Retro Comic Recap: Master of Kung Fu #121

Good morning all, 

This morning's topic is the one hundred and twenty-first issue of Marvel's The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. The cover showed Shang surrounded by a trio of unsavory characters. The story was called "Passing Strangers!" The issue had a cover date of February 1983. 

The tale began in Paris, France. Shang was observing several spies from a window. He soon crashed down to the floor below, interrupting the conversation. Shang-Chi was acting on behalf of Freelance Restorations and his employer, Sir Dennis Nayland Smith, to retrieve a code book. He'd been informed that both British and Russian spies were after the book. 

Shang didn't really care who was who at that point. He grabbed the book after a brief scuffle and left in a hurry. The flight back to Heathrow Airport in London was mostly peaceful until the British agent he'd encountered earlier approached Shang-Chi. The timely intervention of a stewardess prevented any harm to the two of them.

After picking up his luggage at Heathrow, Shang ran after seeing Russian KGB agents behind him. He fought them off before hailing a cab. Once he was on his way, Shang-Chi examined the book and discovered that it was blank. He asked the cabbie to take him back to the airport, where he found the stewardess and obtained what he thought was the correct book from her.

At a safe house on Charing Cross Road in London, Smith and a Mister Bess were waiting for Shang's arrival. Bess nervously grabbed the book from Shang-Chi's hand as soon as he entered the room. He was angered to see that the code in this one was nonsense. Moments later, the stewardess, who went by the name of Vienna, arrived. She offered to sell Bess her book for 25,000 British pounds, which he gladly agreed to. 

On their way out, Smith told Shang that Vienna was a freelance spy. What they didn't know is that Vienna left Bess with the wrong book. After noticing the switch, Bess ran out to find Smith and Shang-Chi to hire them to pursue Vienna and acquire the correct code book. Smith was willing to do so for the sum of $25,000 British pounds. A deal was struck while Vienna was busy phoning her contact, as she planned to sell the book that was presently in her possession.

The next night, Smith and Shang were following the Russian agents by car. Shang-Chi eventually left the vehicle and trailed them to the building that Vienna was rumored to be occupying. Shang opted to climb the exterior walls while the KGB men and the British agent who accosted Shang-Chi earlier went inside. Shang was able to prevent a sniper from taking out his targets. Unfortunately, his lunge toward the gunman sent both of them falling through the skylight window.

Another fistfight ensued, which was broken up by Vienna, who had picked up the code book and a pistol during the confusion. She was then stopped by Smith, who ordered her to hand over both the gun and the book. He and Shang then departed, followed close behind by the British and Russian agents. 

Outside the safehouse in London, Smith was remarking how easy the mission seemed to be, when something caught Shang-Chi's attention. Inside a local pub, Vienna was giving the real code book to a man from the American CIA in exchange for $25,000. Shang approached her after the transaction had concluded.

She freely admitted what she'd done as they walked out of the bar and along a bridge. As they did so, a car driven by the British agent named Kiley followed them closely. He fired at them, winging Vienna. A swift kick knocked him down, but by the time he saw Vienna's purse full of money scatter into the river below, Kiley lost all interest in his pursuit. Vienna was also ready to leave the money and the caper behind, and said that she might even leave the whole business altogether if it wasn't for the money.

This was a fair story by writer Steven Grant, penciler David Mazzucchelli, and inker Vince Colletta. The British and American agents looked too similar to each other, which is why some readers may have been confused. It was an okay single-issue story, but not up to the usual standards of excellence that Doug Moench and company had left regular readers accustomed to. 

Well, that's all for this morning. Later today, I'll recap the one hundred and twenty-second issue of Master of Kung Fu. Clive Reston takes a starring role in Moench's last script for this series that also involves Shang-Chi, Leiko Wu, and a new menace for the trio. Until then, have a great day and don't forget to be kind to one another.