The cyber streets are buzzing once again and this time it’s all about Marvel. Marvel seems to be set to bring Shang-Chi into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as its first Asian superhero film.
I will admit, I have never heard of Shang-Chi until today. So lets quickly learn about this character together:
Shang-Chi is a fictional character, often called the “Master of Kung Fu”, appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin. Shang-Chi is an extraordinary master of numerous unarmed and weaponry-based wushu styles, including the use of the gun, nunchaku and jian. In later years, upon joining the Avengers, he gains the power to create countless duplicates of himself.
During the Marvel NOW! relaunch, Shang-Chi joins the Avengers after being recruited by Captain America and Iron Man and during the Secret Empire storyline, Shang-Chi was found to have been a prisoner of HYDRA in Madripoor following HYDRA’s takeover of the United States.
From my brief researching, he’s basically a non-superhuman hero with great martial art skills. The big buzz surrounding this guy is because Shang-Chi’s introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe will mark him as the first Asian super hero and Marvel is looking to capitalize on it.
According to Polygon:
Focused on martial arts hero Shang-Chi, the film will be penned by Chinese-American screenwriter Dave Callaham (The Expendables, Wonder Woman 1984) and Marvel is looking for an Asian or Asian-American director to helm.
Marvel allegedly wants to create a film with as much impact for the Asian and Asian-American communities as Black Panther garnered with the African and African-American communities, a film crafted by Asian and Asian-American filmmakers that explores themes specific to the Asian and Asian-American experiences.
This sounds dope to me to be honest. I know how I felt when I watched the Black Panther for the first time. Of course, I walked into the theater for the super hero aspect first as a Marvel fan, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want see people of African descent finally be represented in a positive light. That was an amazing experience for me and so if they can bring that kind of vibe to Shang-Chi and the Asian community while ensuring it’s a super-hero movie first then it’s a win-win for everyone. I wonder what how they’ll handle the movie. Marvel has done a great job in making each MCU project a different genre and so with Shang-Chi I’m very intrigued to seeing how they’ll make it work
