Retro Comic Recap: Master of Kung Fu #47

 Hi everyone,

Today I'll be recapping the forty-seventh issue of Marvel's The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. The cover showed Shang in what appears to be a victorious pose over a pair of opponents that he'd defeated. The story was named "Part III (Leiko Wu): Phantom Sand." The issue had a cover date of December 1976. 

The tale began on board Fah Lo Suee's plane. We see several of her masked soldiers (including Shang-Chi and Leiko in disguise), as well as Suee and Griswold (aka the bomb manufacturer Tarrant). Wu and Shang were chosen by Suee to relieve the current pilots. Once they reached the cockpit, the heroes realized that they could then radio their comrades at MI-6. 

Leiko and Shang-Chi were stunned to learn that Sir Dennis Nayland Smith had been in a coma, but was now recovering. They transmitted their status, which was heard by Smith, Black Jack Tarr, Clive Reston, and Larner. They were confident that things would continue to go well, especially now that Doctor Petrie was undergoing hypnosis treatments to deprogram him.

Smith replied that he and Tarr were on the mend. He then ordered Larner and Reston to fly to the Arctic to reconnoiter with their teammates. Tarr would be on a later drop. Not long after, the plane arrived at its destination. As the plane landed on an icy runway, its passengers began to disembark. Almost everyone had left, until Suee and Griswold questioned the replacement pilots and learned their real identities. A fight swiftly ensued and eventually moved outside the aircraft. At one point, one of Suee's soldiers tossed a grenade at the fleeing Shang and Wu, which Wu tossed right back at them moments before it exploded.

Meanwhile, in a secret base, Fu Manchu was assembling the skeleton of his long-dead ancestor. He planned to use it to create a new host body, one that would serve him and only him. Manchu's work was interrupted by the report that an unidentified plane was near the base. He ordered his minion to shoot it down, and not long thereafter, Reston and Larner's ship crash-landed nearby.

Leiko and Shang-Chi continued on foot until they reached a cave. They set up camp for the night and began to talk. Those conversations gradually led to deepened feelings and passion for one another.

The next morning, Suee and her forces found the destroyed ship. Reston and Larner were captured, and Shang and Wu watched from the cave. What they didn't know was that Manchu was also observing the action from afar. He then called his own militia into action. In all the confusion, Larner and Reston were freed, and Shang and Wu proceeded further.

Manchu forces defeated Suee's soldiers, and several of them agreed to join their cause. At the same time, Suee agreed to cooperate with Wu, her half-brother, Reston, and Larner. Back at MI-6 headquarters in London, Tarr was talking with a technician named Sarsfield about the wireless microphone he would be wearing.

While Tarr's comrades were awaiting his arrival, Suee confessed to Larner that her father intended to move Earth's moon from its traditional orbit. People were getting into position inside the hollow mountain, while Ducharme was communicating with Manchu from England, informing him that the ruse that she was loyal to Smith's cause and not his was still working.

This was another fine chapter in the longest storyline of this book's run to date. Writer Doug Moench got some of his cues from Ian Fleming's James Bond series and other spy fiction of the time. I could also see a bit of Paul Gulacy's intent to make Larner look a bit like a young Marlon Brando, perhaps to set him apart from Clive Reston. I thoroughly enjoyed this and all subsequent chapters of this story. 

Well, that's all for now, but it doesn't mean that the action's over just yet. Next time, I'll recap the forty-eighth issue of Master of Kung Fu. That issue's focus will be on Black Jack Tarr as he enters the fray. We'll learn more about Manchu's plans and how much he accomplishes on the road toward his ultimate goal, as expressed by Suee in the paragraph above. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.