Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

With Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, we got an honest-to-god martial arts film. Originally, the main character was billed as Shang-Chi: The Master of Kung-Fu. I'm not that familiar with fighting styles, so I don't know if any actual kung-fu was used. But the viewers got a masterpiece. 

The Legend of the Ten Rings is set right in the middle of the MCU. Events start in San Francisco, which we've already explored thanks to the Ant-Man films. But as the plot progresses, the map expands to include Macau and then the mythical Chinese village of Ta Lo. In fact, when the main characters reach Ta Lo, the film becomes a beautiful work of art. There are mythical Chinese creatures (I loved the lion things!), Chinese culture, artwork, fashion, and much, much more. That second half of this movie was just breath-taking. 

That's not to say that this film was perfect. I did at times find myself getting bored, as I have with stale bits of superhero films. It wasn't Shang-Chi, who is to blame. It's an industry thing as a whole that has some elements which just seem to be getting old. 

The premise of the film is linked with the events of 2013's Iron Man 3. In that film, we learned that the Mandarin, the so-called leader of the Ten Rings was really a ruse. Instead of an Asian man, a drunken actor named Trevor Slattery was hired to create a diversion for a foe of Tony Stark's. Well, the real leader of the Ten Rings wasn't so happy about that...

Originally, Shang-Chi's father was the legendary dime pulp villain Fu-Manchu. The character, created by San Rohmer, was based on racist stereotypes with his long, straggly facial hair and hideous claws. That tendency to imprison white women in a number of masochist, demeaning ways didn't help things either. Marvel about 15 years or so ago, rebooted the origin of Shang-Chi from which the comics is now more in line with the 2021 movie. 

A thousand years ago, a Chinese warlord named Xu Wenwu obtained the magical 10 rings. These rings, which technically are bracelets, granted him immortal life along with a number of various powers. Looking to increase the power of his criminal organization, in 1996, Xu Wenwu attempted to breach the mythical Ta Lo. The man is stopped by the village's guardian Ying Li. The episode earns the mutual respect of both and the pair fall in love.

Xu Wenwu forsakes the rings during his marriage to Ying Li. Two children are born, Shang-Chi and his sister Xu Xaling. All appears bliss. However, Xu's past catches up with him, resulting in the death of Yin Li. Xu Wenwu bears the rings again, training his children to become assassins in revenge for their mother's death. However, Shang-Chi escapes his evil destiny, winding up in San Francisco under the name of Shaun.

Over time, Xu Wenwu begins to hear the voice of his fallen bride. The voice claims that if he can pierce a sacred barrier in the village of Ta Lo, the entire family can be together again. As Shang-Chi and his sister learn more of their mystical heritage, they prepare for battle with the forces of the Ten Rings to stop Xu Wenwu from his fool hardy quest which threatens to unleash hell on earth.

I know that there's a lot going on here. The story was complex, which is something many of the Marvel films have been missing lately. The martial art scenes were amazing. They were fluid, alluring and sometimes funny, like from a Drunken Master movie. When the theatrics appeared more like a typical comic book and not staying in the legacy of Bruce Lee, I got bored. 

I don't understand why this film didn't become the cultural touchstone for the Asian community like Black Panther did for the black community. Actually, I do. Blame COVID. Even though this 2021 movie made over $400 million in theaters, the crowds just hadn't returned yet. Heck, the crowds still haven't gotten back to pre-pandemic levels and if things continue the way they do, I don't think they will any time soon...

Lots of great actors. Michelle Yeoh, the reigning queen of Asian cinema who has taken Hollywood by force. Tony Leung was great as the villain. He's the actor that you've seen before, really like and just can't remember where you've seen him from previously. Relative newcomer (at the time) Simu Liu was great as the lead. But the actor who stole the show (and maybe my heart) was comedienne Awkwafina, who stole the show as Shaun's best friend Katy. Look, if Margot Robbie decides to hang up her harlequin costume, I would put my vote behind Awkwafina as the next Harley Quinn! But with all this amazing Asian talent, where were legends such as Sonny Chiba, Donnie Yen and the king of Hong Kong cinema, Jackie Chan? Maybe they'll be available for the sequel? 

Please tell me there will be a sequel...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #158

A brand new group of heroes are introduced in this issue of MCP. Created by Excalibur's Alan Davis, it's a visually appealing group called Clan Destine. But some of the characters are rather ridiculous.  

For example, there's the character of Argent. Right now, she's got giant blades for arms. How does she go to the bathroom? Eat? Get dressed? If the character has arms and hands, it's just not revealed.

The idea is that the Destine family is a group of immortals. Their father is an immortal Scottish noble who mated with imps, genies and other mythical creatures to create a clan of nearly indestructible warriors. It's like if Highlander decided to go the Captain Kirk route and get busy with anything with legs and magical powers...

As for the other 3 segments in this issue...

The only New Warrior to appear in the New Warrior story is still just Kymaera (Namorita). In all honesty, this story could have concluded as just an 8-pager. It's really getting to be a dull mulit-part story that just spins in circles.

Vengeance's encounter with a female Spirit of Vengeance is epic. Right now there's a massive fire in which Badilino is trying to save some of the members of his new meta-human task force. But it's kinda hard to do with this new Ghost Rider in his way!

The Shang-Chi story finally comes to an end. And now I start to recall some elements of it. An old flame from Shang-Chi's days as a member of Mi-6 is involved. The Master of Kung-Fu recalls his turbulent history with father Fu-Manchu. Things don't end happily for Shang-Chi. But at least it's not a tragic ending as with his previous story that occurred in the pages of the very 7 or 8 issues of this anthology series.

An okay offering of characters and stories. But still not the best the MCU has to offer readers either.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #157

First up is Nick Fury. He's one of my favorite comic book characters of all time. But I don't list him as a superhero. Is he a superhero? Do I need to rethink this? Anyways, Fury takes on Hydra in a one-and-done story set in Greece. Action packed. But can anybody tell me why Wolverine gets featured in over 100 issues but when it comes to the ultimate agent of SHIELD, they editors at Marvel can barely give him the time of day???

With Vengeance, things just keep getting better and better. There's a new Spirit of Vengeance; a woman named Phantome. And man is she nuts! 

I still can't recall anything about that Master of Kung-Fu story. It doesn't help that the Marvel Wiki has only a photo of the main villain for his page. Since the character known as Lazarus: The Midnight Slasher only appears in this multi-parter, I guess they're not worthy of a record history.

Lastly, the New Warriors story continues to be devoid of New Warriors. Only Kymaera, the Atlantean formerly known as Namorita, appears in this story. It's not a bad story. Just the false advertising on the cover irks me to no end. 

A better offering than that of last issue. I mostly don't like the editing choices made in this issue and I still can't recall what happened in one of the segments. 

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #156

I got my wish. Michael Badilino and Rebecca Taylor are kinda a thing now. Plus, Badilino has now become part of a supernatural meta-human task force on the NYPD, along with Taylor. Rebecca is pretty sure that Badilino is the Spirit of Vengeance known as Vengeance. But on this first assignment, she's still not quite sure. I hope that writer Chris Cooper (Incredible Hulk) just does away with it all and lets Rebecca Taylor in on the secret identity.

I also got my answer. Last issue, I wondered if the rest of the New Warriors were going to show up in the further chapters of the Kymaera-centric tale. Well, they don't. So I hated that it's listed that the New Warriors appear in this issue. 

The story itself is a bit of a mess with a mad-scientist hoping to take genes from Kymaera and become the new Eve to a race of aquatic supermen.

Shang-Chi, the Master of Kung-Fu, returns in this issue for a 3-parter. He's taking on a bloodthirsty killer called the Midnight Slasher and it's a rather forgettable episode.

Lastly, for our one-shot story, the World War II super solider variant known as Destroyer is the star. Again, I just don't remember much about this segment except for the bombshell cameo made by the Invader member Spitfire. 

As I've mentioned several times before, I've read these issues several months ago and I am slowly catching up on my reviews. I'm sorry folks. But I just barely remember anything about half of these segments. I guess that just doesn't make for such a great issue if you ask me...

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.

Bizarre Adventures #1

Not happy with the website I use to catalog my comic book collection and wish list, I'm inventorying all 11,000 plus comic books. It's an arduous process, but it's helping me catch things that have slipped in the cracks. And that's where we come to this book. 

I bought this comic new in 2019. I read it within a day or so of purchasing. And then I filed it in my long boxes without neither a review nor adding it to my database. 

This one-shot is a tribute to the Bizarre Adventures anthologies series from 1981-83. Originally titled Marvel Preview, the name change occurred at issue #25. The book was originally a magazine format; which was code for containing material not encumbered by the Comics Code. Marvel kept the oversized magazine format for a couple of issues with the new name. However, the name change wasn't enough to win over new fans. So, some of the last few issues were released in comic book format. Even with forgoing the CCA, Marvel just couldn't make the series a hit and Bizarre Adventures ended with issue #34; a holiday horror classic!

Even though Bizarre Adventures wasn't a commercial success, the title became a cult classic. Thus the tribute release in 2019.

There are four stories in this issue. First up is an origin or early years story starring that eternal monster hunter, Ulysses Bloodstone. Set in his days as a caveman, it turns out that those pesky Skrulls have been visiting here a heck of a lot longer than we originally thought.

Story #2 involves Shang-Chi, the Master of Kung-Fu. I don't recall much of the plot. I do recall when I read this 3 years ago, my eyes were opened to a Communist Chinese concept of building new cities for the purpose of keeping unoccupied until the need for relocating citizens. In 2019, I couldn't believe such cities existed. But I think last year or maybe 2020, when China needed to divert a river or a dam, they moved their people to one of these brand spanking new metropolises. Therefore, in a weird sort of way, life imitated art!

Third story involves Dracula. Set in like the 20s or 30s, the Lord of the Vampires becomes enamored with a beauty. But of course, there's a twist!

Lastly, things are wrapped up with a Bill Foster Giant Man/Goliath story. It was a hot mess that was supposed to be the debut of some hot new talent. Maybe this cartoonist is some great player on the Indy comics circuit. But they just weren't Marvel material.

Like I said, it's been about 3 years since I read this book. And as you can tell from the Shang-Chi story, my memory isn't 100% clear. So I'm going to base my review on how I felt about the book in 2019. I hated the Bill Foster story. It's too psychedelic for my taste. Loved the two true horror stories that comprise this book. The Master of Kung-Fu story was good. But I apparently only remembered the wrong parts of this book.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars. 

Marvel Comics Presents #8

The Shang-Chi story comics to a merciful end in this issue. Of course, it finally gets good right when everything ends. I truly think that if this story was set in the 1970s, when kung-fu ruled instead of the karate 80s, this would have been a much better story. But what do I know? I've only been reading comic books since I was 3...

The Man-Thing story still continues to be the best story of the 4 features. But it did have some competition with the Master of Kung-Fu conclusion.

I really don't feel very much connection to the Wolverine tale. At least when it comes to the hero. The sexy villainess, Sapphire Styx, is alluring but deadly. The mercenary Razorfist is pretty cool looking. But a bad guy who has his hands replaced with retractable swords makes very little sense. I mean, when it comes to the bathroom how does he wipe? How does he get his pants back up? How does he aim without becoming a soprano? 

Truly, the mind boggles at these mysteries.

The one-and-done story stars Iron Man. It's written by one of my favorite writers, Sholly Fisch (Scooby-Doo Team-Up). While it involves Tony Stark's battle with the bottle, it's got that nostalgic positive slant that is prevalent in all of Fisch's stories. 

Overall, this was an enjoyable chapter in the early days of this anthology series. The past couple of issues had been duds, as the stories had been 80s era downers. Great to see things perk up a bit.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #7

The best story thus far is a very convoluted tale involving Iran-Contra, drug dealers and devil worshipers. Oh, and Man-Thing. But he's nowhere to be found. 

It's almost like somebody at Marvel wanted to do a story based on the Ollie North/Reagan Administration scandal and got the okay to do it. But in order to do it (and not get hit with a lawsuit), the creative team were told to add a Marvel character to the story. Man-Thing got selected. But in order to keep the nature of the story as in tact as possible, Man-Thing's presence is minimal. Ultra minimal!

The Master of Kung-Fu story also has an Iran Contra type scandal in the mix. But it's the reverse of the Man-Thing story as the political espionage is minuscule and Shang Chi's presence is rather large. Yet, this tale is rather lame. The Master of Kung-Fu was a great series during the 1970s, when it reflected the hugely popular trend of kung-fu movies. Now in the late 80s, with the trend being ninjas and karate, this story just doesn't resonate so very well.

The Wolverine story is okay. But I'm not really big on the whole 'I'm the best there is at what I do and what I do isn't very nice' 80s mentality of Wolverine. I'm more of a Hugh Jackman Wolverine era fan. But that one-and-done Sub-Mariner story involving Prince Namor and a submarine was rather fun. It reflected that classic 40s and 60s Atlantean anti-hero vibe. Too bad that wasn't a multi-parter...

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #6

If you've ever wondered how Wolverine came to utilize the Patch persona, this story set in Madripoor is the origin story you've been looking for. Having read some of Logan's exploits as his alter ego, it's really cool putting those pieces together with this storyline.

Speaking of alter-egos- the one-and-done fourth story involves the Incredible Hulk as that Vegas tough, Mr. Fixit. I've really wanted to read some of this era of Hulk lore. This story involving a version of the Hulk completely unknown to me was a pleasant surprise. 

The Man-Thing story is still very odd and yet really good. 

The Master of Kung-Fu story is still a bit of a chore to read. But! The cliffhanger has peaked my interest. So hopefully the forthcoming penultimate chapter will not disappoint! Fingers crossed but expectations are low.

Killer wraparound cover utilizing the biological abilities of Man-Thing!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #5

Thanks to an energy vampire, Wolverine is in some of the worst shape I have ever seen the mutant in this side of the live action Logan film.

With Man-Thing, things are getting even more weirder with this cult of Satan worshipers who have accepted the muck monster as a demonic answer to their prayers. Still not sure what they've got to do with selling weapons to fund rebels in South America. But I just can't put these 8 pages down!

I hate, Hate, HATE the Master of Kung-Fu story. An old frienemy of Shang-Chi's has joined forces in hopes of rescuing an old flame. But the kidnapper's overall objective, which involves selling drugs to fund rebels in South America is just too freakin' similar to the Man-Thing story. Why didn't the editors wait on this story until after the Man-Thing saga wraps up?

Lastly, in the 8-page closer, Daredevil comes across a teenager, mangled to a pulp, in an alley. The boy claims that someone is trying to kill him. The Man Without Fear persuades the lad to seek out Matt Murdock for help from the tormentor. But who the lawyer discovers is behind the stalking will shock everyone- including this reader!

Three very solid stories. And then there's the Master of Kung-Fu. Such a disappointment. Especially, considering how much I was looking forward to this tale. But I push on...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #4

Al Milgrom's Fear Eater saga concludes in this issue. After facing the Silver Surfer, Steve Rogers and the ever lovin' blue-eyed Thing, the parasite decides to feast on Thor, The God of Thunder!  point of near-starvation, the Fear Eater must succeed, least he waste away to nothing.

The Fear Eater sidelines the Asgardian with a mild malady while summoning up the foretold Ragnarok. Unable to join his warrior brothers, Thor despairs. It looks like the Fear Eater is finding going to munch on a Marvel Super Hero!

The stories starring Wolverine, The Master of Kung-Fu and Man-Thing continue. All of them are rather good. Logan gets the literal crap slapped out of him with a foe called Razorfist. 

The Shang-Chi story starts to finally build up steam. But with the motive of that stories baddie being tied in with Iran-Contra just as the Man-Thing story, it just seems to me that the editors should have spread things out a little bit. It makes for what is supposed to be a fresh collection of anthology tales feeling a little bit stale. 

And once again- where in the frick is Man-Thing? Never before have I experienced a story where the main character is such a non-entity. Good thing that the 'supporting cast' is so interesting. But, Geez...

Oh- and that twist ending to the Fear Eater story! CLASSIC!!!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #3

Wolverine is reunited with a blast from his past- Jessan Hoan. Only she doesn't remember ever knowing the Canadian mutant.

The confusing web of the political conspiracy in the Man-Thing saga gets even more tangled. Now we've got a pagan priestess involved in matters. 

Shang-Chi agrees to help his old friends to save his old flame. But to do this, he's going to need to call in reinforcements and that means calling on an old foe.

Lastly, the Fear Eater turns to Ben Grimm as his next meal. A recent blast of gamma energy has caused the FF's Thing to mutate further. But it's when the Fear Eater turns Thing back into his human form does Aunt Petunia's favorite nephew start to have doubts.

The Wolverine story continues to captivate. The chapter starring the Master of Kung-Fu seemed unneeded. Lots of talk but no meat. The Thing story was okay. But it seems to me as a long time reader of Fantastic Four stories that having the Fear Eater mutate Ben Grimm further would do more to wreck the hero's confidence than reverting him back to human. 

As for this chapter of Man-Thing. I don't know what to tell you. The story is interesting. But I can't understand why the United States government would need devil worshipers to stop Communism in a South American country. 

A mixed bag. Typical for an anthology. But a couple of segments were some hot messes. 

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #2

In the second issue of Marvel Comics Presents, Wolverine survives his first taste of the Madripoor nightlife only to come face-to-face with an old friend. Then in the political saga involving the Man-Thing, we get lots of conspiracy and intrigue but very little-to-no Man-Thing. Shang-Chi, the Master of Kung-Fu, is reunited with a lost love. But things appear complicated with a new mystery man added to the reunite clandestine team's line-up. The fact that the paramour gets kidnapped by thugs doesn't help thing either. 

Lastly, in the lone stand alone story, Al Milgrom brings back the Fear Eater. On the menu today is The Captain. Not Captain America. Just The Captain. But it's still Steve Rogers and with the former World War II non-com comes the baggage of the death of sidekick Bucky Barnes. It's that sort of grief that makes for some tasty vittles for the Fear Eater!

A good second issue. No sophomore slump here. The Wolverine story is that sort of gritty B-movie action flick stuff you'd expect from the late 80s. But it's intriguing. The Shang-Chi story has the titillating edge found with adventure flicks filled with femme fatales. And Al Milgrom's Fear Eater stories are great.

I just can't put my finger on the Man-Thing story. Why is he even in this thing? It's a good story. But with Man-Thing maybe appearing in one or two panels- what's the point of having him in this tale? I think people would have read this minus a main Marvel character's inclusion. But what do I know? I've only been reading comic books my whole life...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.