''Master of Kung Fu'' stories, and is promptly killed in his own bed by Shang-Chi, who's acting on his father's orders. It's this mission that causes Shang-Chi to rebel against Fu Manchu. |
| 422 | |
| 423 | It's later revealed that the ''real'' Dr Petrie is still alive (and in much better health), but held prisoner by Fu Manchu. After he's rescued he joins Shang-Chi's allies, first in [=MI6=] and later in Freelance Restorations. |
| 424 | ---- |
| 425 | Dr. Petrie is a Sax Rohmer character, the narrator of some of the original ''Literature/FuManchu'' novels, and Marvel have now lost the comic adaptation rights to the character. As of February 2022, he hasn't been renamed or replaced following the SoftReboot, so specifically remains an adversary of Fu Manchu rather than Zheng Zu. |
| 426 | ---- |
| 427 | * AgeLift: He's considerably older than he was in the original books, as the comics are a sequel set decades later. |
| 428 | * BrainwashedAndCrazy: After he's rescued from Fu Manchu, he initially acts as TheMole within [=MI6=], conspiring with Shock-Wave and attempting to kill Nayland Smith and Tarr. |
| 429 | * CanonWelding: He's a character from the Sax Rohmer ''Fu Manchu'' books who was later introduced to the Marvel Universe. |
| 430 | * ContinuitySnarl: He's one of the characters from the original Sax Rohmer ''Literature/FuManchu'' novels and hasn't been seen in the comics since Marvel lost the rights to those stories. The subsequent SoftReboot transformed Fu Manchu into Zheng Zu, but Petrie hasn't been seen since and as of Feb 2022 it's unclear how and if he still fits into canon. |
| 431 | * DeathByAdaptation: Initially played straight, eventually averted. He dies at the start of the very first Shang-Chi story, and [[DeathByOriginStory his murder is key to the plot]]. But it later turns out that Fu Manchu was holding him prisoner and the Petrie who died was ActuallyADoombot. |
| 432 | * DeathByOriginStory: Initially played straight, eventually averted. Shang-Chi's guilt over his murder of Dr Petrie helps to fuel his initial HeelFaceTurn and rebellion against his father. It's later revealed that Shang-Chi was fooled by an [[ActuallyADoombot extremely realistic robot]] and Petrie's still alive. |
| 433 | * DemotedToExtra: He's the narrator and one of the recurring heroes of some of the original novels, essentially playing TheWatson to Sir Denis. Whereas Shang-Chi is the star of the comics and here he's just supporting cast. After his [[{{Deprogram}} Deprogramming]] he very rarely appears. |
| 434 | * {{Deprogram}}: Goes through this after his brainwashing is discovered. It initially leaves him quoting some of the deprogramming scripts verbatim, which is a little disturbing. |
| 435 | * InformedAbility: He's described as a brilliant chemist at least once in the comics, as well as in the original books, but never uses that skill in the comics. Even when he's BrainwashedAndCrazy and using explosives, he's completely reliant on someone else to create the bombs. |
| 436 | * TheMole: After his rescue, he's still brainwashed and acts as Fu Manchu's mole within [=MI6=]. |
| 437 | [[/folder]] |
| 438 | |
| 439 | %%[[folder:Rufus 'Super Midnight' Carter]] |
| 440 | %%!!Rufus Carter |
| 441 | %%[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/69bc153e_f0e3_4312_a59f_5c237f9d7d3d.jpeg]] |
| 442 | %%!!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #96 (October, 1980) |
| 443 | %%An American CIA agent and martial artist, initially based in London. After the CIA lied to both Carter and Shang-Chi about one of his missions, he quit to become an independent investigator. |
| 444 | %%---- |
| 445 | %%[[/folder]] |
| 446 | |
| 447 | [[folder:Mia Lessing]] |
| 448 | !!Mia Lessing |
| 449 | [[quoteright:318:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/489b158a_7bfc_41d0_b25b_28ad456c6238.jpeg]] |
| 450 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Dark Angel, The Dark Angel of Death |
| 451 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #107 |
| 452 | |
| 453 | A Russian agent who defected to Britain and was assigned the new identity of 'Mia Lessing'. She rapidly ended up working for [=MI6=] and dating Clive Reston. |
| 454 | ---- |
| 455 | * ActionGirl: Previously a KGB assassin, and very capable of holding her own. |
| 456 | * BodyguardingABadass: Was bodyguard to Shang-Chi's half-sister Zheng Bao Yu for some of the time she was working with [=MI6=]. |
| 457 | * OffingTheOffspring: On the receiving end of an attempt. Her father tried to sell her our when she defected (and was then RewardedAsATraitorDeserves by the assassins chasing her). |
| 458 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Hasn't been seen since the original ''ComicBook/MasterOfKungFu'' series ended. |
| 459 | [[/folder]] |
| 460 | |
| 461 | [[folder:Melissa Greville]] |
| 462 | !!Melissa Greville |
| 463 | [[quoteright:167:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/melissa_greville_earth_616_from_master_of_kung_fu_vol_1_42_001.jpg]] |
| 464 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #43 (May, 1976) |
| 465 | An employee of [=MI6=] and assistant to Nayland Smith. Melissa wasn't employed as a field agent, but found herself caught up in some of the action, especially after she started dating Reston. She quit [=MI6=] along with the rest of the team, but was also the first to return to the agency, leaving Freelance Restorations after she broke up with Reston. |
| 466 | ---- |
| 467 | * ContinuitySnarl: A downplayed example. Her uncle Shan Greville, who connected her to the other characters via Nayland Smith, is one of the characters from the original Sax Rohmer ''Literature/FuManchu'' novels and Melissa, who's not directly taken from the books, hasn't been seen in the comics since Marvel lost the rights to those stories. It's unclear how and if she still fits into canon. |
| 468 | [[/folder]] |
| 469 | |
| 470 | %%[[folder:Delilah Wang]] |
| 471 | %%!!Delilah Wang |
| 472 | %%[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/delilah_wang_earth_616_from_shang_chi_vol_1_1_001.jpg]] |
| 473 | %%!!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Shang-Chi'' #1 (September, 2020) |
| 474 | %%---- |
| 475 | %%[[/folder]] |
| 476 | |
| 477 | !!Enemies |
| 478 | [[folder:Brynocki]] |
| 479 | !!Brynocki |
| 480 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1bd3b6c0_c578_438d_a702_5ba420c682eb.jpeg]] |
| 481 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Iron Boy |
| 482 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #34 (August, 1975) |
| 483 | A diminutive robot created by the assassin Mordillo, Brynocki served as his assistant and best friend. After Mordillo's death, Brynocki was initially confiscated by [=MI6=], but later regained control of Mordillo's island and its army of killer robots, using them to try to avenge his fallen master. |
| 484 | ---- |
| 485 | * BewareTheSillyOnes: After Mordillo's death he takes control of the island and the other robots, becoming a recurring threat. |
| 486 | * TheBusCameBack: In 1992, a decade after his last appearance in ''Master of Kung Fu'', he returned to confront Shang-Chi and ComicBook/MoonKnight in a ''Marc Spector: Moon Knight'' story, in which he was seemingly destroyed. He came back again, rebuilt by supervillain Arcade, in 2005 -- this time in ''ComicBook/TheThing''. |
| 487 | * DragonAscendant: Not exactly, as he was always more of a sidekick than a dragon. But the rest of the trope is played straight. He's completely loyal to Mordillo until his master's death, then takes command and seeks vengeance on his behalf. |
| 488 | * {{Expy}}: Originally a very strange one for [[Creator/HerveVillechaize Hervé Villechaize's]] character Nick Nack in ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun''. It's played for laughs when he returns in the 2000s with a brief gag making him an analogue for another Villechaize character, Tattoo from ''Series/FantasyIsland''. |
| 489 | * RobotBuddy: Mordillo's cute robot sidekick. |
| 490 | [[/folder]] |
| 491 | |
| 492 | [[folder:Carlton Velcro]] |
| 493 | !!Carlton Velcro |
| 494 | [[quoteright:239:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8e3afd2e_f23b_4bd6_bdf0_adf184c861b4.jpeg]] |
| 495 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #29 (March, 1975) |
| 496 | Initially introduced as one of the world's richest men, Velcro was an international drug dealer on a massive scale. He had ambitions beyond money, though -- which is why he'd also assembled a private army and discreetly acquired nuclear missiles. Seriously injured at the end of his first clash with Shang-Chi, he loses much of his wealth and later returns as a cyborg. |
| 497 | ---- |
| 498 | * BadBoss: |
| 499 | ** Orders his guards to shoot through his [[TheDragon loyal enforcer]] Razor-Fist in the hope they'll hit Shang-Chi. Razor-Fist dies, Shang-Chi dodges. |
| 500 | ** He shoots one of his replacement Razor-Fists in much the same way. |
| 501 | * TheBusCameBack: There's a lengthy gap between his first two appearances in ''Master of Kung Fu'' -- and then a 40-year gap before he returns in 2022's ''Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings''. |
| 502 | * DeathFakedForYou: It's not a secret to everyone, but his allies in [=MI6=] ensure that Shang-Chi and his friends don't find out that Velcro survived their first confrontation. |
| 503 | * LoveInterestTraitor: When he was involved with Pavane, she was actually working for Mordillo -- who was planning to assassinate Velcro. |
| 504 | * MurderInc: Runs an assassination bureau after his original WorldDomination plans fall through. |
| 505 | * NonActionBigBad: Initially played straight. Subverted when he returns as a cyborg. |
| 506 | * SupervillainLair: a huge Mediterranean estate, including underwater tunnels, a panther enclosure and a luxury mansion with a PaidHarem and retractable floors (in "each and every room") so that he can drop people into the panther pit. And a secret base underneath it all, containing a private army and nuclear missiles. |
| 507 | [[/folder]] |
| 508 | |
| 509 | [[folder:Cat]] |
| 510 | !!Cat |
| 511 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shen_kuei_earth_616_from_cable_and_deadpool_vol_1_7_0001.jpg]] |
| 512 | !!!'''Real Name''' Shen Kuei |
| 513 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #38 (December, 1975) |
| 514 | A martial artist from Hong Kong, Cat's occasionally been a spy for the Chinese government and sometimes just acted as an independent criminal. His loyalties tend to bring him into conflict with [=MI6=] and Shang-Chi, with whom he's very evenly matched -- but he's rarely an outright villain, there are always shades of grey, and he's sometimes joined forces with Shang-Chi for the greater good. |
| 515 | ---- |
| 516 | * AnimalMotifs: Cats, obviously. He has a stylised black cat tattoo on his chest. |
| 517 | * ChestInsignia: Has a large black cat tattooed onto his chest. |
| 518 | * LoveInterestTraitor: When he first appears, he's living in Hong Kong and in a relationship with a woman called Juliette, not realising that she's one of Nayland-Smith's agents. |
| 519 | * TheRival: To Shang-Chi. They're very evenly matched in terms of skill, they've had relationships with some of the same women and even their names are similar. |
| 520 | * SignificantNameOverlap: It is mentioned in Shen Kuei's debut that his name and Shang-Chi's name are pronounced the same way. |
| 521 | * StrikeMeDown: After Juliette stabs herself he turns his back on Shang-Chi, who has a knife within easy reach, and invites him to strike. Shang-Chi declines. |
| 522 | * TykeBomb: He started his martial arts training at the age of four. |
| 523 | [[/folder]] |
| 524 | |
| 525 | [[folder:Death-Dealer]] |
| 526 | !!Death-Dealer |
| 527 | [[quoteright:322:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/li_ching_lin_earth_616_from_master_of_kung_fu_vol_1_115_cover_001jpg.jpg]] |
| 528 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Li Ching-Lin |
| 529 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #115 (May, 1982) |
| 530 | First introduced as a talented [=MI6=] trainee who drew comparisons with Shang-Chi, it was noted that Li also seemed ambitious and unnecessarily brutal in his combat training. Additionally, he seemed very loyal -- the KGB had attempted to recruit him without success. |
| 531 | |
| 532 | However, Nayland Smith and Fah Lo became suspicious, and Shang-Chi was instructed to detain him. Li fought back and then fled, revealing his true loyalty -- Fu Manchu had placed him in [=MI6=] as a mole. |
| 533 | |
| 534 | With his cover blown, Li was given a new costumed identity as the assassin Death-Dealer, then sent to slay Shang-Chi and his allies. |
| 535 | |
| 536 | For the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse version of the character, see [[Characters/MCUTenRings here]]. |
| 537 | ---- |
| 538 | * CoolMask: It's a very stylish skull mask. |
| 539 | * DeathDealer: Surprisingly averted. He uses the codename and the PlayingCardMotifs, but he doesn't use the cards themselves as weapons. |
| 540 | * GeniusBruiser: When still at [=MI6=], he excels across all subjects. Everything from paperwork and psychology to unarmed combat. To some degree, this is also an InformedAbility, as once he's exposed he doesn't get much opportunity to display the non-combat skills. |
| 541 | * TheDragon: To Fu Manchu during his final ''Master of King Fu'' arc. |
| 542 | * ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: His triple bladed swords. At one point Shang-Chi gets hold of one and finds it very awkward to use (although that's partly because he doesn't want to kill his opponent). |
| 543 | * KilledOffForReal: While fighting Shang-Chi in a burning building he finds that his costume is MadeOfIncendium. He's stayed dead and hasn't been resurrected in almost 40 years. |
| 544 | * TheMole: When first introduced he's a very promising [=MI6=] recruit, but he's actually infiltrating the agency for Fu Manchu. |
| 545 | * PlayingCardMotifs: He scatters cards over the scene of his attack and makes some card references when speaking. |
| 546 | * SmallRoleBigImpact: The character's actually KilledOffForReal at the end of the same 1982 ''Master of Kung Fu'' arc that introduced him, and only appears in four issues, but decades later he was chosen as one of the villains for the ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' film, bringing the character to a much wider audience. |
| 547 | * TheSneakyGuy: Sneaky enough to evade Shang-Chi when fleeing. Also stealthy enough to creep up behind Shang-Chi before he notices (although he ''does'' still spot Death-Dealer before the sword hits). |
| 548 | [[/folder]] |
| 549 | |
| 550 | [[folder:Doctor Gelsemium]] |
| 551 | !! Doctor Gelsemium |
| 552 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/63f05176_ae9e_4e92_9e65_80f60ab16bab.jpeg]] |
| 553 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Doctor Jessa Chen |
| 554 | ---- |
| 555 | * CombatTentacles: They're actually prehensile vines and branches, but they work the same way in combat. |
| 556 | * LabcoatOfScienceAndMedicine: Part of her standard outfit. |
| 557 | * MadScientist: Specifically, a biologist and botanist. She's very fond of transforming humans (and other animals) into plants. |
| 558 | * PartialTransformation: It varies, but she tends to transform one arm and grow a couple of vine-tentacles, but leave the rest of her body human. |
| 559 | * PlantPerson: A borderline case, as she combines plant and animal aspects, but she's certainly not entirely human any more. |
| 560 | * ProfessorGuineaPig: She experimented on herself at an early stage, granting herself plant-related powers. |
| 561 | * PsychicLink: She has some level of {{Telepathy}} with those she's transformed, although it seems to be for communication and JourneyToTheCentreOfTheMind purposes rather than mind control. |
| 562 | * SignatureHeadgear: There's a flower in her hair. It looks exactly the same as the ones she sprouted on her transformed arm, so whether it's worn in her hair or actually ''growing from her head'' is unclear. |
| 563 | * WouldHurtAChild: Deployed a bioweapon that transforms humans into plants in a Beijing school. |
| 564 | [[/folder]] |
| 565 | |
| 566 | [[folder:Ghost Maker]] |
| 567 | !!Ghost Maker |
| 568 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ecd2e8f8_6e16_4c62_a6e4_6b3c4ef63457.jpeg]] |
| 569 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Gregori Sovchenko |
| 570 | !!!'''First appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #110 |
| 571 | ---- |
| 572 | * BackFromTheDead: He dies at the end of his first clash with Shang-Chi, but the Snakeroot cult (part of the Hand) brings him back from the dead. They bring him back a second time after Elektra stabs him to death. |
| 573 | * ChestInsignia: His Ghost Maker costume has a skull symbol on its chest. |
| 574 | [[/folder]] |
| 575 | |
| 576 | [[folder:King Wild Man]] |
| 577 | !!King Wild Man |
| 578 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/01816e19_8966_4d3e_b4f4_4cc15fe15161.jpeg]] |
| 579 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Shang-Chi'' (Vol. 2) #1 (May, 2021) |
| 580 | ---- |
| 581 | * BigfootSasquatchAndYeti: All of his abilities were developed from the corpse of a Yeren he found in China. |
| 582 | * ReforgedIntoAMinion: Anyone he attaches a Yeren Root to will immediately undergo a monstrous transformation into one of his creatures. Thankfully, it's temporary. |
| 583 | * ShoutOut: He's based off the Bull Demon King from the ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest''. |
| 584 | [[/folder]] |
| 585 | |
| 586 | [[folder:Lady Iron Fan]] |
| 587 | !!Lady Iron Fan |
| 588 | [[quoteright:294:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/91f26172_ebea_4664_8bc0_05bf6057b1e5.jpeg]] |
| 589 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Shang-Chi'' (Vol. 2) #2 (June, 2021) |
| 590 | ---- |
| 591 | * CoolShades: Introduced wearing a pair of shades. |
| 592 | * DatingCatwoman: She used to be in a relationship with Takeshi of the Five Weapons Society. |
| 593 | * MasterOfTheLevitatingBlades: She mentally controls numerous flying iron fans. |
| 594 | * SecondaryColorNemesis: Dresses in purple and opposes Shang-Chi and his society. |
| 595 | * ShoutOut: She's based on Princess Iron Fan from the ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest''. |
| 596 | [[/folder]] |
| 597 | |
| 598 | [[folder:Mordillo]] |
| 599 | !!Mordillo |
| 600 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2c506186_2c7b_4873_a871_ee09ecfbd608.jpeg]] |
| 601 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Mordillo, Mordillo the Majestic, Simon Bretnor, Death-Hand |
| 602 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #33 (July, 1975) |
| 603 | ---- |
| 604 | * AllInTheManual: When he reappears in ''ComicBook/{{Domino}}'', the following issue's letter page explains that he's now a cyborg and shows the Death-Hand glove is now an artificial hand. |
| 605 | * BackFromTheDead: He eventually reappears in ''ComicBook/{{Domino}}'', despite his death in the first storyline. His revival isn't explained. |
| 606 | * BerserkButton: Mordillo flies into a rage when addressed as "Simon" after his infiltration ends, insisting that Bretnor was merely a cover identity. |
| 607 | * ComplexityAddiction: He's a WickedToymaker who uses robot assassins and taunts his foes by leaving obscure clues, such as inscribing quotes and codes onto his bullets. |
| 608 | * {{Cyborg}}: Described this way after his revival in ''ComicBook/{{Domino}}''. |
| 609 | * {{Expy}}: In his original appearances, he bears a very strong resemblance to the film version of Franchise/JamesBond villain Francisco Scaramanga from ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'', perhaps after a healthy dose of LSD. Like Scaramanga, Mordillo works from a tricked-out island, writes on his bullets, has a diminutive sidekick who serves as a major domo, and is out to steal a powerful solar energy device. |
| 610 | * LoveInterestTraitor: As Simon Bretnor, he's dating Leiko Wu when two the characters first appear. |
| 611 | * TheMole: He uses his Simon Bretnor identity to infiltrate [=MI6=]. |
| 612 | * PowerFist: The metal Death-Hand glove, which includes a flamethrower and a high-powered dart gun. |
| 613 | * ProfessionalKiller: He's a famous hired assassin. According to [=MI6=], he mostly works for the communists, but that's purely because the western powers can't afford him. |
| 614 | * PsychopathicManchild: Very much so. Clues and toys and murder, plus a childish nature -- especially when dealing with Brynocki or Leiko. As he says at one point, he can ''be'' sane, though, [[MaskOfSanity playing the part well]] when he has to. |
| 615 | * ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: The situation when he makes his first appearance -- he's well known to [=MI6=] before he ever encounters Shang-Chi, but everyone believes he's already dead. |
| 616 | * RobotBuddy: His sidekick Brynocki. |
| 617 | * ShoutOut: He shares his name with a famous Argentine cartoonist. |
| 618 | * SupervillainLair: He has a whole island, including a castle, and most of it's filled with traps and whimsical killer robots. |
| 619 | * VillainousLegacy: His island, traps and weapons live on long after he's gone and believed dead. First [=MI6=] use them, then Brynocki uses them for revenge, and then Arcade decides to take control. Shang-Chi's narration also thinks back to his whimsical horrors several times when facing other threats. A 2018 story reveals that ComicBook/DaughtersOfTheDragon villain Rutherford Winner is apparently a fan as well, preferring Mordillo's doomsday weapons to a more mundane tactical nuclear bomb. |
| 620 | -->'''Winner:''' Mordillo was one of the greats. A true mad genius. |
| 621 | [[/folder]] |
| 622 | |
| 623 | [[folder:Pavane]] |
| 624 | !!Pavane |
| 625 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/92526fb2_b5f5_460f_a194_5a20ba475fbf.jpeg]] |
| 626 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #31 (May, 1975) |
| 627 | ---- |
| 628 | * BerserkButton: Do not hurt her panthers. |
| 629 | * DarkActionGirl: Very much so. And the kind that usually shows little interest in seducing the heroes (although at one point a thought bubble reveals that she does find Shang-Chi "sexy"). |
| 630 | * DressedLikeADominatrix: Initially fights dressed in high-heeled knee boots, bikini bottoms, and a crop top that shows a NavelDeepNeckline. And [[WhipOfDominance uses a whip]]. At one point Leiko directly calls her "the kinky lady". |
| 631 | * FluffyTamer: She cares for her panthers, and her panthers seem to like her and obey her commands. Anyone else who gets too close to them is cat food, of course. |
| 632 | * LoveInterestTraitor: An example where both characters were villains. While seeing Carlton Velcro she was actually working for Mordillo, who'd been hired to kill him and was using Pavane to set up an assassination attempt. |
| 633 | * MeleeDisarming: Has used her whip to disarm opponents with guns. |
| 634 | * ReallyGetsAround: Described in almost exactly those words by Leiko Wu. In Pavane's first appearance she was with Carlton Velcro (although it was later revealed that she was [[FalseFriend dating the mark]]). In her second appearance she was seeing Mordillo. And in her third appearance she was in a relationship with Cat. |
| 635 | * RetiredOutlaw: Was openly living in a country house in [[UsefulNotes/HomeCounties Surrey]] for a while, and directly described herself as retired. Apparently she had committed no crimes in the UK, so was only under light surveillance. Naturally, there were ''at least'' three panthers roaming the grounds. |
| 636 | * RightHandAttackDog: Although in Pavane's case it's an attack panther, initially named Mara. |
| 637 | * {{Stripperific}}: Initially dresses for combat in high-heeled boots, a NavelDeepNeckline crop top, and a bikini bottom. |
| 638 | * WhipOfDominance: Fights with a whip, complimenting her {{Dominatrix}} motif and animal tamer abilities. In her first appearance it's cat o' nine tails, but it varies a bit later. |
| 639 | [[/folder]] |
| 640 | |
| 641 | [[folder:Razor-Fist]] |
| 642 | !!Razor-Fist I |
| 643 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/william_young_earth_616_from_master_of_kung_fu_vol_1_29_001.jpg]] |
| 644 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' William Young |
| 645 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #29 (March, 1975) |
| 646 | A costumed mercenary in the employ of drug lord Carlton Velcro. His hands and forearms have been replaced by razor-sharp blades. |
| 647 | ---- |
| 648 | * AbsurdlySharpBlade: His introduction shows him cleanly slicing a life-size stone statue into pieces. Including a single horizontal cut to halve it at the waist. |
| 649 | * ActuallyADoombot: The Razor-Fist who appears in "The Phoenix Gambit", some time after his apparent death, is actually a genuine Doombot, built by ComicBook/DoctorDoom himself. |
| 650 | * AllInTheManual: His real name is only revealed in the ''New Avengers: Most Wanted Files'' data book, published thirty years after the character's first appearance. |
| 651 | * BackFromTheDead: In Razor-Fist's first story, his BadBoss Carlton Velcro has guards shoot both Razor-Fist and Shang-Chi while they're duelling, seemingly killing Razor-Fist. He was believed to be KilledOffForReal for many decades, with two LegacyCharacter successors using the codename, until a Razor-Fist reappeared in ''ComicBook/{{Domino|MarvelComics}}'' Vol 3 #4, shortly after the death of the third Razor-Fist. A subsequent appearance in ''ComicBook/ShangChiAndTheTenRings'' had Shang-Chi refer back to their first fight, seemingly acknowledging him as the ''original'' Razor-Fist (without showing any surprise at his survival and return), but as of July 2022 it's still a little ambiguous. |
| 652 | * BladeBelowTheShoulder: He's lost both hands and part of his forearms, which have been replaced with {{Absurdly Sharp Blade}}s. |
| 653 | * CripplingOverspecialization: Both hands have been replaced by blades. Great for violent murder, poor choices for almost anything else. |
| 654 | * TheDragon: To Carlton Velcro. Possibly Razor-Fist and Pavane count as CoDragons, but they play very different roles in the organisation and never interact. |
| 655 | * HonorAmongThieves: A sincere believer in this, according to his last words. He's appalled that despite his loyalty, Velcro [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness sees him as entirely expendable]]. |
| 656 | |
| 657 | !!Razor-Fist II |
| 658 | [[quoteright:295:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/57b46fa7_1940_4cd2_9d47_3bde930b34a7.jpeg]] |
| 659 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' William Scott |
| 660 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Razor-Fist Three |
| 661 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #105 (July, 1981) |
| 662 | One of two brothers working for Carlton Velcro, the employer of the original Razor-Fist. William lost his right hand in a car accident (whereas his brother lost his left hand) and Velcro arranged for him equipped as one of two new Razor-Fists. |
| 663 | |
| 664 | William was initially sent to Hong Kong to kill Pavane and Shang-Chi, but discovered they were both back in England. After returning to Velcro, he confronted Shang-Chi but was shot dead during the battle. |
| 665 | |
| 666 | Although he's generally referred to as "Razor-Fist II" in [[AllInTheManual reference material]], Velcro always referred to William as "Razor-Fist Three" |
| 667 | ---- |
| 668 | * AbsurdlySharpBlade: As with his predecessor. He's seen slicing through wooden posts and the hulls of wooden junks with minimal effort. |
| 669 | * AllThereInTheManual: As with his predecessor, his real name isn't confirmed until long after his first appearance. |
| 670 | * CoDragons: The brothers act as elite enforcers for Carlton Velcro. |
| 671 | * BladeBelowTheShoulder: His right hand's been replaced by a permanent blade. The metal guard goes up to his elbow, but it's unclear how much of his arm remains. |
| 672 | * CollectiveIdentity: Downplayed, as anyone who encounters them will notice that they're two different people -- they're not twins, and William and Douglas have different hands missing, but the brothers both use the Razor-Fist codename. |
| 673 | * KilledOffForReal: As with his predecessor, BadBoss Carlton Velcro accidentially shoots him while trying to kill Shang-Chi. |
| 674 | * LegacyCharacter: William and his brother Douglas replace the original Razor-Fist, William Young. Pavane speculates that Velcro arranged the brothers' "accident" so that he could use them as replacements for the original Razor-Fist, but this is never confirmed. |
| 675 | |
| 676 | !!Razor-Fist III |
| 677 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/douglas_scott_earth_616_from_deadpool_assassin_vol_1_2_001.jpg]] |
| 678 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Douglas Scott |
| 679 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Razor-Fist Two |
| 680 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #105 (July, 1981) |
| 681 | ---- |
| 682 | * AnArmAndALeg: He's initially missing his left hand, which has been replaced with an AbsurdlySharpBlade. A later battle costs him his right hand as well, which is also replaced by a blade. |
| 683 | * AwesomeButImpractical: His appearance in ''ComicBook/{{Toxin}}'' in particular emphasizes this part of the character. Having both his forearms removed and replaced with blades helps make him incredibly skilled and deadly in combat, but also means that if something happens to the blades, he's helpless. He also needs personal servants to attend to basic hygiene and whenever he gets arrested, the blades are taken away and replaced with prosthetic hands to which he's never been able to adjust. |
| 684 | * CumbersomeClaws: Toxin accuses him of replacing his arms with blades to invoke this trope; by giving up the ability to feed, clothe, or clean himself, he forces that responsibility onto others. |
| 685 | * KilledOffForReal: Ends up getting thrown underneath a moving trolley while fighting Deadpool. It's implied, but (as of July 2022) not directly stated, that the Razor-Fist who appears in subsequent stories after that is the ''original'', William Young, somehow BackFromTheDead, not Douglas. |
| 686 | * LegacyCharacter: Douglas and his brother William replace the original Razor-Fist, William Young, after he's killed in battle. At one point Pavane speculates that their original employer, Carlton Velcro, actually arranged the two brothers' "accident" so that he could replace the original Razor-Fist, but this is never confirmed. |
| 687 | * RoguesGalleryTransplant: Of all the antagonists from the original ''Master of Kung Fu'' series, Razor-Fist is probably the BreakoutVillain in terms of appearances in other Marvel comics. He's fought Wolverine, Deadpool, Spider-Man, Elektra, Hawkeye, and others. |
| 688 | [[/folder]] |
| 689 | |
| 690 | [[folder:Red Dot]] |
| 691 | !!Red Dot |
| 692 | [[quoteright:273:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/red_dot_earth_616_from_shang_chi_vol_2_5_001.jpg]] |
| 693 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Shang-Chi'' (Vol. 2) #5 (October, 2021) |
| 694 | Representative, and seemingly leader, of the cyborg gangsters of the Red Dot Collective. After his initial encounter with Shang-Chi and Iron Man ends badly, Chieftain Xin recruits him To help destroy the Five Weapons Society. |
| 695 | ---- |
| 696 | * {{Cyborg}}: As are the rest of the Red Dot Collective. |
| 697 | * ElectronicEye: His cyborg eye also includes a gun. |
| 698 | * ShoutOut: He's based on Red Boy from the ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest''. |
| 699 | [[/folder]] |
| 700 | |
| 701 | [[folder:Shadow-Stalker]] |
| 702 | !!Shadow-Stalker |
| 703 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shadow_stalker_earth_616_concept_art.jpg]] |
| 704 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu'' #3 (December, 1974) |
| 705 | An elite assassin who was originally in the service of Shang-Chi's father, Zheng Zu. When Shang-Chi's half-sister Zheng Bao Yu launched an EnemyCivilWar to depose her father, he initially sided with her faction instead but soon decided to leave entirely, becoming an independent warrior for hire. |
| 706 | ---- |
| 707 | * TheBusCameBack: Wasn't seen in a story for 30 years after his appearances in ''ComicBook/MasterOfKungFu'', but then reappeared in ''ComicBook/HeroesForHire''. |
| 708 | * EpicFlail: His preferred weapons are ball-and-chain flails, although in early appearances he relies on unarmed martial arts more than the flails themselves. |
| 709 | * WeaponizedHeadgear: There are two long ball-and-chain flails connected to his hood. In early appearances this was a ''much'' shorter [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon double-ended flail with its wooden handle attached directly to his topknot]]. |
| 710 | * WeCanRuleTogether: Sided with Shang-Chi [[EnemyMine against Zheng Bao Yu's warriors]] and subsequently suggested that the two of them could take advantage of the EnemyCivilWar chaos to take over the whole organisation. Shang-Chi wasn't interested, but they still parted on peaceful (if not friendly) terms. |
| 711 | [[/folder]] |
| 712 | |
| 713 | [[folder:Shockwave]] |
| 714 | !!Shockwave |
| 715 | [[quoteright:292:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lancaster_sneed_earth_616_from_invincible_iron_man_vol_2_13_001.jpg]] |
| 716 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Lancaster Sneed |
| 717 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' Dieter Wilhelm |
| 718 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #42 (April, 1976) |
| 719 | Sneed idolised his uncle, British spy Nayland Smith, and joined [=MI6=] to follow in his footsteps. However, he was seriously injured and horribly scarred when his first mission went wrong. Sneed used metal plates to rebuild himself, [=MI6=] deemed him mentally unfit to continue his duties, and he was cast out of the agency. He built an armored exoskeleton for himself and became Shockwave, first as a circus act and then as a mercenary. |
| 720 | ---- |
| 721 | * ActuallyADoombot: The design of his armor means that it's pretty easy to create an android decoy of him. One such decoy was actually controlled by Doctor Doom himself. |
| 722 | * AxCrazy: Results in him getting sacked by [=MI6=]. |
| 723 | * ArrogantKungFuGuy: His contortion skills create a unique fighting style. |
| 724 | * BrainwashedAndCrazy: He wasn't terribly stable in the first place, but after Shang-Chi captured him after their first clash, [=MI6=] tried to brainwash him to serve as an assassin, which really didn't help. |
| 725 | * {{Cyborg}}: Shockwave's body has been rebuilt using metal plates, granting him enhanced strength. |
| 726 | * EvilBrit: Downplayed. He is villainous, and British. But in ''Master of Kung Fu'' he was just one more British character in a series frequently set there, with a mostly British cast. Later stories don't often mention his nationality at all. |
| 727 | * EvilNephew: To Nayland-Smith. |
| 728 | * PowerCreepPowerSeep: Sometimes his exoskeleton's electricity will hurt a normal human opponent, but won't be immediately life-threatening. And at other times it'll be powerful enough to burn out ComicBook/IronMan's armor. |
| 729 | * PoweredArmor: It triples his strength and enables him to fire [[ShockAndAwe electrical projectiles]]. |
| 730 | * PsychoForHire: What he became after he stopped trying to go after his uncle. |
| 731 | * RoguesGalleryTransplant: Although he's originally a Shang-Chi villain, he's appeared much more widely since the original ''Master of Kung Fu'' series ended. |
| 732 | * ShockAndAwe: His armor allows him to shoot electric blasts. |
| 733 | * WeCanRebuildHim: Thanks to being a cyborg. |
| 734 | [[/folder]] |
| 735 | |
| 736 | [[folder:Skull-Crusher]] |
| 737 | !!Skull-Crusher |
| 738 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/f8463f97_8bf2_49b3_bf9d_be7a994c271f.jpeg]] |
| 739 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Chao Sima |
| 740 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #61 (November, 1977) |
| 741 | ---- |
| 742 | * EpicFlail: Fights with a ball-and-chain flail in each hand. He takes his codename from the way he uses them for strikes to the head. |
| 743 | * HeelFaceTurn: Downplayed, as he remains a criminal, but he's sincerely trying to be a better person when he reappears in the ''Deadly Hands of King Fu'' series. |
| 744 | * PunchClockVillain: In his first appearance he makes it very clear that it's nothing personal, he's just been paid to visit London and kill Shang-Chi. Purely business. |
| 745 | * ThanatosGambit: Uses his death to resurrect Leiko Wu. |
| 746 | [[/folder]] |
| 747 | |
| 748 | [[folder:Zaran]] |
| 749 | !!Zaran |
| 750 | [[quoteright:197:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maximillian_zuran_earth_616_from_official_handbook_of_the_marvel_universe_vol_2_1_0001.jpg]] |
| 751 | !!!'''Alter Ego:''' Maximillian Zaran |
| 752 | !!!'''Notable Aliases:''' The Weapon Master, Supreme Hunter |
| 753 | !!!'''First Appearance:''' ''Master of Kung Fu'' #77 (March, 1979) |
| 754 | ---- |
| 755 | * ArrogantKungFuGuy: It's certainly not his only motivation, but when he first goes up against foes such as Captain America and Hawkeye, the challenge of proving he's better is a big factor. |
| 756 | * CurbStompBattle: From Zheng Zu's henchman Maru, when Zheng Bao Yu first presents Zaran to her father. He's effortlessly disarmed and then beaten with the haft of his own weapon. But Zheng Zu acknowledges his potential, so Maru's then assigned to train him. |
| 757 | * EvilBrit: Downplayed in his battles with Shang-Chi. He is villainous, and British. But in ''Master of Kung Fu'' he was just one more British character in a series frequently set there, with a mostly British cast. It's more noticeable when he's facing Captain America, or when he's working with French supervillain Batroc. |
| 758 | * LegacyCharacter: He trained a disciple named Zhou Man She, who also uses the alias Zaran. |
| 759 | * LoveMakesYouEvil: Played with. He was initially a villain, but also [[UnholyMatrimony in a relationship with Shang-Chi's half-sister Zheng Bao Yu]], which came to an abrupt end a little while after they made a nominal HeelFaceTurn. His reaction to being dumped (and, when he angrily confronted her, drugged) was to try to kill her new [=MI6=] allies. |
| 760 | * RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: Wears a black and red outfit and is a villain. |
| 761 | * RoguesGalleryTransplant: After the original ''Master of Kung Fu'' series ended, he's mostly appeared as part of the QuirkyMinibossSquad Batroc's Brigade, so has mostly faced Captain America. |
| 762 | * UnholyMatrimony: When he first appeared, he was in a relationship with Shang-Chi's older half-sister Zheng Bao Yu, which came to an [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness abrupt end]] when she prioritised her new [=MI6=] career. It's fair to say that Zaran [[LoveMakesyouEvil didn't handle the break-up well]]. |
| 763 | [[/folder]] |
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