Appearing in "A Fantasy of the Autumn Moon"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Fu Manchu (Main story and flashback)
- Mara Ling (First appearance)
Locations:
Items:
- Elixir of Life
- Shang-Chi's nunchaku
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "A Fantasy of the Autumn Moon"
Denis Smith gathers Shang-Chi and Leiko Wu together at his mansion in Scotland. He tells them that a woman named Mara Ling has contacted MI-6's Hong Kong branch and told them that her husband and she have become targets for the Si-Fan. Determined to destroy any and all facets of his father’s empire, Shang agrees to investigate the matter.
He flies to Hong Kong where he arrives at the house of an aging blind archer named Li. Li is Mara Ling’s husband. A Si-Fan assassin, garbed in the vestments of the ancient samurai stalks the property and attacks Li. His true target however, is Mara Ling. Shang-Chi intervenes and pushes Mara Ling out of the way of the Si-Fan's throwing knives. He manages to drive him off, and the assassin vanishes into the night.
Li is upset that Shang-Chi involved himself in their affairs and storms off into his room. Shang notices that Mara Ling is many years younger than her husband, and she confesses that she was once a bride of Fu Manchu. As such, she has benefited from Fu’s Elixir of Life. She tells Shang the story of her life, revealing facts that even her husband was unaware of. Li awakens however and hears his wife’s confession. He leaves the house and marches out into the courtyard.
Late into the evening, the assassin returns and murders Li, stringing his body up from a tree. Shang-Chi races out into the courtyard and engages the assassin. During their fight, the Si-Fan falls backwards onto an archery target, impaling himself on the arrows sticking out of it.
When Shang returns to Mara Ling's room, he finds that she is so wrought with guilt that she has decided to take her own life. She has already drank a cup of poison, and there is nothing Shang can do but to mourn her.
Notes
- Fu Manchu appears in a cameo flashback only.
- First and only appearance of Li. Dies in this issue.
- First and only appearance of Mara Ling. Dies in this issue.
Trivia
- This story takes place during the Chinese Autumn Moon Festival (中秋節).
- In the beginning of this issue, Shang-Chi is listening to the Rolling Stones song "If I Was a Dancer".
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
- Shang-Chi at Wikipedia
- Shang-Chi at the Marvel Directory
- Master of Kung Fu series index at the Grand Comics Database