Shang-Chi Appreciation 2021

[CosmiComic]

But he's the master of h2h, though, so I feel like if they can depict that well it really shouldn't matter much. I don't think it should matter whether he has powers or not as to whether his specialty is depicted well.

Even the rings aren't really "powers," just weapons like Cap's shield or T'Challa's suit.

But the rings do have powers themselves, and anyone using them gains powers. It's like an Iron suit or an Ant-suit

And I think it does matter how non-White heroes not based on existing heroes get limited, generic or plain power sets. I still like those characters, but it would be nice if they received more complex and interesting power sets and not just h2h or generic super strength.

[Frontier]

But the rings do have powers themselves, and anyone using them gains powers. It's like an Iron suit or an Ant-suit

And I think it does matter how non-White heroes not based on existing heroes get limited, generic or plain power sets. I still like those characters, but it would be nice if they received more complex and interesting power sets and not just h2h or generic super strength.

I mean, again, that's a tool and not an innate power.

If people think Shang-Chi looks really cool while he's beating a bunch of people up h2h, because it's been depicted well, I think that's all that matters.

[CosmiComic]

I mean, again, that's a tool and not an innate power.

If people think Shang-Chi looks really cool while he's beating a bunch of people up h2h, because it's been depicted well, I think that's all that matters.

Whether it's innate or not, it's still a power.

And it's fine if he's good at martial arts. But it's probably not much help against bigger foes

[Tien Long]

I wouldn't mind Shang using the rings in the future. It could help out with the bigger threats, sure. But Shang is still cool hand to hand.

Interesting tidbit regarding Simu Liu. This is in response to the Disney CEO calling the film "an experiment":

“On ‘Shang-Chi,’ we think it’s going to be an interesting experiment,” Chapek said. “The prospect of taking a Marvel title to [Disney+] after just 45 days would be an interesting data point.”

We are not an experiment.

We are the underdog; the underestimated. We are the ceiling-breakers. We are the celebration of culture and joy that will persevere after an embattled year.

We are the surprise.

I’m fired the f**k up to make history on September 3rd; JOIN US.

Were there racial overtones in what the CEO meant with "experiment"? I think many of the articles out there, being clickbait-y, wanted us to believe that. Reading the article over, I don't see it, which is a good thing. However, I feel Simu's response is tapping into things that relate to the Asian and Asian-American experience, especially with what has happened this past year. Underdogs, underestimated, a celebration of joy and culture that will persevere after an embattled year, yes Shang-Chi represents a lot of that.

Now I'm fully aware of the surging Delta variant cases, of people on Twitter saying that Covid-19will prevent them from seeing the film. I get that. But Covid-19, with all of its damage, didn't get the best of Asians this year. It won't get the best of Shang-Chi. Come September 3rd, I will be wearing my mask and seeing this film in a theater, period.

[Tien Long]

Preview images of Shang-Chi #4 coming out September 8th:

[Ravin' Ray]

Thanks Tien Long, I quoted this at the FF thread, adding that I had a hunch Ben's opponent would do the nerve strike move to sidestep his strength.

[Frontier]

Whether it's innate or not, it's still a power.

And it's fine if he's good at martial arts. But it's probably not much help against bigger foes

I think it's a weapon. Unless we're referring to that energy he's channeling into it, which I guess is a power?

Well, what bigger foes are we expecting him to fight?

[CosmiComic]

I think it's a weapon. Unless we're referring to that energy he's channeling into it, which I guess is a power?

Well, what bigger foes are we expecting him to fight?

i just group powers and weapons/devices together in terms of boosting a character's potential. For instance, Iron Man's or Ant-Man's suits allow them to fight alongside Thor, Scarlet Witch and vision.

Idk what bigger foes are exactly in store for the next phase. If he's mainly fighting low level ninjas and criminals, he probably doesn't need more than h2h. But if he's fighting alongside Avengers against aliens, robots, futurians, demons, etc., then he'll need more than that. Otherwise he could be too weak

[Frontier]

i just group powers and weapons/devices together in terms of boosting a character's potential. For instance, Iron Man's or Ant-Man's suits allow them to fight alongside Thor, Scarlet Witch and vision.

Idk what bigger foes are exactly in store for the next phase. If he's mainly fighting low level ninjas and criminals, he probably doesn't need more than h2h. But if he's fighting alongside Avengers against aliens, robots, futurians, demons, etc., then he'll need more than that. Otherwise he could be too weak

I think his hand-to-hand could probably have taken down a lot of Thanos' grunts.

[CosmiComic]

I think his hand-to-hand could probably have taken down a lot of Thanos' grunts.

Tbh, i thought Thanos using a bunch of creatures with no weapons or powers made no sense. He has the biggest army in the galaxy, yet he sends this? He should've easily been able to wipe the floor with all of Earth's pre-interstellar military forces

Shang-Chi could take those guys out, but invading aliens should be strong enough to where h2h shouldn't be enough

[Tien Long]

Thanks Tien Long, I quoted this at the FF thread, adding that I had a hunch Ben's opponent would do the nerve strike move to sidestep his strength.

No problem bro. Cool that you had that hunch. Shang finding those spaces between Thing's rocky exterior, that takes finesse.

On a related note, the scene reminds me of another scene featuring Shang and Thing:



Again, we see this little known fact that Shang has encountered some of the biggest names in the Marvel Universe.

[Tien Long]

Hi all. Here are some late night thoughts:

Excellent interview featuring Daniel Cretton off of Fandango.com:

https://www.fandango.com/movie-news/...n-movie-754385

Some parts I appreciated were the focus on action and the influence of the Kung Fu films:

Some of the other inspirations… every Jackie Chan movie ever made, the Ip Man series — there's a big inspiration from Jet Li's Tai-Chi Master, and, of course, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. There is a long list. I cannot not give enough props to Kung Fu Hustle, which is one of my favorites. We watched a lot of these classic movies to make sure that we were paying proper respect to them and to the long history of martial arts and kung-fu movies that came before us.

And this focus on themes of family:

I think with regards to the conflict between Shang-Chi and his dad, one of the things that we really wanted to remind people of is that, even though this relationship is very conflicted and has a lot of complications to it, there is always love. There is always love there between father and son and the entire family. In a lot of ways that love is the root of their pain [and] that is pushing them to do things that may not be so nice.

That last part gets me. Shang doesn't hate his father. I think he hates that the relationship is what it is. But deep down he still wants to have good terms with his father. There's a lot of shame and regret behind him not having that.

Great insight from the director.

[Tien Long]

Nice clip from the movie:



Harkens back to Hong Kong films. Got some Rush Hour 2/Jackie Chan vibes from here.

[Tien Long]

Great interview with Simu Liu on the red carpet premiere of the film!

[Frontier]

Hi all. Here are some late night thoughts:

Excellent interview featuring Daniel Cretton off of Fandango.com:

https://www.fandango.com/movie-news/...n-movie-754385

Some parts I appreciated were the focus on action and the influence of the Kung Fu films:


And this focus on themes of family:


That last part gets me. Shang doesn't hate his father. I think he hates that the relationship is what it is. But deep down he still wants to have good terms with his father. There's a lot of shame and regret behind him not having that.

Great insight from the director.

I guess it'll be interesting to compare their dynamic to how it is in the comics and how Mandarin is traditionally depicted.