Marvel Comics has announced their latest Secret Wars tie-in miniseries, Master of Kung Fu. Written by Elektra’s Haden Blackman and illustrated by Dalibor Talajic, the latest spinoff series will take place on the Battleworld region of K’un Lun, and will focus by Marvel’s martial arts-based characters.
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The series will mainly follow Shang-Chi, one of Marvel’s resident Kung-Fu artists. But while Chi was the old Marvel Universe’s top fighter, he’ll be reduced to a drop-out drunkard in the regions of Battleworld. In a land whereย Kung Fu Masters come a dime a dozen, Shang Chi and his fellow burnouts will struggle to find their place in Battleworld while also dethroning their region’s evil ruler,ย Emporer Zu. Unfortunately, Zu also happens to be Shang-Chi’s father.
“I’m really looking forward to portraying Shang-Chi in ways that we haven’t seen before,” Blackman told Marvel.com. “He begins the story very down and out, an exile and an outcast himself, which was very fun to write. I’m also hopeful that the interactions with some of the supporting cast will show us different sides of Shang-Chi, who finds himself a reluctant mentor.”
In another interview with ComicVine, Blackman revealed that fellow Kung Fu characters like Iron Fist and Elektra will populate world and play a part in the story. Additionally, X-Men member Kitty Pryde will also find herself on K’un Lun, albeit with a much different look and skill set. “[A] number of other characters appear, and several could be considered “X-Men,” he told the news site.
Check out some of Talajic’sย character sketches for the series, which ComicVineย debuted, below.ย
Secret Wars: Master of Kung Fu #1 (of 4) hits comic shops this May.
