Hi everyone,
Today I'm writing about the fifty-fifth issue of Marvel's The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. The cover depicted the titular character breaking through a wooden wall. The story was called "The Ages of Death!" The issue had a cover date of August 1977.
The tale began at the Savoy Hotel in London, where Shang had been staying with Black Jack Tarr for the last three days. Tarr was about to go to breakfast with Sir Dennis Nayland Smith. Shang-Chi opted to stay behind, take a bath, and read the novel A Clockwork Orange. Shang was running the bathwater when he heard a noise. He went to investigate and found a pair of intruders had entered the hotel room.
Shang-Chi caught the men by surprise, who revealed that they had been sent by Han Sung to stop him from being killed. Shang had no interest in killing his friend, whom he had not seen since he was a teenager. The hired goons said that his father, Fu Manchu's men sought Sung's death after he had taken something important from the warlord.
Shang thought back to a time when he and his former comrade and mentor Sung were engaged in a sparring session. Sung was impressed with his young pupil and later showed him a secret alcove. From their vantage point, they could see Shang's father consume some of his elixir vitae. It was a potion that could extend a person's life, and was something that Sung wished to have for himself one day.
The assailants confessed to Shang-Chi that Sung was in London trying to locate his daughter, and that they were to meet him at the Lime House at nine that evening to collect the rest of their payment for the job. Shang tied up the crooks and called the local police, informing them that they were in the hotel room before heading for the club at the appointed time.
Shang's arrival was not unnoticed. He waited for a while, remembering the second time he'd seen his father consume the potion in the presence of Ducharme. After a while, he asked the man behind the bar about Sung's whereabouts. The bartender claimed not to know anyone by that name, but Shang-Chi saw through the lie. A patron admitted that he knew Sung's daughter, and that she was down the street at another business before a fight broke out between Shang and other patrons who interrupted the customer before he could share more information.
The scuffle was brief. Afterward, Shang-Chi entered through the back area and found his aged friend Han Sung waiting for him. Manchu had told his son that Sung had been sent away, when in reality he'd been imprisoned and experimented upon. Sung was part of the project that resurrected Shaka Kharn (as shown in the recent Doug Moench/Paul Gulacy story arc).
Sung had stolen some of the elixir vitae, but would not tell Shang where he'd kept it. He then ordered his men to attack his former protege. Another swift conflict ensued, but it gave Sung time to escape. Afterward, Shang-Chi arrived at a local Chinese import shop to find Sung's daughter standing behind the counter.
The young woman freely admitted her parentage before Sung descended the staircase with a pair of armed guards flanking him. He partook of the elixir, which had been concealed inside a ceremonial dagger in the store. He'd sent the elixir to London after knowing that Manchu was after the stolen liquid.
Sung's soldiers attacked Shang while Sung himself ran out the back exit. Shang-Chi defeated both soldiers and caught up with his old mentor, who drank the liquid, not realizing that only Fu Manchu had built up a tolerance for the elixir vitae through regular consumption and increased dosage. Unfortunately, Sung was not so accustomed, and this time, the elixir brought only death.
As Sung plunged to the cold waters below, his daughter asserted that Shang had killed him. Shang-Chi quietly replied that his own fear of death was what had killed her father. Shang was saddened by the loss of someone whom he'd once trusted, but knew that he had gone down a path that ultimately claimed him in the end.
For some readers, this was an introduction to Mike Zeck's artwork. I'd seen some of his Marvel Team-Up issues and knew that Zeck was excellent. After his run on this series, he would go on to pencil part of the first Secret Wars Limited Series and the monthly Captain America title, along with covers for the Punisher and G.I. Joe comic books. This was kind of a fill-in issue, but it was an interesting story of a one-and-done character who underestimated Shang-Chi's father.
Next time, I'll cover the fifty-sixth issue of Master of Kung Fu. Moench and Jim Craig return for the second part of the War-Yore storyline. We'll see what happened to Leiko Wu and another War-Yore personality. There will also be another new villain for Shang-Chi to face off against. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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