Shang-Chi's conception and evolution in Marvel Comics has often been mired in
controversy for one reason after another. Here are some of the darkest moments from
the legend of Shang-Chi — also known as Brother Hand, the Master of Kung Fu.
Those who study Shang-Chi's design from the comics will no doubt notice that the
character came to bear more than a passing resemblance to Bruce Lee in later years.
This was no coincidence. The character was created by writer Steve Englehart and
artist Jim Starlin in 1972 to cash in on the popularity of then-novel kung fu action films.
At first, Marvel Comics attempted to secure the rights to 1972's cult classic show
"Kung Fu" to adapt into a comic series. When they failed to get the rights,
Marvel acquired the comic book rights to Sax Rohmer's infamous villain Dr. Fu Manchu. Thus,
Shang-Chi was initially introduced in Marvel Comics as a previously unknown son of Fu Manchu.
Marvels' rights to the character, however, lapsed with the cancellation of "Master of Kung Fu"
in the 80s. Later writers got around the issue of not being able to use the name "Fu Manchu"
by retconning the name as an alias of Shang-Chi's father, whose real name is Zheng Zu. The upcoming
live-action movie will keep to this new lore by having Shang-Chi be the son of Zheng Zu.
While Shang-Chi is acknowledged to be the one of the most honorable heroes in Marvel Comics,
that was not the path he was initially set to follow. In the comics, Shang-Chi was born
in the Hunan province of China, where he was trained in all forms of combat from a young age.
At first, Shang-Chi was completely obedient to his father Fu Manchu's wishes,
believing him to be a benevolent monarch. Little did Shang-Chi know
that his father was secretly one of the great criminal masterminds of the world,
who had been training his son to be the perfect assassin and killing machine.
"Son, it's time for you to take your place by my side."
It was only when Shang-Chi took the life of Dr. James Petrie in London as part of his
first mission on his father's behalf that he began to be troubled by what he was being asked to do
in the name of peace. There Shang-Chi met his father's nemesis, Sir Denis Nayland Smith,
who revealed the true nature of his father's evil plans for world domination.
Aghast at the level of betrayal, Shang-Chi turned on his father. He invaded Fu-Manchu's
lair and declared they were now enemies. Over the years, Shang-Chi would make good
on his promise to his father by foiling his plans for global domination time and again.
Shang-Chi was raised to believe in the utmost importance of family and his
clan. Unfortunately, that belief became the bane of his existence
once he declared war on his supervillain father and the rest of his criminal family.
First among them was Midnight, Shang-Chi's adopted brother. Although the two were not
related by blood, a solid friendship had existed between Midnight and Shang-Chi from an early age.
That relationship came to an end once Fu Manchu ordered Midnight to hunt down and
execute his rogue brother. Although Shang-Chi pleaded with Midnight to renounce their father,
Shang-Chi was forced to fight Midnight to the death.
Just as tragic was the relationship between Shang-Chi and his half-sister, Fah Lo Suee, who
was later given the name Zheng Bao Yu after the aforementioned rights issue over Fu Manchu.
Although there was no love lost between Fu Manchu and his daughter, her desire to take
her father down was far from benevolent. Fah Lo Suee led her own criminal organization,
and her plan was to use Shang-Chi to get Fu Manchu out of the way so her own gang could
become the most powerful criminal organization in the world. Once again, Shang-Chi was forced
to work against his family when he acted against his sister as well as his father.
"You are a product of all who came before you. The legacy of your family."
The tragedy of Shang-Chi's entire life has been that while he is deeply committed to peace,
it could only be achieved through the death of his once-beloved father,
the supervillain Fu Manchu. Or so Shang-Chi believed. To that end, the 1974 comic series
"Master of Kung Fu" saw Shang-Chi track down and seemingly leave Fu Manchu to die.
But the passing of Fu Manchu did not bring Shang-Chi the relief he imagined.
After his father's death, Shang-Chi embarked on a quest to save his mother,
who he imagined was being held against her will.
After a long search, he was able to finally track her down in "Master of Kung Fu #123."
But there Shang-Chi discovered that his mother was no captive at all,
but had truly loved Fu Manchu. His mother renounced Shang-Chi for killing his father.
The young hero was given the moniker "False son" by his former comrades and mother. The
mission that Shang-Chi believed would free the world and his mother of his
father's evil failed to be the moment of triumph he'd so desperately hoped for.
Shang-Chi discovered that letting his evil father die was a more complicated act than
he had imagined. In 1983's "Master of Kung Fu #125," Shang-Chi dealt with the loss of his family
and his own conflicted feelings by engaging in the last rites of his father's funeral.
To fulfill his duties as a son, Shang-Chi returned to Hunan to pay his last respects.
Even though he could not bear to call Fu Manchu "honorable father,"
Shang-Chi nevertheless prayed that his spirit would find peace. But his musings
were interrupted by demons both real and imagined. Shang-Chi fled to other parts
of China in search of something that would assuage his feelings of guilt.
Finally, after a twilight battle against an assassin sent by his mother,
Shang-Chi drinks from his father's ceremonial cup and is able to come to terms with his actions to
a certain extent. But that acceptance comes at a price, as Shang-Chi renounces his past
as a crime fighter and settles down to a simple life of farming and fishing.
Shang-Chi's personal history has always been defined by the fact that he is the only child
of his supervillain father Fu Manchu who refused to enter into a life of crime. After Shang-Chi
refused his father Fu Manchu's orders to work for his criminal empire,
Moving Shadow was called upon to take Shang-Chi's place at Fu Manchu's side.
Moving Shadow was yet another half-brother to Shang-Chi,
and raised in a similarly brutal fashion to be the perfect killing weapon. But while Shang-Chi
eventually came to see his father's evil nature, Moving Shadow was blindly
subservient and completely willing to kill his half-brother at their father's behest.
In the 2002 Marvel Max series, "Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu," Moving Shadow came face to face with
Shang-Chi and tried hard to kill him. No matter how much Shang-Chi exhorted him to see reason,
Moving Shadow was single-minded in his desire to kill his brother. In the end,
Shang-Chi emerged the victor in their battle, but refused to kill Moving Shadow.
But their father had no such qualms. Dismissing Moving Shadow for having failed in his mission,
Fu Manchu personally launched a dagger into his heart in front of Shang-Chi.
Shang-Chi has a long history of being part of superhero teams, where his even-tempered nature
and top-notch fighting skills are invariably assets. The 2006 series "Heroes for Hire" saw
Shang-Chi working alongside a host of allies, including the insect-powered metahuman Humbug.
Humbug used to be Buchanan Mitty, an entomology professor who turned to a life of crime to fund
his research. After constantly being foiled by Spider-Man, Humbug decided to join the good guys,
which is how he came to be a part of the super team Heroes for Hire.
In 2006's "Heroes for Hire" series, Humbug gets manipulated by the alien overlord,
the Brood Queen. While under the influence of the Queen, Mitty ends up betraying his
teammates to the Brood. While the team escapes the Brood's prison, Shang-Chi rips Humbug's head off.
"Not a good time to lose one's head."
"Indeed."
"That's not the way to get ahead in life."
"No."
One of Shang-Chi's most memorable crossovers occurred with Spider-Man
in 2011's "Spider-Island" event. Shang-Chi finds himself infected
with something called the "spider virus," which grants him similar abilities to
Spider-Man. But along with the powers come a series of disturbing nightmares
in which Shang-Chi sees himself transform into a giant spider and attack innocent civilians.
The vision becomes a reality in "Spider Island: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu," when Shang-Chi is called
in to help defeat the usually-heroic Bride of Nine Spiders who is holding Iron Fist captive.
After freeing the other hero, Shang-Chi discovers that Bride of Nine Spiders
is being controlled by the god Ai Apaec, who has already captured the other Immortal Weapons.
While battling Ai Apaec, Shang-Chi's nightmare comes to pass when the spider virus mutates him
into a giant spider-like creature. The spider's instincts threaten to consume
Shang-Chi's psyche entirely. But a last-minute assist from Iron Fist reminds the Master of
Kung Fu of his true nature, and Shang-Chi is able to revert back to his true form.
Despite his youth, Shang-Chi's fighting skills and serene nature have made him the
go-to guy for heroes looking to brush up their skills. One such hero/anti-hero was Domino,
who sought Shang-Chi's help to become a better fighter and generally a more even-tempered person.
In 2018's "Domino #4," Shang-Chi and Domino engage in an intense round of sparring. At first
Shang-Chi is impatient with Domino's flighty nature, but the two eventually grow closer,
even sharing a kiss a night club. Unfortunately, things come to a head when the date is interrupted
by Shang Chi's enemies, on the orders of Domino's enemy, Topaz. Shang-Chi helps Domino recover her
lost knowledge of her powers well enough to take on their enemies single-handedly.
Eventually, Domino comes face-to-face with Topaz herself. Despite Shang-Chi's pleas to show mercy,
Domino is unable to stop herself from killing her archenemy. Disappointed with his pupil,
Shang-Chi dismisses Domino from his tutelage, and their unlikely romantic relationship also ends.
Despite his extremely violent upbringing, Shang-Chi has managed to stick to a pretty
pacifist path most of the time. But the Master of Kung Fu has strayed from it from time to time,
like when he entered into a pact with the literal Greek god of war, Ares himself.
The conflict arose in the backup stories of 2019's "Sword Master" when Ares and his legion
of Dragonborn soldiers got into a confrontation with Shang-Chi and Sword Master. Ares wanted
to get his hands on Shang-chi's ally Lin Lie's mystical sword, with which the God
of War intended to kill the kidnapper of his son. Despite the misgivings of Sword Master,
Shang-Chi entered into a pact with Ares to aid him with the sword and the retrieval of his son,
in return for the God of War's help in finding Lin Lie's missing father.
Rather predictably, the deal soon goes south as Ares, his son and Sword Master are forced
into a heated battle against Davi Naka, the Mother Goddess of Madripoor. Although Shang-Chi is able
to temporarily placate the Goddess, the actions of his former teammates, the Agents of Atlas,
lead to an all-out war between the surface city of Pan and the underwater city of Atlantis.
Even after accomplishing his goal of killing his father and his criminal cohort,
Shang-Chi was not rid of Zheng Zu's legacy.
In 2020's "Shang-Chi" series, the Master of Kung Fu discovers that Zheng Zu's spirit chose him to
be the next Supreme Commander of the Five Weapons Society. At first, Shang-Chi resists the calling,
even after coming into contact with his newly discovered half-siblings,
Brother Sabre and Sister Dagger. But eventually, he agrees to team up with his siblings.
Shang-Chi's intention is to rescue his long-lost full sister, Shi-Hua, who is operating as the
supervillain Sister Hammer and attempting to take control over the Five Weapons Society.
Eventually, Shang-Chi comes to accept that the only way to stop the infighting is to accept his
role as the new Supreme Commander of the Five Weapons. Although he vows to turn the society
into a force for good, his father's spirit visits him upon his coronation, mockingly telling him,
"My throne suits you, my son. For you are destined to become like me. Just. Like. Me."
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