Master Of Kung Fu - Shang-Chi Appreciation 2023

[Tien Long]

Hi all. Just saw one of the latest promos for the upcoming Gang War story. Shang-Chi is part of it and perhaps in a way that's unexpected:


Now some articles said that Shang would be seen in a more criminal light for the storyline. That was expected. But depicted as being fully with the bad guys? Bad guy scowl and everything? Woah, I'd thought he'd be somewhere in the middle, straddling the line between hero and villain.

Will this be how the rest of the Marvel Universe sees him? Hmmm, makes me interested in reading Gang War now.

[Tien Long]

Solicit for issue #2 of Shang-Chi's Gang War tie-in:

GREG PAK (W) • Caio Majado (A)

Cover by DAVID AJA

Variant Cover by Marcus To

• GANG WAR is here! Shang-Chi’s greatest weapons are lost to him! And Chinatown will burn if the Master of Kung Fu doesn’t win the war!

• Can Shang-Chi defeat his rivals and protect Chinatown without sacrificing his principles?

• Or will SPIDER-MAN and his allies bring him down first?!

40 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99

Looks like Shang is going into Gang War without the rings. That makes his involvement very interesting. Nothing to help him except his society, planning, and deadly hands of Kung Fu.

[Riv86672]

Nothing to help him except his society, planning, and deadly hands of Kung Fu.

^^^As it should be.

Don’t get me wrong I’m okay w. the upgrade, but Shang taking everyone down w. just king fu was what I always loved about him.

[Frontier]

Yeah, if anyone can get by without the rings and just hand-to-hand. It's Shang.

[phonogram12]

Solicit for issue #2 of Shang-Chi's Gang War tie-in:



Looks like Shang is going into Gang War without the rings. That makes his involvement very interesting. Nothing to help him except his society, planning, and deadly hands of Kung Fu.

I mean, in a gang war, the rings would just be overkill. Kinda like if Batman wore his Superman fighting armor to take on The Ventriloquist.

[Frontier]

This kind of reminds me that it felt like even Yang was writing around having to use the rings.

[Hypestyle]

Has Shang been taking on assorted Asian-based crime syndicates, like drug cartels or human trafficking operations? His status as a boss of his own group should give him more leverage.

[Tien Long]

Has Shang been taking on assorted Asian-based crime syndicates, like drug cartels or human trafficking operations? His status as a boss of his own group should give him more leverage.

In his recent series, he hasn't been taking on these organizations. It would be cool though to see his interactions with the Triads. Indeed, the argument could be made that the Five Weapons Society originates from the same place as the Triads.

[Tien Long]

Wow, I had forgotten how great some of the Shang-Chi variant covers could be. Some of my favorites:

[Frontier]

That top one is great .

A little too much going on with the bottom one.

[Tien Long]

Solicit for issue #3:

Deadly Hands of Kung Fu: Gang War (2023) #3

Published: February 14, 2024

Writer: Greg Pak

Penciler: Caio Majado

Cover Artist: David Aja

The pieces are all assembled, and Shang-Chi is surrounded on all sides! Can the Master of Kung Fu fend off attacks from New York's strongest crime families and Earth's mightiest heroes at once? And, even if he can, will Chinatown survive?

Surrounded on all sides here. Interesting. Consider my interest piqued, especially after seeing this preview for Gang War:


Hmm, Shang at the table with different crime bosses. Is he really engaging in crime? Or just putting on an act?

[Tien Long]

Preview for next week's Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1

[Tien Long]

Cont'd




As for the preview, I'll be honest, the art could be better and a bit more detailed. Furthermore, when I read this initially, I wasn't too drawn into it. The pacing seemed a little quick. I wish there was a bit more build up of who is Shang, the Five Weapons Society, and the impact the Gang War has on the Five Weapons Society. Yulan I think could have been given more characterization. I'm familiar with her from McKay's Moon Knight run and there she was mysterious and scary. Here, she's just thrown into the fight. There could have been more development of that dark, foreboding nature.

However, with all things Shang-Chi, I took a second look. And after a second look, I'm starting to recognize the good themes of the issue. I've said before, that others as well as he himself will make comparisons to Zheng Zu. We see Shang's strategic ideas compared with his father's. Shang is passive and patient whereas his father would have been ruthless and aggressive. Which side wins out? More importantly, Shang reminds us that he wanted to turn his father's organization for good. He reminds us of that in this issue. It's a question that remains to be answered in the midst of this Gang War.

This looks pretty good. Looking forward to this Wednesday.

[Frontier]

Does he really need the rings here...

[Hypestyle]

Does he really need the rings here...

hopefully they can produce sunlight.