History ComicBook / MasterOfKungFu

* BareHandedBladeBlock: Shang-Chi’s pretty good at these. He’s also capable of breaking the blade with his hands afterward, as Razor-Fist [[FakeArmDisarm finds out the hard way]].

Issue #15 was the its first new story, the start of a two-part tale introducing Shang-Chi, son of supervillain Fu Manchu, who had now turned against his father’s evil empire. The story was a hit with readers and so, from issue #17, the series was retitled to ''Master of Kung-Fu'' and became a Shang-Chi solo title.

Fu Manchu and several of the supporting characters were taken directly from [[Literature/FuManchu Sax Rohmer’s books]], which Marvel had acquired comic adaptation rights for. Despite this, the series was set in the shared Franchise/MarvelUniverse.

%% NOTE - as this series was prior to the soft reboot that replaced the Sax Rohmer characters, all tropes here will refer to the characters by the names used at the time (e.g. Fu Manchu, not Zheng Zu; Fah Lo Suee not Zheng Bao Yu etc)

* BareHandedBladeBlock: Shang-Chi’s pretty good at these. He’s also capable of breaking the blade with his hands afterwards, as Razor-Fist [[FakeArmDisarm finds out the hard way]].
* CanonImmigrant: Fu Manchu, Dr Petrie, Fah Lo Suee and Sir Denis Nayland Smith are all directly imported from the [[Literature/FuManchu Sax Rohmer novels]]. A few other characters from the books get minor mentions as well.

** Eventually subverted with Dr Petrie. Shang-Chi kills him in the first issue and it’s initially played as a very significant DeathByOriginStory, the trigger for Shang-Chi’s rebellion against his father. Much later it’s revealed that this was ActuallyADoombot and he's still alive.

* MonsterOfTheWeek: Initially plays out this way, with the exception of Fu Manchu and Fah Lo Sueee. Most of the villains who face Shang-Chi in early stories are dead by the end of the story, even though Shang-Chi himself avoids killing.

* NotMeThisTime: When Shang-Chi’s talking to a religious evangelist in the street and a misaimed assassination attempt kills the man, he decides to seek vengeance and fights his way through to his villainous father. At which point Fu Manchu clarifies that, this time, it wasn’t actually one of his assassins. Shang-Chi’s half-sister Fah Lo Suee was actually the culprit.

* WickedToymaker: Mordillo, who has a whole island full of robot toys and deathtraps.

** Tony McKay, one of the leads in the final Fu Manchu novels, is seen in a single flashback panel in the first issue. Then he’s KilledOffscreen with a lethal injection.

Issue #15, in which Shang-Chi debuted, was released 4 September 1973. Issue #17, which relaunched the series as ''Master of Kung-Fu'' was released 15 January 1974.

Fu Manchu and several of the supporting characters were taken directly from the [[Literature/FuManchu Sax Rohmer’s books]], which Marvel had acquired comic adaptation rights for. Despite this, the series was set in the shared Franchise/MarvelUniverse.

Issue #15 was the its first new story, the start of a two-part tale introducing Shang-Chi, son of supervillain Fu Manchu, who had now turned against his father’s evil empire. The story was a hit with readers and so, from issue #17, the series was retitled to ''Master of Kung-Fu'' and became as a Shang-Chi solo title.

* UnderestimatingBadassery: This goes both ways in Shang-Chi’s first clash with Pavane. Shang-Chi underestimates her because she’s a woman, at which point she promptly knocks him to the floor. Once he's up again, she underestimates just how dangerous he is up close, and he knocks her out with a single blow.

* BareHandedBladeBlock: Shang-Chi’s pretty good at these. He’s also capable of breaking the blade with his hands afterwards, as Razorfist [[FakeArmDisarm finds out the hard way]].

* FakeArmDisarm: Shang-Chi shatters one of Razorfist’s blades when they first fight.

* NotMeThisTime: When Shang-Chi’s talking to a religious evangelist in the street and a misaimed assassination attempt kills the man, he decides to seek vengeance and fights his way through to his villainous father. At which point Fu Manchu clarifies that, this time, it wasn’t actually one of his assassins. Shang-Chi’s half-sister Fah Lo Suee was actually the culprit.

The series ended with issue #125, released 15 March 1983. However, a final issue #126 was released decades later, on 8 November 2017, as part of the ''Marvel Legacy'' event.

* {{Narrator}}: Shang-Chi is, relatively speaking, TheQuietOne - and he prefers not to talk to foes during fights. Stories often compensate for this by adding his narration instead.

* ArchnemesisDad: Fu Manchu’s struggle with Shang-Chi casts a shadow over the whole book. There are some other, unrelated, villains, but they never get the same prominence.

!!Tropes appearing in ''MasterOfKungFu'':

The series ended with issue #125, released 15 March 1983. However, a final issue #126 was released decades later, on 8 November 2017, as part of the ''Marvel Legacy'' event.

[[redirect:ComicBook/ShangChi]]