Crouching Shang, Hidden Chi

In a world of gods, monsters and drunk playboys in iron suits, it's hard to notice the little people. The people who's skills-while extraordinary-are unlimitedly underrated. One of these people is a man named Shang-Chi, the greatest martial artist in the Marvel Universe and this week's Z-Lister!

When Marvel Comics acquired the rights to both the television program "Kung Fu" and Sax Rohmer's novel villain Dr. Fu Manchu back in 1972, they decided to combine both properties into a new comic book protagonist known as Shang-Chi, one of the first Asian superheroes in comic books. His origin tells us that he is the son of the evil Fu Manchu and bred into a human weapon. As his father's pawn, Shang-Chi was sent to murder Dr. Petrie, but met Fu Manchu's archenemy Sir Denis Nayland Smith. Smith revealed Fu Manchu's true intentions and turned Shang-Chi against his father. From then on Shang-Chi decided to bring honor to his family name by fighting for justice. Becoming the main character of Marvel's "The Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu" Shang-Chi would run into other martial artist like Iron Fist, White Tiger, and The Daughters of the Dragon.

Shang-Chi's reputation has earned him spots on teams like The Heroes for Hire, The Avengers, and The Secret Avengers. Shang-Chi has also lent his martial arts experiences to other heroes by training them. These students include Killraven, Wolverine, and Spider-Man. If being a master of kung fu isn't enough, Shang-Chi's talents include dodging bullets, reflecting bullets off his braces (Wonder Woman style), and using weapons like shuriken, nunchaku, and dual swords with expertise. His capability as a martial artist, an athlete, and an assassin all stem from his mastery of chi.

Shang-Chi represents the 1970's martial arts craze, but has remained an element in the Marvel Universe for many years. He's taken on multiple appearances, the most resembling martial artist Bruce Lee. Another case of restoring honor to his family name, this character's place in Marvel-while small-holds another example of Marvel's diverse characters and stories. I can only hope this character can receive more attention and representation outside of comics. Oh, he could be a guest character in Street Fighter 5! Wait, Street Fighter already has a Bruce Lee stand-in. Dang it! Thanks for reading.

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