The Hands of Siskoid, Master of Blog Fu

Here's to the Losers continues with Shang-Chi, one of two series to garner 25% of the vote - the wonderfully titled The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. Over a year ago, I talked about his first appearance and subsequent fight with a flaming gorilla. That's HERE. Today, I'll just move on to his second in Marvel Special Edition #16. No flaming primates though. Instead, the issue introduces that old stand-by of Kung Fu comics to the Shang-Chiniverse, the Kung Fu Supervillain(TM).

Warm-Up Round!
Ambiguously gay racist duo Ripper and Mr. Clean:
Oh, they really deserve it too. They get first blow. Take note that this is how Shang-Chi reacts to getting hit. He dodges TOO LATE.
The riposte:
Shang-Chi has proven himself worthy of...

The Main Event!
The "man-menace" called Midnight:
He's Shang-Chi's only boyhood friend, a scarred African orphan raised and trained by Fu Manchu. Fu's solution to that scarred face? Throw a bag over it. Cultivate the hate. And it comes in handy. Fu Manchu has sent him to kill Shang-Chi for last issue's betrayal. Can two friends - nay, brothers! - fight each other to the death? Answer: They have to.
Midnight pulls a knife, so Shang-Chi grabs nunchaku out of thin air. The better weapon is, of course...
Midnight's next move is to take out a bo staff. Shang-Chi heads for a construction site where he finds... pipes!
Then it's up, up, up the crane... ooh, dangerous! And this time, Shang-Chi does manage to dodge a killing blow in time, and Midnight, losing his balance...
...takes a Gwen Stacy off the crane. That'll teach him to tie his cape so tightly around his neck... PERMANENTLY. So it's Shang-Chi for the win.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I suppose Midnight rolled a fumble...

He re-appeared in Great Size Avengers, I think. And even later in Silver Sulfer, turned into a cosmic villain.

Weird death, uh?

Roger
Siskoid said…
Yes, I have that issue of Silver Surfer. We'll just call him LEFT FOR dead for now.
snell said…
Oh, he was dead. In the Avengers story Immortus and Kang "pulled him from the timestream" "moments before his death," but put him back for his death.

And for the Surfer, the Kree put his "re-animated" brain into an "enhanced clone body."

Even after death, Steve Englehart will leave no character behind...when Mantis fought Midnight it must have been a tremendous nerdgasm for him.
Siskoid said…
Thanks for the history lesson, Snell! You know your Kung Fu villains!
snell said…
And my Steve Englehart...resurrecting a MOKF villain as a Silver Surfer opponent is in the hall of fame of insanely genius...
googum said…
Neat. I liked Midnight Son's Surfer appearances, but had never seen this. He was hanging out with the Inhumans, last I saw, but I don't know if anything came of that.