Shang-Chi [2021] #4 - Marvel Comics

SHANG-CHI No. 4, November 2021

After promising its readers a truly titanic tussle by purportedly pitting the titular character against the New York City-based publisher’s foremost family, Gene Luen Yang’s actual storyline for this fourth instalment to his “Shang-Chi Verses The Marvel Universe” probably came as something of a disappointment considering that the combatants only trade punches for two pages. However, despite this lack of pulse-pounding pugilism, the comic still arguably provides an enthralling hook in the shape of the world’s greatest heroes becoming increasingly concerned that the Master of Kung-Fu is fast-becoming a major criminal threat.

Indeed, Reed Richards’ sudden cold-hearted withdrawal of an offer to help Brother Hand rescue his sister from the Negative Zone because the incredible inventor arrogantly believes his worst fears as to the martial artist’s change of morality are true is wonderfully penned by the American author. The so called scientist simply assumes all the rumours as to Shang-Chi’s association with his dead father’s nefarious organisation are true, and then adopts a holier-than-thou attitude later on when his own pitiless inaction forces his former friend to ‘borrow’ the Baxter Building’s transit vehicle; “You broke into my lab?! Used my equipment without my permission?!”

Equally as intriguing though is Mister Fantastic’s response to directly contact Captain America once the deadly assassin and the Five Weapons Society’s House Champions have peacefully departed. It is clear that the human mutate has quite made up his mind as to the felonious status of “the Chi-Meister”, and seemingly intends to put a stop to whatever machinations he erroneously believes Zheng Zu’s son is plotting with the help of the Avengers. Such a sanctimonious stance debatably typifies the self-righteous Richards’ creed that only he knows best, and, as with this book’s narrative, seems destined to actually ‘push’ Shang-Chi into behaving precisely as the super-team’s leader dreads.

Ably assisting Yang in depicting this ‘long game’ plot point is Dike Ruan, who manages to present a rather impressive visualisation of Jack Kirby’s surreal Antimatter Underverse. The concept artist’s praying mantis-like aliens are suitably disconcerting, as are the illustrator’s prodigiously pencilled panels showing the Master of Kung-Fu besting a cocksure Benjamin Grimm by simply applying two fingers to one of the Thing’s pressure points.

The regular cover art of "SHANG-CHI" #4 by Leinil Frances Yu & Sunny Gho