It's an old thread but it deals with a favorite obscure character so I wanted to weigh in.
Shen Kuei was created to be Shang Chi's equal and I'm surprised to see people questioning that. The scans posted earlier show two of the closest fights in comics.
It is true that there is no recent proof that the two are still equals. In the absence of evidence there are three possible assumptions we can make.
1) Shen Kuei is now considerably better than Shang Chi. Nobody is pushing that idea so I won't address it, except to say that it is just as logical as assumption 2, and there is just as much evidence for it, which is none.
2) Shang Chi is now considerably better than Shen Kuei. If the two had fought recently and Shang Chi had won a decisive victory, that would be good evidence but we don't have that. If we had evidence that Shang Chi has gotten better and Shen Kuei has not, that could work also. However there has been no evidence presented that supports either of these ideas. If we had evidence that Shang Chi has stayed at the same level and Shen Kuei has lost skill, that would do it too. There's no evidence of this either. For lack of any evidence that either character has had a dramatic change in skill level, the only logical thing to do is fall back on the default position: the two are equals.
I haven't read the Iron Fist vs Shen Kuei story (if anyone can tell me the title and number, I'd love to track it down.) It sounds like Danny won the second encounter pretty decisively but the first was either a draw (according to several posters here) or Shen Kuei won (according to his dialogue in the scan). I don't feel like commenting based on just the scan; I'd like to read the issues first to get the context.
The fight with Deadpool looks like a pretty clean win for Cat. The suggestion that Wilson was holding back because he's a fanboy doesn't hold up. Deadpool says, "...you've no idea how ling I've wanted to bump into like this so's I can--kill you."
The fight with Spider-man doesn't show much except that Spidey is very impressed with Cat's speed.
For the match, this is how I'd rate it.
STRENGTH: Batman is the biggest of the four and almost certainly the strongest as well. The other three are roughly the same size and probably similar in strength also, though it has been established that Cat is a little stronger than Shang Chi.
SPEED: They're all very fast, but I'd give a slight edge to the kung fu boys here. Both of them have met and impressed Spiderman, who was pressed to keep up with them, despite his superhuman reflexes.
ACROBATICS: The Dynamic Duo have a slight edge here. Shang and Shen are very good but lack the specific training that Bruce and Dick have. I think Nightwing will be the best, based on his circus background.
WEAPONS SKILL: This is very close. The kung fu boys don't use weapons as often but have shown extreme skill when they have. The Dynamic Duo, on the other hand, use batarangs and Nightwing uses his sticks all the time. I'll give them a slight edge.
HTH SKILL: Batman and Nightwing have a much broader range of skills including forensic science, detective skills, driving/piloting, and so on. They are world class fighters but they have not devoted themselves to martial arts training with the single-minded devotion that Shang Chi and Cat have. We know from dialogue in one of their fights that Shen Kuei has been training in martial arts since he was three and Shang Chi has been training since he was two. Shang Chi's father, Fu Manchu was a ruthless genius who wanted to forge his son into the perfect living weapon. If this was a straight martial arts match with no other factors involved, I'd expect Shang Chi and Shen Kuei to win.
INTELLIGENCE: All are smart fighters, but this is where Nightwing and (especially) Batman shine. Bruce is a master at finding ways to defeat foes who are stronger, faster, and more skilled.
TEAMWORK: Team Bat has worked together closely for many years and has incredible teamwork. Shang Chi and Shen Kuei are rivals who would only grudgingly work together at all. Bruce and Dick have a clear advantage.
CONCLUSION: it's not a stomp for anyone. These are four of the world's best fighters and there are a ton of variables in play. Shang Chi and Shen Kuei are martial artists at the level of DC characters like Bronze Tiger and Lady Shiva, who have given Batman some exceptionally rough fights. That said, I believe the superior teamwork, the use of weapons, and Batman's intelligence and resourcefulness are going to be the deciding factor here. I give it to Batman and Nightwing, but only 6/10/
Log in to comment