Shang-Chi is one of the oldest and most prominent Asian heroes in western superhero comics, first appearing in Special Marvel Edition #15 (December 1973) by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin. He proved popular enough that two issues later, the title of the book was changed to The Hands of Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, a title it would keep until it was cancelled with #125, which I believe also makes Shang-Chi the longest-running Asian headliner (DC’s Cassandra Cain is a distant second with 73 issues of Batgirl). However, if you’re looking at that 1973 date and those two white creators and thinking “Hmm…” you’re not wrong to be concerned. Shang-Chi was originally the son of the pulp villain and deeply racist caricature Fu Manchu, an ancient and murderous megalomaniac who first appeared in the pulp novels of Sax Rohmer. When he discovers that his father is, like, super duper evil, Shang-Chi severs ties and winds up working for the British Secret Service instead, usually with the aim of thwarting his father’s evil schemes. Marvel’s license to use Fu Manchu and other related characters eventually expired, but they simply changed Shang-Chi’s father’s name to “Zheng Zu” and left the characterization intact. (You should definitely check out this article for more on Shang-Chi’s origins, because they’re super interesting.) Despite the racist backdrop, Shang-Chi has always been a really engaging and likable character. He’s thoughtful and introspective in a way that superheroes rarely are, constantly analyzing the ethics of his actions and his place in the world. He’s also a total badass, holding his own in a superhero universe despite the fact that his only power is being really, really good at kung fu. (Well, and all martial arts. But kung fu is the one in the title of the comic.) (Note: until recently, the creative teams behind Shang-Chi’s adventures were overwhelmingly white, and they remain overwhelmingly male. As usual, superhero comics have a ways to go when it comes to diversity, both on and off the page.) If you’re interested in checking out some Shang-Chi comics, here’s a few places to start: Currently, Marvel plans to release Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings exclusively in theaters for the first 45 days before making it available digitally, so let’s hope the world is in a place where we can all feel safe going back to the theaters by then. In the meantime, if you’d like to read more about Shang-Chi, I wrote about his ties to Fu Manchu and Marvel’s own issues with anti-Asian racism here, and some of the delightfully goofy villains from his original series here.
