Shang Chi The Master Of Kung Fu Appreciation

[Tien Long]

Hey all, as usual just some thoughts on Shang:

- So, I keep saying that Shang should have a Triad story. As I've noted before, I would love to see Shang engaged in some Hong Kong crime story action a la Sleeping Dogs. No ninjas, no capes, just bullets, loyalty, and meat cleavers.

A Triad storyline would definitely ground Shang in some gritty realism. Indeed, in the last year or so here in Hong Kong, the Triads have made the news.

Groups, like the 14 K and Sun On Yee, have been involved in shipping meth ingredients to Mexican cartels:
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/a...n-drug-cartels

Attacking newspaper editors:
http://time.com/31447/more-violent-a...ng-kong-media/

And most recently, attacking the universal suffrage protesters:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/some-hon...e-in-violence/

I could see a storyline where a powerful Triad boss is involved in dealing MGH throughout Hong Kong and the rest of China with either S.P.E.A.R. or the Avengers sending Shang on a mission that takes him to stop this Triad boss. Could a peaceful, calm warrior like Shang traverse the murky, dangerous world of Chinese organized crime? He's played games of death and deceit in the past, but could he do so again? Man, loved to see that.

I could definitely see fights with Chinese gang members:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH78UyN2GKg

And Triad ritual ceremonies, steeped in hundreds of years of tradition:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tREvDSxlx-k

Anyway, just some thoughts.

[Tien Long]

I've also been thinking about who could have been some of Shang's previous masters. A storyline on Shang's masters would be cool because I think it could show off the diversity of China's cultures and Kung Fu styles. In the past, I've championed a female master. Now, I'd definitely like to see more emphasis on China's different ethnicities.

For instance, many of China's best Kung Fu practitioners are Muslims, from the Hui ethnicity. (And truth be told, Muslims have played key roles in China's history for centuries). Here's an example of a Bajiquan practitioner:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82N8i7GdOAY

At the same time, some of China's best wrestlers are Mongolians from the Inner Mongolian area. Wrestling competitions have been occurring in that area for centuries:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d3LgxdDR4E

So yeah, a Chinese Muslim and an Inner Mongolian as Shang's masters would be pretty cool.

[Tien Long]

Found some cool pics of Shang:



Holy crap, this looks pretty awesome! Background looks nice!



Good scene of Shang from Hickman's recent Avengers series.

[Silvermoth]

That is cool!

[Daredevil is Legend]

Oh yeah, he won!

Got any scans of the second fight?

[Geno]

Okay, as a huge fan of Shang-Chi, I feel it necessary to vent a little. I'm constantly astonished by how Marvel has been attempting to push the character into the mainstream spotlight again, but always comes short of following through. Even though he is a member of the Avengers, he's more marginalized than he's ever been on any other team (Marvel Knights and Heroes for Hire come to mind). He has had a prominent role in maybe two or three issues, not counting one or two issues of Avengers World. Unfortunately, this seems to be a problem with most of the new Avengers members. And while it's nice that they've expanded on his repertoire of abilities - using Pym Particles and creating clones of himself by communicating with an origin bomb site - these abilities are not what the character is about.

I can let the Pym Particle situation slide, since it makes sense politically. You get a giant Chinese man to fight a giant dragon attacking a Chinese city. It's less complicated than explaining why they had to get a foreigner to intervene which is usually the case. The origin bomb ability to replicate himself also kind of makes sense, because they tried to play off Shang's calm nature and his understanding of metaphysics. But then even though both of these abilities were fairly big reveals, what followed was rather small and unimpressive. Yes, Shang did beat the crap out of that dragon and throw the Gorgon to God-knows-where, but all of this was resolved in a few pages with no epilogue. It just kind of happened, and we're left to fill in the details of the situation on our own. Similarly, the Shang-Chi clones were reduced to useless grunts when they were finally put in use. Sure, a ton of them managed to take over a Helicarrier, which is hardly a feat these days, but three of them couldn't even phase an old and de-powered Steve Rogers, who casually knocked out two simultaneously. I get that they're not the real deal, and I get he's Captain America. But if they're going to be that useless, why even bother?

The only real takeaway from him being in the Avengers is that he can hang with the big boys, but he'll forever be in their shadow. Shang-Chi's character and background just scream to be used in an espionage or street level type of story, where he can be in his element. And that's not to say that I am unhappy about how he's been used in the Avengers - after all, if Black Widow and Hawkeye can accompany the likes of Thor and Iron Man to face intergalactic threats, why the hell not Shang-Chi? It's just that in the context of facing these big threats, it doesn't seem like writers are daring enough to utilize him. Or perhaps they simply don't know the character well enough. Ironically, his recent miniseries demonstrated just the level of misunderstanding I'm talking about, despite the point of it having been to bring the character back to his roots. As with all other efforts to push the character, Deadly Hands of Kung Fu just didn't demonstrate any sincerity, especially with a creative team that lacked the pedigree to deal with the genre.

Anyway, I'll conclude my rant. May 2015 be a better year for the Master of Kung Fu.

[Holt]

They're having a lot of problems with that. They made a big deal of adding Falcon to the team ahead of his big movie debut and he's done jack sh*t so far, being better served in other books like Mighty Avengers. Don't even get me started on Captain Universe.

I get the sense that everyone involved thought in theory this would be a great way to bring the spotlight to some lesser known fan favorites and push them to the big time, but the realized that'd take away screentime from the more popular characters like Cap and Iron Man.

Ironically I feel he'd be a much better fit on a team like the Mighty Avengers or the Uncanny Avengers.

[Geno]

True. Falcon did get a boost in status by becoming the new Captain America, but of what I have read, it seems like much of his current book has been showing (or inadvertently leading to the conclusion) that he's still not quite on Steve's level. Sure, he's got a lot to live up to, but Sam's built up a legacy of his own. And you are right that he's grossly underused in the team books. Literally, his only memorable moment in the current Avengers run was when he talked to those creatures on Mars. And that was, what, issue number 3 that came out two years ago?

Captain Universe is another egregious case, but this is probably not the time or place for that rant.

Ultimately, it would be nice, like you said, if these lesser known characters could co-exist in a storyline with the more popular folks, showing what they're capable of without stealing the spotlight. As it stands, I feel like Marvel pumps out a couple of issues solely focusing on these B-listers in side stories, and then spends a great majority of time everywhere else on the regulars for the main plot. As a business model, perhaps keeping the same players on the field works. But it doesn't change the fact that it stunts creativity and keeps the same players on the sidelines.

[Winterboy]

Good scene of Shang from Hickman's recent Avengers series.

Man, I really want to see Deodato drawing a Shang Chi/Danny Rand team-up someday...
IF & MKF.jpg

[DigiCom]

I can't help but notice that Shang's 3 biggest showings as an Avenger all rely not on his martial arts skills, but on external enhancements that make him look like another hero:

1) The bracer things Stark gave him to essentially simulate the Iron Fist.
2) The Pym Particles, which speak for themselves. (Giant-Sized Shang-Thing!)
3) And now, the origin bomb, which makes him either a kung-fu Madrox, or an expy of Kamen Rider OOO (Gatakiriba combo)

I find it somewhat annoying that Hickman claimed him for this, but is essentially using him as a stand-in for whatever role he needs.

[Geno]

http://www.comicvine.com/articles/ex...i/1100-151191/

I am excited, but not getting my expectations up after what happened last time Shang got a mini...

[Daredevil is Legend]

Shang Chi can make clones?How?

[Geno]

He communicated with an origin bomb site and gained the ability to replicate himself. But the clones seem pretty substandard, able to take down SHIELD soldiers easily but barely a minor inconvenience to an old, depowered Steve Rogers.

[Daredevil is Legend]

He communicated with an origin bomb site and gained the ability to replicate himself. But the clones seem pretty substandard, able to take down SHIELD soldiers easily but barely a minor inconvenience to an old, depowered Steve Rogers.

Hmmmm,I wonder what's the point of giving him that ability then.

[Tien Long]

I'm definitely excited with the new miniseries. It looks to be a different take on Shang. As I posted in the announcement thread for the series, I dig the idea of various schools of martial arts since it's rooted in East Asian history and culture. I've also heard that one's power would be cultivated through martial arts practice. That reminds me a lot of elements that we see in Avatar: The Last Airbender and Korra.

Ultimately, though, my hope is that in this world of martial artists who have all of these fantastic skills and powers, Shang prevails, sorta like Rock Lee from Naruto.