Giant-Size Spider-Man #2

Issue Details

Synopsis

MASTERSTROKE! Spider-Man interrupts a robbery in progress at the Guggenheim Museum. Engaging the crooks in battle, he is unimpressed when they display prowess in the art of Kung Fu. He makes short work of these thieves, even when they begin using weapons. Still, Spider-Man takes a beating by some nunchucks before he stops this gang of crooks. When he begins questioning one of them, he refuses to reveal the identity of his master, as he would be killed. Spider-Man convinces the crook that he will do whatever he can to protect them. He is then told that they were employed by a man named Shang-Chi. Suddenly, they hear the arrival of police cars. Before Spider-Man can decide what to do, the thugs have suddenly been electrocuted thanks to strong currents built into their strange costumes, killing them instantly. Believing that Shang-Chi is the mastermind behind all this, Spider-Man wonders what kind of monster he is dealing with. Elsewhere, Spider-Man is being observed by the true mastermind behind this plot, the international criminal known as Fu Manchu. He has arranged to frame his son Shang-Chi for these crimes so that Spider-Man will go after him. He tells him of a false story about how Shang-Chi was going to attack the Con Ed power plant near the 59th Street Bridge. This is all a means to distract both heroes while Fu Manchu sets his sights on his newest scheme, which involves the Empire State Building, and later destroy his foes.  Elsewhere in the city, Shang-Chi wonders the streets lost in thoughts about his evil father. Suddenly, he hears a mugging in progress and discovers a group of men in cheap Spider-Man costumes beating up on an elderly Chinese man. When Shang discovers them, the thugs attack him, but their martial arts skills pale in comparison to his abilities. As Shang-Chi incapacitates them, their leader claims that they were employed by Spider-Man, and then attempts to kill Shang-Chi with poisoned darts. Shang-Chi disarms his foe, but he must turn his attention to the injured old man, allowing his attackers to flee. The old man tells Shang-Chi to bring him to see Sir Denis Nayland Smith. Shang-Chi complies, taking the old man to Smith's home where he is cared for by Denis and Black Jack Tarr. The old man is an old associate of Smith named Lu Chang. Dying, his final words are of warning of how Fu Manchu intends to destroy the power plant near the 59th Street Bridge, and that Spider-Man has allied himself with their old foe. With Lu Chang now dead, Smith believes his final words, recalling how Spider-Man is currently wanted for murder. Although Smith and Tarr offer their aid, Shang-Chi insists on dealing with this threat alone.   Meanwhile, Spider-Man has done his own investigations, learning that Shang-Chi was responsible for the death of Doctor James Petrie. Spider-Man quickly goes to the power station. Once inside, the wall-crawler is attacked by Shang-Chi. The pair battle it out but are almost evenly matched. After a prolonged struggle, the pair fall through a vent and find themselves separated when the ventilation shaft branches off, sending the two heroes landing in different parts of the power plant. As the two start searching for each other, Spider-Man suspects that the two have been set up to fight each other. When he finds Shang-Chi, he tries to convince him of this, but the martial artist jumps at him. Deciding to take a chance, Spider-Man stands still, hoping that Shang-Chi will pull back at the last moment. Spider-Man's gamble pays off and Shang-Chi pulls his kick. The pair then compares notes, confirming Spider-Man's suspicions and the two flee the scene as security arrives.   Shang-Chi leads Spider-Man to an informant for Nayland Smith, saving him from an assassin in the employ of Fu Manchu. They learn about Fu Manchu's plot to use the Empire State Building and rush to the famous building to stop him. Meanwhile, Fu Manchu has his minions connecting a mind control device to the transmitter found atop the Empire State Building. When Spider-Man and Shang-Chi arrive on the scene they are confronted by Fu Manchu's sumo warrior Tak. While Spider-Man handles this threat, Shang-Chi pushes ahead to stop his father's scheme. On the roof, Shang-Chi is forced to fight an army of his father's warriors. He is joined by Spider-Man, after the wall-crawler had finished his fight with Tak. In the middle of battle, Blackjack Tarr and Naylan Smith arrive with a team of soldiers in two helicopters. With the area being pelted with gas grenades, Fu Manchu flees the scene. Spider-Man and Shang-Chi give chase. When they fail to stop Fu Manchu from escaping in an elevator. When they leap down the side of the building and try to catch their foe in the lobby, they find that Fu Manchu managed to give them the slip. They are soon joined by Blackjack and Smith, who reveals the identity of their foe. Spider-Man is surprised to learn that Fu Manchu is a real person, as he thought he was merely a work of fiction. With their foe escaped, but his plot foiled, Spider-Man departs. As he swings away, the wall-crawler tries to wrap his head around the idea of Fu Manchu being a real person. ...TO BECOME AN AVENGER! REPRINT OF AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #3