Shang-Chi Appreciation 2021

[CosmiComic]

I am looking forward to the film. I've had to give in to the fact that the MCU Shang Chi will be Marvel's mystical kung fu character when Marvel Comics Shang was more of an straight forward espionage hard hitting character. It doesn't feel right but I will roll with it. i just hope they dive into his character more beyond being a great fighter. At least that way they will do more with the character then they have in the comics in the last 30 years.

I feel a bit conflicted by the changes in the MCU because on the one hand, it makes him more stereotypical with the Americanized version of kung-fu tropes. On the other hand, it makes him more powerful, from what the leaks and promos show, and I wasn't too keen on the first Asian MCU lead superhero being powerless.

[LAWtoyoto 432]

This is part 2 of Inverse's look at Shang-Chi : https://www.inverse.com/entertainmen...istory-origins

The article's focus is intriguing: Shang-Chi is the most popular Marvel character you've never heard about. It's a deep dive on Shang-Chi's origins at Marvel, his massive influence, his disappearance from public consciousness, and ultimately his return to prominence. Some takeaways for me:

- Damn, Marvel writers in the 70s got really baked! No wonder Shang-Chi's issues were always kind of out there!

- A mix of genres distinguished Shang-Chi from other titles and made it so popular.

- Shang-Chi being half-white was not what the original writers intended. To them, Shang was always an "Asian" character. Who is Shang-Chi's REAL mom, that has to be explored in future stories.

- Many Asian-American comic book readers were either unfamiliar with Shang-Chi or hated the racist touches. Only one Asian-American championed the character. And it wasn't me!

Really excellent article. Check it out!

I am pretty sure because most of the asian superheroes are mostly rely on kung fu or using blades to fight instead of having different ability and skills. Like someone who wear an Iron suit or being a great expertise or a great hacklist like Black Widow. It make the asian stereotypes cover their potential roles.

[CosmiComic]

That's somewhat recently changed, with Amadeus Cho and Silk, for example. But historically it's been a problem.

[taozen]

One question will like to ask: Does Daredevil ever meet/fight with Shang Chi?

I do not recall them ever squaring off against one another. I wonder if DD ever made any appearances in the Deadly Hands of Kung Fu series. I do not have any of those. I can't remember any Shang appearance in DD series since the Frank Miller run. I do not have many issues of DD prior to Miller's run. Sad because it goes to show how underutilized Shang Chi as a character has been. DD and Shang should have had many team ups by now.

[taozen]

I feel a bit conflicted by the changes in the MCU because on the one hand, it makes him more stereotypical with the Americanized version of kung-fu tropes. On the other hand, it makes him more powerful, from what the leaks and promos show, and I wasn't too keen on the first Asian MCU lead superhero being powerless.

I guess the MCU creators figured he would need substantial powers if he was going to be a powerful Avenger and not get the jokes that Hawkeye and Black Widow have gotten over the years.

[taozen]

That's somewhat recently changed, with Amadeus Cho and Silk, for example. But historically it's been a problem.

That has always been a problem with minority characters. Look at how many teams where the one Black (or minority) character have no powers or are the least powerful on the team.
Such as:

New Warriors-Thrash (no powers)
Runaways- (Alex Wilder no powers)
New Mutants- Karma and Mirage-Both very passive powers.

Those are just a few that popped into my head.

[CosmiComic]

I guess the MCU creators figured he would need substantial powers if he was going to be a powerful Avenger and not get the jokes that Hawkeye and Black Widow have gotten over the years.

Which, tbh, Hawkeye & Black Widow kinda deserve it. I know they have fans who defend but I cringe sometimes seeing them struggle to be relevant in these movies. Even Captain America and Bucky sometimes have this problem. So I'm fine with Shang-Chi getting a power up. He doesn't have to use it all the time, just when he's up against big foes and on teams like the Avengers.

I wouldn't mind if that happened in the comics too, although his comics are different from what the movies seem. I know he has some abilities, but I'm not sure exactly to what extent.

That has always been a problem with minority characters. Look at how many teams where the one Black (or minority) character have no powers or are the least powerful on the team.
Such as:

New Warriors-Thrash (no powers)
Runaways- (Alex ********no powers)
New Mutants- Karma and Mirage-Both very passive powers.

Those are just a few that popped into my head.

Yeah. And even if they do get powers, they generally don't get cool powers sets either unless they're derived from previous superheroes. I mean, Karma and Mirage could get different secondary mutations, rather than just being single power types like so many others. But even famous ones like Luke Cage are just strong. Or Warpath, who's strong and fast! Or Jubilee, who does fireworks? So creative! Meanwhile Ant-Man & Wasp can shrink, fly, blast electricity and talk to bugs, and Dr. Strange can do all kinds of crazy things. So non-White heroes need that too IMO.

[Frontier]

That's somewhat recently changed, with Amadeus Cho and Silk, for example. But historically it's been a problem.

To be honest I preferred Cho when he was just super-smart and didn't have Hulk powers, but I'm probably in the minority on that one.

[CosmiComic]

To be honest I preferred Cho when he was just super-smart and didn't have Hulk powers, but I'm probably in the minority on that one.

I disagree. We have enough non-powered minority heroes.

[Frontier]

I disagree. We have enough non-powered minority heroes.

I'm not against minority characters having powers, I was just talking about Cho individually.

[CosmiComic]

I'm not against minority characters having powers, I was just talking about Cho individually.

I know, but I think he works with powers, or tech simulating powers. I'm just not super interested in him being totally powerless as a hero going forward.

[Frontier]

I know, but I think he works with powers, or tech simulating powers. I'm just not super interested in him being totally powerless as a hero going forward.

I liked him best when he was just getting by with his creativity and his intellect, much like I prefer Shang fighting normal hand-to-hand, but to each their own .

[Tien Long]

Part 3 of the series of articles from Inverse concerning Shang-Chi: https://www.inverse.com/entertainmen...-chi-came-back

Interesting to see this confluence of Asian-American internet users, Hollywood writers, and hashtags have all just playing a part in Shang-Chi coming to the big screen. Simu Liu has come a long way from YouTube guest appearances to this! At the same time, there is this sense of expectation. Will the movie perform well? I say that whatever the performance is, we've to take it into consideration of both a pandemic and the weather catastrophes that have hit the U.S. recently (the NY/NJ got whammed by the remnants of Hurricane Ida). I think that those things will affect the opening box office. Others are saying that a weak performance, regardless of what happens, is just more fuel for critics who say that Asians should not headline movies.

In other news, well, I've found at least one negative review for Shang-Chi. And yes, I've read it. Trying not to have it affect my viewing. In any case, here it is:https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/01/m...gs-review.html

[CosmiComic]

I liked him best when he was just getting by with his creativity and his intellect, much like I prefer Shang fighting normal hand-to-hand, but to each their own .

I guess I don't find a lot of the non-powered superheroes that interesting for the most part. Especially when they show up on a team like the Avengers. And I don't like too many of the already few minority heroes being without superpowers. But that doesn't mean they can't still use intellect and creativity.

[Frontier]

I guess I don't find a lot of the non-powered superheroes that interesting for the most part. Especially when they show up on a team like the Avengers. And I don't like too many of the already few minority heroes being without superpowers. But that doesn't mean they can't still use intellect and creativity.

It's just when Cho in particular was more interesting to me, but to each their own .