During your film screening, were you intrigued by this new character? Discover several titles that allow you to go deeper into the master of kung fu through three comics published by Panini.
Marvel-Verse: Shang-Chi
In comics as in cinema, Shang-Chi is probably less known than Spider-Man or the Avengers but he is the reference of martial arts as he proves in this book small by size but large by characters. These five recent episodes were released in the United States between 2008 and 2021 but are all unreleased in France. There are two episodes from his series and three others where Shang-Chi intervenes in the series of other superheroes. In the first chapter, Wolverine seeks Shang-Chi's help in his fight against Sabretooth in Madripoor. In the tradition of the film with Bruce Lee, the two superheroes oscillate between the quest for self and thunderous fights. When he is a secondary character, Shang-Chi finds himself immersed in the atmosphere of other series. With Spider-Man, he is in a teen series following the life of a high school student between romance and action. This integration being sometimes forced, the reader may be more interested in solo episodes where Shang-Chi confronts a mad scientist with his kung fu animals and then a soul-stealing sword. The cartoonists are at the top like Humberto Ramos. For a very sweet price, it is the perfect title for curious neophytes
Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu
Just like the previous one, this volume is also a compilation but with stories for those who like wider sagas. There are three episodes of the X-Men, two of the Heroes for Hire and an episode successively of Spider-Man and two Avengers series. With the X-Men, Shang-Chi fights alongside the X-Men in Hong Kong just before the handover to find his father's secret elixir. This formula could save mutants from a virus that decimates their community. Shang-Chi is shocked — and the reader with him — at Wolverine's savagery. Heroes for Hire is more fun with a pure action narrative by the writer who created the Suicide Squad. We find the same principle with a motley team created for this mission but here they are mercenaries in an adventure worthy of James Bond. The screenwriter also includes a political dimension on China's territorial claims. The isolated episodes present a diverse vision of the hero. He is immersed in the middle of a gang war with Spider-Man and finds himself in two teams of the Avengers. We can make the link with the film with a mixture between martial arts and mafia sects in Asia. However, Shang-Chi is also a former Mi-6 secret service spy.
Shang-Chi: Fraternal struggle
This volume launches the new series on the hero entirely made by artists of Asian origin. Shang-Chi finds himself at the head of his father Zheng Zhu's ancestral sect, the Five Weapons Society. He also faces a threat he thought was gone. These five episodes serve to renew the origins of Shang-Chi but without knowing the scenario of the film. As in the feature film, the hero is also affected by mafia and family problems on Earth and in the afterlife… But the person in charge is different. The hero lives in America in order to free himself from his past. The question is that of the relationship of each and a group to the world: should we open up and accept change or refuse to remain pure? But Fraternal Struggle is first and foremost an action story with the scent of espionage on several continents.Part of the fighting takes place at the Louvre and the scenario raises the question of stolen non-Western works. There is also an unambiguous denunciation of colonization as in These Savage Shores. The flashbacks at the beginning of each episode blow the retina with the talent of Philip Tan while most of the story is beautifully illustrated by Dike Ruan crossed in Bleed Them Dry. His style is reminiscent of Olivier Coipel even if he is still wise in the layout and precision of the boxes. In these three volumes, the reader understands that if Shang-Chi has long been a secondary character in the Marvel universe, he brings a new flavor to each story by an alliance between kung fu and espionage. However, this hero is basically a peaceful in search of serenity. You can find other chronicles related to the MCU, The Red Witch and Falcon & the Winter Soldier.
