Follow

    Giant-Size Spider-Man #2

    Giant-Size Spider-Man » Giant-Size Spider-Man #2 - Masterstroke! released by Marvel on October 1974.

    Short summary describing this issue.

    No recent wiki edits to this page.

    When Spider-Man puts a stop to a robbery at the Guggenheim Museum, the perps tell him they were hired by a Kung Fu master named Shang-Chi. It's SUPERPOWERS versus MARTIAL ARTS in this epic battle royale!

    At the start of this issue, Spider-Man swings past a museum to see some thugs in costumes robbing it. He goes down to stop the robbery, and during the course of the battle, all of the thugs use martial arts and Eastern weapons, such as nunchuks and shruiken, although Spider-Man manages to stop them despite this. Spider-Man questions one of the thugs after he has been defeated, guessing that someone put them up to the robbery. At first the thug refuses to say who, fearing that his master will kill him, but Spider-Man manages to convince the thug to talk after agreeing to protect him should the thug's master come after him. The thug says that his master is Shang-Chi, and that their heist was just a diversion to keep the police busy whilst Shang-Chi destroys a certain power plant. He says he doesn't know why, but that if someone moves quickly they can stop Shang-Chi. As Spider-Man leaves, all of the thugs are unexpectedly electrocuted to death by their costumes, as punishment for having talked to Spider-Man.

    Watching this on a screen is the real person who caused the thugs' costumes to kill them, Fu Manchu, who is Shang-Chi's father. Fu Manchu is pleased with the way that things are going, as his next scheme will be in place in a few hours atop the Empire State Building, and mustn't be interfered with by Shang-Chi. Fu Manchu then keeps musing to himself that he has set Spider-Man on Shang-Chi's trail and Shang-Chi on Spider-Man's, as Spider-Man should be more of a match for Shang-Chi than any others that he has sent after him. Additionally, if either of them defeats the other, it makes no difference to him.

    Meanwhile, Shang-Chi himself is wandering through the city when he finds some men wearing Spider-Man masks and shirts with Spider-Man's logo on it attacking an old man. After Shang-Chi asks the men to stop hurting the old man, they immediately retaliate, and attack Shang-Chi. Shang-Chi manages to take out two of them with ease, but the third takes out a dart gun and fires it at Shang-Chi. The dart misses Shang-Chi, but he recognises the scent of it as that of a spider venom. Shang-Chi then blocks the rest of the darts with a nearby vegetable crate until the gun is out of ammunition. The thug's last weapon is a crude web shooter, which still isn't enough to stop Shang-Chi. As all of the men run off, Shang-Chi approaches the man that they were attacking, who asks Shang-Chi to take him to Sir Denis Nayland Smith.

    Shang-Chi does as the old man requests, and the old man tells Nayland Smith that Fu Manchu has formed an alliance with Spider-Man, and that Spider-Man has been sent to destroy a certain power plant (which is the same one which Spider-Man was told Shang-Chi was going to destroy). The old man begs them to believe the information, as he has been more badly hurt than it seems, and he dies. Nayland Smith believes him, and tells Shang-Chi that Spider-Man is wanted in connction with several murders. Thinking that they can't take any chances with Spider-Man being involved with Fu Manchu, Smith plans to send a group of his men to protect the power plant from Spider-Man. However, Shang-Chi worries that a large force would frighten Spider-Man away, and says that he'll protect the power plant alone.

    As Spider-Man heads for the power plant, he thinks to himself that he read in the Daily Bugle's files that Shang-Chi murdered a Dr. Petrie in London, and that he won't murder anyone else as long as he can help it. When Spider-Man arrives at the power plant, he heads straight for the generator room, knowing that to easily destroy the plant Shang-Chi would just have to head there. When he reaches the generator room, Spider-Man finds Shang-Chi as he expected, and both assume that the other is there to destroy the power plant, as they've been tricked into thinking. Shang-Chi's martial arts make him more than a match for Spider-Man, until Spider-Man manages to kick him off of a balcony. Shang-Chi manages to land without hurting himself too badly, although Spider-Man manages to hang from the ceiling, out of Shang-Chi's reach, and fire webbing at Shang-Chi.

    After several shots of webbing missing Shang-Chi, Spider-Man eventually manages to trap him against the wall, but Shang-Chi proves to be strong enough to tear the webbing off as well as some of the bricks of the wall, which he throws at Spider-Man. Spider-Man dodges the bricks, but comes down from the ceiling anyway, and kicks Shang-Chi into a ventilation shaft. Spider-Man travels through too, and Shang-Chi tells him that if they are both to die, he is happy to die knowing that he's saved the power plant from being destroyed by Spider-Man. Both of them end up falling down different paths when the shaft splits in two, and emerge at different ends of a dynamo room. As he emerges, Spider-Man realises what Shang-Chi said whilst they were falling from the shaft, and deduces that both of them have been tricked into fighting each other.

    Spider-Man immediately starts looking for Shang-Chi, since he thinks that they've been tricked into fighting each other for a certain reason. He manages to find Shang-Chi again after about a minute, and offers Shang-Chi a truce. Shang-Chi is sceptical, since he still thinks that Spider-Man has allied himself with Fu Manchu, and leaps towards Spider-Man with a foot outstretched. Spider-Man stands completely still, guessing that Shang-Chi won't hurt him if he realises that Spider-Man's offer of a truce was real. Shang-Chi manages to move himself out of Spider-Man's path just in time, believing Spider-Man just before he's about to hurt him. The two of them then explain how they came to be at the power plant, and Spider-Man asks what they should do. Shang-Chi tells him that there's a learned man he knows of that might help them, just before they run off before the power plant's security guards arrive.

    Some time later, Spider-Man and Shang-Chi encounter an assassin trying to kill a man who is running away from the assassin. Whilst Shang-Chi takes care of the assassin, Spider-Man goes and retrieves the man he was trying to kill, who recognises Shang-Chi. The man tells Shang-Chi that he is working for Sir Denis Nayland Smith with some information he found when the assassin (who was hired by Fu Manchu) started following him. He tells Shang-Chi that Fu Manchu is planning something big on the roof of the Empire State Building that night, and that the operation is probably already underway. Shang-Chi tells the man to tell Sir Denis what he told them, and that they'll meet Sir Denis at the Empire State Building.

    At the Empire State Building, Fu Manchu is satisfied, thinking that this plan of his has succeeded. He then says to himself that the new television aerial being attached to the Empire State Building (after the old one was knocked over by Mandrill in Daredevil #112) will transmit the same television signals as the old, but with subliminal messages that will control the entire eastern United States with his will. He also thinks that Shang-Chi won't be able to thwart him this time, due to his cunning deception. However, Shang-Chi and Spider-Man have just arrived at the Empire State Building, only to find that the elevator will only take them as far as the 86th floor. Shang-Chi guesses that his father purposely stopped it going any further, and the duo race up the stairs. Whilst going up, they encounter a sumo wrestler named Tak, whom Fu Manchu has sent to destroy Shang-Chi before. Spider-Man tells Shang-Chi to keep going whilst he holds off Tak.

    Shang-Chi keeps running up the steps and to the roof of the Empire State Building, where he finds Fu Manchu, as well as many of Fu Manchu's men, dressed as construction workers. Fu Manchu says that he didn't think that Shang-Chi would be able to make it there tonight, and then orders his men to kill him. Despite that there are many of them, Shang-Chi's martial arts easily take care of them, until Spider-Man arrives, having tied Tak up with webbing. As the two of them keep fighting, a smokescreen suddenly appears amongst them, and Shang-Chi looks up to see Sir Denis Nayland Smith's men have arrived in helicopters. With their help, all of Fu Manchu's men are easily defeated, but Fu Manchu himself has escaped in the confusion.

    Spider-Man and Shang-Chi then race down the stairs, stopping only to notice that Tak has been freed from the webbing. Unfortunately, they reach the elevator just as the doors close and Fu Manchu starts heading downwards. Although Spider-Man manages to open the elevator doors, the elevator is already on it's way, and it seems as if Fu Manchu has escaped. However, Shang-Chi and Spider-Man run over and jump out of a nearby window, and Spider-Man makes a trampoline out of webbing to stop their fall. The two of them have reached the ground floor before Fu Manchu's elevator, and rush back into the Empire State Building's lobby to confront him. However, when the elevator arrives and its doors open, the elevator is empty, despite their having been no time for it to stop during its descent.

    Spider-Man and Shang-Chi are both completely perplexed, as Sir Denis Smith arrives and asks if Fu Manchu escaped. Spider-Man is shocked to find out that that is the menace they were facing, as he thought that Fu Manchu was only a fictional character. Shang-Chi tells him that since he is Fu Manchu's son, that would mean he is also fictional. Spider-Man then hears police sirens that Sir Denis Smith summoned before arriving, and leaves, since he's not on the best terms with the police. As he swings away, Spider-Man thinks that it couldn't have been Fu Manchu they were facing.

    This issue also reprints Amazing Spider-Man Annual #3.

    sizepositionchange
    sizepositionchange
    positionchange
    positionchange
    positionchange
    bordersheaderpositiontable
    positionchange

    Creators

    none of this issue.

    Teams

    none of this issue.

    Locations

    none of this issue.

    Concepts

    none of this issue.

    Objects

    none of this issue.

    Story Arcs

    none of this issue.

    User reviews Add new review

    This edit will also create new pages on Comic Vine for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Comic Vine users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.