Retro Comic Recap: Master of Kung Fu #51

 Good morning,

Now it's time for me to discuss the fifty-first issue of The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. The cover, drawn by Paul Gulacy, depicted the titular character and several of his opponents from the past. The story was called "Epilogue: Brass and Blackness (A Death Move!!)." The issue had a cover date of April 1977.

The tale began in outer space. We saw Clive Reston and Shang aboard the spacecraft that the evil Fu Manchu had just escaped from, after his plans to detonate the moon had failed. We then moved forward to the funeral for their associate, Larner, who had died after detonating explosions that destroyed Manchu's mountain headquarters. It was quite a somber occasion for all in attendance.

Afterward, Sir Dennis Nayland Smith caught up with Shang-Chi and informed him that there would be a meeting at his office at Whitechapel in an hour. Shang replied that he would be there, and that time itself seemed to be rather unimportant. As he walked alone in the rain, Shang-Chi thought back to the events that had recently transpired.

He'd been forced to shoot his own father to save his planet. He and Reston encountered more of Manchu's troops after their leader's shuttlecraft left, and fought them off valiantly. Afterward, they found themselves in another shuttle, one that would eventually land in the waters off of Asia's Eastern coast. Reston radioed headquarters and informed them of their location. They then learned the fates of their friends, including Larner's death.

Smith, Leiko Wu, Black Jack Tarr, and Reston united with Smith and his assistant Miss Greville at Whitechapel after the funeral. Greville returned Shang's Siamese cat to him, noting that it had survived the bombing of his flat (as shown in a previous issue). Doctor Petrie then entered the room. He'd been undergoing deprogramming after previously being coerced into working for Shang's father. 

Shang-Chi was reluctant to continue what he saw were more pointless battles, including those that took many years off of Smith's life. Smith admitted his obsession with Manchu moments before masked intruders smashed through the window and attacked the room's occupants. The battle with the gunmen was brief, but Greville was struck by one of the bullets.

Afterward, a call was made for an ambulance, while the heroes tried to determine the reason for the attack. Shang found that to be unimportant. He went on to call his friend both a good man and an enemy before picking up the feline. As he walked out of the room, Smith implored him not to turn his back on the past. Shang-Chi replied that he was simply turning his face to the future.

Leiko followed him out, and then Reston and Tarr both decided to leave the service, at least for the time being. Smith was then left all alone, wondering what would happen next. It was a question that some of his now former associates were probably pondering as well. 

Loyalty was a central theme of this issue. Shang and his fellow associates developed strong bonds during the missions that they worked on together, but it was time to question why they'd been dispatched on them in the first place. It was a good epilogue after an extremely intense storyline in the seven issues before this one. I liked Jim Craig's artwork here. He's one of those comic book illustrators who doesn't get enough credit, in my opinion. 

Well, that's all for now. I'm going to take a couple of days off to enjoy the holiday and work on a few other projects. When I return, I'll recap the fifty-first issue of Marvel's Master of Kung Fu. Shang-Chi will go on a solo mission and reconnect with an old friend and an old rival. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.