Putting a character through a redemption arc can undoubtedly be fun, but seeing how a character works when trying to redeem others is more interesting. That’s one of the reasons the newest adventures of Shang-Chi have been so enjoyable. While Shang-Chi is a good person who has risen above their training and conditioning of being a human weapon to fight against the world and instead chose to help it, he now has to apply those principles to others. It becomes even more fun when redeeming others means that you have to play by their rules from time to time, even if it means dipping your toe into villainy. Up to this point, Shang Chi has toed the line well enough to keep people off of his back. However, in “Shang-Chi” #6, Gene Luen Yang raises the stakes and puts Shang-Chi to the test in the best issue of the series to date.
Written by Gene Luen YangCover by Leinil Francis Yu & Sunny Gho
Illustrated by Dike Ruan
Colored by Triona Farrell
Lettered by VC’s Travis LanhamSHANG-CHI VS THOR! For several months, Shang-Chi has reintegrated himself into the Marvel Universe by bumping heads with the likes of Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine, the Fantastic Four, and Iron Man. And each time, he has proven to be the unstoppable force his father trained him to be. But his dad never taught him how to defeat a god… Don’t miss the end of the first arc, Shang-Chi vs. The Marvel Universe!!!
Luen Yang has a real talent for escalation of story tension as Shang-Chi is put into his most intense fight yet. While the series up until this point has been a combination of Shang-Chi and his family toeing the line of legality, in some cases successfully assuaging the doubts of his fellow avengers and in other cases confirming their doubts. Despite his best efforts, to the wider Marvel universe, Shang-Chi is a threat. One of the most impactful elements of “Shang-Chi” #6 is watching how each independent actor views the situation. There are people like Cap and Spidey, hopeful that it’s all an act, that Shang-Chi is just playing the role of villain to save face for his family. But at the same time, Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic aren’t convinced, it’s all really well done tracking the motivations of each character, and Yang does an impressive job of keeping so many actors involved in the story, but that’s nothing compared to what he does with Shang-Chi.
It’s safe to say that Gene Luen Yang has elevated Shang-Chi to a character you want in the mix of things. For the longest time, Shang-Chi was a character who would show up for flavor, a connection to a different world of Marvel stories, bringing in a different kind of mythology and mysticism. But in “Shang-Chi” #6, he’s become a complicated and nuanced character. It’s always intriguing to see a character toeing the line between hero and villain, but Yang really makes you feel Shang-Chi’s conflict over his various battles with the Marvel universe. He’s infiltrating high profile villain auctions, sure, but he’s doing it with style. Over the course of these six issues, he’s doing his best to show his family a different way, and watching their relationships grow and change over the six issues is really touching. Perhaps his brothers and sisters will never truly be heroes, but they are significantly rethinking their roles as villains. That’s what makes the final twist of the knife, Shang-Chi betraying Saber Brother incredibly tragic. Over the course of the series, these characters have bonded, but he undoes all that in one moment. What’s even worse is that it seems to have only made his target bigger.
Throughout the series, Shang-Chi has held his own against some of Marvel’s most formidable heroes using only his prowess in the martial arts, so when the Avengers throw Thor against him, he seems out of his league. But again, “Shang-Chi” #6 rises to the challenge by creating some true pulse-pounding action between Thor and Shang-Chi, all while taking some visual cues from anime and martial arts epics. Dike Ruan’s art has been good throughout “Shang-Chi,” but in the fight with Thor, it all comes together. Ruan helps escalate the action by showing Shang-Chi and his family holding their own against the Avengers. The action is clean and easy to follow, and each sibling gets a chance to show their skills as they pair off with one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. There is a balance to the combat, even a certain degree of respect between the two forces until they put the hammer down. Ruan draws Thor as a true force of nature, and when he enters the combat, you can feel the whole temperature of the fight shift. This is best shown in Triona Farrell’s coloring. Most of the backgrounds are abstract reds during the balanced fight between the Five Weapon’s Society and the Avengers, offering a kinetic exchange between the foes. When Thor arrives, though, everything becomes blue lightning. He has taken control of the battle. In a few panels, Ruan and Farrell escalate the action from balanced to potential carnage. That is until Shang Chi fights back.
Continued belowThere are moments throughout “Shang-Chi” #6 that feel inspired by manga and anime, from the designs of characters’ hairstyles and costumes to the canted angles used in the closeups as characters’ monologues about the situation they find themselves in. Even having each sibling going toe to toe with one Avenger feels like it wouldn’t be out of place in an episode of an anime. The moment that cements this, though, is how Ruan draws Shang-Chi’s transformation into Takemikazuchi, the god of blades and thunder. The splash panel is broken up feels reminiscent of a transformation sequence or power-up sequence from an epic climax of an anime arc. The resulting fight between Thor and Shang-Chi is nothing short of epic, with both characters throwing a huge amount of power as their friends and family look on and narrate what they’re seeing. It’s a beautiful blend of visual storytelling and writing, showcasing these two characters at the height of their power, only to have Shang-Chi have the rug pulled out from him.
Again, it’s tragic to watch Shang-Chi lose the family he’s been working so hard to reform and improve. However, as the series progressed, there is an interesting question at the core: Is redemption even possible? While Shang-Chi works hard for his family, it seems that there are enough forces against him that even if it were possible, it’s certainly not going to be easy. “Shang-Chi” #6 continues to build threats against Shang-Chi and his family as the mysterious foe continues to gather his forces. Now Shang-Chi is seemingly at his lowest point, he’s lost his friends and family, but the threats continue to grow. By removing his resources, Gene Luen Yang is putting Shang-Chi in an impossible spot. It’ll be exciting to see how he fights back.
Final Verdict: 8.9 “Shang-Chi” #6 continues an action-packed run that shouldn’t be missed and sets up some great stakes for the character moving forward.
