Hi everyone,
Today's topic is the forty-sixth issue of Marvel's monthly The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu comic book. The cover showed Shang being knocked off a wooden bridge on a mountain range by a powerful sumo warrior. The tale was titled "Part Two (Clive Reston): The Spider Spell!" The issue had a cover date of November 1976.
The story started with Reston alone in a room as a bright light shone on him from above, and an unseen person demanded to know about his whereabouts and threatened to withhold food and rest unless he did so. Clive was resistant to saying anything initially, but knew that he needed to rest. He asserted that he wasn't working for Shang-Chi's half-sister, Fah Lo Suee, and that he'd been battling with Shang and Leiko Wu in Tarrant's Switzerland residence.
Reston had gone after the boat that was departing and ripped off the mask, revealing that Tarrant was actually Griswold. Soon after that, he was knocked out by a large man whom Suee called Chankar. Suee determined that Reston had more value alive than dead and ordered the sumo warrior to take him to the cabin. Reston fought the warrior and leapt from the boat.
The shot that Wu and Shang-Chi heard (last issue) had been fired after Reston had already escaped. He resurfaced later and caught up with them as they were about to drive up the mountain. They arrived in time to see several more masked gunmen and vehicles en route to the mountain top base. There was also a private airfield strip and perhaps a jet waiting to transport Suee to intercept Fu Manchu.
Shang was still a bit hesitant to go against his half-sister. He had also grown tired of Reston's self-pity, and the colleagues almost started a fight, until Leiko intervened. She knew that she'd had feelings for both men and admitted that her feelings might have been misplaced on both occasions. Wu shared that Ducharme had informed her of Manchu's intentions of acquiring power so great that it would enable him to rule the world. She didn't know exactly where the source of that ability was, just that it was close to an island in the Pacific.
On that particular island, a Si-Fan warrior informed his master, Fu Manchu, that Shock-Wave had failed in his mission and had been bested by Shang-Chi. His only concern was that his soldier no longer utter the name of the offspring that he no longer claimed to be his son in his presence. Manchu was focused on the giant oyster that divers had just retrieved from the bottom of the ocean floor.
Manchu knew that his daughter Suee posed little threat to him and demanded that the pearl be opened. A powerful detonation left behind the skull of his former ancestor, the one who had first discovered the elixir vitae. That discovery was what had kept the evil dictator alive long after many of his contemporaries had passed on.
Back on the ridge, Shang decided that the suspension bridge was the best way to reach the base they'd been staring at. Wu accompanied him, while Reston opted to drive along the path. It wasn't long before he traveled on foot and was defeated by Chankar once more. The mighty sumo then delivered his foe to his leader, Suee. She opened a small bottle of mimosa, whose scent would put the hero under her control.
Suee then ordered her soldiers to head toward the suspension bridge to draw Wu's fire. She stressed the importance of keeping Wu alive. Griswold called her plans insane, suggesting that their foe probably knew little to nothing about her father's plans. It was still a risk that Suee was willing to take.
Shang-Chi and Leiko made it across the bridge before gunfire from below tore it apart. They were about to approach the helicopter when Chankar stood in front of them. Shang took on the sumo warrior, while Wu made her way to the base.
We then moved to the present day, when Reston was still being interrogated. He claimed that he didn't know how the spider emblem had been placed on his chest. Reston could only remember being placed inside a room with dozens of deadly spiders to fend for himself.
Shang struck Chankar on the hand and hit a pressure point that injured his impressive opponent. Moments later, Chankar fell off the cliff, and Shang-Chi and Wu entered the complex. Inside, they found Reston and, in disguise, brought him before Suee.
Before that, we saw Reston explain that the threat of the spiders was soon over. Suee entered the room and asked him to kiss her, so that she could remember what Sir Dennis Nayland Smith's embrace was like. It was a gesture that Reston needed no persuading to comply with.
Outside the helicopter, the bound Reston sat before Suee. Suee's guards confirmed that no one else was in the building. Satisfied, she flew off after Reston demanded to join her.
Back in the interrogation room, Reston swore that Suee was probably halfway to the Arctic, and that no one believed them when he said that Griswold was Tarrant or that he'd had no idea how the spider emblem had been put on his chest.
We then learned that his interrogators were Black Jack Tarr, Larner, and another MI-6 agent. They were sufficiently convinced that he'd been subjected to similar methods like those that had turned Petrie against his longtime friend, and that he was back to being himself again. Before leaving the room, Tarr suggested that Reston get some rest, as it would be a few hours before they'd leave for the Arctic to rejoin Leiko and Shang-Chi.
The interrogation panels were a bit choppy as they were interspersed with Reston's recounts of his adventure, but the psychological aspect of this Moench/Gulacy story was interesting. It's just too bad that Chankar didn't last very long. He could have been an ongoing thorn in Shang's side.
Well, that's all for now. Next time, Leiko Wu will be the focus of Master of Kung Fu #47. We'll learn more about her role in this mission. We'll also find out why Petrie betrayed his companions and just what Fu Manchu had in store for the skull of his late ancestor, to name just a very few details. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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