Retro Comic Recap: Master of Kung Fu #17

 Hi everyone,

Today I'll be writing about the seventeenth issue of The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. The title became a bi-monthly series focused on Shang-Chi and was no longer billed as "Special Marvel Edition." The cover showed the titular character squaring off against a new foe known as Blackjack. The story was called "Lair of the Lost!" The issue had a cover date of April 1974.

The first the pages of the tale split scenes between Shang-Chi in New York and his battle against a trio of street thugs (that Shang quickly won) and a training session where Blackjack Tarr launched a volley of knives and throwing stars against a dummy made to look like Shang-Chi, as Sir Dennis Nayland Smith prepared his accomplice for revenge against the man who slew his friend Doctor Petrie (in Special Marvel Edition #15). Smith and Tarr were now also in New York, and it seemed like a confrontation would soon be inevitable. 

Smith held up a copy of the Daily Bugle (the fictional New York paper that sometimes featured pictures taken by Peter Parker), announcing his arrival in New York. Shang also saw a copy of that same newspaper after his skirmish. He was reminded of his first encounter with Smith, and he went to seek a wise man.

Shang hitched a ride on the back of a delivery van, which drove past the international palace of his father, Fu Manchu. Inside that building, Manchu conferred with several of his allies, including the warrior Tak, who begged his master for a rematch with Shang (he fought him in Special Marvel Edition #15). Manchu noted his son's defeat of Midnight and the fact that Shang was relatively new to the Western world. He knew very little of Smith, a man with whom his father had been in conflict for sixty years. He noted that frustration leads to anger, and that Smith's anger was his favorite weapon.

Not far away, Shang hopped off the truck and looked for Smith's address in a phone book in a nearby phone booth. He asked a man on the street for instructions to the residence, only to hear the man loudly whisper to his boss that Shang was on his way. The young warrior was walking into a trap, but it was one that he entered willingly. He heard the clang of loud alarm bells just moments after arriving in the house through an open window. Smith dispatched several federal agents to confront his opponent, all of whom were felled by a mighty kick.

Smith and Tarr were impressed, but still had other traps in store. Shang backflipped over a trap door and deftly evaded a falling chandelier before entering another room, which he opened with another impressive kick. A quartet of soldiers wearing armor similar to that of the knights of olden days crept up from their hiding places. Shang focused on the battle. Once he learned that his foes were automatons, he had no qualms in beating them. 

Afterward, Shang-Chi rushed up a flight of stairs. The path was then blocked by Tarr, who swore to kill Shang. Shang said that he did not come in violence, and that he merely wanted to talk to Smith. Tarr would not allow that without a battle, which soon ensued. The two fighters were rather evenly matched, but Shang eventually had the advantage, and the struggle ended when Tarr fell through the railing to the floor below.

Shang did not want his foe to be seriously hurt, but pressed on until he found Smith. He explained that he'd been misled when his father sent him on his mission to kill Petrie, and that Smith had shown him the truth. Smith didn't believe Shang, especially when the young man told him he could walk. Smith pointed down to one of his legs, which had been mangled by Tak in an earlier meeting with Fu Manchu. 

Smith stated that the finest medical professionals had labeled him a cripple and told him that he would never walk again. Shang advised him to forget what he had been told and to let his strength lift him up. He asked Smith to try. Slowly, he rose from his chair and was able to stand up on his own. Shang then departed through another open window, after reminding Smith that what a person knows isn't always the truth.

Ever since the title began, there have always been little snippets of morality sprinkled through the storytelling. This issue was no different. The ending of this story would be a turning point in Smith and Shang's personal relationship. They would go on to work on several missions, along with Tarr and others who were yet to be introduced in this magazine. I really felt like this issue laid the groundwork for a solid team that would carry through most of this series' run.

Well, that's all for now. Next time, I'll discuss the eighteenth issue of Master of Kung Fu. We'll see father confront son, as Shang finally faces off against Fu Manchu and his emissaries. Tarr and Smith will be back, and another new opponent will make their debut. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.