Shang-Chi

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Real Name

Shang-Chi

Aliases

Master of Kung Fu; Rising and Advancing of the Spirit; Chinaman (by Jack Tarr)

Relatives

Fu Manchu (father);

unnamed mother;
Fah Lo Suee (half-sister);
Kwai Far (half-sister);

Moving Shadow (half-brother, deceased);

Affiliation

Avengers; formerly Secret Avengers, MI5, MI6, "Marvel Knights", Heroes for Hire, Freelance Restorations, Si-Fan

Base Of Operations

Mobile

Status

Alignment

Good

Identity

Public Identity

Citizenship

Chinese

Marital Status

Single

Occupation

Adventurer; secret agent; fisherman

Characteristics

Gender

Male

Height

5' 10"

Weight

175 lbs (80 kg)

Eyes

Brown

Hair

Black

Origin

Origin

Shang was raised to become a deadly assassin by his father, the immortal crimelord and sorcerer Fu Manchu.

Universe

Earth-616

Place of Birth

Fu Manchu's Fortress, Honan, People's Republic of China

Created by

Steve Englehart, Al Milgrom, Jim Starlin

First appearance

Special Marvel Edition #15
(December, 1973)

HistoryEdit

My father has often said to me: 'A man may not be too careful in his choice of enemies, for once he has chosen ... he has forfeited a friend.' These are words my father has lived by, for he is Fu Manchu, and his life is his word.

-- Shang-Chi ^src 

Feeling lessons from various masters were not enough, the boy was also subjected to alchemy and a virtual reality feed of techniques and styles while he slept. However, Shang Chi became aware of his father's evil and faked his death after his first assignment. He then began to attack various elements of his father's criminal empire. In retaliation, Fu Manchu has sent a number of assassins to kill him.

His travels have led to him meeting a number of other martial artists and superheroes around the world.

Cat (Shen Kuei) is his primary rival.

Spider-Island

Madame Web tells Shang-Chi that people with spider powers are taking over Manhattan. Next, He sees Iron Fist fighting the Spider-Man imposters and Spider-Man nearby, Shang-Chi arrives to help them. Bride of Nine Spiders suddenly starts attacking and kidnapping her teammates in the Immortal Weapons. When Shang-Chi is trying to figure out what his recurring dream means, he learns from Silver Sable that she has found possible locations in Manhattan for Bride of Nine Spider's lair. Although Shang-Chi defeats Bride of Nine Spiders and frees Iron Fist, he discovers that the person who was responsible is the demon Ai Apaec who wants to feed off the Immortal Weapons. As Shang-Chi confronts Ai Apeac, Iron Fist desperately rushes to free the other Immortal Weapons. Shang-Chi mutates into a spider during the battle, but Iron Fist uses his Chi force to cure Shang-Chi, leaving Iron Fist weakened. After Iron Fist and the rest of the Immortal Weapons are evacuated, Shang-Chi collapses the hide-out on top of Ai Apaec leaving him trapped for the Avengers to imprison him once more.

Joining the Avengers

Shang-Chi joined the Avengers after Avengers vs. X-Men as part of Tony Stark's plan to make the Avengers bigger.

Powers and AbilitiesEdit

Powers

Chi Manipulation: Although Shang Chi primarily relies on his martial arts prowess, by his training he has incredible control of his chi and body. He is able to enter a meditative, almost trancelike state to ignore pain, and/or resist the effects of drugs or poisons. His chi mastery also allows him to effectively detect nearby individuals, having been able to detect Jean Grey hidden by her psychic powers. In several cases, his mastery of chi can be attributed to several near-super feats, such as withstanding a punch from Hiroim the Shamed, and easily deflecting and dodging bullets.

Abilities

Master Martial Artist: Shang Chi is one of the greatest martial artists who has ever lived, having been born and trained to be the ultimate warrior. Shang Chi is a grandmaster of various martial arts from around the world with a particular specialization in Chinese martial arts such as Shaolin Kung Fu, Wushu, Tai Chi Chuan, Hung Gar, Pa Kua, Tsing Yi, Preying Mantis, Cannon Fist, Long Fist, Eagle Claw, Lohan Boxing, Buddhist Fist, Choi Li Fut, Tiger Fist/Dragon Fist, Monkey Kung Fu, and Drunken Fist. Shang Chi is also very well versed in acrobatics having trained more than likely with the Chinese Opera. He has been shown defeating multiple highly skilled opponents simultaneously as well as metahumans. His great strength and chi (qi) allows him to strike with inhuman force enabling him to break through barriers such as brick, concrete and iron, withstand physical impacts almost to a superhuman degree, and ease all forms of pain and discomfort. Shang has stalemated Iron Fist in single combat, as the two martial artists are portrayed to be equal.

Athlete Reflexes: Shang Chi has intensively trained his reflexes to at his best.. His reflexes are keen enough to dodge limited gunfire as well as catch weapons hurled by enemies and throw them right back at his attacker.

Athlete Stamina: Shang Chi's has intensively trained his body to possess the highest level of stamina and endurance that a human can have without artificial enhancements.

Athlete Strength: Shang-Chi possesses the strength level of a man his age, size, and weight who engages in intensive regular exercise, Shang can lift at least twice his bodyweight, or 350 lbs. Through his use of chi however, Shang can temporarily increase his physical strength to an unknown amount.

Master Marksman: Shang is a master marksman able to throw ranged weapons such as shuriken (throwing stars) with pin-point accuracy.

Weapons Proficiency: Shang is highly skilled with all martial arts weaponry such as the Chinese double edged sword (jian), butterfly swords, oxtail swords, staves, and both single and double nunchaku. He has often made use of make-shift weapons as well, using metal pipes and even a tree trunk.

Espionage: While not focused upon as much in recent appearences, Shang has undergone training during his time with MI-6 and is familiar with many espionage tactics and methodologies.

Philosopher: Shang Chi has an extensive knowledge of Oriental philosophy.

Strength level

Shang-Chi possesses the strength level of a man his age, size and weight who engages in intensive regular exercise, Shang can lift at least twice his bodyweight, or 350 lbs. Through his use of chi however, Shang can temporarily increase his physical strength to an unknown amount.

ParaphernaliaEdit

Equipment

Weapons

Occasional use of swords, shuriken, staff, and nunchaku.

TriviaEdit

• Although Shang-Chi was a uniquely Marvel Comics creation, many of his supporting cast members including Fu Manchu, Fah Lo Suee and Sir Denis Nayland Smith, were actually the creation of early 20th century pulp novelist Sax Rohmer. Fu Manchu and Denis Nayland Smith made their literary debuts in the 1916 novel, The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu.

• Artist Mike Cusanelli sculpted a Shang-Chi bust for Art Asylum.

LinksEdit

• 268 Appearances of Shang-Chi (Earth-616)
• 128 Images featuring Shang-Chi (Earth-616)
• 14 Quotations by or about Shang-Chi (Earth-616)
• Character Gallery: Shang-Chi (Earth-616)
• Fan-Art Gallery: Shang-Chi (Earth-616) 
• Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1-33
• Master of Kung Fu #17-125
• Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu #1-6
• Special Marvel Edition #15-16
• Blackjack Tarr
• Denis Nayland Smith
• Doctor Petrie
• Clive Reston
• Fah Lo Suee
• Fu Manchu
• Leiko Wu
• Si-Fan
• Shang-Chi at Wikipedia
• Shang-Chi at the Marvel Directory
• Shang-Chi at the Marvel Universe

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Footnotes