Shang-Chi [2021] #1 - Marvel Comics

SHANG-CHI No. 1, July 2021

Reading like an instalment from the New York-based publisher’s beloved Seventies series “Marvel Team-Up”, Gene Luen Yang’s script for Issue One of “Shang-Chi Vs. The Marvel Universe” must surely have delighted both fans of the titular character, as well as those of “your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” with its enthralling mixture of martial arts and web-throwing. Indeed, in many ways it’s a real shame that Peter Parker’s alter-ego is seemingly only destined to make an appearance in this particular publication, as his long-standing friendship with the Supreme Commander of the Five Weapons Society develops some intriguing friction once the wall-crawling super-hero realises his comrade-in-arms’ new allegiance and begins questioning whether “you still one of us?”

Of course, this nagging doubt as to Shang-Chi’s motivation for ‘confiscating’ the entire proceeds of a combined drugs/weapon ring for his own undisclosed ends doesn’t manifest itself until the conclusion of this twenty-page periodical. Before these reservations appear the duo are depicted as being as ‘thick as thieves’, and even briefly remind this comic’s audience, courtesy of some mid-action banter, that the Master of Kung Fu had once devised The Way Of The Spider fighting style for his colourfully-costumed fellow crime-fighter so as to ensure his “spider-sense will grow even stronger.”

Perhaps therefore this book’s only disappointment is the infuriating inclusion of Sister Dagger, who despite creating a few genuine ‘laugh out loud’ moments, increasingly starts to grind upon the senses with her persistent desire to slaughter everyone around her. In fact, in many ways Esme quite infuriatingly appears little more than a second-rate ‘knock-off’ version of “DC Comics” homicidal hero Damian Wayne, especially when she instantly decides to kill Spider-Man after he’s been unknowingly infected by the toxic properties of the Yeren root and has to be stopped from slitting the deformed vigilante’s throat by her older brother; "I've got a better plan! Grab his webbing!"

Happily however, this is only a minor quibble, and easily forgotten if not forgiven once the audience become immersed in Dike Ruan’s sumptuously-pencilled artwork. The Chinese illustrator does a fantastic job of imbuing every action-shot with some breath-taking speed and provides this book’s lead protagonists with all the acrobatic nuances a bibliophile would expect from two such physically dynamic athletes.

The regular cover art of "SHANG-CHI" #1 by Leinil Frances Yu & Sunny Gho