Fu Manchu

### **1840**

Alleged Birth of Fu Manchu, According to original accounts(implied by Sax Rohmer, the original author), Fu Manchu was actually an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Some agencies believe he is the son of son of Sir William Clayton and Ling Ju Hai, who had a relationship, though this happening is only speculation (See *Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life*.), Another theory is the scotsman Dirk Struan was his father. The Chinese Government believes that Fu Manchu is not a native Chinese person and only an imitator of the culture and customs.

### **July 1875**

Sherlock Holmes meets Dr. Fu Manchu(*The Musgrave Version*).

### **1880**

Fu Manchu puts into motion his grandiose plot to falsify scientists' deaths & conscript them into his service; he will continue to use these methods for at least sixty years (*The Island of Fu Manchu*).

### **1883**

Denis Nayland Smith is born. Smith is the son of Sherlock Holmes' sister, Sigrina Holmes, and thus is the nephew of Holmes (*Tarzan Alive*.) (This information, never given in the Fu Manchu books, appears in Master of Kung Fu #18 when Smith says, "...since I first saw him (Fu Manchu) in 1911. It was a different world then. I was 28, then - and like every occidental I feared the unknown east and its 'yellow peril.'")

Birth of Madame de Medici, daughter of Fo-Hi (Fo-Hi is the mastermind featured in Sax Rohmer's *The Golden Scorpion.* Rick Lai's *The Brotherhood of the Lotus*, published in *Nemesis Incorporated*, Volume 4, Number 28, December 1988.)

### **1884**

Birth of Dr. Dexter Flinders Petrie, son of celebrated British Egyptologist Sir Flinders Petrie. (Dr. Petrie's full name was revealed in Evelyn A. Herzog's *On Finding Petrie's Correct Name*, in *The Rohmer Review* number 18, Spring/Summer 1981.)

### **c. 1897**

Birth of Fah Lo Suee, daughter of Fu Manchu and an unnamed Russian woman (*The Daughter of Fu Manchu*). The unnamed Russian woman is also the mother of Madame de Medici. Thus, Fah Lo Suee and Madame de Medici are half sisters (Madame de Medici was featured in Sax Rohmer's "The Key to the Temple of Heaven" in *Tales of Chinatown* and "The Black Mandarin" in *Tales of East and West*. See Rick Lai's *The Brotherhood of the Lotus*, published in *Nemesis Incorporated*, Volume 4, Number 28, December 1988.)

### **May-August 1898**

***The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen*** (Allan Quatermain, Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde, Captain Nemo (Prince Dakkar), The Invisible Man (Hawley Griffin) and Mina Murray (formerly Mina Harker), are pitted against the Devil Doctor who controls London's Limehouse. The Devil Doctor is clearly Fu Manchu, and the conflict is part of a larger battle between Fu Manchu and the first Professor Moriarty for control of London's underworld (*Comics mini-series by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill.*)

### **c. 1903-1907**

Smith's first posting is in Egypt (*The Fires of Fu Manchu*).

### **c. 1904**

Fu Manchu begins long years of research into perfecting a life-extension elixir (*The Mask of Fu Manchu*).

### **Autumn 1906**

***The Suicide Room*** (A short story relating Hanoi Shan's (aka Fu Manchu's) criminal operations in Paris, found in H. Ashton-Wolfe's *Warped in the Making: Crimes of Love and Hate*. *Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life*.)

***The Scented Death*** (A further story of Hanoi Shan (Fu Manchu) in Paris, H. Ashton-Wolfe's *Warped in the Making: Crimes of Love and Hate*. *Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life*.)

### **Summer-Fall 1911**

***The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu*** (*Written by Dr. Petrie.* Smith is the Police Commissioner of Burma. Smith first encounters Fu Manchu. First appearance of Petrie's future wife, Kâramanèh.)

### **Summer-October 1913**

***The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu*** (*By Dr. Petrie.*)

### **Mid November 1913-Late January 1914**

***The Hand of Fu Manchu (Chapter 1-Chapter 30, paragraph 1)*** (*By Dr. Petrie.*)

### **Late January 1914-April 1914**

***Ten Years Beyond Baker Street*** (*By Dr. Petrie, edited by Cay Van Ash.* Sherlock Holmes takes on Fu Manchu. Dr. John Watson makes a brief appearance.)

### **April 1914-Late Spring 1914**

***The Hand of Fu Manchu (Chapter 30, paragraph 1-end)*** (*By Dr. Petrie.* First appearance of the daughter of Fu Manchu, Fah Lo Suee, unnamed, as the Lady of the Si-Fan.)

### **1914**

Marriage of Petrie and Kâramanèh.

***The Mark of the Monkey*** (Smith and Petrie appear without Fu Manchu.)

The Si-Fan kidnaps Grand Duke of Ivan of Russia and Dr. Henrick (Sven) Ericksen before the start of World War I (According to *The Drums of Fu Manchu*, Ericksen's abduction was in 1914.  The description of the Grand Duke's abduction in *The Golden Scorpion* indicates that the time was before both the start of World War I and the Russian Revolution of 1917.)

### **1915**

Fleurette, daughter of Dr. Petrie and Kâramanèh, is born. Shortly thereafter, she is presumed dead. In fact, Fu Manchu fakes baby Fleurette's death and raises her in his own household (*The Bride of Fu Manchu*).

### **Spring 1915**

***The Golden Scorpion*** (French investigator Gaston Max foils the schemes of The Golden Scorpion, a henchman of Fu Manchu, who makes an unnamed appearance during the case. Fo-Hi tells Stuart that Ericksen was abducted in the previous year.)

### **September-November 1917**

***The Fires of Fu Manchu*** (*By Dr. Petrie, edited by Cay Van Ash.* Smith is now attached to British Army Intelligence with the rank of Colonel.)

### **1920**

***The Blue Monkey*** (Smith and Petrie appear anonymously.)

"Black" Jack Tarr is born. (This is speculation, based on Tarr's apparent age and the fact that he served in the Second World War.)

### **1923**

Smith returns to England from Burma and is posted to Scotland Yard (*The Daughter of Fu Manchu*).

### **Mid September 1923**

***The Adventure of the Seven Sisters*** (Solar Pons and his associate, Dr. Lyndon Parker, cross paths with the evil Dr. Fu Manchu and his Si-Fan organization for the first time. *Short story by Dr. Lyndon Parker, edited by August Derleth in* The Chronicles of Solar Pons.)

### **April 1926**

***The Adventure of the Praed Street Irregulars*** (Solar Pons and Fu Manchu meet again. *By Dr. Parker, edited by Derleth, in* The Reminiscences of Solar Pons.)

### **Summer-Fall 1928**

***The Daughter of Fu Manchu*** (*By Shan Greville.* Sir Denis Nayland Smith is now an Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard.)

### **1928-1929**

***The Turkish Yataghan*** (Smith and Petrie appear without Fu Manchu.)

### **1929**

After twenty-five years of research, Fu Manchu perfects his *elixir vitae* (*The Mask of Fu Manchu*).

Birth of Dr. Petrie's son, Val Petrie ( Lin Carter's *Horror Wears Blue*.).

### **Mid 1929**

Smith resigns from Scotland Yard and goes on special assignment. Although not explicitly stated, most likely he is now attached to the British Secret Service (see *The Mask of Fu Manchu*).

### **1930**

***The Mask of Fu Manchu*** (*By Shan Greville.*)

### **May 1932**

Fah Lo Suee declares her love for Nayland Smith and agrees to assist him in defeating Fu Manchu's latest scheme, which involves programming his Si-Fan warriors with the murderous abilities of Jack the Ripper. Smith, Petrie, and Lyman Leeks thwart the plan, but Fu Manchu escapes again, taking Fah Lo Suee with him (*Master of Kung Fu* 100).

### **November 1932**

***The Bride of Fu Manchu*** (*By Alan Sterling.* Fu Manchu's comments on geopolitics imply that FDR has not yet been inaugurated President and that Hitler hasn't yet been appointed Chancellor. While in this context Peter J.Varney becomes President instead, the same elements still apply)

### **January 1933**

***The Trail of Fu Manchu*** (*By Sax Rohmer.* Fah Lo Suee again declares her love for Nayland Smith. This novel occurs two months after the previous one.  It is also early in the year. The references to 1934 are viewed as erroneous.)

### **Early 1933**

Smith, Petrie, and Leeks foil Fu Manchu's plot to kidnap the leaders of the League of Nations (*Master of Kung Fu* 81).

### **May 1933**

***The Adventure of the Camberwell Beauty*** (London detective Solar Pons and Fu Manchu match wits. *In* The Return of Solar Pons *by Dr. Parker, edited by August Derleth.*)

### **June 1935**

***The Adventure of the Defeated Doctor*** (Solar Pons and Fu Manchu again go head-to-head. *Short story found in* The Further Adventures of Solar Pons*, by Dr. Lyndon Parker, edited by Basil Copper.* The 1935 date is conjectural.)

### **September 1935**

***President Fu Manchu*** (*By Sax Rohmer.* The novel is a fictionalization of the real-life assassination of Senator Huey Long of Louisiana. If we believe the references to winter in this novel, then we will also have to believe that no one in the novel read the clause in the Constitution that forbids Salvaletti (born in Italy) from running for President. It is not Huey Long but Willie Stark who is assassinated)

### **1937**

***The Drums of Fu Manchu*** (*By Bart Kerrigan.* Fah Lo Suee, thought dead since 1933, reappears; however, her memory has been completely wiped by her father and she now has a new identity as "Koreâni." The novel mentions the resignation of British and Turkish leaders, and includes a fictionalized portrayal of French leader Leon Blum ("Marcel Delibes").)

### **1937-1938**

An unrecorded continuation of the events of *The Drums of Fu Manchu.* Fah Lo Suee regains her memory and departs for Haiti.  Fu Manchu wins back the Presidency of the Si-Fan from a pro-Fascist usurper, and decides there is still time to stop World War II if Hynkel and Napaloni can be murdered at the Munich Conference (September 1938). Nayland Smith foils Fu Manchu's scheme.  These events were suppressed by the British Foreign Office, the same agency responsible for the obviously false assassination of Hynkel("Rudolph Adlon") in *The Drums of Fu Manchu.*

### **Early 1940**

***The Island of Fu Manchu*** (*Written by Bart Kerrigan.* There is a headline about Hitler's invasion of Norway and Denmark. The reference to a gap of two years since the end of Fu Manchu's campaign against dictators is really to the suppressed continuation of the previous novel. During the 1937-1938 unrecorded events, Fah Lo Suee has regained her memory, although Kerrigan still refers to her as Koreâni.)

### **1946**

Tarr enters the British Foreign Service in Hong Kong, where he frequently works with Smith.

### **1947**

***The Shadow of Fu Manchu*** (*By Sax Rohmer.*)

The rise of the Ingsoc Regime in Britain leads Fu Manchu to relocate his operations to Metropolis.

Clive Reston is born. (The date is an estimate, based on Reston's apparent age.)

Also this year Tarr loses Anna, the love of his life, when she decides that he is more devoted to duty and his adventures with Smith, than to her. (The story is told in flashback in MOKF #70.)

### **1949**

Leiko Wu is born. Leiko's father is, in her words: "...Hong Kong Cultural Attaché---and sometime spy for the crown---stationed in London."  She also has an older brother, David, who follows their father into diplomatic service, though he refuses to participate in espionage.  Nothing is mentioned about Leiko's mother, though it is possible that she is Japanese (the name "Leiko" is Japanese and means "arrogant").  (This date is also speculation, based on Leiko's apparent age.)

### **Sept. 1951**

***The Wrath of Fu Manchu*** (*Novella by Sax Rohmer.* Fah Lo Suee appears again.)

### **1952**

Shang Chi is born. He is the son of Dr. Fu Manchu and an unnamed American woman scientifically chosen to bear him. His name roughly translates as "the rising and advancing of the spirit." (See *Master of Kung Fu* 15.) (This date is based on the fact that Shang Chi is 19 when he first meets Nayland Smith in 1971. It seems appropriate that his birth year is also the year of the dragon on the Chinese calendar.)

### **c. 1955**

An African village where Fu Manchu has stored a deadly fungus is destroyed by Smith and his allies. Fu Manchu saves a scarred infant named M'nai and raises him as Shang Chi's surrogate brother.

### **1956**

***Re-Enter Fu Manchu*** (*By Sax Rohmer.*)

### **1957**

***The Eyes of Fu Manchu*** (*A short story by Sax Rohmer, found in* The Wrath of Fu Manchu*.*)

***The Word of Fu Manchu*** (*A short story by Sax Rohmer, found in* The Wrath of Fu Manchu.)

### **1958**

***The Mind of Fu Manchu*** (*A short story by Sax Rohmer, found in* The Wrath of Fu Manchu.)

***Emperor Fu Manchu*** (*By Sax Rohmer.*)

### **1959**

Following the events of *Emperor Fu Manchu*, Fu Manchu takes vengeance on his enemies, killing American agent Tony McKay, and crushing Smith's legs, crippling him (*Master of Kung Fu* 15).

### **1962**

Fu Manchu punishes Fah Lo Suee for her continuous betrayals by programming her lover with the murderous talents and appetite of Jack the Ripper. (MOKF #100.).

### **1964-68**

***The Book of Changes*** (*A novel by R. H. W. Dillard.* Fu Manchu, Fah Lo Suee and the Si-Fan exist and the Council of Seven all exist in the world described in this novel, but are used as misdirection from the actual antagonists; they do not actually appear or play a role. When the protagonists finally confront "Fah Lo Suee," she laughs at them:

"Fah Lo Suee!" the mysterious lady replied, her voice losing its gentle sibilance and rising to an Occidental shrillness. "Fah Lo Suee!" Her eyes widened to become molten gold pools. "Fah Lo Suee! So that is what you take me for. Fool, have you not eyes to see? Fah Lo Suee, indeed!"

As I was later to learn, that mysterious lady was indeed Madame Fang-Loos, but she was not the infamous Fah Lo Suee, was rather her enormously successful rival, possibly the finest secret agent the Orient has ever produced . . . .

(As for dating, direct references are made to the years 1964, 1965 and 1968.)

### **1965**

Fu Manchu's Machiavellian scheming shatters Shang Chi's childhood friendship with a boy named Shoh Teng. (The story is told in flashback in MOKF #64, where it is said to have happened 13 years prior to that issue.)

### **1966**

Black Jack Tarr retires from the service and settles in Metropolis(New York) where he builds a 'Murder Mansion' replete with hidden death traps.

On his fourteenth birthday, Shang Chi is subjected to a test of his killer instinct by his father, Fu Manchu, and his instructor, Cho Lin. It is only after Shang's break with Fu Manchu (in 1971) that Fu Manchu and Cho Lin realize that Shang Chi's true reaction was not admiration for the complexity of Fu Manchu's test, but rather repugnance toward the unnecessary brutality and violence (DHOKF #1).

### **May 1967**

***The Rainbow Affair*** (*A* Man From U.N.C.L.E. *novel written and edited by David McDaniel.* Napoleon Solo, Illya Kuryakin, Alexander Waverly, Nayland Smith, Fu Manchu, Simon Templar (a.k.a The Saint), The Avengers (John Steed and Emma Peel), Miss Marple, and Sherlock Holmes (a.k.a. William Escott), among others, appear in this adventure. James Bond is mentioned. Thrush attempts to recruit Fu Manchu. By this time Nayland Smith must either have discovered the secret of Fu Manchu's own elixir of life or have gotten some royal jelly life-extension treatment from his uncles, Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes. How The Saint got access to some life-extension treatment is unknown, but he must have by this point).

### **1968**

A youthful adventure of Shang Chi and M'nai. (This is told in flashback in MOKF #41 and is said to have taken place four years prior to that issue.)

### **Early 1970s**

Kâramanèh is thought dead. In fact, Fu Manchu has faked her death, provided her with *elixir vitae*, and pressed her back into his service (see *Master of Kung Fu* 76-89).

### **1971**

The young Shang Chi is sent to London to assassinate Fu Manchu's old foe, Dr. Petrie. This brings him into contact with Smith for the first time, and reveals to him the truth about his father. Shang Chi swears to oppose, denounce and destroy Fu Manchu. (The story is told in MOKF #15. The date comes from Smith's statement in #18, and Fu Manchu's statement in #22 that their 1911 meeting was "sixty years" ago. This is further corroborated by Shang Chi's observation in #17 that Smith is nearly ninety.)
Shang Chi is forced to fight his brother M'nai to the death (MOKF#16). He is nearly killed in Tarr's murder mansion before he can reconcile with Smith (MOKF #17). As a result of this encounter, Nayland Smith recovers the use of his legs.
Shang Chi joins Smith in thwarting Fu Manchu's plan to introduce a mind-control drug into the American gasoline supply. (MOKF #18-19.)(Of this episode, Keith Martin writes:
It occurs to me that there's another character connection here: In MOKF#19 Shang-Chi meets another martial artist, a wandering philosopher who looks *a lot* like David Carradine in the role of Kwai-Chang Caine in "Kung Fu." (This was very much a deliberate resemblance by the writer and artist.) The two men fight Man-Thing during Shang-Chi's hallucination and later engage in a debate about pacifism (the Caine character's stance) versus fighting back against your enemies (Shang-Chi's position). The wanderer's philosophy is very much Caine's. Although the original Kwai-Chang Caine lived long before 1971, the wanderer could easily have been his grandson, the modern-day Kwai-Chang Caine from "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues." [Incidentally, artist Paul Gulacy captured Carradine's likeness so well that Marvel seems to have worried about litigation. The British reprint of the MOKF#19 story (which for some reason was actually published *first*) showed the wanderer as clean-shaven and looking exactly like Carradine. When the US edition came out very soon afterwards, the character sported a prominent moustache.])
A Columbiana(Florida) gangster with ties to Fu Manchu unsuccessfully attempts to assassinate Shang Chi. (MOKF#20-21. #20 was reprinted in issue #53.).

### **1972**

Unknown to Shang Chi another child is born to Fu Manchu, a boy named Moving Shadow. Because of Shang Chi's defection Fu Manchu works especially hard at raising Moving Shadow to be ruthless and loyal. (The date is speculative and based on the idea that Fu Manchu would had moved immediately to create a replacement once Shang Chi betrayed him.)

### **1972-1975**

Shang Chi has a series of adventures that cannot exactly be dated. A likely sequence seems to be that, following issue #21 he spends considerable time wandering the United States. These adventures are chronicled in DHOKF #1-33 and are not connected to the timeline of MOKF in any obvious way. After the wanderings he returns to Metropolis and the MOKF timeline resumes.
In Metropolis, Shang encounters a group of Fu Manchu's failed experiments in horror.  Although he refuses to join them in their quest for revenge, he does promise not to betray them and wishes them well. However, as he takes his leave, Fu Manchu destroys their headquarters, leaving only Shang alive (DHOKF #2).
Shang rescues a young woman from a group of attackers, lead by a man called the Adder. It turns out that the Adder is the largest drug dealer in Chinatown, and that he was willing to kill his daughter, the woman Shang rescued, in order to protect his secret business (DHOKF #3: *Web of Bleeding Vipers*).

In Metropolis, Shang is attacked by one of his father's assassins, but the attack fails. To save himself, the assassin lies to Shang that Fu Manchu intends to contaminate the Los Santos(Los Angeles) water supply. Shang hitchhikes to L.S.(L.A.) with a hippie couple, and then meets and defeats a gorilla-man in L.S.(L.A.) The creature is a victim of Fu Manchu's fiendish experiments, who turns out to be the same assassin that Shang had earlier defeated in Metropolis(DHOKF #4: *Circle of Serpent's Blood*).

In Vinewood(Hollywood), Shang sees a martial arts film which features an old friend Kwai Loo.  Tracking down Kwai Loo, Shang learns that Kwai fled Fu Manchu's service rather than fulfill an assignment to track down and kill Shang. However, even Shang cannot preserve Kwai Loo from Fu Manchu's vengeance (DHOKF #5: *Two Goals to Seek, One Path to Glory*). Shang then unwillingly fights an L.S. (L.A.) street gang (DHOKF #6: *Lesson of the Locust*).

Now in San Fransokyo, Shang becomes involved in a conflict with the Mob. At the same time, Fu Manchu sets a team of Si-Fan warriors after him. Shang solves this predicament by setting the mobsters against the Si-Fan and escaping the resulting clash (DHOKF #7: *The Past-Assassins*). Shang then tracks down the Midnight Slasher responsible for a string of murders (DHOKF #8: *A Hatred for All Seasons*) and fights against one other nearly his equal (DHOKF #9: *A Contest of Truth*). At Berkeley, Shang attempts and fails to prevent a deadly clash between student rioters and the National Guard (DHOKF #11: *A Different Lesson in Blood Unchanged*).

Fu Manchu attempts to have Shang Chi murdered on his 20th birthday (GSMOKF #1)(giving this story a 1972 date.)
Shang Chi helps Smith prevent Fu Manchu's destruction of Mt. Rushmore (MOKF #22.).
Shang Chi and Smith go to South America to prevent Fu Manchu from obtaining a nuclear device from a Nazi war criminal named Bucher (MOKF #23-25.).
While trying to save a Chinese scientist from Fu Manchu, Shang Chi meets, and loses, his first love, Sandy (GSMOKF #2.).
Dr. Petrie is revealed to be alive. The 'assassination' had been of a double as part of Fu Manchu's plan to conceal the disappearance of the real Petrie. Shang Chi, Smith, Tarr and their new ally Clive Reston rescue the doctor (GSMOKF #3.).
*The Saga of the Golden Dragon* (takes place after it is discovered that Petrie is still alive; DHOKF #12-14, 16-18.)

Fu Manchu's daughter, Fah Lo Suee, returns and Shang Chi and his allies become involved in her attempts to wrest control of the Si-Fan from her father (MOKF #26-28.) Robert Greville also appears in this case and is quickly dispatched by Fah Lo Suee. Robert is most likely the son of Shan Greville and Rima Barton (see *The Daughter of Fu Manchu* and *The Mask of Fu Manchu*). Rima was the niece of Sir Lionel Barton, a central figure in the Fu Manchu novels. Shan Greville's nieces Melissa and Mandy appear later in the *Master of Kung Fu* series; they are the daughters of Shan's brother, Bertram Greville.

Shang Chi faces a rogue Si Fan operative named Tiger Claw, and first meets Rufus T. Hackstabber (GSMOKF #4.).

### **1975**

Shang Chi helps Smith and the British agency MI-6 defeat Carlton Velcro, a drug-lord who is amassing conventional and nuclear weapons in a bid for world power (MOKF #29-32. This date comes from issue #105 in which Velcro's tombstone appears, listing 1975 as the year of his death.).
Shang Chi is sent to France to guard a refinery against a takeover by a mysterious computer conglomerate (MOKF #102.). Back in Metropolis, Shang is unwillingly involved in a conflict between two martial arts schools (DHOKF #33: *Between Two Hates*).

MI-6 agent Leiko Wu joins Smith's team to help overthrow the master of robotics and assassination named Mordillo. Leiko and Shang Chi become lovers. (MOKF #33-35.).
Stopping in Cairo on his return to London, Shang Chi encounters Rufus T. Hackstabber and his cousin Quigley J. Warmflash (Told as a flashback in MOKF #52.).
Shang Chi has a bizarre encounter with 'Moon Sun's Carnival' and the 'Warlords of the Web.' (MOKF #36-37.).
Traveling to Kong King(Hong Kong), Shang Chi meets his equal in the deadly martial artist Shen Kuei, a.k.a. 'Cat.' (MOKF #38-39.)

### **1976**

Shang Chi and his allies struggle against the sinister 'Oriental Expediters' and their secret master, Fu Manchu. This time the devil doctor has pulled out all the stops. Petrie is discovered to have been acting as his mind-controlled agent ever since his rescue (he is eventually reprogrammed). Fu Manchu has also resurrected his ancestor, Shaka Kharn, a legendary warrior who will replace Shang Chi as his son. Shaka is also said to have been the original discoverer of the elixir vitae. The Devil Doctor's plan is to hurl the moon from its orbit, causing a global catastrophe, which will shatter all nations and institutions. He then plans to return from his orbital space station to rule the helpless survivors. This epic struggle ends when Shang Chi appears to fatally shoot his father. (MOKF #40-51.)

### **1977**

Shang Chi faces a rogue faction in the British Secret Service and their deadly agent 'War-Yore.' (MOKF #54-58.).
A mysterious foe plays a series of mind games with Shang Chi using robot doubles and hallucinogenic drugs. On the surface this seems to be the Marvel Comics villain, Dr. Doom, but there are so many levels of deception and illusion that the truth of his identity cannot be determined with certainty (MOKF #59-60.).
Shang Chi faces a rematch with Shen Kuei and the pirate warlord Krogar. (MOKF #61-69. Shang Chi makes reference to the newly released 'Fleetwood Mac' album, placing the story firmly in 1977.).
Tarr and Shang Chi nearly become victims of the 'Murder Mansion' as Tarr's old lover Anna seeks vengeance on him (MOKF #70.).
Smith resigns from MI-6, which has become rife with corruption. Shang Chi and his friends face Mordillo's robot servant Brynocki as they seek evidence against the agency (MOKF #71-75. In issue #71 Shang Chi and Leiko go to the recently released movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," establishing the 1977 date.).

### **1978-79**

Shang Chi and his friends discover that Fah Lo Suee has insinuated herself into the British Secret Service and is at the heart of the corruption they are facing. (This storyline also features the return of Petrie's "late" wife, Kâramanèh. Also, Fu Manchu has returned with a plan for world dominion that involves an elaborate hoax of an alien invasion. He appears to perish when the 'U.F.O.' he is piloting crashes into the ocean (MOKF #76-89.))

### **1979**

***Horror Wears Blue*** (*The fifth* Prince Zarkon *novel, written and edited by Lin Carter.* Prince Zarkon and his Omega Crew, in London, encounter George Gideon of Scotland Yard, Sir Denis Nayland Smith, Bulldog Drummond, Doc Savage's aide Monk Mayfair, and Simon Templar (The Saint). Of note, Dr. Petrie's and Kâramanèh's son, Val Petrie of Scotland Yard, plays a prominent role in the novel.)

### **1980**

***The Black Lotus*** (Miami detective Mike Shayne encounters Leiko Smith, the Black Lotus. It is strongly hinted that the Black Lotus is the granddaughter of Fu Manchu. ***Note:** This has since been confirmed by the author, James Reasoner*.)

***Death From the Sky*** (Another tale of Mike Shayne and the Black Lotus.).

Shang Chi and Leiko stay on in Metropolis for a rest after the end of Fu Manchu's plans. There they become involved with a Chinatown gang war, and a rogue Si Fan agent terrorizing the community with his 'monster.' (MOKF #90-92.)

Frustrated with MI-6 corruption Smith, Tarr and Reston leave the agency to form the independent Freelance Restorations Ltd.  In this new group they can allow their consciences to guide their actions. On returning from America Shang Chi and Leiko will sign on as well.

Returning to England, Shang Chi joins forces with Nayland Smith against a cult which is actually a front for the Soviet agent known as 'Samisdat.' (MOKF #93-95.)

### **1981**

***Doomsday Island*** (The final Mike Shayne / Black Lotus tale. *All three stories were written by James Reasoner under the Brett Halliday pseudonym.*)

Shang Chi has a string of unconnected adventures in which he twice encounters C.E.A. agent and kickboxing champ Rufus "Super Midnight" Carter. (MOKF #96 and 98.) He also faces a recreation of Jack the Ripper, an old lover of Fah Lo Suee's driven insane by Fu Manchu and kept young for the past twenty years by the elixir vitae (MOKF #100. Taken together, these adventures cover MOKF #96-101.).

Shang Chi meets Shen Kuei again in an encounter that finally leads to mutual respect (MOKF #103-104.).

Carlton Velcro returns from the dead, seeking vengeance on Shang Chi and his allies. (MOKF #105-106.).

### **1982**

Shang Chi assists in the defection of a Soviet agent and assassin, code-named 'Dark Angel.' (MOKF #107-109.)

A plot by the assassin 'Ghost Maker' to kill the Queen of England is defeated by Shang Chi and his friends. (MOKF #110-111.)

Shang Chi faces more MI-6 duplicity in Toronto, then travels to China to try to protect an elderly couple from Fu Manchu's vengeance (MOKF #112-114.).

Fu Manchu returns seeking Shang Chi's blood. His body has built up an immunity to the elixir, and only his children's blood can restore its potency. The story ends with, what appears to be, the final death of Fu Manchu. (MOKF #115-118. The date is provided by a telegram in #118 dated 8/6/82.)

### **1983**

Shang Chi has his final meetings with the vengeful Brynocki (MOKF #119) and his friend "Super Midnight" Carter (#120). He even plays one more 'game of deceit and death' with Soviet and British spies (#121) and helps Reston out of a tight spot in an asylum which uses inmates as guinea pigs for drug experiments (#122). Reston also states that, ""Fah, by the way, has taken over Smith's old job as director of MI-6... the witch," (#122), thus confirming that she was high up in MI-6, although we do not accept that she was in charge of *all* of MI-6 -- that would be a certain person who goes by the letter "M."

Unexpectedly, Shang Chi goes on a quest for atonement for having killed his father. This takes him to Metropolis in search of his mother (whose identity we never learn), then to the monastery of Rache Churan, where Fu Manchu learned his mental disciplines. Finally he completes his quest by forsaking his former life and becoming a fisherman in the Chinese village of Yang Yin (MOKF #123-125.).

### **1984-89**

Shang Chi's activities are unknown. Presumably he is living the tranquil life of a rural fisherman.

### **1985**

Sir Denis Nayland Smith retires. Reston, Tarr and Leiko return to the service of MI-6 though the circumstances under which they do so are unknown. (Date is conjecture.)

### **1989**

Shang Chi is drawn back into the 'games of deceit and death' by the abduction of Leiko by the terrorist called 'Argus.' Shen Kuei is also featured in this brutal adventure, entitled *Crossing Lines*, in which Leiko loses one of her hands, and Shang Chi is exposed to a deadly toxin. He is given no more than a year to live by doctors. It is also revealed that Nayland Smith, age 106, is still alive, although in retirement (MCP #1-8).

Apparently Shang Chi's imminent death has caused Leiko Wu to resign from MI-6 and spend his last few months living with him in Hong Kong. When Leiko is kidnapped by an old adversary Shang is required to run *The Gauntlet* in order to rescue her. (MCP #156-158. Though this story was published after the *Bleeding Black* adventure in ROSC #1 this is the only logical place to fit it into the chronology.)

In *Bleeding Black*, Shang Chi tracks down his father's legacy, which consists of control of the surviving Si-Fan and the last of Fu Manchu's elixir vitae. He rejects the first, and takes only one drink of the second before destroying it. It is uncertain whether the elixir has cured his body of the effects of the poison, but he faces the prospects of either extended life or imminent death with inner peace (ROSC #1. The date is determined from a check written to an assassin which is dated 3 Dec, 89.).

Shortly after the events of *Bleeding Black* Shang Chi separates from Leiko and returns to a life of seclusion off the coast of China.  This may be because Leiko has re-entered MI-6 yet again.

### **1994**

Shang Chi is called back into service to help Tarr and Reston deal with a deadly mastermind called the Ghost. This villain has rediscovered a deadly weapon invented by Janos Bartok and has also captured Leiko Wu.  The Ghost is originally thought to be the immortal Count of St. Germain but actually proves to be Dr. Fu Manchu.  In the conflict both Fu Manchu and Shang Chi's younger brother, Moving Shadow appear to die.  Shang Chi returns to his reclusive lifestyle. (MOKF2 #1-6. The date is speculative and based on an interview in which writer Doug Moench said this series would take place about 10 years after the end of the original series. The second issue of the new series mentions that Tesla came to America "...a hundred years ago." Tesla came to the U.S. to work for Thomas Edison in 1884.  The 100 years date cannot be exact but does suggest the early 1990's rather than 2002.  If 118 years had really passed, Tarr would probably have said something like "nearly a hundred and twenty years ago." It is also clear in this series that Fah Lo Suee is no longer in a high position in MI-6, though the circumstances of her departure are not revealed.

### **1997**

There are records of an odd and contradictory story. As depicted, Shang has become a much more brash, wise-cracking hero and swears by Buddha quite a bit. He also sports a big dragon tattoo on one arm. (It is most likely that the tattoo was only a transfer because Shang would not desecrate the purity of his body in such a way.) He is in Kong King and it must be 1997 because the city has recently returned to Chinese rule. He is there to stop the efforts of a drug-lord called 'Cursed Lotus.' It is hinted that Cursed Lotus is actually Fah Lo Suee, but there is no explanation of why she would leave MI-6 to become a gangster, and her characterization seems off. None of the other characters come into the story except by means of a photo Shang Chi has of himself with Leiko, Tarr and Reston. (JIM #514-516).

What actually transpired was the Shang depicted was instead a surviving Moving Shadow, who managed to survive the events of MOKF2 and meet Shang Chi again. Shang Chi struggled with Fu Manchu for the young man's soul and eventually won. Moving Shadow set about traveling the world fighting the Si-Fan to atone for his former life. The brash behaviour and tattoo seen in the JIM series would not have been out of character for Moving Shadow. Since Cursed Lotus is not identified as Fah Lo Suee but as the hero's sister she may be yet another daughter of Fu Manchu closer to Moving Shadow in age. This is sheer speculation, especially since the JIM stories were published before MOKF2, but it does have an attractive logic to it.