Shang-Chi [2021] #5 - Marvel Comics

SHANG-CHI No. 5, December 2021

Rather intriguingly portraying the “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” as a cadre of treacherous, holier-than-thou bad-guys, Gene Luen Yang’s script for Issue Five of “Shang-Chi” certainly provides the titular character with an opportunity to show just why he is known as the Master of Kung Fu. Indeed, this somewhat frantically-paced twenty-page periodical’s highlight is probably Brother Hand’s highly successful skirmish against a fully-powered Iron Man, who arrogantly believes his advanced technology makes him impervious to any and all harm; “Cutting-edge armour verses human fists! Face it, Shang! You can’t beat me!”

Enjoyably however, watching a wholly dislikeable Tony Stark get his clock cleaned courtesy of “an adamantium-plated three-section staff” isn’t the only utterly mesmerising moment the American author’s narrative has to offer, with the supreme commander’s skirmish against the cybernetically enhanced Mister Red Dot providing plenty of sense-shattering shenanigans too. This scintillating start to the comic really sets the tone for the rest of the publication, and ultimately shows the loathsome lengths the Avengers will apparently stoop to when it is later revealed the murderous gangster was actually hired by Iron Man to help him infiltrate the Five Weapons Society’s intelligence database.

Such a shoddy deception, which at one point actually sees the crook fire a bullet at an unarmed Shang-Chi’s head, strongly suggests that the supposed super-team have lost any sense of lawfulness in their obsession to obtain “definitive proof” that the former ‘Hero-For-Hire’ has been detrimentally changed by his nefarious father’s criminal organisation. In fact, by this book’s end, it is clear that Stark is completely oblivious that it is actually he who has been despicably deceiving his former friend throughout the adventure, and not the Master of Kung Fu who “lied straight to my face!” 

Equally as effective in making this comic a certifiable winner are Dike Ruan’s layouts, which really help project Shang-Chi’s dazzling dynamism whenever confronted by a physical challenge. The warrior’s aforementioned battle against Iron Man is a great example of this, with the Chinese artist showing just how slow the Golden Avenger is when facing an opponent unfettered by a need to solely rely upon his state-of-the-art weaponry in order to win a fight.

Writer: Gene Luen Yang, Artist: Dike Ruan, and Colorist: Triona Farrell