Hi everyone,
Today, I'll discuss the eighty-second issue of Marvel's Master of Kung Fu. The cover showed Shang jumping down from a helicopter as knives were tossed around him. We also see Clive Reston standing on a ladder and firing at enemies below. The ladder is from a helicopter that we see Leiko Wu in the background. The story was called "Like a God Keeping Fire." The issue had a cover date of November 1979.
The tale began in London, as Shang-Chi, Wu, Reston, and Black Jack Tarr were reading the note that was inside an information packet that had been hidden in a tapestry at the London Museum. The note read "fooled again, little spirit." This was from Shang's half-sister, Fah Lo Suee, who was obviously mocking her younger brother.
The quartet decided to return to Sir Dennis Nayland Smith's Scotland Castle to find out more from Lyman Leeks, who had placed the real information packet inside the tapestry. On the way to the helicopter, Reston asked Leiko how Melissa Greville was doing. She replied that Melissa was fine, but acting differently. Wu wasn't sure if Reston's current girlfriend was fit for this type of life.
Reston admitted that Greville lacked the type of connection that he'd had with his former love, Leiko. Wu wasn't about to go crawling back to him, especially since she and Shang-Chi were now an item, but reassured Clive that things would be okay. Reston agreed and worried about his current girlfriend being all alone in the castle with Smith.
At the castle, Melissa was growing restless. She didn't like being viewed as the stereotypical helpless blonde. Greville wanted to do more, but she wasn't quite sure what just yet. Smith did his best to comfort her, telling her that nothing would happen to her, not knowing that more leopard-skin-wearing warriors were just outside the building.
The helicopter had landed on the rooftop of Reston's home. He and his friends regrouped there with Lyman Leeks and Reston's housekeeper, Miss Haversham. Shang seemed to be fascinated by Reston's collection of model cars, to which Reston replied that Shang-Chi needed some kind of hobby to help him forget the realities of the modern world.
While Haversham went off to bring refreshments, the quintet started to talk. Meanwhile, while Smith was continuing his attempts to build Greville's self-confidence, the door opened, and they were attacked by the soldiers in leopard skins. One of them knocked Smith out and was about to take him to their waiting plane. Melissa managed to escape and ran toward a car parked in the driveway.
At Reston's home, Leeks started the conversation off by saying MI-6 believed that Fu Manchu had been kidnapping important scientists and officials from across the globe. He had a short list of names at his South American safe house and shared what he knew from memory.
One day, an Indio from the Andes Mountains told him that he'd heard of his standing offer for information of any odd happenings in the region, and told Leeks about the ball of light which he had several others had witnessed soar across the sky before crashing down in a nearby lagoon. Tarr presumed that it was Manchu's spacecraft (last seen in MOKF #50) that had reentered Earth's atmosphere. The friction heat from entry could have caused the body of water to boil temporarily.
The natives saw someone appear from the flames. This individual would go on to help heal sick residents of the village and earned the moniker Devil Doctor as a result. The doctor's "apostles" later arrived (probably after being contacted via radio), and "giant birds" in the skies soon appeared, dropping various gifts, such as supplies.
Several "magic gifts" were then used to do things like change water flow (by using explosives). The natives were undoubtedly new to technology, and the stranger used that to his advantage. Before long, he'd coerced natives to work for him and build and create things for him. Several of his loyal followers became new members of his Si-Fan leopard cult.
Leeks then provided satellite images of the area. One blown-up photo showed a pagoda that looked like it was built rather recently. It seemed quite obvious that Shang-Chi's father was indeed up to his old tricks. The only concern that Lyman had now was that Smith wasn't quite sure if he could still completely trust his longtime associate, Doctor Petrie.
Shang and his friends decided to leave Leeks and Miss Haversham to their budding romance and reconnoiter with their friends at the Scottish castle. They traveled by helicopter, and soon saw Melissa emerge from the car they'd left behind at the castle. Reston and Shang-Chi descended down the rope ladder to protect their friend from the leopard warriors in the van that had been trailing Greville's car.
The warriors fled into a nearby windmill. Shang-Chi pursued them, and another battle ensued. He was victorious, and Tarr remarked that at least one of Shang's foes survived the encounter. Greville was inconsolable at the time, stating that she'd failed to stop Smith from being kidnapped.
Longtime readers had been clamoring for the return of Shang's deadliest foe, and they were about to be rewarded. I grew to appreciate the Lyman Leeks character, and I wish he had hung around for a longer period of time. This was another action-packed epic, portrayed brilliantly by Messrs Moench, Zeck, and company.
Next up is the eighty-third issue of Master of Kung Fu. We'll find out if the rumors are true and what happened to Smith. We'll also see the return of a couple of popular characters as another new story arc begins. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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