Marvel Comics just gave Shang-Chi, their premiere martial artist, a secret supervillain sister. Created by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin, Shang-Chi is Marvel’s very own “Master of Kung Fu.” He’s the son of Zheng Zu, a powerful and quasi-immortal sorcerer who dreams of world domination, and whose own son has frequently been responsible for stopping him.
Shang-Chi’s star is about to shine brighter than ever before, with Simu Liu playing the character in the upcoming MCU blockbuster Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings. Naturally, Marvel Comics intend to establish as much of a synergy between their comics and the movies as possible; they’re relaunching the character as star of his own ongoing as well. Written by Gene Luen Yang and featuring superb art from Dike Ruan, it promises to change Shang-Chi’s world forever. As teased, it establishes that Zheng Zu was master of the Five Deadly Weapons Society.
Sister Hammer has appointed herself Zheng Su’s successor, taking command of the Five Deadly Weapons Society. She’s fiercely ambitious, unhappy with the secret society’s becoming little more than another criminal empire. In her view, the Five Deadly Weapons Society is destined to rule the world, and she intends to make that dream a reality. She’s fierce and brutal, and begins her coup by killing Brother Staff, the current ruler, who she blames for their decline. But here’s the catch; the spirit of Zheng Zu has apparently chosen a different leader. He has chosen Shang-Chi himself, the one who killed him, Sister Hammer’s despised older brother.
That’s right, it seems Shang-Chi’s family is larger than anyone previously thought. Sister Hammer is not just a wrathful, would-be world-conqueror, but she is also Shang-Chi’s little sister. It looks as though the Master of Kung Fu is going to head home in a misguided attempt to redeem her, but for her part Sister Hammer simply wants him dead. What’s more, she clearly has no qualms about doing the deed, because she has already killed Brother Staff – their oldest sibling.
Marvel certainly wasn’t exaggerating when they claimed the new Shang-Chi series would rewrite the character’s lore. There has always been a personal dimension to Shang-Chi’s quest for justice, as he battled to emerge from his father’s dark shadow, but now it has been changed forever. He isn’t just the son of a prominent supervillain, but rather he’s the one white sheep of the family. This time, though, he’s not going in just to beat up the bad guys and foil his father’s plan; he intends to save his sister. Unfortunately, it really doesn’t look as though Shang-Chi is likely to succeed in this ambition, so it’s going to be exciting to see what happens next.
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