Hi there,
Today, I'll be discussing the thirty-seventh issue of Marvel's The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. The cover showed Shang squaring off against an eight-limbed being known as Darkstrider in a bright yellow web, as Moon Sun's mysterious beings looked on. The tale was titled "Web of Dark Death!" The issue had a cover date of February 1976.
The story began with a sound coming from the exterior of the train car's roof, right about the time Shang-Chi appeared. Sun Moon and his daughter Tiko realized that the Warlords of the Web had returned. Shang did his duty to defend his new friends from the invaders. He battled them both inside and outside of the train car. However, when he ran to follow the attackers as they headed toward the engine car, he found that they had once more vanished into thin air. There were no bodies, no blood, and no signs that they had even been there in the first place.
Back inside the train, Pan Sing and his comrades demanded to be released from their cages so that they could assist Shang-Chi. Sun told them that he could not grant that wish. He was about to go on about the commitment they'd made long ago when Shang returned. Shang-Chi said that he'd won the battle, but wanted to know more about the assailants who vanished on him yet again.
Pan Sing began the explanation by recounting the times when their circus toured the island of Taiwan. During that tour, they once performed for a powerful mandarin at his residence. He was so impressed by their performance that he demanded that they stay and perform for him and him alone for the rest of their days. Sun said that he appreciated the offer, but they must decline it honorably.
This angered the mandarin, who remarked that they could either stay there and live their lives in luxury or leave and find only death. Sun and his companions chose to leave, which prompted the mandarin to send out his Warlords of the Web after them, led by the dangerous Darkstrider.
When asked by Shang who the Darkstrider was, Sing replied that he was a tiger in human form. Rynor debated that claim, as well as how their troubles began. Rynor then went on to say that Sing's tale had been true up until their performance. He stated that the mandarin had not asked them to stay because he had not been pleased with their performance. He thought that it was horrible and should have been stopped. However, they continued on, and that the threats were only made after the performance ended. Rynor claimed that the Darkstrider was a mantis in human form.
Angel Hawk refuted both stories. He told Shang-Chi that they had decided to perform at a poor person's house for no charge. The performance never happened. The farmer and his wife went outside to greet the performers, and the wife was so frightened by Cinnabar that she gasped in fright, clutched her chest, and fell to the ground, dying before their very eyes. Her distraught husband was so unnerved by this that he swore then and there that he would become a master assassin and ally others to his cause. When questioned by Shang about his appearance, Hawk said that Darkstrider was a crane in human guise.
Sybilis claimed that Darkstider was a snake in human guise. Its other head, known as Snake, agreed as it told their version. It said that their performance was held in a large arena. Among those in attendance were several Taiwan government officials. Some of them had become intoxicated and feared that, in their drunken state that they may have inadvertently shared some confidential government secrets. They would have a cabinet meeting in the morning, and if it was found that the performers overheard any secret information, they would send Darkstrider to kill all of them.
Cinnabar declared all of those who had shared the tale before to be liars. He said that they saved a woman in Taiwan from being beaten. Her assailant said that he would call Darkstrider and his Warlords of the Web to find them. Cinnabar then claimed that Darkstrider was a dragon in human form.
Seena had yet another story to tell. She told Shang-Chi that a woman approached their wagon at sunset. She was so affected with sympathy by their appearances that she would fix nature's errors by calling for her lover Darkstrider to slay them all. Their misery would then end, and they would be reincarnated in the true beauty that she wanted to share.
Sybilis advised Shang-Chi not to listen to Seena, adding that Darkstrider was a snake in human form. When asked what Tiko thought, she felt that it was not her place to explain the beauty of a mystery. Before they could continue the discussion, Sun reminded everyone that they should get some rest, as they still had a long trek ahead of them.
The following morning, Moon Sun decided to set up camp on a barren plain. Shang-Chi assisted with the tent setup and other duties, interacting with several of Sun's associates as he did so. Later on, Sun asked Shang to summon Tiko to assist her father with preparations for the evening's performance. Shang-Chi entered her quarters and was stunned to see her deformed face.
Tiko raised her wig and showed him her true face, one that in her eyes made her as much of a reject as her father's exhibits. Before Shang could offer any advice or words of comfort, Tiko ordered him to leave her alone. Shang-Chi wandered over to the performance tent, only to find that Sun was absent. He went outside to try and find him. Before he did so, he noticed a stranger wearing a hat and an overcoat in the stands.
When Shang returned to the tent, he saw the hat and overcoat on the ground. There before him was the one known as Darkstrider. The six-armed man was in the center of a long web, one that held all of Sun's performers captive. Shang fought the villain to a standstill before realizing that the performers who had been caught in the web were suddenly replaced by Warlords of the Web. Each warrior spoke in the voices of the six. They and their seemingly immortal leader continued to stymie Shang with their words and actions.
After a few minutes, the warriors tossed their swords upward, slashing a hole in the tent through which they escaped. Darkstrider made a dash for the tent's opening below them. Shang-Chi rushed to catch up with him. Once he was outside, he realized that everything around him, including the tent, wagons, Sun, Tiko, and their performers, had disappeared. All that was left was a piece of Darkstrider's clothing, and even that disintegrated in his hand. Shang was left with more questions, but as he walked alone, he realized how much he had learned from this adventure, including the fact that we are all freaks under other eyes and life is our cage and that the watching world is both beautiful and blind.
This was a trippy two-part story that made readers like me wonder if it was all just a dream. Darkstrider was an interesting villain. He certainly could have given Doctor Octopus a run for his money. I got the impression, because of the story and setting, that this tale took place before the recent three-part Mordillo story because Leiko Wu wasn't even mentioned. It was good to see the focus on Shang-Chi, because although the Mordillo epic was great, it felt like that storyline was more of a way to develop the supporting characters. Shang often felt like a supporting character himself in that three-issue trilogy.
Well, that's all for now. Next time, I'll recap the thirty-eighth issue of Master of Kung Fu. Paul Gulacy and Dan Adkins return to team up with Moench on a story that's a pure artistic masterpiece. The first few pages alone belong in a gallery. Shang embarks on another solo mission, and we're introduced to a couple more new, intriguing characters. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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