Good morning, everyone,
Today's focus is the fifty-eighth issue of Marvel's The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. The cover showed the titular character battling War-Yore, with imprisoned Leiko Wu looking on behind him. The tale was called "The Saga of War-Yore Part IV: The Final Faces." The issue had a cover date of November 1977.
The story began as Shang and War-Yore (real name = Eric Slaughter) stood at the bottom of a staircase. Two men holding the unconscious Wu with them ordered their agent to stop. Shang-Chi knew that he couldn't move without endangering the woman he loved, but wondered what had happened to his companion, Black Jack Tarr.
Tarr was busy watching a helicopter land and was stunned to see his former boss, Sir Dennis Nayland Smith, emerge from it. Meanwhile, Clive Reston kept an eye on Shang-Chi, Leiko, and their opponents as Smith and other MI-6 agents entered the room below him. He assumed that his ex-leader was behind the plot to assassinate his former agents.
Smith was shocked to see Shang and Wu in trouble. He made his outrage known by demanding Wu's release. The men around him thought that Smith was involved in the shady dealings that he knew nothing about, and a few of them aimed their guns at the MI-6 director.
Tarr and Reston leapt to their ex-leader's defense. Amidst the confusion, the man holding Leiko was shot. She fell into the hands of Slaughter in his Saint George personal. Shang-Chi followed the villain as he raced up the staircase.
Reston, Tarr, and Smith eventually made their way outside toward Reston's car. Meanwhile, Shang found himself in a chamber full of impressive-looking weapons. Slaughter entered another room and set Wu down carefully. He then opened a chest and adorned clothing from the Dark Raider, Saint George, Robin Hood, Shira-Kawa's savior, the Viking Hrolf Kraki, the Red Baron, and Attila the Hun to create his final alter-ego, War-Yore.
Leiko felt sorry for the misguided man in front of her. She was making some headway getting through to him when a spike tossed by Shang-Chi interrupted their conversation. At the same time, MI-6 helicopters were arriving on the scene, not long before Smith realized that Tarr and Shang's other friends had some valid reasons for leaving the service earlier.
As Shang battled the man with multiple personalities, his opponent seemed to shift at times from one persona to another during the encounter. Wu pleaded with Shang-Chi to stop the fighting, since she had made progress by talking with Slaughter. The conflict eventually ended with Slaughter's death by a well-placed bullet fired from Reston's gun after he located his companions.
Afterward, Smith hoped the ordeal was enough to convince his former employees that such a dastardly plot could not have been carried out by him. Reston was still tired of the subterfuge. Smith swore his innocence once more, and Tarr led him to one of the helicopters to return home.
Leiko confronted her former lovers. She was angry with Shang for fighting War-Yore despite her protests and with Reston for killing a man who was obviously in need of help. Wu declared that she wasn't anyone's woman and didn't want to be then, walking away and leaving her companions behind, unable to come up with anything to say in response.
This was an interesting end to the War-Yore saga. The only things that I felt were missing were explanations as to who was really behind the whole affair and more of the motivations for keeping Slaughter involved in his multiple personas. Unfortunately, he was killed in action. He could have been either a worthy ally or a continued threat to Shang and company.
Well, that's all for now. Next time, I'll recap the fifty-ninth issue of Master of Kung Fu. Mike Zeck takes over the pencilling chores, as he and writer Doug Moench begin a new storyline. This one involves the return of a few of Shang's acquaintances from the past, and a plot involving an unlikely guest star. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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