There is a Gang War in New York! Shang-Chi now leads one of the most prominent crime organizations in New York despite trying to transform it into a force for good. Check it out in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu: Gang War #1 by Marvel Comics!

DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU: GANG WAR #1

Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Caio Majado
Colorist: Jim Campbell
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Editor: Darren Shan
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: December 27th, 2023

Previously in Shang-Chi: Shang-Chi was born and trained to be a living weapon by his father and is now the Supreme Commander of the Five Weapons Society, a criminal group founded by his late father, Zheng Zu. Shang-Chi worked tirelessly to try to change the group beyond its evil legacy, but now a power vacuum has arisen in the New York underworld, and a syndicate is eager to fight.

THE ART OF WAR

Deadly Hands of Kung Fu: Gang War #1 starts with a lesson about how to use deception effectively when Shang-Chi was younger. However, in the present, Shang-Chi is forced to protect Chinatown from attacks and nearly takes out Spider-Man in the process, though he protects Spider-Man from the Five Weapons Society before they attack. The next day, he has the Five Weapons Society help out the local people and pass out food, but when Mister Negative attacks, Shang-Chi is gravely injured.

Recovering in bed, Captain Feng organizes a coup and attempts to kill Shang-Chi. But Shang-Chi isn’t injured and is deceived by Feng, anticipating his betrayal. Despite not having the Ten Rings, he can easily defeat Feng and prepare for the Gang War.

DEPOWERED

I find the choice to depower Shang-Chi by putting the Ten Rings in stasis an exciting option for this event. I don’t view Shang-Chi as a powerful character, especially compared to Spider-Man or some other villains running around. Deadly Hands of Kung Fu: Gang War #1 thus acts as a comic to depower the character under the guise of characterization. The characterization is based on Zheng Zu’s lesson to his son, but it doesn’t feel authentic. This idea of learning his father’s lessons wasn’t explored enough. It feels like they are creating this event, and Shang-Chi just happened to be here, and they needed a title to get him involved.

BOTTOM LINE: UNENGAGING

As an Asian-American, I love this character and am somewhat protective of his interpretation. I am happy that the writing for Shang-Chi is respectful of the culture. But the story needs more development pages for me to be fully invested. And that isn’t a creative team issue; they are working with the page count they are given. The writing is decent, and the art is consistent, but I need another issue to set up the characterization a little more. Deadly Hands of Kung Fu: Gang War #1 is a 3 out of 5 comic.

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