Hi everyone,
Today I'm writing about the thirtieth issue of Marvel Comics' The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. The cover showed Shang battling Razor Fist in what appeared to be a pit of lions. The story was named "A Gulf of Lions." The issue had a cover date of July 1975.
The tale began on a stone archway, where Razor Fist was blocking an entrance to Carlton Velcro's headquarters. Shang-Chi fought his way into the complex. His battle with Razor Fist was fierce, but not one that he couldn't win. Within minutes, he'd already broken one of his opponent's blades.
Meanwhile, as Clive Reston was being interrogated by Velcro in a warehouse full of large bags of heroin, Black Jack Tarr was lurking outside on a ledge before breaking in and drawing the fire of Velcro's guards. A smoke bomb bought them some cover and time to escape, but that was short-lived. The building was like a vast maze, and the two heroes were soon captured. Velcro demanded to know how they got in and who else had entered.
Shang continued to combat Razor Fist and gained a temporary victory. He left the chamber after grabbing a memento, as Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and Doctor Petrie continued to fret over the lack of communication from their friends, who had missed the rendezvous time. Inside their seaplane, the two old friends quarreled. Petrie knew that his comrade was a stickler for the rules. However, Smith wasn't afraid to break rules when it came to the safety of their comrades. He asked Petrie to put in a call to their office in Marseilles, France, for a motor launch loaded with as much high-grade explosive as possible as soon as they could get there.
Back inside Velcro's headquarters, Carlton sat on a throne. He, Reston, Tarr, and his armed guards were separated by a hole in the floor that led to a pit filled with deadly panthers. The tyrant interrogated his captives until they were interrupted by Shang-Chi, who had already defeated a few soldiers. Shang made a threat that was construed as him having an explosive in his closed fist. That was enough to convince Velcro to set Tarr and Reston free. However, he continued to monitor the intruders carefully via electronic surveillance.
Before long, Velcro pushed a button, allowing the walkway that the heroes had just crossed to descend, dropping them into the pit filled with more than a half-dozen black panthers. Shang-Chi's weapon was revealed to be nothing more than a stone ear from the statue that Razor Fist had lunged toward and become stuck in during their battle. Reston soon spied a doorway across from them. The trio made a mad run for the escape exit and succeeded without any of them being injured or having to fight the large cats.
Tarr, Reston, and Shang had no sooner made just a few steps when the grated floor underneath them gave way. They fell through a metal tunnel before coming to rest on a stone ledge. From there, they could see Velcro's real goal, as an impressive army of soldiers, ships, and weapons lay in wait, ready to be used, below them.
I have to say that I was impressed by this issue. This was one of several stories that began with a splash page that combined Gulacy's artwork with Moench's narrative to introduce new readers and catch up longtime fans on what happened in the previous issue. I was a bit disappointed, thinking that Shang-Chi's fight with Razor Fist would have lasted longer, but the villain would make more appearances throughout this series' run and interact with other characters in the Marvel Universe as well. Also, the cover was a bit misleading, as Shang and his friends would encounter panthers, not lions, as the cover suggested.
Well, that's all for now. Next time, I'll recap the thirty-first issue of Master of Kung Fu. This is the final part of the Velcro story. We'll see what happens after what Shang and his friend discovered on the last page of this comic. Razor Fist will return, and a person who led the panthers will make their debut. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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