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Before his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, Shang-Chi found himself embracing his father’s legacy and walking into a massive Marvel villain event.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Shang-Chi #3 by Gene Luen Yang, Dike Ruan, Triona Farrell and VC’s Travis Lanham, on sale now.
Shang-Chi may only be making his first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe this year, but he has an expansive history within the Marvel Universe itself. While he has long been one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Shang-Chi’s recent actions have made him look far more like a villain from the outside. Following the death of his father, Shang-Chi has become the leader of the Five Weapons Society, an ancient, cult-like organization with a deadly reputation. Try as he might, the Master of Kung Fu cannot make his father’s legacy align with his own overnight.
Shang-Chi has already experienced the difficulties of acting as both a hero and the head of a criminal organization when shutting down his own newly acquired drug operation, a job which left him on somewhat shaky terms with Spider-Man. No matter how comfortable Shang-Chi is making heroic moves using the nefarious resources at his disposal, he is still getting coming to terms with the power he wields.
When preparing to crash an illicit auction being held by the Iron Eighty-Eight triad, his immediate thought is to drop in quite literally from his flying headquarters, though his ally Brother Sabre reminds him that this is a major social event and needs to be treated as such. Shang-Chi begrudgingly follows Sabre’s lead, and the two arrive at the event in stunning fashion via flying sports car, much to the shock of the other villains assembled.
Even with Sabre at his side, Shang-Chi is still in uneasy company. Apart from the droves of Hand, Hydra, and A.I.M. foot soldiers, M.O.D.O.K. and Madame Hydra are also present. Both are eager to speak to the new Supreme Commander of the Five Weapons Society. Not everyone in attendance is certain why Shang-Chi has been let into the event considering his history with the rest of the guests, but Madame Hydra doesn’t mind explaining that they are in the presence of Zheng Zu’s heir. In fact, Madame Hydra is quite interested in Shang-Chi’s recent career change, as are several other major villains at the auction. Not least of all, the evening’s host, Lady Iron Fan, whose hospitality leads to yet another awkward moment for the Supreme Commander. Shang-Chi isn’t used to cavorting with criminals, and he certainly isn’t used to pretending to drink the champagne on offer. Thankfully, Deadly Sabre is there to keep the hero on the right track, even if that is proving to be far more difficult said than done.
Shang-Chi has had years of experience becoming one of the most capable heroes on the planet, and so far it doesn’t look like any of that has taught him how to think outside the box, so to speak. When Captain America crashes the event, Shang-Chi even goes through the motions of a fight with his old ally before turning on the many villains that surround them.
Apart from proving that old habits die hard, Shang-Chi doesn’t seem to have any real grasp of the myriad of resources now available to him, and if he does, it definitely isn’t at the forefront of his mind. Hopefully, he will figure out his new place in the world before he falls victim to the new circles that he has found himself running in.
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