In the first round of Fantasy Fights from the Infinite Wars, Marvel proved their overall superiority in fifteen seperate battles that culminated with your vote deciding their fate. Now, with DC vanquished, the Marvel Heroes are back to tangle with some old enemies: The world warriors of Capcom's Street Fighter!
By popular demand the Fantasy Fights are sticking around for seven more rounds of non-stop non-canon action! When the characters met in the video games, they were united against common goals, but this time some of Marvel's greatest fighters will be initiated as they duke it out for supremacy over the SF classics!
FEI LONG versus SHANG-CHI
Strength: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Draw 3 (Straight A)
Speed: Draw 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Draw 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Draw 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Draw 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy Powers: Draw 1 (None)
The Hook...
To the best of my recollection, never before in the Infinite Wars have we ever had two fighters statistically identical. That fact alone highlights how intense a match-up we have on our hands, but when you take into account the fighting prowess the two characters represent to their respective universes, it's all the more exciting.
Both characters are product of the popularity of 1970's grindhouse Hong Kong cinema, and as the visuals clearly show, are direct responses/homages to the late great action star, Bruce Lee.
In divising our scientifically researched ratings system we took careful consideration when representing martial arts. Perhaps moreso than traditional stats, we try to recognise the match-winning power of a skilled fighter, positioning that somewhere between one-note powers, and cosmic omnipotence.
To their respective universes both Fei Long and Shang-Chi represet characters regarded as among the greatest fighters in the world, but at the same time, occupy tiers substantially below the A-list characters. This means unpredictability, and when that's duplicated? Well, let's find out!...
The Math: Draw Ranking: Fei Long (#71)
The Battle...
I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I'll try to make this quick...
While I tend to think this might be one of the closest fights we'll see in our Fantasy Fights, it's also one of the least complicated. At the end of the day these guys are two extremely dedicated and skilled martial artists, and on a fictional level, we've all seen that kind of thing done.
Since we try to come at these from the perspective of an actual comic book, the only requisite one can imagine, without breaking it down to panel by panel script form, is an array of high intensity martial arts action!
At the end of the battle there has to be a winner, and it's not easy to make the call. Splitting hairs, I think I'm inclined to suspect Shang-Chi would have the endurance and skill necessary to find some edge against Fei Long.Despite being a regularly honed fighting machine, Fei Long's film career sees him operating in a world decidedly different from the superhero populated landscape of the Marvel Universe. Shang-Chi is going to be able to take this fight places Fei Long might struggle with, and that's where they break.
The Hammer...
I feel like Shang-Chi just isn't a guy you hear enough about in a modern context. I'm hardly any kind of Master of Kung Fu diehard, but I feel like a world that's become increasingly familiar with martial arts in cinema should be representing!Then again, it's not like he hasn't been around.
Shang-Chi's been showing up in the recent Heroes for Hire revamp, and it wasn't so long ago there was a MAX treatment I know absolutely nothing about. So, I guess I can't really say he hasn't had a shot at a come back!
Speaking of come backs, if you've found yourself disgruntled with one of our Fantasy Fight decisions, or want to pitch a hook of your own, drop a comment!
The Fantasy Fights, though servicing my love of Street Fighter, remain a section of the site very specifically geared toward connecting with you, the reader!
We're running a little behind schedule, but as always, if you're looking for more be sure to use the navigational aids available. Though he hasn't made an official entry into the Infinite Wars yet, Shang-Chi shows up as an incidental character in the Marvel Zombies mini-series, which is just one of the series listed in our issue-based review index! You can also track your favourite creators, characters, comics, and companies with the use of tags at the bottom of every post!
WINNER: SHANG-CHI
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