Shen Kuei
Shen Kuei is a male comic character who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Shen Kuei is a freelance espionage operative, probably originally from Hong Kong. He has been both enemy and ally of Shang-Chi. He is a master thief whose skill in martial arts equals Shang-Chi's. The meaning of the character's name is both similar and opposite to Shang Chi's name. He is a sort of mirror image, a 'good bad guy' in opposition to Shang Chi's 'bad good guy'. While they share mutual respect, the two always find themselves in opposition.
Master of Kung-Fu
Shang-Chi was sent to Hong Kong, ostensibly to retrieve some stolen documents from a martial arts agent for the other side—Shen Kuei, a.k.a. The Cat. The Cat's lover, Juliette, is a British double agent, and Shang Chi's bosses worry her cover has been compromised and she is in danger. Shang Chi arrives and finds Juliette has truly fallen in love with the Cat, and has no intention of returning to England. Shang Chi is willing to concede to her wishes - so long as he can retrieve the documents - only to have the Cat discover them together, and assume that Juliette has betrayed him, leading Shang-Chi and Cat to fight each other.
However, Smith was unaware both that Cat had left the employ of the Communist Chinese and that the British counteragent, a woman named Juliette, had fallen in love with Cat. Juliette told Shang-Chi where to find the documents but said she wanted to stay in Hong Kong with Cat. Shen Kuei, however, wrongly believed that Juliette had betrayed him to Shang-Chi and that Shang-Chi had been sent to assassinate him. Enraged, Cat intended to kill them both. Shang-Chi obtained the paper that Smith wanted, only to be told by the man he took them from that they were not stolen from the British after all. Believing him, the disillusioned Shang-Chi threw the papers away. However, the papers did indeed belong to British intelligence and described the activities of Shang-Chi's father, Fu Manchu, a major threat to the world's security. Cat and Shang-Chi, both consummate masters of the martial arts, battled each other until Juliette, to stop the fight, plunged a knife into shoulder. Horror struck and guilt-ridden, Cat broke off the fight and went to Juliette, begging her forgiveness. He threw a knife to Shang-Chi, giving him the opportunity to kill him. But Shang-Chi spared Cat's life and returned to London.
Shen Kuei and the master criminal Kogar became partners to obtain the plans for a neutron bomb. But then the partnership ended, and Shen Kuei, again working for the Communist Chinese, acquired the plans for them. The relationship between Juliette and Shen Kuei had ended: she felt his love for her had lessened, and she believed his current work for the Communist Chinese was "evil" although she did not know exactly what he was doing for them. Finally, Shen Kuei had taken a new lover, the mercenary Pavane; Juliette herself fell in love with another mercenary, Skull-Crusher. Juliette decided to help Kogar hijack the barrels containing microdots with the bomb plans from Shen Kuei's men. However, Kogar tricked her into leaving a barrel containing explosives which killed Shen Kuei's brother, the owner of the Jade Peacock, a Hong Kong nightclub.
Cat was hired by Silver Sable to join her Wild Pack. Their mission came into conflict with the Heroes for Hire. The Cat faced off with Iron Fist, hoping to prove himself superior to the hero in martial arts. The two fought to a virtual standstill. Until the Heroes for Hire were ordered to retreat.
He has appeared in Cable & Deadpool working as a merc for Cable. He has also defeated Deadpool, who looks at him as a Rock God among mercs and has also referred to him as "The Keith Moon of spy trade" and "The Justin Timberlake of the Cherry Pop Club".
Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings
While on one of his jobs, Cat was summoned by the Most Revered Game Administrators to the Meritorious Striving Pagoda to participate in the Game of Rings and was given one of the Ten Rings. Cat saved Shang-Chi from being eliminated by Zaran the Weapons Master and helped him defeat Zaran. Although Shang-Chi was declared the winner, Shang-Chi gave Zaran's Ring to Shen Kuei out of gratitude. After four players were eliminated, Shang-Chi and Shen Kuei were allowed to advance to the Pagoda's White Floor. The two agreed to partner up until they were the last two players remaining in the tournament. (Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings v1 #4) The two made their way to the White Floor, which resembled an icy landscape covered in snow. The two were attacked by Leiko, who had been possessed by a Spawn of the Desolation Wyrm but when Leiko began resisting the Wyrmspawn's influence the spawn forced her to flee. Shen Kuei and Shang-Chi made their way to Administrators' campfire, where the two revealed themselves as Jinzha and Muzha and explained the origins of the Ten Rings. The Wyrmspawn attacked the two again, but with Shang-Chi's help, Leiko was able to force the spawn out of her body, which Shang-Chi destroyed with his two Rings; Leiko subsequently withdrew from the tournament and left her Ring for Shang-Chi. Despite Shang-Chi being named the victor, Shen Kuei betrayed him and stole Leiko's Ring just as the two were allowed to advance to the final level. (Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings v1 #5)
As Shen Kuei and Shang-Chi fought on the Red Floor, a surviving piece of the Wyrm attempted to posses Shen Kuei but Shang-Chi was able to use his Rings to grab it while Shen Keui used his to cut it into more pieces. Despite possessing more Rings, Shen Kuei was overpowered by Shang-Chi, who offered Shen Kuei an honorable way out of the tournament. Infuriated, Shen impulsively consumed a piece of the Wyrm but he immediately regretted it and pleaded with Shang to free him as the Wyrm possessed him and transformed him into a gargantuan monster. As the two throttled each other with their Rings, Red Cannon incapacitated Shen Kuei and destroyed the Wyrm. Arguing that Shen Keui would continue to steal the Ten Rings, Red Cannon prepared to kill him but was prevented so by Shang-Chi. After Red Cannon withdrew from the tournament, Shang-Chi pleaded with the Administrators to heal Shen Kuei. When why he would save his opponent over taking his Rings, Shang-Chi explained that he refused to compromise his principles. Impressed that Shang-Chi would save his opponent instead of taking his Rings, the brothers healed Shen Kuei before sending him home. Shen Kuei warned that his gratitude would last a week before he would come for Shang-Chi, who appreciated the gesture. (Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings v1 #6)
Overview
Personality and attributes
He has a tattoo of a cat across his chest.
Powers and abilities
Shen Kuei has no superhuman powers. However, he possesses the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and builds who engages in intensive regular exercise. An extraordinary hand-to-hand combatant, Shen Kuei is one of the greatest living masters of the Oriental martial arts, whose skill rivals that of Shang-Chi.
Shen Kuei is an excellent hand-to-hand combatant with expertise in various martial arts. He is one of the greatest living masters of the martial arts, whose skill rivals that of Iron Fist and Shang-Chi. His physical strength level is on par with a gifted athlete his age and build. Shen Kuei's agility and speed is considered peak human; all of his prowess levels can be boosted when he manifests his chi.
It was shown that he was able to manipulate his chi (qi) for various purposes, including raising his body temperature. (Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings v1 #5)
He was immune to the powers of Black Mamba who normally was able to embody the greatest fantasy of her quarry. This was because Shen Kuei was already living his greatest fantasy. (Cable & Deadpool v1 #22)
Notes
- Shen Kuei was created by Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy where he made his first appearance in Master of Kung Fu v1 #38 (March, 1976).
- The character subsequently appears in Master of Kung Fu #62-63 (March–April 1978), #65-68 (June–September 1978), #103-105 (August–October 1981), Marvel Comics Presents #4-7 (October–November 1988), Spider-Man #81 (June 1997), Heroes for Hire #10-11 (April–May 1998), #18-19 (December 1998-January 1999), Wolverine #167 (October 2001), and Cable & Deadpool #7-8 (November–December 2004), #10 (February 2005), and #21-23 (December 2005-February 2006).
- Cat received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89 #1.
Appearances
- Deadly Hands of Kung Fu v1: (1976)
External Links
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