Retro Comic Recap: Master of Kung Fu #112

Good morning,

This morning's topic is the one hundred and twelfth issue of The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. The Gene Day-drawn cover showed Shang on a boat, with two strangers, one wielding a knife and the other holding a staff, in the background. The story was called "Commit and Destroy." The issue had a cover date of May 1982.

The tale began at the Toronto airport, where Shang-Chi, Leiko Wu, and Clive Reston were walking toward the rental car area. The trio had been sent to Canada to assist Sir Dennis Nayland Smith. The reason for their mission began a couple of days earlier, after a man named Talon arrived with some final paperwork to formalize the severing of Smith's connections with his former agency, MI-6.

A few moments later, Dark Angel arrived with a package that had just been delivered. Smith opened the parcel and found a mole sitting inside the box. It was inferred that someone thought that Smith was a double agent, which he vehemently denied. Smith took the box and threw it at the window behind him, shattering the glass. The box landed on the ground outside moments before its contents exploded violently.

After Talon left, Smith gathered his associates in the courtyard of his Mayfair, London townhouse to explain what happened. Black Jack Tarr and Angel would stay with Smith for assistance and research, while Reston, Shang, and Wu would follow Talon to Toronto. The path eventually led to a large warehouse. Talon called out for his contact, Simon. Moments later, several assassins swooped down from above.

Shang-Chi and Leiko had followed Talon into the warehouse and swiftly fended off the attack. Reston had been waiting outside when he saw his comrades pursue the villains on foot. Clive caught up with Talon, who admitted that Smith was being framed. 

Meanwhile, the fight continued in a nearby park. Shang and Wu defeated two of their foes, who opted to bite down on cyanide capsules rather than be taken for interrogation. The other two opponents fled via car. Reston and Talon soon arrived on the scene. Talon confessed that the assassins had probably been sent by Yung Sing, aka the "Red Reaper," from Communist China. 

That news was relayed by phone call to Smith and his colleagues. Smith then explained to Angel and Tarr that this was something that went back fifty years. He took out a dossier that was labeled "Operation: White Heat." Smith had committed the contents of the file to memory before burning the papers. Because he'd committed, that then meant that he had to be destroyed.

I wasn't a fan of Rick Maygar's pencil work on this two-part epic, but I was familiar enough with inker Ricardo Villamonte's skills on titles like The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones to retain interest in this storyline. Communist China was a new threat, much in line with the Cold War threats of the era. Writer Doug Moench included some of the typical spy story elements in his plot that fit the narrative well.

Well, that's all for now. Later today, I'll recap the one hundred and thirteenth issue of Master of Kung Fu. We'll learn more about what Operation: White Heat entails. We'll also see Shang and company travel to another continent to face new threats. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.