Hi everyone,
Today, I'll be discussing Marvel's first and only Master of Kung Fu annual. The cover depicted Shang-Chi battling side by side with Iron Fist against a handful of thugs, while a seemingly powerful man appears to be conjuring behind them all. The tale was titled "The Fortress of S'ahra Sharn!"
The story started in Shang's London apartment, which had been provided to him by Sir Dennis Nayland Smith. His peaceful meditation was interrupted by a knock on his door. He went to open it, and a man named Daniel Rand stepped inside after introducing himself. Rand explained that he went to Scotland Yard with an issue and was then referred to Whitechapel, MI-6 headquarters. Once there, he talked to Smith, who referred him to Shang-Chi.
Rand added that Smith had told him about his friend's recent reluctance to follow orders. Shang replied that he had grown weary of the games of death and deceit, but has helped Smith in affairs where honor dictated or when innocent lives were in jeopardy. Rand explained that his friend Colleen Wing had been kidnapped before asking Shang-Chi if he'd heard of K'un Lun or Iron Fist.
Shang replied that Leiko Wu and Smith had provided him with some information. As he answered, Rand removed his civilian clothing and admitted that he was Iron Fist, as he put on his costume. Shang-Chi replied that he knew already, by the way that Rand carried himself. He noted that any true master of the martial arts could recognize another master once their eyes met. Shang agreed to help Iron Fist on his mission, and the pair left Shang's apartment. On their way out, Shang-Chi asked his new friend why he wore a mask. Rand replied that he was still figuring that part out.
Meanwhile, at a London fish and chips restaurant, a server and his customer were spooked by the appearance of another man right out of thin air. They ran for help, bumping into a bobby (British police officer). The officer approached the stranger, who dispatched him with an energy blast. Undeterred, the powerful being moved on.
Outside Scotland Yard, Shang-Chi and Iron Fist were walking and talking. Neither of them knew much about the city, and conversed about the seclusion they'd experienced in Honan, China, and K'un Lun, respectively. Rand was just wondering where Shang's father Fu Manchu obtained the elixir vitae that enabled him to keep his youth when a horde of villains charged at them.
Neither hero knew where their opponents came from, noticing that their appearances and fighting styles didn't match anyone that they'd ever opposed before. However, they soon proved to be rather infeffectual, as they were quickly defeated by Shang and Iron Fist. After the battle, their vanquished foes faded away. The intruder we'd seen earlier at the fish and chips shop then entered the scene. He stated that they'd just fought assassins who had been dispatched from S'ahra Starn to stop him from joining them in a mutual conflict. He then introduced himself as Quan St'ar, a fellow native of K'un Lun.
Quan explained that his intentions were noble and that he'd never try to kill anyone, even as we saw the dead police officer that he'd attacked earlier in the evening. When Rand asked him how he was able to traverse from K'un Lun now when it wouldn't appear in this dimension for another nine years, Quan replied that he was one of a select few known as a magician who could bridge the dimensional gap. He went on to say that S'ahra Starn was a mirrored opposite of K'un Lun. Instead of peace and tranquility, natives from his village sought darkness and evil. His words intrigued Iron Fist and Shang-Chi, and they both decided to join their new comrade in his mission.
Chapter 2 of this story was called "The Evil Which Is S'ahra Sharn." It began with Quan, Shang and Iron Fist neared the portal and crossed the gateway from Earth to S'ahra Sharn. They arrived in the middle of the town. There, Quan told his companions to head to a local tavern and find a man named Shai-Tahn, who would give them more information, including where he'd be located in the future.
The duo was a bit wary, but headed toward the tavern anyway. As they did so, Quan stood back with several of his compatriots watching them. Quan was confident that the price they'd paid was worth it to bring Iron Fist to his doom.
Inside the tavern, the arrival of strangers was noticed immediately. Another fight began, this time with Shang and Iron Fist warding off those who didn't like their presence in the estabishment. The skirmish stopped when a man riding what appeared to be a horse with a twisted horn above its eyes. Entered. He ordered the soldiers behind him to stop the fracas and kill any who dared to resist.
After only Iron Fist and Shang-Chi were left standing, the mounted warrior called for their arrest. Shang said that they'd arrived to find a man named Shai-Tahn. The warrior then introduced himself as Shai-Tahn and called for their arrest. A knife placed by one of his officers against an innocent woman's throat was enough to convince the heroes to surrender. They were then led away by Shai and his men. Afterward, Quan entered the tavern and spoke to the woman, who was named Cybelle. He said that she'd earned her release, but she didn't seem very happy about it.
Five days later, Shang-Chi and Iron Fist were in the same prison they'd been in since their capture. They began to talk about their predicament, when a third voice could be heard from above them. That voice belonged to Quan St'ar. He explained that forces were massing to invade K'un Lun and that he would be supervising and leading that army. He and his future queen Cybelle then left the stars of this book alone.
Iron Fist lashed out in anger with his namesake power, before a rope fell at them from the doorway that Quan and Cybelle had just viewed them from. They weren't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, and quickly made their escape. Once outside the castle, Cybelle stepped forward with a tray of food for the former prisoners. As they ate, Shang and Rand learned that Cybelle was a spy who was part of a growing resistance movement agenst Quan and his army.
The trio took up individual mounts and rode off. As they did so, Cybelle informed her new comrades about Quan St'ar's background. She started by saying that he was a native of K'un Lun and had originally been favored by the personage in jade known as Yu-Ti. In his last day there, one of their dragons went wild and went after Yu-Ti. Quan leapt to his rescue and slew the beast. When he presented the monster's heart to his master, he was stunned to see his master's revulsion.
Yu-Ti valued the life of the dragon above that of Quan, and banished his former protege from the city forever. The august personage in jade would later take the dragon heart to a cave where it turned molten and subsequently saved the dragon's life. This was the same dragon that Iron Fist would later challenge and defeat, therefore gaining his power.
Quan eventually made his way to S'tara Sharn. His magical tricks were enough to impress the general populace, and he gained followers in the process. Cybelle asserted that Quan was consumed with personal hatred and vengeance and that he desired to rule his former city. He planned to stride into K'un Lun as its conquereror with the skull of Iron Fist at his feet.
Before long, the three resistance fighters arrived outside the front entrance of the very castle whose dungeon Rand and Shang had just escaped from not long ago. Cybelle informed her colleagues that the globe of eternity which fueld Quan's sorcerous abilities had to be destroyed if they had any chance of victory.
Cybelle led the attack against her former allies. She, Shang-Chi and Iron Fist fought on as they ventured deeper into the castle. Shang and Iron Fist soon entered Quan's quarters, where he stood before the large globe of eternity. While Rand countered Quan's mystic bolts with the power of the iron fist, Shang crept behind them to approach the globe.
Shang-Chi pinpointed a pressure point and broke the globe with a single, powerful punch. Spirits of evil were released from the globe after it shattered, and Shang was careful to evade them. The globe's destruction was enough to weaken Quan's powers, and he was swiftly knocked out by Iron Fist's punch. Both the villain and his essence soon dissipated.
Not long after the battle, Cybelle took her place as rule of S'hara Starn. She asked Shang and Iron Fist if they wished to remain there. Each of them politely declined, and her court sorceror returned them to where they came. Moments later, Shang-Chi and Iron Fist were back on the same London street. Rand still hadn't found his friend Colleen, but he decided to search for her on his own, and the heroes went their separate ways. Before departing, they wished each other luck, having a feeling that they would need it.
This was a well crafted tale by writer Doug Moench and penciller Keith Pollard. It was a fun team up by stars of the popular black and white magazine Deadly Hands of Kung Fu. My only criticism is that they didn't fulfill the initial objective of finding Colleen Wing. It would have been nice to see more of the supporting casts for both Shang and Rand as well.
Well, that's all the time I have for now. Next time, I'll return to the monthly mag by recapping the forty-third issue of Master of Kung Fu. We'll learn what Shock-Wave's plans were for Doctor Petrie and Shang and the rest of his associates. We'll also catch up with Leiko Wu and discover the identity of the counter agent known as Agent-O. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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