Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Opens Friday...

...so why not learn about his earlier exploits before the flick opens in theatres on Thursday night?

Start with his first "team-up" with Marvel's other martial-arts masters against his daddy...Fu Manchu!

Yes, you read that right!

His father is (or was) the legendary Asian Master of Menace!

You'll note there's no mention of the "Devil Doctor" in the upcoming movie Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings!, though Shang's father does appear!

When Marvel lost the licensing rights to Fu, they modified the character of Shang's father in comics to become Zheng Zu, an immortal sorcerer, and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as The Mandarin, based on a "Yellow Peril"-type supervillain dating back to the 1960s, who was Iron Man's arch-enemy.

(The movie Iron Man 3 introduced a false Mandarin, an imposter played by an out-of-work actor, into Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity.

The Mandarin in Shang-Chi is the real character, heading the Ten Rings terrorist/criminal group which wounded and kidnapped Tony Stark, forcing him to become the Armored Avenger in the first Iron Man film.)

Finally, have a look at the only never-reprinted Shang-Chi story...which was also the first alternate-universe tale about the character!
Then go enjoy the movie!

WHAT IF? "Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, had Remained Loyal to Fu Manchu?" Conclusion

When Last We Left our Antagonist and His Son...

...on an alternate Earth, Shang-Chi, who has not turned against his father, Fu Manchu, as he did in the Marvel Universe, is now questioning the wisdom of his pater's plans...which are being revealed to Fu's long-time nemesis, Sir Denis Nayland-Smith and his team...

While this never-reprinted tale from Marvel's What If? V1#17 (1977) was open-ended, there was never a sequel, as was done for several of the alternate-universe tales presented in the title!

Exactly why this particular story, of all the Shang-Chi tales, has never been republished, is unknown.

Considering that the character's saga (including all the other stories that mention or feature Fu Manchu) has been completely reprinted...except for this one...we're at a loss to explain why!

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WHAT IF? "Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, had Remained Loyal to Fu Manchu?" Part 2

We Have Already Seen...

On an alternate Earth where Shang-Chi has not turned against his father, Fu Manchu, the Master of Kung Fu is leading a team of Si-Fan dacoits to exhume dead bodies for experiments by Fu.

However, a team of special agents has just been alerted about the grave-robbing...

What secrets will be revealed?

Would you believe...

KUNG FU ZOMBIES???

Find Out

TOMORROW!

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WHAT IF? "Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, had Remained Loyal to Fu Manchu?" Part 1

He's the newest Marvel Cinematic Universe hero...

...but Shang-Chi has an almost 50-year history...which has been altered and revised numerous times over the years.

This is the never-reprinted first alteration to his history.

The stage is set!

The band is engaged!

We'll see if our protagonists can perform the Dance of Death...

TOMORROW!

Written by Master of Kung Fu's primary scripter, Doug Moench, and illustrated by non-regulars penciler Rick Hoberg and inkers Bill Wray and Dave Stevens (Yes, that Dave Stevens), Marvel's What If? #16 (1977) continued the book's mission of presenting possible alternate versions of popular characters and storylines, some of which have since been incorporated into whatever the mainstream Marvel Universe now is!
Notes: As we mentioned earlier, this story has never been reprinted, perhaps the only Shang-Chi tale to be unseen since it's initial publication!
Before you ask, Fu Manchu is not Shang-Chi's father in the upcoming movie.
Here's some background about the famous character and why he was chosen to be the father of Marvel's brand-new martial arts master in 1973!
Here's a partial explanation as to why Fu isn't Shang's poppa in the new movie,t hough it leaves out two points...payment for use of the character to the estate of his creator, Sax Rohmer, and the problem of getting approval from the estate for how the character is portrayed!

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SAVAGE FISTS OF KUNG FU "Master Plan of Fu Manchu" Epilogue

While our heroic martial artists didn't, in fact, meet...

....they do realize that others like them were involved in the conflict, and that everything turned out well!

Iron Fist and Shang-Chi continue to be major players in the Marvel print multiverse, with both also being featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe!

But the Sons of the Tiger didn't quite hit that level of popularity, even though they saved the butts of both Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four's Human Torch...

...the group broke up and their amulets were found by Hector Ayala who utilized their power as the heroic White Tiger.

He was killed and his niece, FBI agent Angela Del Toro, became White Tiger II, until she was killed and resurrected by the ninjas known collectively as The Hand.

Hector's daughter, Ava is the current White Tiger (III), and a member of both Heroes for Hire and the Avengers!

Lin, Abe, and Bob all continue to infrequently-appear, but never together and never in costume.
In another weird note, as you see above and in the color version of the story featuring them, the Sons of the Tiger wear matching color costumes...

...much like the original X-Men's uniforms (and with a similar color scheme)!
But in the covers of their b/w magazine appearances, they all wear a similar design...but different color schemes (though they always have the red sashes denoting sensei status)...

...which are slightly-off-color model each time, even on the cover of the original b/w version of this three-part tale...

...which features Abe in a third version of his gi!

Well, that concludes our contribution to the RetroBlogs Summer Blogathon!

We hoped you enjoyed it and will bookmark this blog, because we have a lot more material (most of it never-reprinted) to re-present!