EARTH-79816 (EARTH-SHANG-CHI, MASTER OF KUNG-FU, FOUGHT ON THE SIDE OF FU MANCHU)
Type: Divergent Earth
Environment: Earth-like
Usual means of access: Presumably vibrational attunement
Dominant Life Form: Humans
Significant Inhabitants: The Dacoits of Death, Sir Hugh Drummond, Fu Manchu, Doctor Petrie, Clive Reston, Desmond Serratorre, Shang-Chi, the Si-Fan, Sir Denis Nayland Smith, "Black Jack" Tarr, Leiko Wu
First Appearance: What If? I#16 (August, 1979)
History: (What If? I#16 (fb)) - In ancient China, Fu Manchu witnessed the glory of old China and eventually found the Elixir Vitae that gave him immortality.
(What If? I#16 (fb)) - Fu Manchu's son, Shang-Chi, was trained since birth in the martial arts.
(What If? I#16) - Shang-Chi was sent after Dr. Petrie by his father Fu Manchu. He killed Petrie and escaped into the night just as Sir Denis Nayland Smith arrived to find Petrie dead. Shang-Chi then returned to Fu Manchu, questioning the reasoning behind killing Petrie. As Fu Manchu tried to explain to Shang-Chi while killing for him was necessary, Sir Denis Nayland Smith met with "Black Jack" Tarr and discussed killing Fu Manchu for good. Before long, Fu Manchu sent Shang-Chi and his Si-Fan to recover the bodies of his former Dacoits of Death and during the mission, the Si-Fan were attacked by "Black Jack" Tarr, Clive Reston, and Leiko Wu. One of the Si-Fan was injured in the struggle and while the Si-Fan got away with the bodies, the remaining Si-Fan was questioned using a truth serum and he revealed Fu Manchu's plan to take over Buckingham Palace. With the newly-recovered corpses, Fu Manchu returned them to a semblance of life just as Shang-Chi entered and discovered his father's evil plans. In order to complete his plot against Buckingham Palace, Fu Manchu had Shang-Chi locked up while he sent the zombified Dacoits of Death to attack Buckingham Palace. As Leiko Wu, "Black Jack" Tarr, and Clive Reston unsuccessfully tried to hold off the Dacoits with guns, Shang-Chi escaped his prison and secretly arrived at Buckingham Palace to stop Fu Manchu himself. Shang-Chi briefly teamed up with Wu, Tarr, and Reston until Reston used a flamethrower to burn the Dacoits to ash. Horrified at Reston's views on the preservation of life, Shang-Chi slapped him and left to confront Fu Manchu. As the police rounded up the remnants of the Si-Fan, Fu Manchu escaped and Shang-Chi returned to Wu, Tarr, Reston, and the newly-arrived Sir Denis Nayland Smith, who offered Shang-Chi a place with them. Shang-Chi explained that despite the Dacoits being corpses, they still had a spark of life. He then rejected their offer, explaining that while Fu Manchu was wrong for granting life to corpses, Smith and company were also wrong in taking it away.
Comments: Created by Doug Moench, Rick Hoberg, Bill Wray, and Dave Stevens.
This reality's divergent point is from Special Marvel Edition#15.
Sir Hugh Drummond and Desmond Serratorre were names seen on gravestones
and were never seen in the story.
"Hugh Drummond" is the real name of the famous British detective/action hero Bulldog Drummond. --Prime Eternal
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Earth-Shang-Chi, Master of Kung-Fu, Had Fought on the Side of Fu Manchu has
no known connections to
The Dacoits of Death were former servants of Fu Manchu whom he reanimated as walking corpses using a chemical derived from his Elixir Vitae. The Dacoits were then sent against Buckingham Palace where they shrugged off heavy gunfire and seemed unstoppable until Clive Reston found a flamethrower and burned the corpses to the ground.
Each of the Dacoits of Death was a walking corpse, unable to feel pain of any kind.
--What If? I#16 (#16d,
Fu Manchu, like his Earth-616 counterpart, was a centuries-old scientist who was obsessed with returning the world back to the days of ancient China. He had his son trained from birth in the martial arts and when Shang-Chi reached a certain age, he had him act as an assassin for him. When Shang-Chi began questioning the reasoning behind killing, Fu Manchu tried to explain that select killing was for the greater good but when Shang-Chi discovered Fu Manchu experimenting on the Dacoits of Death, Shang-Chi denounced Fu Manchu's evil. Fu Manchu then had Shang-Chi locked up while he unleashed the Dacoits of Death on Buckingham Palace, allowing himself to assume the throne. Shang-Chi soon escaped and confronted Fu Manchu where he parted ways with him. Fu Manchu explained that while Shang-Chi had a limited lifespan, Fu Manchu had all of time to achieve his goals.
Fu Manchu was immortal.
--What If? I#16 (fb) (#16,
Clive Reston was an agent in the service of England and was contacted by Sir Denis Nayland Smith to aid him against Fu Manchu. Reston brought along his girlfriend Leiko Wu and the two accompanied "Black Jack" Tarr to the graveyard where Fu Manchu had sent members of his Si-Fan to rob the graves of his former Dacoits of Death. He later discovered Fu Manchu's plan for Buckingham Palace along with Wu and Tarr, accompanying them to the Palace where they tried to hold off the Dacoits with gunfire. Having no luck, Reston found a flamethrower and burned the Dacoits to the ground. After the battle at the Palace, Shang-Chi had turned against Fu Manchu but opted not to aid the company of Sir Denis Nayland Smith due to Reston not trying to save the lives of the Dacoits.
--What If? I#16
Trained from birth as a martial artists, Shang-Chi was sent by his father to kill Doctor Petrie, one of his father's old enemies. Shang-Chi then returned to Fu Manchu and questioned why the killing was necessary. Fu Manchu tried to manipulate Shang-Chi into select killing but when Shang-Chi aided Fu Manchu's Si-Fan in graverobbing and discovered Fu Manchu's use for the corpses, Shang-Chi tried to halt Fu Manchu's plans. Fu Manchu had him locked up while he attacked Buckingham Palace but Shang-Chi escaped and confronted his father, turning his back on Fu Manchu's evil ways. Following the battle, he opted to fight his father's plans alone.
--What If? I#16
The Si-Fan were Fu Manchu's group of personal assassins. They aided Shang-Chi in robbing the graves of Fu Manchu's former Dacoits of Death and later guarded Fu Manchu's lab while he experimented on them. When Shang-Chi discovered Fu Manchu's plans, Fu Manchu sent some of the Si-Fan to guard Shang-Chi while he was locked up and sent some more of the Si-Fan to aid in the attack on Buckingham Palace. The members present at Buckingham Palace were arrested at Fu Manchu's defeat.
--What If? I#16
Sir Denis Nayland Smith was an aging enemy of Fu Manchu who often worked with "Black Jack" Tarr. While Smith was guarding Dr. Petrie, Shang-Chi snuck in and killed Petrie at Fu Manchu's request. By the time Smith had recruited Clive Reston and Leiko Wu to halt Fu Manchu's robbing the graves of his former Dacoits of Death, Shang-Chi had begun to question the killings he was asked to perform. When Fu Manchu attacked Buckingham Palace, Smith sent Reston, Wu, and Tarr to stop Fu Manchu and together with Shang-Chi, they succeeded. With the battle over, Smith asked Shang-Chi to join them but Shang-Chi opted to remain alone, not liking how Clive Reston had killed the Dacoits rather than try to save them.
--What If? I#16
"Black Jack" Tarr was a friend of Sir Denis Nayland Smith and often aided him against Fu Manchu. After Fu Manchu had Dr. Petrie killed, Sir Denis met with "Black Jack" concerning killing Fu Manchu for good. Together with Smith's recruits Clive Reston and Leiko Wu, "Black Jack" tried to halt the Si-Fan from robbing the graves of Fu Manchu's Dacoits of Death but they were successful only in capturing one of the Si-Fan to question. He later accompanied them to Buckingham Palace when Fu Manchu attacked it where they succeeded in stopping Fu Manchu but not killing him.
--What If?
I#16
Leiko Wu was the girlfriend of Clive Reston who accompanied him on the mission to halt Fu Manchu's robbing of the graves of the Dacoits of Death. While they failed, they did manage to stop Fu Manchu at Buckingham Palace with the help of his son, Shang-Chi.
--What If? I#16
images:
What If? I#16, front cover (Shang-Chi Kicking "Black Jack" Tarr, main
pic)
p6, pan3 (Fu Manchu)
p9, pan10 (Sir Denis Nayland Smith)
p15, pan7 ("Black Jack" Tarr)
p17, pan10 (Leiko Wu)
p25, pan6 (Si-Fan)
p31, pan4 (Shang-Chi)
p35, pan9 (Dacoits of Death)
p38, pan3 (Clive Reston)
Appearances:
What If? I#16 (August, 1979) - Doug Moench (writer), Rick Hoberg (artist),
Bill Wray, Dave Stevens (inkers)
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Last Updated: 03/01/07
Non-Marvel
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