Shang-Chi

Shang-Chi[a] (English: /ʃɑːŋˈtʃiː/ shahng-CHEE), also known as the Master of Kung Fu and Brother Hand, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin, debuting in Special Marvel Edition #15 (December 1973) in the Bronze Age of Comic Books, and starring in his own solo title until 1983. Shang-Chi is proficient in numerous unarmed and weaponry-based wushu styles, including the use of the gùn, nunchaku, and jian.

Shang-Chi was spun off from novelist Sax Rohmer's licensed property as the unknown son of fictional villain Dr. Fu Manchu. In later editions, his connection to Dr. Fu Manchu was underplayed after Marvel lost the comic book rights to the latter's character; to get around this problem, the publisher eventually started calling Shang-Chi's father Zheng Zu.

Shang-Chi made his live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), where he is portrayed by Simu Liu.

Publication history

In the early 1970s, writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin approached DC Comics to adapt the television series Kung Fu into a comic book, as DC's parent company, Warner Communications, owned the rights to the series. DC Comics, however, was not interested in their pitch, believing the show's and the martial arts genre popularity would phase out quickly. The duo then approached Marvel Comics with the idea to create a kung fu-focused original comic. Marvel agreed, but only if they would include the Sax Rohmer's pulp villain Dr. Fu Manchu, as Marvel had previously acquired the comic book rights to the character, and made their protagonist half-White. Englehart and Starlin agreed.[2][3] They developed Shang-Chi, a master of kung fu, who was introduced as a previously unknown son of Dr. Fu Manchu.[4][5] Though an original character himself, many of Shang-Chi's supporting characters (most notably Dr. Fu Manchu, Sir Denis Nayland Smith, Dr. James Petrie and Fah Lo Suee) were Rohmer creations. No characters from the Kung Fu television series were included in the comic series, though the character Lu Sun, in an early issue, bears a strong resemblance to Kwai Chang Caine with the addition of a moustache.[citation needed] With artist Paul Gulacy, Shang-Chi's visual appearance was modeled after that of Bruce Lee.[6]

According to Englehart, his name was influenced by his study of the I-Ching,[7] composed of 升 (shēng), meaning "ascending", and chi, meaning vital energy.[8]

Shang-Chi first appeared in Special Marvel Edition #15 (December 1973), art by Jim Starlin and Al Milgrom

Shang-Chi first appeared in Special Marvel Edition #15 (December 1973), art by Jim Starlin and Al Milgrom

Shang-Chi first appeared in Special Marvel Edition #15 (December 1973).[9] He appeared again in issue #16, and with issue #17 (April 1974) the title was renamed to The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. Amidst the martial arts craze in the United States in the 1970s, the book became very popular, surviving until issue #125 (June 1983), a solid run that included four Giant-Size issues and one Annual. Special Collector's Edition #1 (1975) cover-titled as "Savage Fists of Kung Fu" reprinted stories from The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1–2; The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu Special #1; and Special Marvel Edition #15.[10] The character did several crossovers with other Marvel martial artists, including the White Tiger, Iron Fist and the Daughters of the Dragon (Colleen Wing and Misty Knight). He appeared regularly in The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu.

Shang-Chi had two more short series: the Master of Kung Fu: Bleeding Black one-shot issue (1990) and the MAX miniseries Master of Kung Fu: Hellfire Apocalypse (2002) with artist Paul Gulacy on art again. The character had two stories in the comics anthology series Marvel Comics Presents, including one by Moench that ran in the series' first eight issues in 1988, and co-starred in the Moon Knight Special (1992).

In 1995, Shang-Chi would be one of the revival titles produced by Milestone Media, according to writer Dwayne McDuffie, the title would show Shang-Chi using firearms, inspired by gun fu style by Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo; however, according to McDuffie, the proposal was cancelled after the departure of editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco and the death of Mark Gruenwald the following year.[11]

In 1997 a story arc starring Shang-Chi ran in Journey into Mystery #514–516, and was intended to lead into a miniseries for the character in 1998.[12] In 2017, after a 34-year gap, Shang-Chi once again starred in Master of Kung Fu's 126th issue as part of the Marvel Legacy relaunch, written by mixed martial artist CM Punk and illustrated by Dalibor Talajic.[13]

Although spun out of licensed properties, Shang-Chi is a Marvel-owned character and has been firmly established as a part of the Marvel Universe with guest appearances in numerous other titles, such as Marvel Team-Up, Marvel Two-in-One, Marvel Knights and X-Men. Most of the original licensed characters in the supporting cast have been either phased out or renamed in the more recent series and stories.

In some of his modern appearances, mention is made of his villainous father either in cryptic terms or using a variety of new names, due to Marvel no longer having the rights to Dr. Fu Manchu. In 2010's Secret Avengers #6–10, writer Ed Brubaker officially sidestepped the entire issue via a storyline where the Shadow Council resurrects a zombified version of Dr. Fu Manchu, only to discover that "Dr. Fu Manchu" was only an alias and that Shang-Chi's father real name was Zheng Zu, an ancient Chinese sorcerer who discovered the secret to immortality.[14] Similarly, Shang-Chi's half sister Fah Lo Suee was later renamed Zheng Bao Yu in 2013's The Fearless Defenders #8[15][16] while Smith and Petrie have not appeared in any Marvel properties since the end of the Master of Kung Fu series in 1983.

Shang-Chi returned as a main character in the 2007 Heroes for Hire comic book. He, along with other Asian and Asian American superheroes, became a main character in Greg Pak's Agents of Atlas series in 2019.

In 2015, Shang-Chi starred in the Master of Kung Fu revival in the Secret Wars storyline. Written by Haden Blackman and illustrated by Taljic, the four-issue series is a wuxia-inspired story that takes place in the Battleworld domain of K'un-Lun and centered around Shang-Chi in his fight to overthrow his despotic father, Emperor Zheng Zu.[17]

In 2020, Shang-Chi starred in a self-titled five issue miniseries written by American Born Chinese author Gene Luen Yang with art by Dike Ruan and Philip Tan.[18] Initially set for a June 2020 release, the first issue was delayed to September due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] Shang-Chi starred in a new ongoing series by Yang and Ruan in 2021.[20]

In March 2021, the one-shot The Legend of Shang-Chi was published, by Alyssa Wong (script) and Andie Tong (art).[21]

In the early Master of Kung Fu issues, Shang-Chi's mother was an unnamed Caucasian American woman who Dr. Fu Manchu genetically selected to be the mother of his progeny.[22] The idea to make Shang-Chi half-white was mandated by then editor-in-chief Roy Thomas, against the wishes of Englehart and Starlin; however, all three gave varying responses for the reason behind the decision.[8] After the early departure of Englehart and Starlin, references to Shang-Chi's mother and his mixed-race background were either downplayed or ignored altogether; Yang later retconned the issue by introducing the character Jiang Li as Shang-Chi's mother, who was modeled after Shang-Chi's mother from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[23]