Spider-Man vs Shang-Chi Settles Marvel’s Most Hated Hero

In recent years, Spider-Man and Shang-Chi have become two of the most disliked heroes in Marvel’s vigilante community. For Spidey, it’s a matter of never being there for his allies – not just letting them down when they need help, but leaving themselves open to being blindsided by major developments. For Shang-Chi, it’s because he recently became the leader of the Five Weapons Society – his father’s former criminal syndicate. While he’s trying to use it to do good, the group are still a crime empire, and Shang-Chi is officially a villain as he attempts to

Now it looks like the two hated heroes will go head-to-head in Marvel’s Gang War event. David Aja’s cover for Deadly Hands of Kung Fu: Gang War #3 shows Shang-Chi and Spider-Man facing off as they fly through a broken window. The Master of Kung Fu is surrounded on all sides by powerful enemies, including both Avengers and criminal masterminds.

Shang-Chi is in a desperate place, and might try to take out Spider-Man for good. Huge comic events like Gang War have been known to upend the status quo, and if their fight proves truly deadly, it will reshape New York City. Robbie Robertson has been trying to drum up public support to overturn former New York City Mayor Wilson Fisk’s anti-superheroes bill, but seeing Spider-Man take down a major Chinatown figure would have dire consequences.

Both Shang-Chi and Spider-Man Are Used to Being Hated

While Spider-Man is used to being on the receiving end of smear campaigns from J. Jonah Jameson, he’s also currently on the outs with most of his friends. While Peter Parker has good intentions, he’s too busy juggling his great responsibility to make sure his loved ones know he cares. In Amazing Spider-Man #31, Robbie Robertson reads Peter the riot act for fumbling his bachelor party, and that he only ever seems to care about himself. It even seems like Miles Morales hates Peter Parker these days, and that young hero has one of Marvel’s biggest hearts. With heroes currently outlawed in New York City, it feels like no one wants him to keep going.

Shang-Chi was raised by the Five Weapons Society, led by his father. Trained to be the world’s greatest martial artist, he ran away from home upon realizing that he had been living with a family of criminals. In recent years, however, Shang-Chi returned to the Five Weapons Society, taking it over and hoping to change it into a force for good. Those changes never happened fast enough for his new friends in the Avengers, and he has repeatedly had to fight nearly all of the Marvel Universe. Now in Gang War, he’s sitting in on mafia family meetings, breaking bread with criminals who’ve joined forces with Hydra, or are actively trying to kill his coworkers.

Gang War is a Deadly Battle for the Soul of New York City

The solicitation for the Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu: Gang War #1 says, “The Art of War is all about the shades of grey.” Shang-Chi has struggled in this area before; when freeing his brother, Deadly Sabre, from the Guardsmen, one mockingly asked as he fell, “What happened to…a force for good?” Spider-Man may run afoul of the police and public opinion, but it’s always while trying to do the right thing. Shang-Chi’s actions aren’t always as clear-cut. His heel turn may be a deception, looking to gain intel on the crime families to feed to the Avengers. He may be trying to continue his crusade of making the Five Weapons Society that force for good, and sees an expansion of their territory as a means to an end. Either way, Shang-Chi‘s actions are putting him right in an equally-hated Spider-Man’s path during 48 hours that New York will never forget.