About six years ago, Marvel did this series of one-shots that were numbered as the "next" issues in long-canceled series. I bought three: Darkhawk, Power Pack, and this, which is also the only one still in my collection.
Shang-Chi's doing some crossed armed push-ups while the local news discussing an octopus missing from the zoo. Shang also has himself a monkey friend he calls Chee. They go to get ice cream - mint chocolate chip for Shang-Chi (a man after my own heart), and date ice cream for Chee - and are accosted by several ninjas. You see above how attempts to attack Shang-Chi went, so the ninjas decide to try and take Chee hostage.
That's gonna be tough to live down, assuming they don't contract a deadly disease from monkey bites to the eye. Oh, and that they can escape. And it looks like they just might, because when Shang-Chi gives chase, the ground suddenly opens beneath him and he wakes up in a cell underground. Two ninjas are assigned to guard him, and they're morons, but we learn they work for a Dr. Prasis, first name Mel. Meaning his name is almost "Malpractice", as we (and the doctor) are reminded more than once.
Turns out Shang-Chi's been aware of someone experimenting on animals for weeks. First he saw a rat steal a slice of pizza with kung fu. The ninjas trying to adopt rescue animals was somewhat more obvious, and he tracked them to an underground lair full of missing pets that had died after being experimented on. Which is when he found Chee, who, once he was able to trust again, showed an aptitude for kung fu. Shang used some old S.I.S. and Homeland Security contacts, and learned about a doctor at the local zoo who liked to talk to the animals about martial arts movies.
Mel was fired after trying to sneak the octopus out, but now that he's successfully stolen the (very large) octopus, and has Shang-Chi captive, he's going to transfer Shang's brain into the octopus. Which isn't really teaching an animal kung fu, is it? Plus, that just gives Shang-Chi more arms to whip the shit out of you with. I'm starting to think this insane vet may not be all there in the head.
Chee gets Shang-Chi loose, Shang whups the shit out of the ninjas with only two arms and two legs, and releases the octopus. Into the sewer. The newscaster joked about being careful when you sit on the toilet, but man, don't put it past an octopus to try. But first, it has to take a little revenge. Mel tears by on a speedboat and gets yoinked out of it and tossed at Shang's feet by the octopus, and that's pretty much it. Insane doctor incarcerated, octopus free to terrorize the plumbing of San Francisco, more ice cream for Shang-Chi and Chee.
{7th longbox, 10th comic. Master of Kung Fu #126, by CM Punk (writer), Dalibor Talijac (artist), Erick Arciniega (color artist), Travis Lanham (letterer)}
2 comments:
CM Punk wrote a Shang Chi comic? I see the (vague) connection but that's a bit of an odd choice.
Punk wrote a few books for Marvel during that stretch, including a Drax solo title that lasted 11 issues.
I don't know what the thinking was behind who got to write which of these one-offs, though. Devin Grayson wrote the Power Pack one, and Chris Sims and Chad Bowers wrote the Darkhawk book. Sims was always pretty vocal on his blog about loving Darkhawk, and they wrote that Infinity Challenge tie-in mini for Darkhawk a year or two later, but with Grayson and Punk, I got no clue.
Knowing Marvel, it was enough if Punk said, "I loved Master of Kung Fu, can I write a Shang-Chi story?"
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