Marvel-Verse: Shang-Chi

Marvel-Verse

by Fred Van Lente, Paul Tobin, Dan Slott

Shang-Chi is the Marvel-Verse's Master of Kung Fu - and his deadly hands are full in these action-packed adventures! Wolverine seeks out Shang-Chi to train him in the skills necessary to defeat the savage Sabretooth! A class at Midtown High leads Shang-Chi into a team-up with Spidey against Midnight and his ninja army - and the wallcrawler asks for Shang-Chi's guidance on learning a little Spider-Fu! But will Shang-Chi find himself over his head in his newest adventure?

COLLECTING: WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS (2008) 9, MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN (2010) 2, FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2011 (SPIDER-MAN), MASTER OF KUNG FU (2017) #126, THE LEGEND OF SHANG-CHI #1

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Martial Arts, Comic Book, Fiction

113 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 26, 2021

About the author

Fred Van Lente is the New York Times-bestselling author of comics as varied as Archer & Armstrong (Harvey Award nominee, Best Series), Taskmaster, MODOK's 11, Amazing Spider-Man, Conan the Avenger, Weird Detective, and Cowboys & Aliens (upon which the 2011 movie was based), as well as the novels Ten Dead Comedians and The Con Artist.

Van Lente also specializes in entertaining readers with offbeat histories with the help of his incredibly talented artists. He has written the multiple-award winning Action Philosophers!, The Comic Book History of Comics, Action Presidents! (all drawn by Ryan Dunlavey), and The Comic Book Story of Basketball with Joe Cooper (Ten Speed September 2020).

He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Crystal Skillman, and some mostly ungrateful cats.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw the new Marvel movie, which I went into not knowing anything about this character or his world. I thought the movie was terrific, a lyrical martial arts movie with lots of great characters, action scenes, and rich history.

Fred Van Lente here collects five stories that feature or involve Shang-Chi, including Wolverine, who comes to Shang Chi for help--this is the best story of the bunch. There's a couple Spiderman stories that are just okay, forgettable, as is a Lady Deathstrike story. But I appreciated how Marvel tried to figure out how to integrate a Kung Fu master into its universe, which as it turns out is ultimately not all that well, I thought. None of this stuff prepares us for the wonders of the film.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't a very good collection of Shang-Chi comics. The first 3 stories are Wolverine and Spider-Man stories that Shang-Chi makes an appearance in. The first two of which aren't even in continuity. What it does have going for it is that it does collect the two Shang-Chi one shots that have come out in the last several years that haven't been collected before. They are just OK, but at least fans have an opportunity to read them now. If you've seen the movie and you are looking for more of Shang-Chi, you are better off reading the comics written by Gene Luen Yang, Shang-Chi, Vol. 1: Brothers & Sisters.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I own this book.

This is one of the marvel-verse collections, this one following Shang Chi. I picked this up due to the character's recently released MCU movie as I don't know a lot about them. Basically, these collections re-issue five of the key comics related to this character. In the volume, we got to see some classic Marvel characters, Spidey, Wolverine, Sabertooth and so on. I loved Shang Chi's humour, energy and I feel like I got a good balance of info on the character and how they fit into the Marvel world. I would love to read more about this character and I'm glad I read this.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uma compilação que acho que tem o intuito de inciar o leitor nas aventuras de Shang-Chi, O Mestre do Kung-Fu. Como não peguei a onda do Kung Fu na minha existência, eu não vejo muita graça no personagem e nem nas suas histórias, que já tentei ler algumas vezes. Talvez por isso, nesse Marvel-Verse Shang-Chi eu tenha gostado mais daquelas em que o Mestre do Kung-Fu é coadjuvante. Por exemplo, temos o primeiro e único número da série Wolverine: First Class publicado no Brasil, uma série bastante elogiada lá fora, mas que aqui nem deu sinal. Duas histórias do Homem-Aranha, uma em sua versão para crianças, em Marvel Adventures e uma ligada à saga Ilha das Aranhas. Completam o álbum duas histórias inéditas no Brasil do Mestre do Kung-Fu. As duas bastante fraquinhas em roteiro, mas com desenhos interessantes. Torcendo aqui para que o filme e a nova série em quadrinhos do personagem não sejam flop assim também.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this collection after enjoying the film. This wasn't a character I'd read before and I wanted to know him better. Unfortunately, this anthology didn't really reveal the character much or fill in any of his history.

In part, this is because he is mostly a side character in the stories of more famous comic book denizens (Wolverine and Spiderman) in most of them. He only comes across as a person with a personality in one of the stories (the first one, with Wolverine), and that character was bland enough to have been any number of kung-fu guys.

Disappointing overall.

[Petergiaquinta · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful, just awful…sophomoric and silly…this compilation is a showcase of the Disneyfication of the Marvel-verse, Shang-Chi as a dumbed down Disney princess masquerading as the Master of Kung Fu. The first story with Wolverine seeking out Shang-Chi for some fighting tips is just pointless filler, but that’s the best the volume has to offer. The rest is puerile schlock, including Shang-Chi showing up at Peter Parker’s high school as a guest speaker for career day, or some other bit of idiotic dumbassery. It’s troubling to see what has happened to the figure of Shang-Chi; he’s become a flat, cliched stereotype for the kiddies, far worse than anything Marvel did with him back in the bad old days when his father was still named Fu Manchu.

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Shang-Chi anthology that spans a diverse compilation of appearances and team-ups from around the Marvel multiverse.

Wolverine: First Class #9 - Well, this story retroactively gives us the first meeting with Wolverine and Shang-Chi. And it’s pretty awful. Wolverine is his usual braggart self and Shang-Chi is presented as a cliche wisdom-spouting, fortune-cookie cutout. Terrible (1/5).

Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #2 - Not really much better. This is some alternate timeline with another retroactive first meeting. This time it’s Spider-Man and .Shang-Chi and it’s perhaps a bit less stereotypically racist in the presentation, but it’s still so far off character for Shang-Chi as to be virtually unrecognizable (2/5).

Free Comic Book Day 2011 (Spider-Man) - Shang-Chi doesn’t appear in this very much, but his appearance is important. This is also a kind of prologue to the Spider Island crossover event, but by itself there really much here that’s noteworthy (3/5).

Master of Kung Fu (2017) #126 - Interesting, and perhaps reminiscent of some of the more … silly stories from Master of Kung Fu. But ultimately it didn’t really work for me. This story felt like it would have been suited to Howard the Duck than Shang-Chi. Even the villain like he dropped right out of the pages of Howard the Duck (2/3).

The Legend of Shang-Chi #1 - This one was more deserving to have been from the pages of Master of Kung Fu than the previous one, but then this one is fine as it’s supposedly dealing with Shang-Chi’s legend (3/5).

Overall, this anthology is not that great. The individual selections are generally ineffective at generating more than some off-hand interest in the character (2/2).

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a longtime fan of Shang-Chi, I found this collection to be disappointing. Five stories, of which only two were really focused on him...a Wolverine story in which Shang-Chi was teaching him philosophy, and two Spider-Man stories, one of which involved someone's dog more than it involved Shang-Chi, were filler in some ways, and only the Wolverine one was good filler.
Of the two Shang-Chi stories, the one from Master of Kung Fu #126 was painfully bad. It made a faction of The Hand, Frank Miller's scary and creepy ninja group from Daredevil, into comic relief, with a group of would-be ninjas following the commands of a mad veterinarian. No, really. This story seems to have been written as a one-shot by a mixed martial artist, but it still should have been edited into something more worth reading.
The other Shang-Chi story was much better, but still not a great story. It made both Shang-Chi and the British intelligence agency MI-6 look rather foolish at one point, as they seemingly leave the pieces of a destroyed mystical object of power just sort of laying around for the bad guys to pick up. Also, and I admit that this was the artist's choice, but it bothered me that Leiko Wu, one of the few Asian major characters in comics [not as a lead character, but over 100 appearances in comics] who's not one of the bad guys, was drawn as pretty much the least Asian-looking that I've ever seen. This wasn't just an old story with neglectful editing, but claimed to be the only new story in the anthology, so someone really should have thought about that.
If these were collected in order to introduce new readers to Shang-Chi, I can't see how they would find serious stories of him at all interesting, if this set of stories is what they found appealing. If it was to remind old fans of what he was like, to set them up for the new movie, I can't see that working, either, unless the new movie consists of inept villains and low comedy. Overall, this volume was a serious disappointment.

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of issues involving Shang-Chi. The early issues present the “Master of Kung Fu” in cameo / secondary roles within headliner characters’ comics – notably Wolverine and Spiderman. In those early issues, Shang-Chi mostly serves as the invincible master showing quippy superheroes that their kung fu lacks vigor and precision. In the later issues, those in which Shang-Chi is the lead, he becomes more well-rounded leading man material and less of a stoic, exotic Yoda-figure. In those issues, Shang-Chi combats the elusive ninja organization called “The Hand,” as well as “Lady Deathstrike.”


There is one issue, “Shang-Chi’s Day Off,” which is written as one-liner laden low comedy. Its tone stands out as distinct from the rest of the volume, but it has a few genuinely amusing lines, and so it’s not so bad. Those who take their superheroes somewhat seriously will hate it.


This collection isn’t a bad way to gain insight into the character and his evolution over time. Don’t be thrown off by the campy and stereotyped way he’s portrayed in his 70’s Kung fu cinema iteration, it gets more balanced and sophisticated later in the volume.

[James Rodrigues · Rating 2 out of 5]

Volumes like these are wonderful in theory, offering readers unfamiliar with a character some decent starting points, yet this volume does not do well by Shang-Chi. There's a total of five stories in this volume, and only two of them actually follow the Master of Kung-Fu. Of those two, there's a fun battle with Lady Deathstrike and a dreadfully unfunny story where he battles an incompetent doctor leading some of the Hand. Outside of that, there's a Spider-Man story with a Shang-Chi cameo, and a pair of stories where the character acts as teacher to Spidey and Wolverine. A poor assembly of tales to highlight this character, you'd be better off reading Gene Luen Yang's excellent first volume on Shang-Chi instead.

[Lynnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I haven't really read a lot of Shang-Chi books so perhaps this low rating is my own expectation. This was one of the only Shang Chi books my library had so I thought it might be a good way to get to know the character before the Marvel film is released. Sadly, it's not. In most of the stories collected here, Shang-Chi is a secondary character. So, I'll have to keep looking for some different volumes to help me get to know the character better. Perhaps if you're more well-versed in Shang-Chi's story, this will be a satisfying collection.

[Marie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shang -Chi meets Wolverine, Spiderman, Madam Web, Lady Deathstrike, and a cute octopus named Ruth!

The artwork is incredible! Crisp lines, shading, exceptional coloring, and an interesting panel placements added to the plot lines. When confronting Wolverine, Shang-Chi teaches him by not teaching him. Meeting Spiderman for the first time, he judges his character not by what the police say, but by observing him and making his own judgement. A meeting with an old friend results in a mission that nearly ends in catastrophe. And of course, a cute octopus.

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now featuring more cameos and one feature story....

Things we learned today

Wolverine story was a classic martial arts master teaches cocky student (in this case, Wolverine)
Marvel Adventures stories were Marvel trying out All Ages stories. This Shang-Chi was styled in 70s garb.
Free Comic Book Day issues are handed out to drum up interest. Spidey learns a new martial art.
Master of Kung Fu story was written by a former wrestler. It's as wordy as a Kevin Smith movie.
Legend of Shang-Chi story was one I already read. Modern reinterpretation of the character

[Adelaine Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was hardly a mashup of Shang chi comics. Only two were focused on him. And those two were good but majority of these collections he was just a background character which was weird. I will say tho the free comic book day Spider-Man issue brought me lots of nostalgia because I actually picked that one up when I was a kid in 2011 when my dad would take me to free comic book day and I would read it all the time. And seeing it again in this collection brought a smile to my face.

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Three of the five stories in this bind up do not follow Shang-Chi as the main character. If this were a team up or crossover book then this was a fun read. But I bought this thinking I could get to know Shang-Chi better. Previously I had only met him in other titles as a side character. Disappointingly, this was more of the same which is sad. Shang-Chi is so cool, powerful, and “fine as five fridays” and I really wish that this title honored more of that.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY]

Strange to see the shirt stay on.

Marvel comics freebie set in the marvelverse. Suitable for teens and adults. Good color artwork. A lot of stories with Shang chi team ups. Wolverine, Spider-Man, chee the kung fu monkey and etc. Released to support the Shang chi and the ten rings movie release.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my first Shang-Chi book and I haven’t gotten around to seeing the movie yet, either so this is odd. In the first story, Logan goes to him for a lesson. In the next, he goes to Peter Parker’s school to do an exhibition. In the last, he fights Lady Deathstroke for a sword she’s trying to steal from a museum. Forgettable. Dated. I borrowed this from my public library.

[Craig Lotter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of short Shang-Chi tales, where often he was more in the background/teacher role than in the thick of the action himself. Started strong, ended strong, and the artwork was great all the way through, especially the story drawn by Andie Tong. Great addition to the Marvel-Verse lineup.

[Doctor Doom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just stories with Shang-Chi teaming up with others. Not bad, not great. Somewhat disjointed as these are often continued stories featuring the other person and our boy Shang is just a guest star... but the book is his.

[Miguel Bonelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Divertida as escolhas de histórias, mas não serve muito como antologia nem como introdução pro personagem. Faz mais sentido pra quem conhece o universo e mesmo eu que tenho certa bagagem, sem saber o que tá rolando nos quadrinhos da Marvel nos últimos tempos fiquei perdidinho

[Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great collection of stories that really give you a quick and interesting look at Shang-Chi as a character.

[Jack Connolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could’ve used more Shang Chi…

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

These Marvel-verse collections are totally random. The second last story salvaged the collection that was otherwise not great.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a smackering of different tales of the modern Shang-Chi. They try to make him wise, hip , ad way too powerful.

[Mompop · Rating 3 out of 5]

collection of comics. sometimes Shang- Chi only makes a guest appearance (w/Spiderman)

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

First I’ve read

A great introduction of Shang-chi through the ages. Following on from the film this was a great way to see for myself the character that exists in the graphic novels

[Brannigan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was more about Shang-Chi best of side kick instead of a collection of him being the Hero.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adequate but underwhelming collection of stories featuring Shang Chi.
The biggest problem was that in most of them he was a guest star and was not integral to the stories.

[Bea santos]

The stories were okay but this a Shang chi cb and he barely appered lol… Aldo really enjoyed the lar story and I look forward to read more of shang chi in which he acctualy is the main character

[Shaun · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag of issues. I enjoyed the last two issues as Shang-Chi was the main focus.