Retro Comic Recap: Master of Kung Fu #126

Good morning everyone,

I chose to discuss the one hundred and twenty-sixth issue of Master of Kung Fu today. This was a one-off that featured Shang-Chi and his monkey companion, Chee. The story, written by Anthony Gambino, who is also a professional wrestler who goes by the stage name CM Punk, was called "Shang-Chi's Day Off." The issue had a publication date of January 2018.

The tale began in Shang's New York apartment. He was completing a set of 300 pushups with the television behind him tuned to a local news station. A reporter was talking about the recent disappearance of Ruth the octopus from a local zoo. 

After the workout, Shang and Chee headed downtown to get some ice cream. They ran into several acquaintances along the way. Unfortunately, their treat was interrupted by the arrival of several dark-robed ninjas. They were no match for Shang-Chi or Chee, but the heroes were swallowed up by a hole in the pavement below them. 

We then saw a pair of ninjas checking the doors of several underground cells. One of them starts to talk about their employer, a Doctor Mel Prasis, whose name sounded a lot like the word malpractice. If you're thinking that the antagonist wasn't playing with a full deck, you're probably right.

The attention then turned to the doctor himself, who stood in front of Shang, who had been bound to a table in one of the cells. Shang-Chi let it be known that he'd been on to the villain and his evil deeds. It began by noticing rats on the surface and an increase in missing pets.

Shang-Chi eventually located the ninjas and tracked them down to their underground hideout. He was disgusted by what he'd observed. Shang rescued the monkey known as Chee and started training him. Shang-Chi later retraced his steps, which led him to the Prospect Park Zoo. Officials at the zoo confirmed that the doctor had been fired from their facility for trying to take the octopus from the zoo during his lunch break.

Prasis claimed that he'd quit, and soon revealed Ruth the octopus, whom he planned to implant with Shang's brain. Just as a pair of the villain's lackeys were about to move Shang-Chi, Chee stepped in to cause mischief and chaos. Shang was able to free himself, and the duo went to free Ruth.

The octopus soon disappeared into the murky waters below and eventually prevented her captor from escaping via boat. Shang brought Prasis to the local officials above ground. He and Chee then resumed their ice cream break where they'd left off. 

This was a fun tongue-in-cheek issue. Marvel did a series of one-offs with titles that had previously been cancelled, like this one, including Star Wars (the original series from 1977), Darkhawk, and several others. One of their house ads promoting this revival was a spoof of an old house ad from the 1980s promoting their Fun and Games publication. This was a good jumping-on point for those who had never heard of the character before, wanted to know what had happened to him, or simply wanted to know more after his Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.

Next time, I'll jump back to the first issue of Marvel Comics Presents. One of the four stories in that issue deals with Shang-Chi's return since leaving his old life behind in MOKF #125. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.