Good afternoon,
Today's topic is the ninety-fifth issue of Marvel's The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. The cover depicted Shang, Leiko Wu, Black Jack Tarr, and Clive Reston fighting an unidentified man and what appear to be lookalikes of Agent Syn (who perished in battle last issue). The tale was titled "The Samisdat Secret!" The issue had a cover date of December 1980.
An ocean liner was on its way to the headquarters of the Dawning Light cult. On board were Shang and Leiko in disguise. As they listened to a cult member express his gratitude for being a member of the group, they thought back to their recent rescue of Mandy Greville from the cult's base in New York, and her subsequent attack on her hosts, which ended when she was saved from attack by the man known as Agent Syn.
The attempt on her life was enough to return Mandy to reality. She expressed her remorse for what she'd done and started blaming herself for falling for the lies. With her sister Melissa and the rest of Stormhaven's residents beside her, she explained how she'd been approached back when she worked at the Ministry of Defense in London with her uncle. She was eventually convinced to steal documents that contained information about a shipment of weapons between West Germany and Britain.
Mandy knew how dangerous the Growing Light's leader, Samisdat, was. She added that cultists from Britain, the United States, and other European nations were soon going to board a ship that would take them to Samisdat's Caribbean island. This was the same vessel that Shang-Chi and Wu were now on.
Reston ran Agent Syn's face through their computer and matched it with a mugshot from their photo files. Synergon was a KGB agent named Alexi Kalashnikov, who was also known by the code name Samisdat. Sir Dennis Nayland Smith wasn't surprised by this revelation, as he noted that the word Samisdat meant "passing from hand to hand, growing with each passage."
Smith convinced Shang-Chi to join him for a walk in the courtyard. There, he asked his friend to join his agency and assist on the mission to learn more about the Dawning Light. Shang agreed and arrived with Leiko at the Samisdat island in very little time at all.
Smith, Tarr, and Reston flew separately to the Caribbean island where the Samisdat base was. Both groups planned to infiltrate the complex and find out just what the cult was up to. Later that night, a pair of KGB agents were introduced to five men dressed in outfits that were very similar to those worn by Agent Syn (as shown last issue).
Just then, one of the guards alerted Samisdat to the presence of two Chinese agents in their midst. Samisdat assumed they must be Leiko and Shang-Chi. He wasn't worried, as the ruler planned to expose them at their meeting the next day.
In the morning, the cultists gathered outside their leader's residence. Samisdat greeted them from his balcony and ordered his followers to shed their robes. Then, he was able to point out the spies, Wu and Shang. The two heroes were forced to split up as they fled.
Minutes later, Tarr and Reston parachuted down onto the island. They soon rejoined Shang and headed toward the headquarters. Wu had been knocked unconscious and was taken to the same destination. She woke once they arrived and broke free from her captors.
Reston was busy trying to sabotage the satellite when Samisdat and his five Syn variants entered the room. A chaotic fight swiftly ensued after the Russian Guards arrived on the scene. Samidat eventually took off in his satellite rocket, which had been tampered with enough to falter. It blew up in the sky minutes after firing a beam that devastated his island mansion.
Not long afterward, Caribbean officials arrived by boat. Tarr, Reston, Wu, Smith, and Shang-Chi walked away unharmed, but they wondered what would happen to the Samisdat loyalists. Smith was happy with the success of their first mission and presumed that the survivors might look for something else to devote their time to. Wu suggested that some might even turn to themselves, if they were lucky.
Even though the conclusion of the two-part epic felt a bit rushed at times, I was satisfied with its conclusion. I only wish that we could have learned more about the background of both the Samisdat and the Syn agents. Had they continued on, they could have been good repeat opponents for Shang and company.
Well, that's all I've got for today. Tomorrow, I'll kick off my articles with a recap of the ninety-sixth issue of Master of Kung Fu. A new storyline begins in that issue, with a focus on subject matter that we haven't seen before in this comic book series. We'll see the debut of a new character, and learn what Melissa Greville has planned for her future. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
No comments:
Post a Comment