Warning: contains spoilers for Shang-Chi #5!
The finale issue for Marvel's Shang-Chi miniseries just blazed into stores, seeing the martial arts master finally accepting his destiny as the new leader of the Five Weapons Society in the Marvel Universe. While he had been reluctant to fully commit to this new life in prior issues, it seems as though Shang-Chi is determined to take the reins of the vast organization away from the legacy of his corrupt and evil father, choosing instead to turn it into force for good alongside his warrior siblings.
In previous issues of Shang-Chi, the titular kung fu hero was forced to revisit his past and his deceased father Zheng Zu. Shang-Chi has multiple siblings, all of whom were raised to be capable warriors of the Five Weapons Society, just as he was. While the organization was originally founded to protect China, Zu corrupted it into something darker. With his death, Shang-Chi's long lost little sister is revealed to be alive, though their father corrupted her as well. Now, Sister Hammer is determined to take leadership as the Supreme Commander of the Five Weapons Society by force, unearthing an old experiment of their father's to do so, creating an army of vampire zombies known as Jiangshi.
Initially, Shang-Chi was extremely reluctant to get involved in his family's conflict. However, after communing with the spirit of his uncle, he realizes that his family will help make him stronger, and that he can redeem the Five Weapons Society from the corruption his father had infected it with. Meeting up with his siblings Sister Dagger and Brother Sabre, the trio join forces to try and stop Sister Hammer from taking over the world with her army. In the midst of the conflict, Shang-Chi and Hammer both faced the spirit of their father, and Shang-Chi also saved his sister from a bullet that would have killed her. In the aftermath, Sister Hammer found herself without a core purpose, as the hate that was driving her against Shang-Chi was revealed to be a construct their father had fabricated to pit them against one another. As a result, Sister Hammer ran off and vanished without a trace, and her zombie army was no longer a threat. Consequently, at the end of the issue, Shang-Chi finally embraces his destiny as Supreme Commander Hand of the Five Weapons Society.
Now that Shang-Chi is in a rather significant position of power and influence in the Marvel Universe, it will be interesting to see what he does with it. Right off the bat, he seems incredibly determined to turn the Society back into a force for good, returning it to its more positive and noble roots as protectors and defenders. It will also be interesting to see if he goes searching for Sister Hammer, who is once again lost to him. Hopefully he can find a way to help redeem her and bring her back into the fold with their whole family.
However, the epilogue for this story does tease new dangers ahead, as the spirit of Zheng Zu looks to still be haunting Shang-Chi, indicating that the martial arts hero may never truly be rid of him. He taunts his son, telling him that's he's destined to become just as corrupt and evil as he was. The end of the issue does tease the return of Shang-Chi later in 2021, so hopefully Shang-Chi's battle with the ghost of his father will come to some sort of head in future issues from Marvel Comics.