Issue(s): Master of Kung Fu #59, Master of Kung Fu #60
Cover Date: Dec 77 - Jan 78
Title: "The Phoenix gambit" / "End game"
Credits:
Doug Moench - Writer
Mike Zeck - Penciler
John Tartaglione - Inker

Review/plot:
Dr. Doom is again playing "chess" with the Prime Mover.

Their game sends a bunch of robot duplicates of Shang-Chi's old enemies after Chi.

Doom's motives are extremely unclear...

...and while it's cool to see the Prime Mover again, it's not quite as mind-blowingly strange as when Steranko did the bit originally. In general, these issues try to go for that edgy, psychological weirdness that Steranko and Gulacy were able to do so well, but under Zeck it's not nearly as good.

And the opening page to issue #59 is just awfully drawn.

These issues are more like a greatest hits retrospective of Gulacy's run, except with all the songs done by a cover band.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Dr. Doom has clearly recovered from breathing his own mind control gas in Super-Villain Team-Up #14, if indeed he was ever really affected by it.

References:

• Razorfist died in Master of Kung Fu #31
  
• Pavane appeared in Master of Kung Fu #31 and Master of Kung Fu #35.
  
• Dr. Doom says that his real opponent was Fu Manchu, "But through deceit, coincidence, fate -- and a warping of your own stringent moral code (which your father could never have fairly anticipated) - Fu Manchu is no longer available." This is given a footnote to Master of Kung Fu #50.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A