This fort held many battles during the American Civil War-- But never was the outcome so certain-- as in this one, between a bound turncoat and a Dacoit with three times his normal speed! 
Appearing in "Attack!"
Featured Characters:
- Shang-Chi (Main story and flashback)
Supporting Characters:
- Black Jack Tarr
- Sir Denis Nayland Smith (Main story and flashback)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Burmese Strangler Cult (Mentioned in narration)
- Dr. Petrie (Mentioned)
- Peko (Name revealed)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth
- North America
- Asia (Only in flashback)
- China (Only in flashback)
Items:
- Elixir Vitae (Behind the scenes) (Main story and flashback)
- Mimosa (First appearance) (Drug)
Events:
- American Civil War (Mentioned)
Synopsis for "Attack!"
Shang-Chi battles Satma, a dacoit assassin, and gets caught in his silk noose. Before he blacks out, he remembers what led up to this confrontation: he disguised himself as a longshoreman, brazenly walked into Fu Manchu's New York headquarters, and went through an ordinary door. Coming back to himself, he dispatches Satma, hangs him by his heels, and leaves a note that reads, "First move ~ Shang-Chi."
Back on the street, he meets Sir Denis Nayland Smith and Black Jack Tarr. Sir Denis wants to recruit him for the war against Fu Manchu and his evil empire. Shang-Chi agrees. Sir Denis tells him that Fu is smuggling something into Florida. Shang-Chi (booking his own trip) smuggles himself onto a plane to Florida and locates the inlet that Fu is using. A freighter arrives, with Fu and his pet marmoset Peko onboard. Shang-Chi sneaks aboard and finds oil drums in the cargo hold. Opening one, he is overcome by mimosa and has hallucinations.
When Shang-Chi regains consciousness, a crewman, Raskov, throws him into the courtyard. Fu generously explains his evil plan: the oil will go to an American oil magnate, who will sell it to American drivers, who will send clouds of mimosa into American skies, thus allowing Fu to hypnotize American minds. He gives Satma another chance to kill Shang-Chi, this time with an experimental potion that will triple his speed (but kill him in nine minutes). His hands tied behind him, Shang-Chi can do little more than endure Satma's blows. Suddenly, though, the burning feeling inside becomes too much for Satma— he grabs a torch, sets himself on fire, and runs into the magazine of this old Confederate fort. In the confusion after the explosion, Shang-Chi takes another torch in his teeth, jumps off the cliff, and drop-kicks the torch into the freighter's hold before he plunges into the ocean. Fu's men swear vengeance.
Notes
Publication Notes[]
- Penciler Paul Gulacy began his long run on MOKF with this issue.
- In June 1974, the cover price for all Marvel titles rose from 20¢ per copy to 25¢.
- The tagline for this issue is "Father vs. Son! Fu Manchu vs. Shang-Chi!"
- This issue includes The Plunderer Marvel Value Stamp (Series A, #62).
- The Dacoits were last seen as characters in Captain America Comics#34(1/44) first story.
Trivia
- Fu Manchu's brilliant plan fails to account for the possibility that someone could detect the strong odor of mimosa in the oil. It's also unclear how a wooden torch could ignite a hold full of sealed metal barrels.
- I met Paul Gulacy in a comic book shop once and I mentioned to him I liked the hallucination splash he did in this issue and he chuckled and said "I didn't think anyone liked that." Obviously the person who did the layout of this page was as impressed with it as I was.
