And here's the other Secret Wars mini-series I bought. Set in a version of K'un Lun ruled by Shang-Chi's dad, Zheng Zu, where Shang's become a drunken derelict since Zheng made him kill the leader of the Iron Fist clan.
Shang's prompted into action when a group of outcasts (kind of like Morlocks, but half of them are New Mutants) try to defend him, and agrees to be their teacher. Realizing none of that will do any good so long as his dad rules the roost, Shang enters the Thirteen Chambers, the tournament held every 13 years to determine who will rule the city.
I admit I was expecting more focus on the tournament, which is relegated to maybe the last issue and a half. But I was also expecting something more like a shonen anime tournament. You know, with a bracket and 1-on-1 match-ups, leading to a final 2. Instead, Shang has to fight everyone else (see above) before he can face his father, which doesn't seem like much of a tournament to me. It's also kind of weird that Shang tells Kitty the Thirteen Chambers predates K'un Lun, but Zheng is somehow able to control it to make sure Shang will have to face everyone else.
Talijac and Sudzuka combine for a very clean look, even during the fighting, nothing is too gritty or rough. They tend to use each panel as a beat in the fight, showing the flow of action from one move to the next. A block in one panel, a twist in the next, a strike in the third. It's a nice way of showing he, even having given up on anything, Shang's still a well-trained fighter.
The designs on the characters vary widely in how close they hew to the character that inspires them. Black Panther and Psylocke - sorry, Lady Mandarin here - look pretty much the same. But Jessica Drew of the Spider Cult's quite different. Not that she's in the book much. Most of the other challengers are introduced and discarded in the course of the third issue.
It all boils down to Shang facing his dad, but first he and Danny Rand have unresolved business. Which turns out to not be what it seems at first. Shang isn't innocent, but he did it to prevent a greater evil. I guess as some sort of arc for Danny, that he sets aside his desire for revenge against Shang for the greater good of the city.
Overall, it's not really what I was hoping for, but it's not bad. The Francesco Francavilla covers are excellent, however.
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