I've been meaning to ask you something - do you ever get bunions on your feet from all that kicking? Still, if you keep working out like that, I bet you'll be able to lash out with your little pinkie and fell a tree without even calling on a single bunion - or even Paul Bunyan for that matter. 
Appearing in "Why a Tiger-Claw?!,"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Tiger-Claw ⏵ (First appearance)
- Fu Manchu
- Si-Fan assassins
- Ducharme
Other Characters:
- Rufus T. Hackstabber (First appearance)
- NYPD
- Paul Bunyan (Referenced)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- United States of America
- China (Only in flashback)
- Henan (Only in flashback)
- Zheng Zu's Fortress (Only in flashback)
- Henan (Only in flashback)
Vehicles:
- Hackstabber's taxi
Synopsis for "Why a Tiger-Claw?!,"
Shang-Chi, about to cross the street at Madison and 57th, nearly gets hit by a taxi. At 54th Street it turns sharply and runs through the window of a bank. Two men in masks get out, guns ready. They rob the bank, the customers, and the taxi driver. On their way out, they run into Shang-Chi, who disarms them. The police arrive and try to apprehend Shang-Chi along with the two robbers. Suddenly the taxi smashes out of the bank. In the confusion, the robbers pile into their intended getaway car. Shang-Chi gets into the taxi. The taxi driver introduces himself as Rufus T. Hackstabber, and he wants the $7.80 that the robbers took from him.
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First appearance of Rufus T. Hackstabber
They trail the car to an alley, but by the time they get there, it has disappeared. Shang-Chi opens the back of a truck parked there. The car is inside, but the occupants have disappeared. Hackstabber, inspecting the car, falls through a hole in the truck's floor ... and through the open manhole beneath ... and into the sewers.
A servant tells Fu Manchu that a search for Tiger-Claw has turned up nothing. When Ducharme asks about Tiger-Claw, Fu tells her that he is a traitor. In the sewers, Shang-Chi and Hackstabber manage to follow the robbers to a manhole in a subway station. The robbers board the train, while Shang-Chi and Hackstabber leap onto the rear platform. Sir Denis Nayland Smith gets a call from the police commissioner, asking if Fu Manchu has something to do with the twelve bank robberies committed that day. Smith thinks not, but he and Black Jack Tarr will look into it. The robbers get off the train at an elevated station. Shang-Chi subdues them again. He learns that they left all the loot in the truck and that the man who hired them calls himself Tiger-Claw.
Chapter 2: The Way of the Tiger: A Movement in Blood
Shang-Chi remembers Tiger-Claw. He was ten years old and spying on his father's court. The man demanded that Fu Manchu make him a lodge master of the Si-Fan. Fu ordered three assassins to kill Tiger-Claw. Even at that age, Shang-Chi quickly saw that the three were outmatched, but Fu did not stop the conflict. The three died, and Tiger-Claw became a lodge master.
Back in the present, Smith and Tarr find the truck. Shang-Chi, Hackstabber, and the robbers arrive. The police almost arrest Hackstabber, but Smith vouches for Shang-Chi. Hackstabber drives off in his taxi; he knows where the robbers were supposed to meet their gang, and Shang-Chi, Smith, and Tarr head for the same lumberyard in Brooklyn. When they arrive, Hackstabber has been captured and the money is gone again, but he knows it has gone to Rockefeller Center.
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Meet me at the Rock
At Rockefeller Center, Hackstabber distracts the gangster carrying two suitcases full of loot, and Shang-Chi knocks him out. Tiger-Claw, expecting to pick up the loot, arrives. He tells Shang-Chi that he intends to come out on top in the war between Fu Manchu and Fah Lo Suee. A group of Si-Fan assassins arrives. Tiger-Claw unites with Shang-Chi against the Si-Fan, and the two make short work of them.
Hackstabber tries to get his $7.80 from a suitcase, but Tarr kicks it shut. Smith and Tarr watch Shang-Chi battle Tiger-Claw. It looks bad until Shang-Chi uses a broken umbrella pole to snag Tiger-Claw's poisoned-claw gloves and pull them off. In a fair fight, Shang-Chi beats Tiger-Claw.
Hackstabber asks Smith for his $7.80. Smith tells him to "file a proper claim with the authorities." Hackstabber replies: "Well that's a fine how do you! And it's also a criminal outrage! Why I never heard of such a thing! Harumph, sir - harumph, I say! And furthermore, you'll hear from my lawyers in the morning. ... oh, and by the way - is that your final offer?" Shang-Chi takes Smith aside, while Tarr snaps Hackstabber's cigar in two, and receives a few bills. Hackstabber gives Shang-Chi a ride home to Smith's townhouse. When Shang-Chi arrives, he gives Hackstabber his "fare": $7.80.
Appearing in "Temujai-the Golden Goliath!"
Featured Characters:
- FBI
- Unnamed Chief
Antagonists:
- Roxa
- Agent R-8
Other Characters:
- Unnamed Spy Ring
- Unnamed Bus Boy
- Unnamed Cashier
- Unnamed Proprietor
- Agent Madison (Named only)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth
- United States of America
- Milwaukee (Named only)
- United States of America
Synopsis for "Temujai-the Golden Goliath!"
An espionage tale featuring the FBI.
Appearing in "The Mystery of Cabin 361!"
Synopsis for "The Mystery of Cabin 361!"
A text story.
Notes
- Final issue of the series.
Trivia
- The character of Rufus T. Hackstabber is a pastiche of characters that Julius "Groucho" Marx played in films as one of the Marx Brothers. He appears next in Master of Kung Fu Vol 1 52.
See Also
- 4 image(s) from Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu Vol 1 4
- 6 reprint(s) of Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu Vol 1 4
Recommended Reading
- Daughters of the Dragon Vol 1 1-6
- Deadly Hands of Kung Fu Vol 1 1-33
- Iron Fist, volume 1, Vol 1 1-15
- Iron Fist, volume 2, Vol 1 1-2
- Iron Fist, volume 3, Vol 1 1-3
- Iron Fist, volume 4, Vol 1 1-6
- Master of Kung Fu Vol 1 17-125
- Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition Vol 1 11
- Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition Vol 1 15
- Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu Vol 1 1-6
- White Tiger Vol 1 1-6
- The Yellow Claw Vol 1 1-4