DEATH-DEALER versus SHANG-CHI

Flesh of my Flesh (Marvel)
Where: Master of Kung Fu #118 When: November 1982 Why: Doug Moench How: Gene Day

The Story So Far...
A deck of cards spilled by the assassin Death-Dealer reveals the Honan fortress of Wang Yu-Seng -- alter-ego of the international criminal mastermind Dr. Fu Manchu!

For Shang-Chi, the Chinese retreat is a homecoming. The Master of Kung Fu spent his formative days training within its walls. Beckoned by a note left with one of his father's hideous scientific creations, he parachutes in for a final showdown with the man who literally wants his blood to enhance the Elixir Vitae -- serum of youth and vitality!

Accompanied by MI6 agents, Jack "Blackjack" Tarr and Clive Reston, Shang-Chi defeats the many loyal factions of Fu Manchu in the so-called "Madness of the Running Beasts". It will be but one of many challenges faced when Shang-Chi confronts his past and his destiny, where the villainous Death-Dealer waits!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Draw 2 (Average)
Intelligence: Draw 3 (Straight A)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Draw 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Shang-Chi 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Shang-Chi 7 (Living Weapon)
Energy: Death-Dealer 3 (Explosives)
Total: Draw 24 (Champion)

Li Ching-Lin was a double-agent embedded within MI6 who was secretly working for Fu Manchu. His brutal methods made him a priority target for the British intelligence agency, who soon deployed Shang-Chi to take him out!

In his original incarnation: Shang-Chi was the son of Sax Rohmer's controversial literary villain Fu Manchu, and an American woman who was chosen by the fiend for beneficial genetic characteristics.

He was trained intensively from birth to be a master of multiple forms of martial arts: Fu Manchu's living weapon! However, on a mission he soon learned his father was not the hero he'd claimed to be, and swore to destroy his evil empire!

In doing so, Shang-Chi chose to align himself with Denis Nayland Smith, and MI6, entering a world of espionage and adventure. He travelled the world fighting evil, crossing paths with a parade of assassins and killers from its four corners.

Li Ching-Lin received the codename Death-Dealer from his master, wielding a sword of three blades, and wearing a costume with the death's head for a mask.

He fought Shang-Chi multiple times in England, and although he isn't as proficient a fighter as the Master of Kung Fu, his disregard for humanity and use of modern arms, such as grenades, has made him an incredibly lethal adversary.

We know from a much later battle that Death-Dealer sired a son of his own. Huo Li (LI Huo) took up his father's vendetta and tracked Shang-Chi to Hong Kong, but the son was unsuccessful in his bloodfued. Did his father fare better? If you've read about that encounter you already know the answer! Let's take a look...

The Tape: Draw Ranking: Shang-Chi (#334)

What Went Down...

Penetrating deep into Fu Manchu's Honan fortress, Shang-Chi becomes lost in the chamber of his own thoughts as he confronts the secrets of a room forbidden to him during his formative years.

Inside the silent quarters is evidence of a life lived in parallel -- a genetic clone raised exactly as he was -- but that isn't all that lurks within these shadows...

Shang-Chi's blood streams through the air as a stinging pain snaps him out of deep thought.

The martial artist has allowed distraction to enter his mind and paid the price on the sharp edge of Death-Dealer's blade!

The assassin lunges with his three-pronged sword, but Shang-Chi side steps -- driving his elbow into the Death-Dealer's stomach. A good counterstrike, but the assassin never the less pushes him towards the fire of a nearby incense brazier.

The tall ,torch-like stand impedes his movement as Shang-Chi pivots away from his attacker. Death-Dealer responds with his free hand, delivering an overhanded chop into Shang-Chi's naked shoulder while also raising his sword!

The skull-masked killer prepares a downward strike with the middle blade of his sword, but Shang-Chi grabs the brazier and swings it wildly!

The fire whips across Death-Dealer's body and the burning embers begin to ignite the dark materials of his costume!

The white "death-mask" rapidly burns away, revealing Li Ching-Lin's face -- twisting with agony as his body is engulfed in flame!

Death-Dealer's lone scream tapers into a "bubbling moan" as his spasming body disappears into the raging fire.

The writhing body dances into the "whining" flame and Shang-Chi holds his head in his hands for just a moment, struck by the awful sound.

The martial artist's back straightens as he steels himself for the tasks ahead and accepts his role in dealing death to the Death-Dealer: a killer who has come for him many times before, but will enact his brutality no more.

The Hammer...

I was surprised and thrilled when 2009's Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu One-Shot introduced a new character called Huo Li, (LI Huo in Chinese naming convention), whose backstory specifically connected with the original run of Master of Kung Fu.

Marvel's short-lived black & white retro specials obviously owed a debt to their roots in the 1970s, but I hadn't expected anything quite so detailed from its throwback reference. After all, that issue in particular was one that featured the decisively nineties creation and noughties phenomenon, Deadpool, on the cover.

Li Huo carried his father's three-bladed sword in the name of revenge, but otherwise required very little specific knowledge about Death-Dealer: a character who first appeared in Master of Kung Fu #115 and, as we've seen, only made it as far as three issues before meeting his grisly demise at the hands of Shang-Chi.

The fight with Li Ching-Lin is only one panel more than a single page, but it certainly leaves an impression. Such is the sometimes fast and cruel nature of Shang-Chi's world, which owed a heavy debt to the lethal kung fu and espionage genre films of the sixties and seventies: also a peak period for Sax Rohmer's 1913 creation, Dr. Fu Manchu, in cinema, portrayed by Christopher Lee.

Although the controversial pulp villain was embedded in Marvel canon as Shang-Chi's father, the creation of the Deadly Hands of Kung Fu and Master of Kung Fu comic book series, as well as their starring character, is most specifically tied to the legacy of Bruce Lee.

The fusion of modern kung fu and Ian Fleming style espionage is right there in 1973's Enter the Dragon -- released theatrically right around the time Marvel created Shang-Chi for the December cover-dated Special Marvel Edition #15. 

In the film: Bruce Lee's character is persuaded to collaborate with British intelligence by attending a martial arts tournament on an island that doubles as the fortress lair for an international crime baron. It's a James Bond plot with a slightly harder edge and fighting you can actually believe in. Bruce Lee's specialty!

Fast-paced kung fu action may've made Lee an international icon around the world, but on the comic book page these references could sometimes read a little bit dry, so it's always welcome to see costumed enemies like Death-Dealer add a little extra colour and spice to the martial arts-spy action.

I absolutely love the iconic simplicity of Death-Dealer's design and character, cut from the same cloth that inspired G.I. Joe's revamp in 1982.

The ever-present threat of death may have complimented the pulp atmosphere of Shang-Chi's adventures, but it seems a real shame a character like Death-Dealer was so casually killed off. He's exactly the kind of remorseless costumed killer that could've outlived his Fu Manchu ties to become a staple Marvel mercenary.

To the best of my knowledge: Li Huo hasn't made any subsequent appearances since his debut in the black & white one-shot, either. Which gives me some shred of hope that he might yet make a return to comics wearing his father's regalia, especially now that a version of Death-Dealer is set to appear on the big screen in Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

No doubt we'll be taking a closer look at more of the comic book originals that have inspired the movie, but if you'd like to get more of Death-Dealer's story, you can find the entirety of his existence in The Hands of Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu Omnibus Volume 4.

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Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 600 battles and ranked more than 1000 characters! You can find them all by following links throughout posts, or by exploring the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number!

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Winner: Shang-Chi
#106 (+228) Shang-Chi [+1 kill]
#961 (new) Death-Dealer

HUO LI versus SHANG-CHI

Once Upon a Time in Wan Chai (Marvel)
Where: Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu One-Shot (B&W) #1 When: November 2009 Why: Mike Benson How: Tomm Coker & CP Smith

The Story So Far...
Shang-Chi is no stranger to the watchful gaze of unseen enemies. Over the course of two days in Hong Kong, he has felt the lingering presence of a cold stare at his back.

As ally to MI-6, Shang-Chi has amassed many nemeses while striking against the global criminal organizations employed by his father - the villainous Dr. Fu Manchu!

This mysterious watcher has come to test Shang-Chi's renowned mastery of kung fu, but his reasons for the challenge run much deeper than mere martial supremacy. Once again the past has come back to prey upon the master of kung fu, but this time the blood ties belong to the man called Huo Li!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Shang-Chi 2 (Average)
Intelligence: Shang-Chi 3 (Straight A)
Speed: Shang-Chi 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Shang-Chi 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Shang-Chi 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Shang-Chi 7 (Living Weapon)
Energy: Draw 1 (None)
Total: Shang-Chi 24 (Champion)

We've got ourselves a kung fu grudge match as we finally explore an overdue corner of the martial Marvel Universe! We've seen colourful combatants like Iron Fist and Daredevil, but this time it's not about super-powers -- just fighting!

Huo Li made his first appearance in today's story, but through the course of the battle it becomes apparent he has deep familial ties to a mercenary who once worked for Fu Manchu. This is self-evident in the unique three-bladed sword he inherited from his father, Death-Dealer, whose immolation he aims to avenge!

Huo Li has dedicated his life to training as a martial artist and swordsman, making him an incredibly confident and competent assassin. He'll also demonstrate some measure of honor, arming his opponent for a degree of fair combat. Is that enough to overcome a Master of Kung Fu?

We recorded Shang-Chi as part of the zombie horde seen in Marvel Zombies #1, but this is his first featured fight on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths.

As the star of the Master of Kung Fu series: Shang-Chi was introduced as the son of Sax Rohmer's literary creation Fu Manchu, and an American woman chosen for beneficial genetic characteristics.

From birth, Shang-Chi was trained intensively in various techniques and disciplines of martial arts, honing him into a living weapon! When he learned his father was not the hero he claimed to be, Shang-Chi swore to use these skills to destroy his father's evil empire.

He's said to be one of the Marvel Universe's greatest fighters, but could this be the blood feud that brings him unstuck? It's time to put the claim to the test!

The Tape: Shang-Chi Ranking: Draw (Not Ranked)

What Went Down...
His senses already on alert: Shang-Chi is drawn to something lurking in the shadows of a nearby alley. He crosses into its darkness and finds a man whose presence he has felt for the two days he's been walking Hong Kong's streets.

The unfamiliar figure, shirtless with clenched fists, says he has heard of Shang-Chi's prowess as a great "living weapon". He intends to test him. They fight!

First blood goes to the mystery man as he connects with a kick to the face!

The blow sends Shang-Chi flying backwards, but he twists his body and rolls with it to regain an upright stance. He warns his new opponent of the mistake he's made. Now he'll find out just how good The Master of Kung Fu really is!

The mystery man moves forward with a confident right fist, but this time Shang-Chi blocks the blow with an open left palm. In one fluid motion he thrusts his right fist into the attacker's abdomen and strikes with a left-hand claw!

Escalating attacks push the attacker to unleash something truly explosive. His body bends back, distancing his face from the claw strike's path while his left foot rises rapidly to catch Shang-Chi with another launching kick!

Shang-Chi lands hard on nearby steps well aware that his opponent is truly an excellent fighter who has overcome pride of self.

The Master of Kung Fu restores his vertical base but rather than leaping into another attack - he vaults straight over his opponent to make for a fire escape ladder. His opponent makes chase, scrambling behind towards the rooftops.

The two warriors meet on equal footing topside. As they gaze at one another in a stance of readiness, the fighter reveals himself as Huo Li: the man who will end Shang-Chi's life in the name of vengeance! With that, he tosses Shang-Chi a sword and reveals the three blades of his father's weapon. It reveals everything there is to know. He is the son of an old foe: The Death-Dealer!

As Shang-Chi contemplates his old adversary, his newest one drives him back with the triple blade. It pushes him toward a skylight and sends him plummeting into the light soaked dive of the karaoke bar below!

Huo Li drops down behind him, but Shang-Chi scrambles clear of the plunging blades. He bumps into nearby patrons and springs back with a thrusting kick!

Remembering Death-Dealer's demise, The Master of Kung Fu gives his opponent a chance to end it. To walk away without dishonor. The vengeful swordsman declines. This fight is the culmination of his life's training. He will not back down.

Shang-Chi avoids a swing of the three pronged blade and presses toward the attacking arm shoulder first. His next move disarms Huo Li with a backwards thrust of his elbow. The base of his foot meets Huo Li's face next. Then stomps with a hard heel to an exposed calf muscle. Huo Li can do nothing.

With his sword pointed directly at his opponent, Shang-Chi makes a choice. He could not spare Death-Dealer's life, but he can spare the son's. He drops the sword and imparts clarity: "I understand your need for revenge. Just know this is a road that ends in death. And it will not be mine."

Shang-Chi walks away in victory, accepting that they will one day meet again.

The Hammer...
When anybody asks me to explain Shang-Chi, I usually just tell them he's Marvel's answer to Bruce Lee. It feels like an over-simplification, but in the case of today's story - it's never been more apt. Just look at that rendering!

Tomm Coker and CP Smith make no bones about depicting Shang-Chi as Bruce Lee. The aviator sunglasses are a big tip off. It doesn't hurt that Mike Benson's script also starts the fight by paraphrasing Enter the Dragon. When an opponent expands - he contracts, and vice versa. Be like water, young warriors.

A cover story featuring Deadpool probably helped sell a few extra copies of the Shang-Chi Master of Kung Fu black & white one-shot in 2009. If you ask me, there was plenty of bang for buck in this story. It speaks to me more than the tongue-in-cheek lead. It's very simple, but it also looks really great!

I was a fan of CP Smith's unique, stylized digital artwork back in the New Invaders days. I don't know what the exact division of chores are here: Smith receives a "with" credit, implying finishing, or inking, over Coker's base. Whatever their process, the art team got something pretty special down onto the page, if you ask me.

The style is moody and vibrant, etched in hard blacks on white & grey, with digital processing for texture. It sometimes looks like paper cutouts, but the staging of action is never too rigid. I presume there's a lot of heavy photo referencing, but that enhances a filmic quality of the whole piece. This isn't fumetti - so-called "photo comics". It's a unique aesthetic that's of the page.

The sense of cinema doesn't end with the pictures. This is a story lettered in Chinese, with English subtitles placed in black gutters. Usually foreign comics are localized with English dialogue placed straight where the original was [see; Dragon Ball]. Other languages in Marvel Comics are often represented with brackets to indicate reading a translation. For any kung fu movie fan, the unique choice should evoke a fond, familiar film-watching experience.

My Mandarin isn't so hot, so I can't say how authentic the dialogue is, but it scratches a long held itch fellow gamers might be able to relate to: The moment the international cast of Street Fighter and Tekken began speaking, there was a strong desire to hear them use their native tongue. It just seemed like a cool, natural thing to do. I've always liked the idea on the page, as well. Although it's probably a lot more interesting when characters don't speak the same language.

I wonder how Shang-Chi purists feel about this episode. The short makes for a satisfying, quick kung fu read, but doesn't seem entirely in step with the red-suited modern Shang-Chi of the last decade or so, nor the kung fu classic of the seventies and early eighties. I could see some diehards taking issue with the specific reference to movies and Bruce Lee. Not that Once Upon a Time in Wan Chai isn't a story deeply rooted in classic comics!

The vengeful Huo Li debuted in this short story and directly references Li Ching-Lin: A mercenary called Death-Dealer who lasted four issues while working for Fu Manchu in 1982. His gruesome fate is pretty much as depicted in vague flashbacks, tying the story directly to Master of Kung Fu #118.

I wouldn't have particularly expected a short like this, in an experimental and already obscure black & white special, to have drawn so specifically on past reference. I like that it does! It goes down easy if you don't know the reference, but if you trace the line back to its source, you get a little bit more out of the kick ass action. That's what good comics should be about!

To the best of my knowledge Huo Li hasn't appeared again since the B&W special. I know Shang-Chi found his way into orbit of the Avengers in the years since, but there probably hasn't been a whole lot of opportunity for follow-up. With any luck that might change now that Marvel Studios has announced Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings - a 2021 movie.

I'll certainly look forward to returning to Shang-Chi in a more classic context at some point in the future, as well as The Mandarin, who will apparently make his true big screen debut, presumably standing in for the notoriously complicated film rights of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu.

I wasn't able to find this story in collected format at the time of this writing, so you may have to seek out the Master of Kung Fu One-Shot Special if you want to explore today's featured fight further. It was one of at least a couple of experimental seventies style black & white specials released around 2009.

If you want to find more from Shang-Chi, or other relevant characters, be sure to follow links found throughout this post, or dive into the Secret Archive for a complete index of all featured fights! Check out Cover to Cover: Martial Arts Mayhem for a special selection of themed fights featuring furious fists and deadly hands of kung fu!

You can also follow Secret Wars on Infinite Earths on Twitter and Facebook for daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day! Be sure to like & share your favourite battles!

Winner: Shang-Chi
#328 (new) Shang-Chi
#884 (new) Huo Li

FANTASY FIGHTS: CAPCOM/MARVEL ROUND 2!
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
1 versus 1

MAGNETO versus ZOMBIES
"Marvel Zombies Part 1 of 5"
Where: Marvel Zombies #1 When: February 2006
Writer: Robert Kirkman Artist: Sean Phillips

The story so far...
As previously seen in Mark Millar's Ultimate Fantastic Four, in an almost identical alternate reality, the heroes have succumbed to a deadly plague that renders them little more than zombies.

With food supplies running thin in this world, Reed Richards attempted to reach out to his counterpart of the Ultimate universe, to lure him into a trap. Eventually the Magneto of this bizarre world was able to thwart plans of immigration, trapping the evil Fantastic Four in another dimension, but damning himself to remain with the infected in his own.

Tale of the tape...
Though infected with a zombie plague, this world really isn't so different from our own... well, y'know... their Magneto isn't, at least.

By and large most of Magneto's strengths are much the same, however in this particular scenario he is considerably drained, considering he's already taken part in events prior.

Stamina: 6 (Generator)
Energy Powers: 6 (Mass Destruction)

This stamina rating is obviously not at all indicative of the punishment Magneto's strength has already taken, but it does reflect his uncanny ability to constantly find something more in the most dire of situations.

Though in ruins, the fact that Magneto faces his adversaries in a city is no small factor. With a limitless supply of metals at his whim, Magneto potentially has at his fingertips an entire arsenal of ammunition. Which means if he can stay alive long enough to gather his energy, he's a pretty good chance.

Of course, staying alive is considerably easier said than done, when a dozen super heroes want to maim and eat you. Super heroes like; Daredevil, Spider-man, Moon Knight, Giant-man, Captain America, Luke Cage, Angel, Wolverine, Nova, Falcon, oh yeah, and the Norse God of thunder - Thor.

As daunting as that sounds, on paper, Magneto is always a very good chance.

What went down...
So... Magneto, dented helmet and all, stumbles around infront of some of the most powerful heroes undead. Not exactly a place you want to be, but then, there is that cuty of metal I was talking about...

Magneto summons up his strength and hurls anything he can find at the closing zombies. Shang Chi, Nova, Thor, Nighthawk, Cyclops, Daredevil and Moon Knight all take damage, giving Magneto the chance he needs to flee. Let's be honest, when you're in a city overrun by super powered zombies, cowardly is probably out of the equation.

Spider-man, out of webfluid, falls behind leaving Captain America to take pursuit to Magneto - shield in tow. I'm pretty sure the accompanying image should adequately inform where that headed. Metal shield, good one, Cap.

Magneto takes the shield and runs, finding temporary refuge in an alley amongst the ruins of New York City.

While laying low, the mutant master of magnetism receives word from Asteroid M, which has presumably survived zombie incursion. Intending to find a way to reach his satellite base, Magneto heads for the cover of the sewers, but [Not like this!] he's spotted by zombie Hawkeye.

Magneto decapitates the archer with Captain America's shield, but not before taking an arrow to the gut for his trouble.
Cap is there to retrieve his shield, giving Magneto the opportunity to toss him aside, as more zombies arrive on the scene.

Magneto uses the very arrow sticking out of him, as a weapon, sending it hurtling through Thor's throat. With the little strength he still has, Magneto fights for his life, whipping a car door at Giant-Man, before pulling a building down on he, and others.

Sadly, it's the least threatening of the former heroes that goes unchecked.
Under ordinary circumstances Wasp's offensive abilities in the field are questionable, but here she is the unseen missile that is Magneto's undoing.

As she grows to human-size and chomps down on his neck, the other heroes prepare to take their pound of flesh. As the zombies fight over their meal, Magneto is helpless to watch them tear him apart.

"I HOPE YOU CHOKE ON ME!!"

Thor and Hulk play tug-of-war with Magneto's body, Hulk eventually pulling his leg off. The heroes have their long overdue fiest, and one of the most powerful mutants on the planet is no more.

The hammer...
Magneto got eaten, so I'd have to think the zombies probably won this fight... Yeah... if you want to dispute that result, by all means, drop a comment!

I've been focusing a lot on fairly recent comics, and I have to admit, this was among the books I got only last month, for Christmas.
There's a very good reason for that, and that's by and large beause the comics have just been so damned good.

The novelty alone made this too attractive a comic to pass up, regardless of execution, which was pretty reasonable. It's an interesting concept, because it's so obvious. When I first heard about the UFF arc, my initial reaction was the mundane realization that nothing quite like mass zombie attack had ever really been done in big-two super hero comics.

In the delicate world of franchises and fickle fans, I can see why something like this might not work in the core universes, so I'm quite pleased with this mini-series on principle alone. It's one of the few praises I've had for Marvel over their last year of decimation of quality.

The Fight - 5.5
The Issue - 5

NEXT WEEK: Tag team action - Batman and Robin? Be here!