Issue(s): Master of Kung Fu #4, Master of Kung Fu #56, Master of Kung Fu #57, Master of Kung Fu #58
Cover Date: Jul-Nov 77
Title: "The story of War-Yore" / "Of heroes past and battles present!" / "Call it thunder!" / "The final faces"
Credits:
Doug Moench - Writer
Jim Craig - Penciler
John Tartaglione - Inker

Review/plot:
With the first major story since Gulacy left the title, we find Doug Moench basically dealing with the same themes (Shang-Chi's distrust of MI-6, for example). The villain of this arc is a multiple personality disorder character who thinks he has the personalities of many of history's finest warriors (with the terrible name of "War-Yore", which wouldn't even be acceptable as a He-Man character).

A character dressing up like Robin Hood and the Red Baron is inherently goofy. Shang-Chi has had some goofy-but-awesome villains before, like Razorfist and Shadow-Stalker, but maybe without Gulacy, War-Yore comes across much less awesomely silly and instead just plain silly. I guess maybe if his name wasn't War-Yore i might have been more likely to take him seriously.

War-Yore is in the employee of some top-level guys in MI-6. They send War-Yore after Shang-Chi and the other agents (Clive, Wu, Black Jack) that recently quit the agency.

And the ex-agents discover a high tech war room at the top of MI-6's building.

Nayland Smith claims to not be involved.

Black Jack, at least, believes him, and leaves with him. Meanwhile, Reston and Shang-Chi have been bickering due to their rivalry over Leiko, and Leiko gets sick of it and leaves without them.

Leiko Wu is held as a prisoner for a good portion of these issues...

...but she does manage to mostly escape on her own.

...but Craig's art is generally good, if maybe trying too hard to mimic Gulacy.

War-Yore's real name was Eric Slaughter, but there's no connection to the minor Daredevil crimelord (unless...).

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Issue #56 is a direct continuation of #54. Issue #55 was a new-material fill-in which i've placed prior to this arc.

References:

• After War-Yore's first attack, dressed as Robin Hood, Clive Reston wonders if "someone like Mordillo, as obsessed with such deadly 'toys' as he was", might be involved. Mordillo appeared in Master of Kung Fu #33-35, and he died in that arc, so he's ruled out.
  
• Fu Manchu, assumed dead as of Master of Kung Fu #48-51, is also ruled out.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A