Retro Comic Recap: Master of Kung Fu #50

 Hi everyone,

Today, I'll be recapping the fiftieth issue of Marvel's monthly title The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. The cover showed Clive Reston lying behind Shang, who was contemplating shooting his father, Fu Manchu. The story was named "Part VII (Fu Manchu): The Dreamslayer!" The issue had a cover date of March 1977.

The story's narration was pieced together from parts of Manchu's notebooks. He had recorded how he'd escaped the destruction of his city, hidden inside an Arctic mountain via rocketship. The craft was now about to dock with an even larger spacecraft that he'd had constructed. Manchu was still going to move forward with his plan to knock Earth's moon out of its orbit, so that his native China could rise to supremacy once more.

What he didn't know was that his son, Shang, and Reston had both stowed away aboard his rocket. They silently dispatched several of his guards and set out to find the evil leader. Back on Earth, Sir Dennis Nayland Smith was writing about their fallen friend Larner, just before an agent named Sarsfield entered the room. Sarsfield informed Smith that Ducharme was missing and presumed either dead or having returned to Manchu's side once more.

Smith was not surprised by this news. He figured that her defection was temporary at best, and that her brief time at MI-6 had helped him keep tabs on his old foe. His only hope was that the rest of his associates on the mission could accomplish the goal of finally defeating his rival of many decades.

We then saw Ducharme alongside Manchu as he partook of the elixir vitae, which prolonged their lives and that of Shaka Kharn, Manchu's recently revived ancestor. Kharn was about to enter a chamber that would use that formula to keep him alive, while Reston and Shang came across the vessel's control panel. Reston was about to sabotage it when Shang-Chi thought about seeing the mountain explode before the rocket took off, not knowing the fates of their friends on the ground.

Black Jack Tarr, Leiko Wu, and Fah Lo Suee were gathered on that same mountain, mourning the loss of their friend Larner. Larner had sacrificed himself so that the explosives he'd gathered would detonate and destroy Manchu's mountain base. Tarr said that Larner claimed to hate Wu, and observed that he'd either been the biggest liar he'd ever known, or was a bigger man than any of them could have ever guessed.

It wasn't long before Shang finally confronted his father. The son was not willing to accept the losses that Manchu's plan would create, even though his father stated that many of their native countrymen would undoubtedly survive. Their conversation soon drew the attention of both Kharn and Reston, who would enter the chamber and intervene.

Shang-Chi squared off against Kharn once more. This time, the villain had not been able to partake in ingesting more of the elixir vitae, and indeed seemed to age and decompose during their confrontation. He stabbed Reston before continuing the struggle with Shang's biological son. It was a battle that Kharn would not survive. The swift stroke of Shang's sword beheaded the ancient warrior, who was presumably finished once and forever.

Manchu was still determined to be the victor, no matter what. He could not turn away from his dream as easily as he turned his back on his son. The wounded Reston was still close by and tossed his pistol to Shang. Shang-Chi rarely used weapons and had never fired a gun before, but reluctantly fired at his father.

Fu Manchu fell back, knowing that his device was defeated. However, he still had an escape route. His section of the spacecraft separated, and we found out that it was actually a small shuttle craft. The shuttle took off, leaving Clive and Shang alone on the massive spacecraft. They'd seen the last of Fu Manchu, at least for a while, anyway.

I felt like this was a satisfying conclusion to the longest storyline in this title's history. It was also the last issue for penciller Paul Gulacy, who decided to devote more of his creative time to painting. He would eventually return to drawing comics and working with writer Doug Moench on other titles. Some of his drawings would be used on future Master of Kung Fu covers. 

Well, that's all for now. Next time, a new artist will team up with Moench on the fifty-first issue of Master of Kung Fu. We'll find out what happened to Reston and Shang-Chi on Manchu's spacecraft. There will also be a proper sendoff for Larner, and the MI-6 team reunites to decide their next steps. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.