Shagn-Chi to Battle Classic X-Men Villain

Ahead of his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, Shang-Chi will cross paths with a classic X-Men character, and longtime Wolverine rival, in January. Marvel Comics on Wednesday announced The Legend of Shang-Chi #1 one-shot. The issue comes from writer Alyssa Wong and artist Andie Tong. The story sees Shang-Chi joining forces with another Marvel martial artist, Leiko Wu, while on the search for a sword that can consume souls. If they want to obtain the blade, they’ll have to steal it, but they aren’t the only ones after the deadly weapon. If they wish to take the sword, they’ll have to battle Yuriko Oyama, also known as Lady Deathstrike, the deadly assassin with the adamantium claws.

“I’m stoked to write Shang-Chi!” Wong tells Polygon. “My first introduction to the character was in War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas, written by Greg Pak and drawn by Gang Hyuk Lim. I think Shang-Chi’s super interesting: he’s a guy who goes toe-to-toe with superpowered metahumans every day, and his special ability is that he’s really, really good at martial arts. That’s it. But that’s all he needs; he’s fast, acrobatic, and literally the best at what he does. I feel like Shang-Chi radiates Good Older Brother energy. He’ll protect you AND buy you snacks afterward. What else do you really need?

“For this adventure, I wanted to pit Shang-Chi against a villain with an equally agile, physical fighting style. Lady Deathstrike seemed like a natural choice. She’s got adamantium claws and an iron will. In the past, she’s faced off against Wolverine (many times!) and even been a reluctant hero. She’s a lot of fun. Lady Deathstrike is someone who can hold her own against Shang-Chi; if he wants to beat her, he’ll have to get creative.”

Shang-Chi recently returned to comics in a new series by Gene Luen Yang, Dike Ruan, and Philip Tan. He’s set to make his big-screen debut as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings as portrayed by Simu Liu. The film has faced coronavirus-induced delays, but Marvel Studios has rescheduled it to open in July 2021.

The Legend of Shang-Chi goes on sale in January. The official summary from Marvel Comics follows.

The Legend of Shang-Chi #1

• Deadly Hands vs. Deadly Blades!
• Someone has been stealing artifacts of WMD potential.
• It’s up to Shang-Chi to find this person and stop them.
• But is he prepared to go toe-to-toe with Lady Deathstrike?!