Hi everyone,
Today I'll be summarizing the forty-third issue of Marvel Comics' The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. The cover showed Shang battling the villain called Shock-Wave underwater as a trio of gunmen fired upon them. The story was named "A Flash of Purple Sparks." The issue had a cover date of August 1976.
The tale began as Sir Dennis Nayland Smith was finally able to get a hold of his associate, Doctor Petrie, by phone. The doctor explained his absence over the previous two days was due to doctoring for kidney issues. He assured his old comrade that all was good and that he was on the road to recovery. What Smith didn't know was that Petrie was in Black Jack Tarr's office working with the villain Shock-Wave. After the call ended, another time bomb was placed in Tarr's desk.
Smith ended the call just as Tarr, Clive Reston, and his former associate, Larner, entered, having been brought inside by Smith's assistant, Miss Greville. Larner was still smarting from his previous release from the agency, but Smith started the meeting with the good news that Shang-Chi's burns had been treated at Charing Cross Hospital (suffered during his first battle with Shock-Wave in the previous issue) and that he'd been released earlier that morning. He was on his way to Switzerland at the moment to protect Leiko Wu and the counter-agent known only as Agent-O.
As the quartet spoke, the agent and Wu were engaged in a gun battle with Oriental Expediters warriors. The hilt of a golden dagger thrown by one of their opponents reaffirmed Wu's suspicion that they were in on it as well. She gathered her partner and headed toward the safe house.
Smith told his comrades that the safe house in Switzerland was the private estate of their chief of Swiss operations. Larner was a bit surprised that he was trusted with that confidential information, after having been kept out of the loop for more than a year following his dismissal. He reminisced about his last mission for Smith and the loss of his girlfriend Jennie during that assignment when Tarr lashed out at him. Reston broke up the fight before Smith's temper flared and threatened to relieve his associates of their employment if they continued in such a manner.
The next order of business was the fact that Shang had been hospitalized because of burns, instead of cuts as originally reported. Smith suspected that it was because of his colleagues' swearing him to secrecy about Shock-Wave's involvement in the ordeal. Smith had reviewed the physician's report on Shang-Chi, and later admitted that the man known as Shock-Wave was his nephew.
Reston replied that they hadn't informed Smith of all that had transpired because of that relation, even though they were duty-bound to. After chastising Smith for not attending the mock funeral for his girlfriend's empty casket, he asked Smith why he'd requested him. Smith responded by saying that Larner was a demolitions expert, and that ninety percent of the agents they'd lost were due to explosives. As he said that, an incendiary device crashed through a window in Shang's apartment. It was only noticed by the Siamese cat that Shang-Chi had brought back with him (from the Cat affair in earlier issues) before destroying the flat.
Smith wanted Larner to examine the bomb fragments to determine their origins. He also wanted to know who employed his rogue nephew. Smith then assigned Reston and Tarr to board a plane bound for Zurich to serve as Shang's backup in Switzerland.
Meanwhile, Shang-Chi had just arrived via car at the safehouse, which was the estate of Sir Herbert Griswold. The lord of the manor was occupied with target practice at his archery range. After his last practice shot, he welcomed Shang and informed him that the people he'd come to protect had not arrived yet.
Before departing, Reston and Tarr went to Tarr's office to pick up a few things. They had no sooner entered when the bomb underneath Tarr's desk went off. Tarr was at the desk and appeared to have taken the brunt of the blast.
In Switzerland, Griswold sat with Shang, joined by Griswold's bodyguards and his loyal dogs. Griswold had just finished saying that he feared that Shang's fellow associates were dead when he was struck by a sniper's bullet. The bodyguards soon located the assassin and several other Oriental Expediters gunmen who were posted on a ridge not far away.
We then saw that Shock-Wave held Wu and the counteragent helpless to react. As the gun battle ensued, Shang made his way to Shock-Wave and his two prisoners. The villain sensed that someone was behind him and used an electro-blast attack. He then left his captives to pursue whoever had crept up on them.
Shang-Chi soon attacked Shock-Wave from above. He'd learned from their earlier meeting to strike at the parts of his suit that were not metal, as the metal portions were capable of emitting strong electricity blasts. Shang soon forced his opponent back through the hedge maze and into a pool of water. Shock-Wave struggled to surface, but eventually sank in defeat.
The Oriental Expediters gunmen were scared off and left the prisoners where they were. Shang soon saw that his friend Griswold had survived the attack on his life. Griswold commented that he was wearing bulletproof armor. He saw Shock-Wave (real name: Lancaster Sneed) in the pool and ordered his guards to send him back to MI-6 in London.
Griswold and Shang continued talking when a voice from behind cried out Shang's name strongly. That voice belonged to Leiko Wu. One of Griswold's men said that they'd found Shock-Wave's captives behind the hedges. Wu was once again in Shang's arms. He wasn't sure if he was in love with her yet, but that was a topic that could be discussed later.
Her companion was then revealed as Ducharme, the lover of Shang's father, Fu Manchu. Shang was stunned to see that his father's long-time companion was one of Smith's agents. She reported that her name was her sole possession after all of those years. Ducharme added that she'd received some information regarding the plans for the death of Tarr.
This was another well-executed story by Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy. Shock-Wave was an interesting foe that would appear from time to time in this magazine. It appears that Shang must have a healing factor that's almost as impressive as Wolverine's, as his wounds healed incredibly quickly. Then again, maybe time passes faster in comic books than in real life. Anyway, it was still an enjoyable sojourn with Shang and his friends.
Well, that's all I have for the time being. My next blog article will recap the forty-fourth issue of Master of Kung Fu. This storyline has ended, but another mini-epic is about to begin. We'll see Smith's reunion with his disgraced nephew and learn more about Ducharme's knowledge. We'll also find out what happened to Tarr and see the return of a popular character. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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